The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved the expansion of age group for inoculating MSD Korea’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil 9, to women 27-45 years of age, currently limited to 9-26 years.

A study comparing immune responses of women aged 27 to 45 and those between 16 and 26 showed non-inferiority in both groups, proving the vaccine's antidrug antibodies in 16- to 45-year-old women. Similar vaccine safety patterns were also confirmed between women in 27-45 years of age and those in 16-26 years.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved the expansion of the age group to be inoculated by MSD Korea’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. (MSD Korea)

The number of people with HPV-related diseases, including cervical cancer and genital warts, has been rising in Korea, mainly among those in their 20s and 30s.

For example, the number of cervical cancer cases, where HPV infection was found in 99.7 percent of patients, increased by 15 percent from 2015 to 2019, and by 32 percent among those in their 20s and 30s. For genital warts, where over 90 percent of patients have HPV 6 and 11, the number of cases rose about six times from 2008 to 2018. About 70 percent of them were in their 20s and 30s.

"The inoculation age expansion of Gardasil 9 is meaningful in that it can help prevent diseases related to HPV and ease the concerns about disease in a wider age group," said Park Sun-young, MSD Korea's Vaccine Business Unit. "We will continue to contribute to preventing the spread of HPV-related diseases and eradicating them."

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