The central government may use messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) based vaccines for running a campaign against cervical cancer, News18 has learnt.
While the Finance Ministry is expected to give a budgetary boost to the campaign against cervical cancer where young girls aged 9 to 14 years would become eligible to get subsidised doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines – similar to the COVID-19 vaccination drive – the National Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) is evaluating the possibility of vaccinating older women as well in the later stages of the campaign. Once approved by NTAGI, it will recommend the proposal to the union health ministry for consideration.
India already has an indigenous vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India which can be administered to girls upto 25 years. “A discussion has been initiated with biotechnology firm Gennova Biopharmaceuticals which is working on an mRNA technology-backed HPV vaccine that can be administered to older women as well, a senior government official privy to the development told News18 requesting anonymity.
Pune-based Gennova is known for making India’s first mRNA vaccine and the world’s first thermostable mRNA vaccine against COVID-19. The company is a subsidiary of Emcure Pharmaceuticals.
“Gennova’s mRNA-based HPV vaccine is likely to be the one-shot vaccine that reduces the compliance issue and the research papers have shown that HPV in mRNA platform proves not only preventive but also therapeutic,” the official said.
“We are at the initial stages of discussion. The idea is to choose a vaccine against cervical cancer because its incidence is increasing, is extremely painful, involves social stigma and it is completely preventable,” the official added.
While India already has several other vaccine manufacturers, “the mRNA platform may offer additional benefits such as just one-shot vaccine that can be given across age groups, even to women in their 40s,” the official said while adding that the plans depend on the approval of budgets.
News18 tried to reach Sanjay Singh, CEO, Gennova for official comments but he refused to comment.
However, according to media reports, in 2021, the company announced that it had started working on developing a therapeutic vaccine for cancer, specifically, HPV-induced cervical cancer in women.
Single Dose of mRNA Made Tumours Vanish: Study
Globally, researchers have found that “in the head-to-head comparison, all three experimental vaccines eradicated HPV-related cancers in the mice.”
Although HPV vaccines are to prevent HPV infections and hence, cancers, but they do not treat cancers caused by existing HPV infections. However, mRNA can offer more as shown by the latest, peer-reviewed study which compared three different mRNA platforms as a therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus-associated cancers.
“In fact, a single dose of any of the three vaccines made tumors in the mice go away,” Jamile Ramos da Silva, the lead author of the study published in Science Translational Medicine on March 3, 2023.
However, these are animal studies and the benefits are yet to be proven in human studies.
As per the National Cancer Registry Programme, cancer of the breast and cervix uteri was the most common cancer among females. Twenty-five percent of all global deaths due to cervical cancer occur in India.
The data shows that cervical cancer accounted for 29 per cent of all cancers among women in India. Papumpare district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India had the highest incidence rate of cervical cancer in Asia.
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