Bharat Biotech launches iNCOVACC — world’s first nasal COVID vaccine

Singh also congratulated the company for developing another vaccine and said that “India has taken a lead in developing vaccines and medicines for diseases common in the developing world”. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention and regular monitoring for inspiring and enabling the launching of "Mission Covid Suraksha", which has not only strengthened Aatmanirbhar Bharat but also bolstered India’s status as a worldwide vaccine development and manufacturing centre, thus showcasing the strength of India's Science and Technology capabilities. “Next step would be to develop vaccines for non-communicable diseases,” he added.

Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology; Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary of Technology Development Board; and other senior officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion. Krishna Ella, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech, and Suchitra Ella, Co-Founder and MD, were also present.

Last week, Ella revealed that iNCOVACC will be launched on January 26 as the nasal COVID vaccination had already received official approval for use among people older than 18 years, and it will also be given as a heterologous booster dose.

According to a statement issued by Bharat Biotech, iNCOVACC is priced at Rs 800 for private markets and Rs 325 for supplies to the Government of India and state governments. For patients who have already got Covaxin and Covishield, the nasal vaccine can also be used as a heterologous booster dose. Interestingly, iNCOVACC is also the first intranasal vaccine in the world to get approval for both primary series and heterologous booster.

iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilised spike protein. This vaccine candidate was evaluated in phase I, II and III clinical trials with successful results, the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker had said.

Phase III trials of the vaccine were conducted on 3,100 participants at 14 trial sites across India to evaluate immunogenicity and safety. Hyderabad-based companies also intend to export iNCOVACC overseas once it gets licensed.

Bharat Biotech is currently in discussions with overseas "potential partners'', who have contacted the company about producing and distributing the intranasal vaccine internationally, according to corporate sources. The vaccine was partnered with Washington University in St. Louis, which created the recombinant adenoviral vectored construct and tested its efficacy in pre-clinical investigations.