Former Australian of the Year, Professor Ian Frazer, has won an international award for co-developing the world's first cervical cancer vaccine.

Australia's Professor Ian Frazer and his late Chinese colleague have won a prestige international award for developing the world's first cervical cancer vaccine.

The immunologist and Jian Zhou's widow, Xiao Yi Sun, received the European Inventor Award at a ceremony in Paris on Thursday.

"I'm delighted to see Australian innovation acknowledged in the international arena by this award," said the Scottish-born professor, a former Australian of the Year and a Companion in the Order of Australia.

The Gardasil vaccine was one of 15 inventions in the Non-European Countries category of the 2015 award given by the European Patent Office (EPO).

It received almost a third of the 47,000 votes cast online.

"Their invention has saved countless lives and will continue to protect many women from this devastating form of cancer in future," said EPO president Benoit Battistelli.

The Gardasil vaccine is now used in 121 countries and has been administered more than 125 million times.

Prof Frazer, of the University of Queensland, noted the strong public interest in research with the potential to significantly improve public health on a global basis.

"This award demonstrates the benefit to the Australian people and the Australian economy of government investment in Australian research and researchers," he said.