GSK's HPV vaccine approved in China's mainland
Print Edition
A VACCINE to protect against cervical cancer will be available in the Chinese mainland early next year, UK-based GlaxoSmithKline said yesterday.
Cervarix has been licensed by the China Food and Drug Administration for use in girls and women aged between 9 and 25. It requires a series of three injections.
Cervical cancer, the second most common cancer affecting Chinese women aged between 15 and 44, is caused by human papillomavirus, or HPV.
Official figures show there are 130,000 new cases in China every year, accounting for more than 28 percent of the world total.
Only two companies, GSK and US-based Merck, are licensed to make HPV vaccine.
Merck’s Gardasil was introduced to the US in 2006.
GSK got the green light to introduce their vaccine to China’s mainland after six years of clinical trials.
At present, many Chinese women seeking HPV vaccines go to joint-venture hospitals in the Chinese mainland, which are qualified to administer them, or travel to Hong Kong or abroad.
Huang Anyun, 26, paid about 6,000 yuan (US$896) for the vaccinations at the WorldPath Clinic International, a Sino-US joint venture, in Shanghai three years ago, she told Shanghai Daily.
Huang received three injections of Gardasil, imported from Hong Kong, over a six-month period. “I didn’t feel uncomfortable, and I didn’t catch the disease though I didn’t know whether that should be attributed to the vaccine,” she said.
Sui Long, director of cervical treatment department of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, said it was even more necessary today to have girls and their parents know about HPV vaccine.
“Most women who took the vaccination in Hong Kong actually are over 25 years old. The reason we say it’s best for females aged between 9 and 25 is that it’s a preventive treatment, and more suitable for those who don’t have a sex life,” he said.
Sui said health authorities should be considering whether to include the vaccinations in the medical insurance scheme. “There are so many girls, and the three-shot series costs at least 3,000 yuan,” he said.
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