India announces first indigenous vaccine against cervical cancer
The jab is likely to cost between Rs 200 to Rs 400 and will be made available to both males and females.
The Centre on Thursday announced the country’s first indigenously developed vaccine, Cervavac, to prevent cervical cancer.
In a statement, the government said that the quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus, or qHPV, vaccine will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune along with the Centre’s Department of Biotechnology.
Once developed, the vaccine will be available to both males and females at a price range of Rs 200 to Rs 400, Business Today reported. The vaccine will be administered in two or three doses, depending upon the recipient.
Till now, the HPV vaccines available for Indian users were developed by foreign manufacturers and are priced at Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 per dose.
The two vaccine variants available in the Indian market are Gardasil by Merck and Co. and Cervarix by Glaxo Smith Kline.
The Serum Institute of India got the approval to manufacture the jab from the Drugs Controller General of India to manufacture Cervavac earlier this year, Business Today reported.
Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that cervical cancer is the second-most prevalent cancers in India.
“Current estimates indicate that every year approximately 1.25 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and over 75,000 die from the disease in India,” Singh said. “It is estimated that HPV types 16 and 18 [HPV-16 and HPV-18] together contribute to approximately 70% of all invasive cervical cancer cases worldwide.”
Dr Smita Joshi, the principal investigator for Serum Institute’s HPV vaccine programme, said that cervical cancer is preventable if detected early, The Indian Express reported. However, it kills one woman every eight minutes in the country.
“Screening and vaccination are two powerful tools that are available for preventing cervical cancer,” she said. “Still, there is little awareness among women about the prevention of this cancer and less than 10% of Indian women get screened. All women aged 30-49 must get screened for cervical cancer even if they have no symptoms and get their adolescent daughters vaccinated with the HPV vaccine.”
Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of Serum Institute, said that 20 crore doses of the qHPV vaccine will be manufactured in two years. They will first be distributed to India and later exported to other countries, he added.