"Whether that has anything to do with protection against disease has not been proven, " says Kevin Ault, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University who consults for both Merck and Glaxo.

FORBES: Glaxo Goes Head-To-Head With Merck

Ault wonders if a 1, 000-patient study will even show a difference between the two vaccines.

FORBES

Moreover, "there is a mathematical certainty that there is going to be an economic tsunami" at some point, adds Ault, who trained as an economist with degrees from Oxford and the London School of Economics and worked on Wall Street before becoming a nightclub owner.

WSJ: Wealth Over the Edge | WSJ.Money Spring 2013