Cervical cancer vaccine availability to be boosted next year: Adar Poonawalla

Adar Poonawalla met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi on Wednesday and briefed him about the HPV vaccine.

After meeting the health minister, Adar Poonawalla said, “I had come to brief the Union Health minister about it. We’ll wait for the government program to roll out. Capacity is very small this year but we’ll build a large capacity to take care of the entire nation’s needs for next year.”

Speaking of the rollout of the cervical cancer vaccines, Adar Poonawalla said the vaccines would be rolled out through government programmes this year. “We will slowly roll it out through government programs this year. I can’t comment on pricing now. We will wait for tendering process and follow government protocols,” Adar Poonawalla said.

The first made-in-India Human Papillomavirus (HPV) “CERVAVAC” vaccine, for the prevention of cervical cancer, was launched in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, Adar Poonawalla, and the Director of Government & Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India, Prakash K Singh.

“On the occasion of India’s National Girl Child Day and Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, @SerumInstIndia is pleased to launch the first made-in-India HPV vaccine by the hands of our Hon’ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji. @PrakashKsingh7,” tweeted Adar Poonawalla.

‘CERVAVAC’ is an outcome of a partnership of DBT and BIRAC with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supported by Serum Institute of India Private Limited for the indigenous development of quadrivalent vaccine through its partnership programme ‘Grand Challenges India’.

(With agency inputs)