HPV vaccines gain traction in India, though cost keeps reach limited

On PharmEasy, a digital-first diagnostics and pharmacy company backed by Prosus and Temasek, HPV vaccines now account for nearly 25% of total vaccine sales, making it one of the fastest-growing segments within its preventive healthcare portfolio. The rise reflects growing consumer awareness and easier access through digital channels, particularly in urban India.

“HPV vaccination has seen substantial growth on PharmEasy, driven by rising awareness about preventive healthcare and the convenience we offer,” said Gaurav Verma, head (B2C) at PharmEasy. Features such as at-home vaccination, flexible scheduling and free administration have helped reduce friction for consumers, enabling families to prioritise the vaccine, he added.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is linked to several types of cancer, most commonly cervical. India’s HPV vaccine market was worth ₹91 crore as of January 2026, on a moving annual total basis, according to pharma intelligence platform Pharmarack. US-based drugmaker Merck’s Gardasil dominated the market with ₹70 crore sales. From January 2024 to January 2026, HPV vaccine sales volume has grown more than 87% to 333,160 units, according to Pharmarack.

Early signs of increased momentum are also visible on the screening side, though experts emphasize that gains are emerging from a very low base, said Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva, chief medical officer at Molbio Diagnostics, which sells molecular test kits for detection of high-risk HPV genotypes – strains or variants of the virus.

“Earlier, only about 2% of the eligible population was getting screened for HPV. There has been about a 1–2% increase compared to last year,” he said, adding that India’s large population means even small percentage gains translate into significant absolute numbers.

Rising demand

According to PharmEasy, vaccine adoption remains strongest in metropolitan cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune. Women account for nearly 70% of HPV vaccine purchasers, while the 26–35 age group has emerged as the most active cohort. Tier-I and urban-adjacent markets contribute around 15% of demand, with another 15% coming from tier-II, tier-III and smaller cities—a share the company says is gradually increasing as awareness spreads beyond large cities.

India continues to bear a heavy burden of HPV-related diseases, with more than 120,000 new cervical cancer cases diagnosed annually, according to the France-based Global Cancer Observatory. It is the second-most common cancer in India in women, accounting for 22.86% of all cancer cases in women and 12% of all cancer cases in both men and women, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

While the vaccine sales uptick is seen as an encouraging sign, experts warn that affordability remains a major constraint.

“Given the high out-of-pocket cost of HPV vaccines, adoption continues to be skewed towards higher-income urban populations,” said Srikanth Mahadevan, director at Deloitte India. With per-dose prices ranging from about ₹1,500 to over ₹11,000 depending on the brand, Mahadevan said cost continues to limit wider uptake.

For girls aged 9-14, a two-dose series of vaccines is recommended, while for individuals aged 15-45, a three-dose schedule is prescribed.

Merck’s Gardasil and Gardasil 9, as well as Serum Institute of India’s (SII) indigenously-developed Cervavac are the main vaccine brands available in the Indian market. While SII’s Cervavac is the most affordable, it is not widely available yet, doctors said.

“Gardasil 9, which covers nine HPV strains, offers broader protection, including against genital warts and additional infections, making it superior to the quadrivalent versions that mainly protect against cervical cancer,” said Dr. Manisha Kulkarni, senior consultant at Sahyadri Hospitals, Pune. Gardasil 9 is, however, also the most expensive and can cost between ₹9,000 and ₹11,000 per dose, she said.

Queries emailed to Merck and SII remained unanswered till press time.

Doctors say changing patient behaviour is also contributing to rising interest in HPV vaccination and testing. “Patients are becoming more proactive in seeking information around the vaccine and the testing,” said Dr. Tanaya Narendra, a gynaecologist and health educator popularly known as Dr Cuterus. She said counselling is now being driven not only by doctors, but also by social media, awareness initiatives and corporate health campaigns offering workplace vaccinations.

“There has been a sea change in the kind of information that is available,” Narendra said, noting that although the HPV vaccine was introduced in 2006, conversations around vaccination and cervical cancer prevention have become far more open and frequent over the past two decades.

Professional associations like the Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI), Indian Medical Association (IMA), and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) have been driving campaigns to raise awareness and increase the scope of vaccinations.

FOGSI ran two programmes for cervical cancer in 2025, which included a pan-India awareness campaign and a screening initiative piloted in Varanasi. “Our gynecologists also need sensitisation, who in turn can sensitise people,” FOGSI’s immediate past president Dr. Sunita Tandulwadkar told Mint.

A major gap is the lack of pan-India data, which requires private and public healthcare synergies, Dr. Tandulwadkar said. The association has been in constant dialogue with the health ministry for this, as well as for policy shifts to increase affordability of the vaccine, she Tandulwadkar added.

Industry observers say the recent momentum reflects sustained awareness-building efforts by healthcare providers, labs and digital platforms, alongside the entry of newer domestic vaccine options that have broadened choice. However, they caution that current growth remains uneven.

“The recent increase in HPV vaccine sales reflects improved awareness and access, particularly in urban markets,” said Aryaman Tandon, managing partner (healthcare and lifesciences) at consultancy Praxis Global Alliance. “However, this growth is largely concentrated in metro cities and driven by private clinics, labs and digital health platforms, rather than indicating widespread population-level adoption,” he added.

Mahadevan said that inclusion of the HPV vaccine in the central immunisation programme could be a “major inflection point” for improving penetration by enabling scale, lowering costs and normalising vaccination as routine preventive care.

Evidence from state-led initiatives highlights the impact of public-sector involvement. School-based vaccination programmes in states such as Sikkim and Punjab have reported coverage rates exceeding 90% among targeted girls by removing cost barriers and simplifying access through government systems.

Without broader public-sector integration, experts warn that reliance on private healthcare channels risks fragmented and uneven protection. Screening rates for cervical cancer also remain extremely low outside urban centres, reinforcing concerns that HPV prevention efforts may continue to benefit a limited segment of the population unless backed by national-scale immunisation and screening strategies, Deloitte’s Mahadevan added.