MSD to donate 60,000 HPV vaccines to China

United States pharmaceutical company MSD has pledged to donate 60,000 human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in three years via the Cancer Foundation of China.

The plan aims to offer free HPV vaccination to some 20,000 female middle school students in four counties in Southwest China's Sichuan province and North China's Shanxi province, the company said during the ongoing fourth China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is by far the most common HPV-related disease, with nearly all cases of cervical cancer attributable to HPV infection.

Cervical cancer is the third most common malign tumor among Chinese women aged 15 to 44, according to a research report in October by the HPV Information Center under the auspices of the WHO.

Noting that vaccination holds the key to preventing the disease, Shi Yuankai, head of the Foundation, said the donation can effectively safeguard women's health and bolster China's public health cause.

Anna Van Acker, MSD's China president, said the company's quadrivalent and 9-valent HPV vaccines have benefited 14 million Chinese women since being introduced to China in 2017 and 2018 at expedited speeds.

She said the company will actively carry out clinical trials to expand indications of the HPV vaccine in order to cover more age groups of the population.