Serum Institute to roll out home-grown cervical cancer vaccine at one-tenth cost

Serum Institute India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla (File image: Twitter/@adarpoonawalla)

Serum Institute of India (SII) will be rolling out an indigenously developed Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV), Cervavac,  in a few months.

Cervavac can prevent cervical cancer, a leading cause of female cancer mortality worldwide. It will be available at a far cheaper and more affordable price than the jabs being imported into the country, Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII, said on September 1.

"We will announce the price in a few months and it's likely to be approximately between Rs 200 and 400. We will discuss this with the government of India," Poonawalla told the media. "We will start production by December and January," he added.

Also read: MC Explains | What is Cervavac? India’s first cervical cancer vaccine

The vaccine can be administered to those in the 9-26 age group. Poonawalla said SII would apply for a government of India tender.

"I can assure you that this cervical cancer vaccine will be far cheaper and more affordable than the vaccines which are being imported into the country," Poonawala told Moneycontrol.

"We have made all our vaccines accessible and affordable. The same ethos will be followed with this vaccine."

How much does it cost now?

According to a Department of Biotechnology official, a complete regimen of HPV vaccines in India consists of two doses. This costs at least Rs 5,000-Rs 8,000.

Another government official involved in vaccine development said the price mentioned by the Serum CEO was for one dose.

"If the price is finalised between Rs 200-400, the total regimen would be less than Rs 800, and it will still be almost one-tenth of the cost of available doses in India," an official from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization told Moneycontrol.

The SII CEO said that his company plans to produce 100-200 million doses of cervical cancer vaccine, adding that production would be ramped up in a couple of years.

Poonawalla said his company can protect the nation from cervical cancer from next year onwards when production will be ramped up.

"We will be fully self-reliant in terms of the production capacity of cervical cancer vaccine. I won't go into capacity but I can tell you we can protect the nation from next year onwards. Production will ramp up to that level next year," he added.

Effective against four strains of the virus

SII has received regulatory approval to sell an indigenously developed vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer. The vaccine has been found to be effective against four strains of the virus—Type 6, Type 11, Type 16 and Type 18.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) has granted the market authorisation for the Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV).

The SII vaccine is expected to cover about 90 percent of the population from the papilloma virus, which is prevalent in the developing world.

Cervavac is made on the recombinant technology platform.

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer among women in India, with about 132,000 cases annually and 74,000 deaths, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

India accounts for 17 percent of the world's population but shares more than a quarter of the global cervical cancer burden.