HPV vaccinations are recommended as the best way to prevent cervical cancer, which remains a diffuse form of female cancer. In low and middle-income countries, the cost of available HPV vaccines represents a serious limitation to vaccinating as many individuals as possible. As such, we are delighted to report very good news from India- which recently launched its first locally produced version of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

“The quadrivalent Cervavac vaccine, which protects against the virus strains most likely to cause cancer of the cervix, vagina, and vulva, among others, was developed jointly by the Serum Institute of India and the Indian Government’s Department of Biotechnology. Following positive data from a large phase 2/3 clinical trial, marketing authorisation was granted by the Drugs Controller General of India on July 12, 2022, for female and male individuals aged 9–26 years, with the vaccine officially launched on Sept 1. Cervavac costs 200–400 rupees (€5) per dose, making it much more affordable than existing licensed HPV vaccines. Heralded as a huge step forward, could this be the silver bullet for cervical cancer control, both in India and other low-income and middle-income countries?”

While Cervavac is an important step for the control and possible eradication of HPV, vaccine availability is only part of a series of steps involved in the successful launch of a vaccination campaign. “The launch of a new, affordable HPV vaccine will hopefully help India, and other nations, to make strides towards this goal. However, vaccine availability must be matched with vaccine accessibility via organised, and ideally school-based, vaccination schemes, and vaccination alone is not sufficient. Screening is the other core pillar of cervical cancer control, and well-organised and accessible national screening programmes are also essential. Given that fewer than one in ten women in India have been screened for cervical cancer in the past 5 years, much remains to be done.” 1

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References

  1. The Lancet Oncology. (2022, October). HPV vaccination in south Asia: new progress, old challenges. The Lancet Oncology, 23(10), 1233. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1470-2045(22)00567-8

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