Kasauli/Solan (Himachal Pradesh): The Kasauli-based Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) gave its nod to Cervavac, India's first indigenously developed vaccine for Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The approval was given for the Serum Institute's vaccine after a series of quality checks. The vaccine will be released in the market in May under the National Vaccination Campaign as the Health Ministry issued orders to roll out the HPV vaccine.
Four batches of the vaccine were sent for testing in the month of December. The vaccine cleared the CDL standards in the clinical trials prompting the government advisory panel National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) to incorporate it into the public health programme. The vaccine is slated to benefit cervical cancer patients. However, the HPV vaccine will be given to children aged nine to 16 as a preventive measure.
After the clinical trial, its report was sent to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), which approved the vaccine. Sushil Sahu, director of CDL, Kasauli, said that the batch of vaccine has received regulatory approval upon testing. At the same time, District Immunization Officer Dr Gagan told that the vaccine will be available soon in the state.
Also read: 1st batch of nasal vaccines of Covid-19 being tested for quality control at CDL in Kasauli
Cervavac vaccine is prepared by the Serum Institute of India (SII), a premier domestic institute that deals in vaccines. It is the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines and is headed by Adar C. Poonawalla. Earlier, India was fully dependent on foreign manufacturers for HPV vaccines. As of now, India is the 2nd country in the world where cervical cancer is the most prevalent. India also accounts for nearly one-fourth of the world's cervical cancer deaths despite being largely preventable. The most promising intervention against cervical cancer was vaccination against Human Papillomavirus.
