The Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) subject expert committee on June 15 recommended Serum Institute's indigenously developed quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine for cervical cancer patients.

"An expert panel of India's central drug authority on June 15 recommended granting of market authorisation to Serum Institute of India's indigenously-developed India's first quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) against cervical cancer," a source said.

The vaccine has been recommended for cervical cancer patients - those above 9 years to 26 years of age - for both males and females. According to the source, an application has also been sent to the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) and it may take the final decision on the HPV vaccine in the next meeting scheduled to be held on June 29.

Cervical cancer forms 16.5 per cent of the total cancer cases in Indian women and is the second most common type of cancer amongst women in the country after breast cancer. It is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that is generally transmitted through sexual contact.