The Centre plans to roll out India’s first Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV), manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), against cervical cancer as part of the national immunization program by this year-end. Experts see this as a real opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer and have expressed the hope that it will be rolled out in national HPV vaccination strategies, and be available at a cost more affordable than existing vaccines.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer type and the second most common cause of cancer death in women of reproductive age (15–44). India accounts for about a fifth of the global burden, with 1.23 lakh cases and around 67,000 deaths per year according to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO).
The Drug Controller General of India (DGCI), which had allowed the company to start manufacturing the vaccine on July 6, recommended market authorization to SII on July 12. The drug controller based its approval following a recommendation by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Covid-19 on June 15.
According to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO). The vaccine, Cervavac, is based on VLP (virus-like particles), similar to the Hepatitis B vaccine, and protects by generating antibodies against the HPV virus L1 protein.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. Most sexually active women and men will be infected at some point in their lives, and some may be repeatedly infected.
Cervical cancer is by far the most common HPV-related disease. A majority of this type of cancer – more than 95 % is caused because of HPV.
Immunization with the HPV vaccine can reduce the impact of cervical cancer. It can prevent most cases of cervical cancer if administered before girls or women are exposed to the virus.
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