With its first homemade vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) approved for market, China has become the 3rd country in the world to develop and produce an HPV vaccine, after the US and the UK.

Priced at 329 yuan (47 USD) each, the vaccine’s cost is 50% cheaper than imported vaccines.

Named Cecolin, the vaccine was developed by two research teams in Xiamen, a city of Fujian province. Having received the green light for sales, it is suitable for protecting against infection with HPV16 and 18 types among females aged between 9 and 45.

(Zhang Jun, deputy director of the National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, explains the vaccine to students.)

(Staff at the institute carry out an experiment.)

Jointly developed by Xiamen Innovax Biotech and the National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases (Xiamen University), Cecolin boasts completely independent intellectual property rights.

Setting itself apart from other HPV vaccines, it deploys recombinant DNA technology to express virus-like particle antigen in Escherichia coli. Trials show that the vaccine is able to provide 100% prevention against pre-cancerous cervical lesions related to HPV and that 97.8% of the vaccine recipients found it effective in preventing persistent HPV infection.

The approval was passed by the authorities on December 31. HPV vaccine, also known as cervical cancer vaccine, can be used for the prevention of cervical cancer, male and female genital cancer and genital warts.

(Photos/Chinanews.com)