BRIEF—India to debut first indigenous vaccine against cervical cancer

India’s Minister of State of the Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences announced India’s first indigenously developed quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV), Cervavac, for the prevention of cervical cancer.

Cervavac is an outcome of a partnership between Serum Institute of India (SII), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of SII, said that SII will manufacture 200 million doses of the qHPV vaccine in two years, and will first distribute it in India, before exporting it to other countries.

Once developed, the vaccine will be available to both males and females at a price range of 200 to 400 rupees ($2.50-$5) Business Today reported. The vaccine will be administered in two or three doses, depending upon the recipient.

Until now, the HPV vaccines available for Indian users were developed by foreign manufacturers and are priced at 2,000 to 3,500 rupees per dose.

The two vaccine variants available in the Indian market are Gardasil from Merck & Co and Cervarix from GSK.