title: Does India need an indigenous HPV vaccine and why?
abstract: Cervical cancer is the most common form of cancer in Indian women, causing high morbidity and mortality. Two effective and safe vaccines exist, but these remain out of reach of most people due to their high cost. It is imperative that an Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine be affordable and cheap so that the target population can be vaccinated, to make a real impact in reducing the disease burden. We argue that in the long run India needs to develop and manufacture its own HPV vaccine in order to bridge this price gap. We also explore other strategies that can be adopted to increase the accessibility and affordability of this life-saving vaccine during the interim period.
authors: National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, J.N.U. Complex, New Delhi, Delhi 110067 India.
authors: Kaushik
authors: K
authors: Bharati
authors: Nirmal Kumar
authors: NK
authors: Ganguly
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000191:economics* / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D015995:Prevalence; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines; D014765:Viral Vaccines