Bharat Biotech's intranasal COVID-19 vaccine to enter phase 1 trials next month

Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech says the firm will initiate Phase-1 trials of its intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 next month.

Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech is expected to initiate Phase-1 trials of its intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 next month, Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of the city-based vaccine maker said on Tuesday. Bharat Biotech has signed a licensing agreement with Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis for the clinical trials of the intranasal vaccine. The company's COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin is undergoing phase-III clinical trials.

Speaking at a session of the three-day TiE Global Summit (TGS) being held virtually, he said Bharat Biotech is setting up two more facilities for vaccine manufacturing including Covaxin, a vaccine for the coronavirus. "I think it will enter into phase 1 (next month) because it is going to be a single-dose vaccine. The clinical trial process is also going to be faster," he said in an interactive session with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson of Bengaluru-based Biocon Limited.

He discussed how the intranasal vaccine is a safer alternative for cancer patients, children and pregnant women.

Ella said as the upcoming vaccines for COVID-19 require two-dose intramuscular injections, a country like India needs 2.6 billion syringes and needles which may add up to pollution. According to him, keeping several issues in mind Bharat Biotech tied up with Washington University School of Medicine in St.Louis for a novel "chimp-adenovirus" (Chimpanzee adenovirus), a single-dose intranasal vaccine for COVID-19.

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Speaking on the difficulties India will have to face in cold chain supply facility, he said, "It is difficult to export vaccine from India through cold chain logistics. Belgium can play an active role in bridging the gaps in the supply chain. Belgian airports can prove pivotal in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines from Hyderabad to Latin America and Africa."

While the Phase I trials will take place in Saint Louis University's Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit, Bharat Biotech, upon obtaining the required regulatory approval, will pursue further stages of clinical trials in India and undertake large scale manufacture of the vaccine at its GMP facility located in Genome Valley, here, BB had earlier said.

Dr Ella said that the company has invested in new manufacturing units to facilitate mass production of the vaccine, adding that the manufacturing units would be ready by the next month and that the company is yet to gauge the production costs. He said that vaccine has proven safe for all populations including the elderly.

Replying to a query on the probable pricing of Covaxin, he said Indian vaccines will be much cheaper when compared to other countries.

With PTI inputs