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.

HPV is sexually transmissible and infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide according to the World Health Organisation.

There are many strains of HPV, with some strains producing warts on various parts of the body.

Gardasil and Gardasil 9, produced by Merck and which protect against four strains and nine strains of HPV respectively that account for 90 per cent of cervical cancer cases – is also available in the US but not on the mainland.

Shanghai-based Thepaper.cn quoted Merck as saying the company was still seeking regulatory approval from the Chinese authorities. Questions sent to GSK and the drug administration were not immediately answered.

About 50 countries have added HPV vaccines to their national immunisation programme, but the mainland has been relatively late in doing so.

Ming said many mainlanders learned of the vaccine on the internet.

“Those with a progressive mindset are going to take the vaccine shot, especially after China approved ­Cervarix,” she said.

“They go to Hong Kong to choose the vaccine that offers wider protection, against four strains of HPV or even nine strains.”

Ming said the Hong Kong clinic regularly gave 5,000 HPV shots a month and up to 300 injections on busy days.

The youngest client was nine years old and the oldest a woman in her 70s. Not all came from Guangdong province, with some making the journey from as far away as Inner Mongolia, she said.

A previous GSK statement said cervical cancer was the second most common cancer among Chinese women aged 15 to 44, with an estimated 130,000 new cases seen every year.

Research shows that early treatment can prevent up to 80 per cent of cases.