Serum Institute to launch India's first vaccine against cervical cancer on Sept 1

Mumbai, Aug 31: The Serum Institute of India is set to launch on September 1 India's first vaccine against cervical cancer, which is the second most frequent cancer among women in the country. The SII's indigenous Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (qHPV) had earlier obtained market authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on 12 July.

According to the application submitted by Serum Institute, the vaccine, CERVAVAC, has demonstrated robust antibody response that is nearly 1,000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted HPV types and in all doses and age groups.

The application mentioned that lakhs of women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer as well as few other cancers and the death ratio is also very high.

Cervical cancer in India ranks as the second most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age.

Also, it is noteworthy that presently India is fully dependent on foreign manufacturers for the HPV vaccine.

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