Delays in approving HPV vaccines in mainland China force women to seek shots in Hong Kong

Delays in approvals on the Chinese mainland for HPV vaccines are prompting thousands women and girls to head across the border to Hong Kong for shots.

Ming Gefan, who manages the Shenzhen branch of MJ HK Health Screening Centre in Guangdong province and helps mainland customers book appointments to take the shots in Hong Kong, said she ­noticed an uptick in demand for protection against human papillomavirus after the mainland gave regulatory approval earlier this year for Cervarix, a vaccine that guards against the virus.

But while Cervarix was the only HPV vaccine approved for sale on the mainland, it would be taken off shelves in the United States by its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, due to weak demand, news outlet Fierce Pharma reported last week.

Cervarix, which protects against two HPV strains that account for 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases, was approved by the China Food and Drug Administration in July and not expected to go on sale there until next year.

An unidentified spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline was quoted as saying the company decided to stop supplying Cervarix in the US due to weak demand.