Science and Technology
In News: The Serum Institute of India (SII)’s vaccine Cervavac recently received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DGCI) approval for market authorisation.
- Cervavac is India’s first quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) vaccine, and intended to protect women against cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer
- Cervical cancer is a common sexually transmitted infection.
- Long-lasting infection with certain types of HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer.
- Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer type and the second most common cause of cancer death in women of reproductive age (15–44).
- India accounts for about a fifth of the global burden, with 23 lakh cases and around 67,000 deaths per year according to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer
- It kills one woman every eight minutes in the country.
- Screening and vaccination are two powerful tools that are available for preventive cervical cancer.
- Still there is little awareness among women for prevention of this cancer and less than 10% of Indian women get screened.
Existing vaccines
- Two vaccines licensed globally are available in India — a quadrivalent vaccine (Gardasil, from Merck) and a bivalent vaccine (Cervarix, from GlaxoSmithKline).
- Although HPV vaccination was introduced in 2008, it has yet to be included in the national immunisation programme.
The new vaccine
- The vaccine is based on VLP (virus like particles), similar to the hepatitis B vaccine, and provides protection by generating antibodies against the HPV virus’s L1 protein.
- This will be a huge step to accelerate cervical cancer elimination in India and globally.
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Question
Q.1) With reference to recent developments regarding ‘Recombinant Vector Vaccines’, consider the following statements: (2021)
- Genetic engineering is applied in the development of these vaccines.
- Bacteria and viruses are used as vectors.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 Only
- 2 Only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
