China's National Medical Products Administration has approved the country's first domestically developed nine-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, marking a significant milestone in the nation's vaccine development capabilities. The approval of Cecolin 9 makes China only the second country worldwide, after the United States, with the ability to independently produce high-valency HPV vaccines.
Comprehensive Clinical Development Program
The vaccine underwent extensive clinical evaluation through five trials conducted across China since 2019, involving more than 11,000 healthy volunteers aged nine to 45. These comprehensive studies demonstrated the vaccine's robust efficacy profile against multiple HPV strains.
Clinical trial results showed that Cecolin 9 provides strong protection against HPV types 16 and 18 - the same strains covered by two-valent vaccines - as well as five additional HPV types: 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. The vaccine achieved a protection rate of over 98 percent against persistent infections lasting more than 12 months and demonstrated 100 percent protection against cervical infections.
Optimized Dosing Strategy for Younger Populations
A key advantage of the new vaccine lies in its flexible dosing regimen for younger recipients. For girls aged nine to 17, just two doses are sufficient to produce an immune response comparable to that seen in women aged 18 to 26 who receive three doses. Notably, for girls aged 15 to 17, this represents the only two-dose HPV vaccine currently available in China.
Comparative studies revealed that the vaccine offers immune responses comparable with similar international products for at least 30 months after full immunization. These findings have been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, providing peer-reviewed validation of the vaccine's performance.
Building on Previous Success
Cecolin 9 represents the latest achievement from the research collaboration between Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, Xiamen University, and Wantai BioPharm - the same team that developed China's first domestically produced two-valent HPV vaccine in 2019. That earlier vaccine received prequalification from the World Health Organization in 2021 and has since entered markets in 21 countries, demonstrating the team's established track record in HPV vaccine development.
Addressing Global Health Burden
The approval comes at a critical time for cervical cancer prevention efforts. According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer ranked as the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide in 2022. China has been expanding its HPV vaccination efforts, making free HPV vaccination accessible to approximately 40 percent of girls aged 13 to 14 in 2024 as part of its comprehensive cervical cancer prevention strategy, according to the National Health Commission.
The domestic production capability represented by Cecolin 9 could significantly impact vaccine accessibility and supply chain security for HPV prevention programs both within China and potentially in international markets, following the successful global expansion of the country's two-valent HPV vaccine.
