New Delhi: With Covid easing and demand for vaccines slowing, Serum Institute of India (SII) is working on launching India’s first home-made vaccine against cervical cancer by the end of the year.
Vaccines against human papilloma virus (HPV), one of the most common causes of cervical cancer, were approved for inclusion in the universal immunization program in 2017 by a technical expert group, but have not been adopted nationally. has gone.
Company sources told ThePrint that the world’s largest vaccine maker is looking at a November launch date for the SII vaccine.
Although a formal mail that ThePrint wrote to the company remains unanswered, sources say Said vaccine will begin to become available in phases as the company tests the waters rather than entering with a large stockpile.
SII has already announced its decision slow down Coveshield Production.
The company’s entry into the space is expected to bring down vaccine prices significantly. However, SII is not yet ready to divulge price details. The HPV vaccines currently available in the market are Gardasil, manufactured by Merck, and Cervarix by GlaxoSmithKline.
cervarix There is a three-dose vaccine that costs around Rs 2,100 per dose, guardasillo Sells for around Rs 3,100 Administered as both a two-dose and a three-dose depending on the single dose and the age of the recipient.
“Cervical cancer is the leading cause of female cancer mortality worldwide. Most deaths from cervical cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries, where routine gynecological screening is minimal or absent. Website About the vaccine.
“Serum Institute of India is developing a tetravalent HPV vaccine which contains L1 VLP [virus-like particles] Serotypes 6,11,16,18, which are expected to give a coverage of about 90 percent against the prevalent papilloma virus in the developing world. The vaccine is currently under development and will be available in the near future,” it adds.
Read also: Delhi first state to launch HPV vaccine for cervical cancer, fall in numbers blame pandemic
pricing concerns
according to World Health Organization (WHO)More than 95 percent of cervical cancers are caused by sexually transmitted HPV. It is the fourth most common type of cancer in women globally, with 90 percent of these patients thought to be in low- and middle-income countries.
“In India, cervical cancer contributes to around 6-29 per cent of all cancers in women. Age-adjusted incidence rates of cervical cancer vary widely between registries; The highest is 23.07/100,000 in Mizoram state and the lowest is 4.91/100,000 in Dibrugarh district. 2016 paper in Indian Journal of Medical and Pediatric Oncology,
In 2017, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) recommended Vaccines for both boys and girls, but said girls should be the first target, as the burden of disease is taking a toll on them.
However, the recommendation did not include the vaccine in the national program. Officials associated with the issue at the time told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that there was a concern then about the cost of the vaccine. However, some states/UTs like Punjab, Delhi and Sikkim have included this vaccine in their vaccination programmes.
“The vaccine is already approved by the NTAGI, so the only thing that really needs to be included in the national program is pricing,” said an industry source. “This will be resolved once the domestic player is introduced in the market and hopefully with the acceptability of vaccines at a high post-Covid, we will see its inclusion soon. If it doesn’t, there will be many international buyers.”
Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, has opposed the vaccine and also wrote to the Prime Minister in 2018 opposing the inclusion of HPV in the national programme.
letter said“It is our concern that this program will divert scarce resources from more meaningful health initiatives to this vaccine of questionable utility, and that its adverse effects will undermine confidence in the national immunization program and thereby unnecessarily over-severe children.” would put you at risk of exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Read also: Second COVID Shot from Serum Institute, Rs 225/dose: About Kovovax, New Jab Approved for Adolescents