Serum’s Cervavac vaccine for cervical cancer now in pvt hosps
Cervavac vaccine to fight cervical cancer has been developed and manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII)
Pune: Cervavac, India’s first quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine to fight cervical cancer, which has been developed and manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), is now available in the private market. Plans are already under way to roll it out for the public sector too by the end of the year or early 2024. It will be available in seven states.
On Monday, officials of the Serum Institute of India stated that they have a production capacity of 2-3 million doses. Cervavac’s two dose vial is available at ₹4,000 ( ₹2,000 for a single dose). The vaccine has been sent to various hospitals in the country.
Dr Smita Joshi, principal investigator for Serum Institute of India’s HPV vaccine study at Ruby Hall Clinic said, “The vaccine has been approved for girls and boys aged between 9 and 26-years and is priced lesser than the Merck’s HPV vaccine. HPV vaccination of adolescent girls and cervical cancer screening of adult women using an HPV test are significant measures to prevent cervical cancer,” she said.
Dr Joshi further said, “Cervical cancer kills one woman every eight minutes in the country and all women aged 30-60 must get screened with an HPV test which is more accurate than Pap smear even if they have no symptoms. Cervical pre-cancer can be managed effectively if detected early.”
SII did not respond to HTs email for a comment.
Cervavac is the first homegrown Indian HPV vaccine for preventing cervical cancer. I acts against four different types of HPV (HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18) and hence known as a quadrivalent vaccine. SII had started phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in 2018. In July 2022, the Drugs Controller General of India granted market authorisation to SII. In September last year Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Ministry of State (Independent charge) science and technology announced the scientific completion of the quadrivalent (qHPV).
What is HPV
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually-transmitted infection that can affect genitals, mouth and throat. There are over 100 types of HPV and 14 types are considered as high-risk. HPV types 16 and 18 together contribute to approximately 70 per cent of all invasive cervical cancer cases worldwide. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in India and account for about a fifth of the global burden of cervical cancer. Every year about 1.23 lakh new cases and around 77,000 deaths are reported in India.
