Govt launches first India-made cervical cancer vaccine Ceravac

Update: 2022-09-01 19:30 GMT

New Delhi: In a major scientific breakthrough, India has developed its own vaccine for cervical cancer, which is becoming a major cause of concern among women. While announcing the scientific development, Union Minister of State of Science & Technology Jitendra Singh said that the country's first indigenously-developed Ceravac vaccine to treat cervical cancer would be available in a few months.

As per vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India, Ceravac vaccine will be priced between Rs 200-400 per dose and available in a few months. Cervical cancer is caused by the human-papillomavirus (HPV). It is expected that the vaccine will be launched by the year's end.

Speaking at the launch of the vaccine, Singh said that Covid-19 has raised awareness about preventive healthcare leading to the development of vaccines like the one against cervical cancer.

"The schemes like Ayushman Bharat have made us think about preventive healthcare and we can now afford it. The Department of Biotechnology has taken a lead in the matter and is in collaborative mode. Scientific efforts at times do not get the scale of recognition they deserve. So this event is to celebrate that scientific completion," the union minister said.

Meanwhile, CEO of the Serum Institute of India (SII) Adar Poonawalla, who was also present at the event, told reporters that the cervical cancer vaccine will be affordable and would be available in the range of Rs 200-400. However, he maintained that the final price is yet to be decided".

Two HPV vaccines are available in the private market presently, both made by foreign companies -- Gardasil by Merck and Cervarix by Glaxo Smithkline. HPV vaccines sell for Rs 2,000-3,500 per dose now, and Serum India's entry is expected to bring down prices.

Announcing the scientific completion of the vaccine that took more than a decade to develop, the minister said that around 2,000 volunteers had participated in the country for clinical trials. Pune-based Serum India has developed Ceravac in collaboration with the government's biotechnology department.

Work started in September 2011 and the vaccine was approved by India's drug regulator in July this year. On the occasion, DBT secretary Rajesh Gokhale said, "Partnerships between private-public are becoming very important in such research, this co-creation is what is going to make all the difference in the world."

Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women in India. About 5 per cent of women in the general population are estimated to have cervical HPV‐16/18 infection, and 83.2 per cent of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPVs 16 or 18.

India has 483.5 million women aged 15 and older who are at risk of cervical cancer. Current estimates say that every year 123,907 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 77,348 die from the disease. Cervical is the second-most frequent cancer among women in India.

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