The Serum Institute of India said Thursday it would scale up global supply of its CERVAVAC human papillomavirus vaccine following World Health Organization prequalification, clearing the shot for purchase by UN agencies and Gavi-funded immunisation programmes across low- and middle-income countries.

WHO prequalification allows CERVAVAC, India's first indigenously developed quadrivalent HPV vaccine, to be procured by UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization. The vaccine targets HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 and is indicated for girls and boys aged 9 to 26, according to the Serum Institute.

Cervical cancer kills more than 340,000 women annually, the vast majority in the developing world. The clearance adds a lower-cost alternative to vaccines from Merck and GSK, which have long dominated the market and faced supply constraints.

Serum Institute chief executive Adar Poonawalla has previously said the company aimed to price doses far below existing shots to widen access across Africa and South Asia. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has set a target of reaching 86 million girls with HPV vaccination by 2025, a goal hampered by past shortages.

Public health officials said the addition of a prequalified Indian supplier could ease procurement bottlenecks and accelerate national rollout programmes in countries with high cervical cancer burdens. India began deploying CERVAVAC in its own national immunisation drive in 2023.

WHO's cervical cancer elimination strategy calls for 90 percent of girls to be fully vaccinated against HPV by age 15 by 2030, a threshold most eligible countries have yet to meet.