The announcement of the use of the vaccine, dubbed CERVAVAC, was made by the head of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI), Narendra Arora.
“The vaccine has received DCGI approval and is approved by NTAGI for use in public health programs,” Arora said, as quoted by NDTV.
Government and Regulatory Affairs Director Prakash Kumar Singh said on the sidelines of the South Asian meeting on HPV that India’s locally produced vaccine would be launched in April 2023.
“CERVAVAC is likely to be launched by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in April next year and will be available at a much lower price than the international vaccines available in the market,” said Kumar Singh.
India is currently heavily dependent on foreign manufacturers for the vaccine. Three foreign companies are listed as manufacturers of HPV vaccines while two companies sell their vaccines in India.
Each injectable dose currently available on the market costs more than 4,000 rupees (about 755,000 rupees). The Serum Institute vaccine will likely be available at a much lower price.
In September 2022, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said that the HPV vaccine will be available in India at an affordable price range of Rs 200-400 (37-75 thousand rupees) per dose.
India is home to about 16 percent of the world’s women and accounts for about a quarter of all cervical cancer cases and suffers nearly a third of global cervical cancer deaths.
