Madhya Pradesh: First Indian intranasal Covid vaccine to be launched on Jan 26

Bharat Biotech founder, chairman, and managing director Krishna Ella while speaking at International Science Festival in Bhopal said iNCOVACC will be launched on January 26 and a vaccine for lumpy skin disease, too, will be launched next month.

Bhopal: Vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech will launch the world's first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, developed indigenously in India, on January 26, said the company's chairman and managing director Krishna Ella at the ongoing India International Science Festival in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Ella was addressing a gathering on Saturday at an event being held at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT).

Interacting with students at the festival, Ella also said that the homegrown vaccine for the lumpy skin disease in cattle, Lumpi-ProVacInd, is likely to be launched next month. "Our nasal vaccine will be officially launched on January 26, on Republic Day," Ella said, participating in the 'Face-to-Face with New Frontiers in Science' segment of the IISF, organized at the MANIT.

In December last year, Bharat Biotech announced that it would sell the intranasal vaccine for Rs 325 per shot for procurement by the government and Rs 800 per shot for private vaccination centres. The vaccine was approved for emergency use by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for restricted use in emergency situations in the age group of 18 and above.

Phase-III trials were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in nearly 3,100 volunteers in 14 trial sites across India. Heterologous booster dose studies, where the nasal vaccine was given after two doses of the different Covid vaccines were conducted for safety and immunogenicity on about 875 people. The clinical trials were conducted in nine trial sites across India.

The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low-and middle-income countries. This vaccine is stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius for easy storage and distribution. Large manufacturing capabilities have been established by Bharat Biotech at multiple sites across India including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana with operations pan India, according to a PIB statement.