Development of Prophylactic Bivalent and Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus ( HPV ) Vaccines : A Review

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease which can infect different parts of the body including uterus. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. In 2008, Zur Hausen received the Nobel Prize in “Medicine or Physiology” for proving the causative link between HPV and cervical cancer research. The HPV-related disease appears to be increasing but treatment is limited, difficult and insufficient with high relapse rate. This growth in disease burden had made the development of two an effective prophylactic Human Papillomavirus vaccines namely Gardasil quadrivalent (Merck) and CervarixTM bivalent (GlaxoSmithKline). These vaccines are widely marketed internationally. The different steps and challenges faced during development these vaccines, from exploratory stage to commercialization of vaccines, have been reviewed.