In the second week of July 2022, the Serum Institute of India (SII)’s vaccine Cervavac received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DGCI) approval for market authorisation.
About Cervavac
- Cervavac is India’s first quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) vaccine.
- The vaccine is intended to protect women against cervical cancer.
- The vaccine is based on VLP (virus like particles), similar to the hepatitis B vaccine, and provides protection by generating antibodies against the HPV virus’s L1 protein.
About Cervical cancer
- Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix (the entrance to the uterus from the vagina).
- Almost all cervical cancer cases (99%) are linked to infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact.
- Although most infections with HPV resolve spontaneously and cause no symptoms, persistent infection can cause cervical cancer in women.
- According to WHO, Cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women. In 2018, an estimated 570 000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and about 311 000 women died from the disease.
- Effective primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary prevention approaches (screening for, and treating precancerous lesions) will prevent most cervical cancer cases.
- When diagnosed, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively.
Vaccines against Cervical cancer
- Two vaccines licensed globally are available in India — a quadrivalent vaccine (Gardasil, from Merck) and a bivalent vaccine (Cervarix, from GlaxoSmithKline).
- Although HPV vaccination was introduced in 2008, it has yet to be included in the national immunisation programme.
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