Phil Roeder / Flickr ccAn Escherichia coli–produced human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects women from cancer-causing strains of HPV, according to a recent study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
E coli–produced HPV vaccines cost less than commonly used HPV vaccines and could help boost immunization rates in low- to middle-income countries.
Effective at protecting against high-risk HPV strainsHPV causes 90% of cervical cancer, which is the fifth most common cancer in women.
To understand if the E coli–produced nine-valent (nine-strain, 9vHPV) HPV vaccine protected against HPV infection, the researchers created a multicenter double-blind randomized clinical trial of 9,327 women in China who had not been vaccinated for HPV.
Half, 4,664, received the 9vHPV vaccine (Cecolin 9) and the remaining 4,663 women received the two-valent HPV vaccine (Cecolin) as the control group.
Phil Roeder / Flickr cc
An Escherichia coli–produced human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects women from cancer-causing strains of HPV, according to a recent study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. E coli–produced HPV vaccines cost less than commonly used HPV vaccines and could help boost immunization rates in low- to middle-income countries.
“Given its low production cost, this vaccine has the potential to improve global access to high valency HPV vaccination,” wrote the authors, led by researchers at Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Preventative Medicine in China.
Effective at protecting against high-risk HPV strains
HPV causes 90% of cervical cancer, which is the fifth most common cancer in women. In 2024, 604,000 women worldwide received a cervical cancer diagnosis, and 280,000 women died from it. Many of the deaths occurred in poorer countries, according to The World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO hopes to eliminate cervical cancer by vaccinating 90% of girls worldwide by 2030. Yet the cost of vaccines are a barrier to many countries’ ability to implement widespread HPV immunization.
The efficacy results of Cecolin 9 against the 12-month persistent infection is an important milestone.
To understand if the E coli–produced nine-valent (nine-strain, 9vHPV) HPV vaccine protected against HPV infection, the researchers created a multicenter double-blind randomized clinical trial of 9,327 women in China who had not been vaccinated for HPV. Half, 4,664, received the 9vHPV vaccine (Cecolin 9) and the remaining 4,663 women received the two-valent HPV vaccine (Cecolin) as the control group.
The researchers found that Cecolin 9 was 98.2% effective at preventing infection for a year from several high-risk HPV strains: 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58.
“The efficacy results of Cecolin 9 against the 12-month persistent infection is an important milestone,” Punnee Pitisuttihum, PhD, of Mahidol University in Thailand, and Rakesh Aggarwal, MD, DM, of Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Science and Technology in India, wrote in an accompanying commentary.
“However, the remaining challenge is licensing this product outside of China and applying for WHO prequalification to ensure that Cecolin 9 meets global safety standards.”
