The launch of the nine-valent cervical cancer (HPV) vaccine in mainland China is getting closer.
On April 24, it was found on the website of the Drug Evaluation Center of the State Food and Drug Administration that the nine-valent HPV vaccine marketing application submitted by the American pharmaceutical company Merck had been accepted on April 20. The current processing status of this drug is "under review and approval".
Cervical cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the female reproductive tract after ovarian cancer. There are nearly 600,000 new cases and about 300,000 deaths worldwide every year. There are approximately 135,000 new cases in China every year, and 80,000 of them die. 99.7% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV virus infection.
Public information shows that Merck’s Jiadaxiu nine-valent HPV vaccine was approved for marketing in the United States in 2014. It can be vaccinated for ages 9-26. The vaccine can prevent 90% of cervical cancer viruses. . Merck's Jiadaxiu 9-price was approved for clinical use in China in November 2017, and it took less than half a year for this marketing application to be accepted.
In 2006, Hong Kong became the first region in China to open cervical cancer vaccination, but it was not until last year that cervical cancer vaccine was officially launched in mainland China. The products currently on the market in the mainland are the Cervarix bivalent vaccine produced by British GlaxoSmithKline and the Quadravalent vaccine of Merck & Co., while the more popular product in Hong Kong is Merck & Co.’s nine-valent vaccine.
The price represents the scope of virus coverage. The higher the price, the more virus subspecies it covers, and the better the preventiveness of the vaccine. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer. HPV is a DNA virus belonging to the family Papillomaviridae. It has humans as its only host, and its favorite places to make its home are the skin and mucous membranes. Research shows that 15 high-risk HPV types—especially the two types numbered 16 and 18—can cause cervical precancerous lesions and cervical cancer. The HPV bivalent vaccine can prevent two HPV viruses, 16 and 18; the HPV quadrivalent vaccine can be used to prevent the four HPV virus subtypes 6, 11, 16, and 18; the HPV 9-valent vaccine is a new one based on the original four-valent vaccine. Five HPV virus subtypes, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58, have been added, and the coverage of the virus has reached 90%.
This has resulted in an endless stream of mainland tourists going to Hong Kong to get vaccinated over a long period of time.
A research report analysis by Founder Securities pointed out that the cervical cancer prevention market has a market worth at least tens of billions. Previously, nearly 2 million people came to Hong Kong every year to get vaccinated. Some experts estimate that there are 8 million women among the more than 16 million people added every year. Assuming that 50% of them are vaccinated against cervical cancer, it will bring a market size of 4 billion yuan every year after the market stabilizes.
However, Jiada Xiujiu will be officially launched in the mainland and has to wait for the final review and approval of the regulatory authorities.
Previously, Professor Wei Lihui, a well-known gynecologist at Peking University People’s Hospital, said in an interview with The Paper that there is almost no difference between bivalent and quadrivalent vaccines in terms of their preventive effect on cervical cancer. The target vaccination population should be vaccinated as early as possible when vaccination conditions are available, and do not miss the best vaccination time because of waiting.
From ifeng.com