A vaccine that may prevent the onslaught of cervical cancer, the second most frequent cancer in women in India between 14 and 44 years of age, has been developed jointly by the Dr Cyrus Poonawalla founded Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology.
Called Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV), the preventive was launched on September 1, 2022 by the union minister of science and technology, Jitendra Singh at the India International Centre in Delhi, according to news reports. SII’s chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla told the Hindustan Times that the vaccine will cost between Rs 200-400 and is "expected to hit the shelves in the next few months.” Currently two foreign made vaccines are available for between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,290 per dose, the report stated.
"The vaccine has demonstrated robust antibody response that is nearly 1,000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted types and in all dose and age groups,” noted the Mint of July 12, 2022. "If we give it to our young children and daughters, they are protected from the infection, and consequently, probably 30 years later, cancer does not occur,” commented Dr N. K. Arora, chairman of the COVID Working Group, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization.