Scientific community celebrates India’s first indigenous vaccine for cervical cancer

New Delhi: India’s first indigenously developed quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (qHPV) vaccine for the prevention of Cervical Cancer will soon be available in the market.

A formal announcement of this vaccine was made by the Minister of State (IC) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh an event to celebrate the successful development of the vaccine in New Delhi.

The vaccine developed by Serum Institute of India has been supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India along with its PSU, BIRAC, through its partnership program with Grand Challenges India.

Earlier the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) had granted market authorization to SII for the manufacturing of the indigenous qHPV vaccine after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization gave its recommendation for the CERVAVAC vaccine to be authorized following its successful Phase III clinical trials.

This vaccine provides prevention against 6,11,16 and 18 strains by generating antibodies against HPV. The indigenous vaccine will prove to be a low-cost, affordable vaccine.

According to the WHO, India accounts for about a fifth of the global burden for Cervical Cancer, witnessing about 1.23 lakh cases and around 67,000 deaths per year.