BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Demand for the HPV vaccine that prevents the onset of cervical cancer continues to grow in China spurs Hong Kong’s HPV vaccine market swelling, according to China Global Television Network (CGTN) report.
The HPV vaccine, as the first anti-cancer vaccine in the world, has proved effective in preventing cervical cancer and is seen as a breakthrough in the fight against cancer.
There are three versions of HPV vaccines, the latest Gardasil 9 which targets human papillomavirus or HPV, a sexually-transmitted infection linked to the onset of cervical cancer and cuts down 90 percent of infections, while the other two vaccines available on the Chinese mainland in mid-2017 are GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix 2 and Merck’s Gardasil 4, which are believed to target at least 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases, the media said.
China’s State Drug Administration confirmed at the beginning of May that they have handed U.S. drugmaker Merck's Gardasil 9 a conditional green light, granting it market access on the Chinese mainland.
But before the 9-valent vaccine is available on the Chinese mainland market, many women and girls are still choosing to head to Hong Kong for their three shots, bringing huge challenges to the region’s vaccine market, the media report.
Doctor from Hong Kong’s BIB Health Care Center said that her center sees more and more mainlanders coming to Hong Kong to get the Gardasil 9 shots. She believes that one reason is that the vaccines currently available on the mainland are 2-valent and 4-valent while Hong Kong has an upgraded version, the 9-valent.
Growing demand has driven up prices.
One needs to pay up to 10,000 Hong Kong dollars or around 1,200 U.S. dollars for the three shots of the Gardasil 9 vaccination, almost triple from two to three years ago. And that's not counting travel expenses.
Yet having the money is no guarantee you’ll get the vaccine right away. The Hong Kong market is struggling to get enough. The sole producer of Gardasil 9, U.S. drug maker Merck, halted supply to the region early in May for an unspecified period, the media said.
That could pose a problem for some vaccine receivers, as vaccination series suggest all three shots should be done within six months or one year at the most. Otherwise the first one or two shots taken would be wasted.
The doctor suggested that people from the mainland should reconsider before going to Hong Kong as community hospitals on the mainland could offer similar and more cost-effective vaccines.
With Merck’s 9-valent HPV vaccine getting fast-track approval, it’s expected to be available in China in early 2019.
Meanwhile, it is reported that Chinese drug companies are working on their own vaccine for HPV, which should be available by 2022. (Contributed by Zhao Danliang, Danliang67@xinhua.org, edited by Zhang Aifang, zhangaf@xinhua.org)
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