India’s first indigenously developed quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine, Cervavac, for the prevention of the cancer of cervix will be launched in a few months and made available in an affordable price range of Rs 200 to Rs 400, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Thursday. He said a plan to make 200 million doses is already in place.
According to officials, 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.
At the event held to announce the scientific completion of the vaccine, Union minister of science and technology Jitendra Singh said Covid-19 has raised awareness about preventive healthcare leading to the development of vaccines like the one against cervical cancer.
He said, “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 are 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.”
On the side-lines of the event, Poonawalla said, “The final price of the qHPV vaccine will be decided after detailed discussions with the government. It would cost much less than the existing vaccines for cervical cancer.”
He said the vaccine would first be made available through the government channel and then through private partners from next year. He added that it will be exported to other countries only after the need in India is fulfilled.
The Department of Biotechnology Secretary, Rajesh Gokhale, said over 2000 volunteers participated across the country for this vaccine. “Private-public partnerships are becoming very important in such research. This co-creation is what is going to make all the difference in the world,” he said.
The Drugs Controller General of India had in July granted market authorisation to the Serum Institute to manufacture the vaccine.
