CHANGSHA -- China administered its first dose of a human papillomavirus vaccine for men in its central Hunan province on Thursday afternoon, according to the provincial center for disease control and prevention.

The recipient in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, became the first man on the Chinese mainland to receive the HPV vaccine, after US pharmaceutical giant Merck announced its quadrivalent HPV vaccine Gardasil had been approved for additional indications by the National Medical Products Administration.

After being approved for use in women on the Chinese mainland, the HPV vaccine is now available for males aged 9 to 26 to prevent diseases caused by HPV types 16 and 18, such as anal cancer, as well as genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11.

It is the first and only HPV vaccine authorized for use in men in China, according to the company.

"With this expanded approval, we look forward to helping protect this new population of Chinese males from certain HPV-related cancers and diseases," said Joseph Romanelli, president of Human Health International at Merck, expressing optimism about tapping into this new market.

HPV is regarded as one of the world's major public health issues, as it not only causes cervical cancer in women but can also lead to various malignant tumors in men, said professor Chen Xi, who works with the provincial center for disease control and prevention.

According to the National Health Commission, vaccinating men is also important for HPV prevention. The target population for the HPV vaccine is primarily women in China. While vaccination of women provides some cross-protection for men, relying solely on this is insufficient.

China has exerted more efforts to expand its opening-up in the medical field, drawing more global pharmaceutical giants like Merck to tap into the promising market. In September 2024, China announced that it would add exemptions to import tariffs and value-added tax for eligible drugs and medical devices in a special medical pilot zone in Hainan province before 2025.