SII to offer 1 cr cervical cancer shots by December

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 1

Days after the national drug regulator granted market authorisation approval to the first indigenous vaccine for cervical cancer, makers Serum Institute of India (SII) told the Health Ministry they could supply one crore doses for the national immunisation programme by December this year.

Prior to the approval by the Drug Controller General of India, the National Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation has looked at SII's data for the shot and approved its inclusion in the national immunisation plan.

The ministry is planning to roll out the shot -- the indigenously developed Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) -- by the year-end.

The development would mean huge self-reliance in a major sector. Currently, India depends on imports for the HPV vaccines with cervical cancer being the second highest after breast cancer.

The ICMR data show in 2020, among women, breast cancer was estimated to contribute the highest 2 lakh (14.8 per cent) cases per year and cervix cancer contributed 0.75 lakh (5.4 per cent).

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