Canada to Import Bladder Cancer Vaccine

Press Trust of India (PTI) today reported the Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India will soon be exported to Canada for immunotherapy to treat bladder cancer.

BCG is a live freeze-dried preparation derived from an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis.

As part of the therapy, the vaccine is administered into the bladder through a catheter, where it stays in the lining of the bladder for a specific duration affecting the cells and fighting cancer without impacting other body parts.

The product is for intravesical instillation and is available in 40 mg and 80 mg presentations, reported PTI PLB on July 25, 2023.

When cancer starts in the bladder, it is called bladder cancer, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Smoking is the most important risk factor for bladder cancer.

Since the 1970s, the BCG vaccines have been administered as an immunotherapeutic treatment for bladder cancer patients. And BCG has been the standard therapy for treating high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer patients to avoid the recurrence and progression of the disease.

Using a catheter, BCG is given in a solution placed directly into the bladder. Intravesical treatments flush the bladder with drugs that kill cancer cells that remain after surgery.

According to the National Cancer Institute, this lowers the chance of cancer returning.

The 100 years old BCG vaccine is primarily used to prevent tuberculosis disease worldwide.