New Delhi, October 16, 2008 - A global pharmaceutical firm announced the launch of the country’s first vaccine to protect women from a sexually-transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

The vaccine from MSD Pharmaceuticals protects against four types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and prevents cervical cancer, pre-cancerous lesions and genital warts caused by these types of HPV, company officials said.

Medical studies suggest that about 74,000 women die from cervical cancer in India each year. Research conducted in India and other countries during the early 1980s has established the role of the HPV in triggering cervical cancer.

The vaccine, approved in the US two years ago and in Europe last year, was cleared for marketing by India’s drug regulators six weeks ago.

About 36 million doses of the vaccine have been used worldwide, Naveen Rao, the managing director of MSD India, said. “We’re launching a war against cervical cancer, the number one cause of cancer mortality in Indian women,” he said.

Studies show that the vaccine needs to be administered in three doses in about six months for optimum protection. Each dose in India in the private sector will cost about Rs 2,800, company officials said.

The HPV is transmitted through sexual intercourse. Doctors believe the vaccine should ideally be administered to girls between the age of 10 and 12 years, much before sexual activity and the risk of HPV infection.

Studies have shown that the vaccine provides 98 per cent protection against cervical pre-cancerous lesions caused by HPV type 16 and 18 that account for 70 per cent of all cervical cancer cases worldwide.