Bharat Biotech launches first India-made nasal Covid vaccine on Republic Day

As the country marked its 74th Republic Day Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh launched Bharat Biotechs first Indiamade nasal Covid19 vaccine iNCOVACC on ThursdayBharat Biotech International Limited BBIL a global leader in vaccine innovation and developer of vaccines for infectious diseases today dedicated iNCOVACC BBV154 to the nation the worlds 1st Covid intranasal vaccine for Primary series and Heterologous booster read a release issued by the firm on ThursdayProduct development and clinical trials for iNCOVACCreg were funded in part by the Government of India through the Department of Biotechnologys Covid Suraksha Program the statement informed further The firm said it got an approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization CDSCO for iNCOVACCreg to be administered for primary series and as heterologous booster dosesAmid growing Covid19 cases and emerging variants of the highly transmissible virus a booster dose of the vaccine becomes imperative iNCOVACCreg is now available on CoWIN and priced at INR 800 for private markets and INR 325 for supplies to Govt of India and State Governments the statement readiNCOVACCreg is a recombinant replicationdeficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a prefusion stabilized spike protein This vaccine candidate was evaluated in phase I II and III clinical trials with successful results it stated further Further according to the statement the vaccine has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be costeffective in low and middleincome countries informed the pharma firmAs needleless vaccination Bharat Biotechs iNCOVACCreg will be the worlds first such booster dose India will now have more options when it comes to third doses or precautionary doses it said Clinical trials and extensive humoral and cellmediated responses were conducted to evaluate iNCOVACCreg as a primary dose schedule and as a heterologous booster dose for subjects who have previously received two doses of the two commonly administered Covid19 vaccines in IndiaAlso Read Republic Day 2023 Parade highlights India showcases military mightThe intranasal vaccine is stable at 28degC for easy storage and distribution and has been designed for efficient distribution and easy painfree administration it informed further The firm said despite the relatively low demand for Covid vaccines Bharat Biotech continued product development in intranasal vaccines to be wellprepared with platform technologies for future infectious diseases Bharat Biotech has also initiated the development of variantspecific vaccines for Covid in an attempt to be futurereadyiNCOVACCreg was developed in partnership with Washington University St Louis which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored construct and evaluated it in preclinical studies for efficacy Product development related to preclinical safety evaluation largescale manufacturing scaleup formulation and delivery device development including human clinical trials were conducted by Bharat Biotech The Technology Development Board Govt of India has been instrumental in debt financing for commercial scale manufacturing facilities it saidDr Krishna Ella cxecutive chairman Bharat Biotech said With the rollout of iNCOVACCreg today we have achieved our goal of establishing a novel vaccine delivery platform for intranasal delivery It proves that India can innovate for itself and for the world We and the country are well prepared for future Covid19 variants and future infectious diseases We reaffirm our commitment to India to lead innovation and develop novel vaccine technologies for combating infectious diseases and public health globallyWe have proven these capabilities and expertise time and again with innovator vaccines such as TYPBAR TCV ROTAVAC JENVAC COVAXIN and others Bharat Biotech is a leading global developer and manufacturer of vaccines with more than 7 billion doses manufactured till dateSuchitra Ella MD said It is exemplary that India has not only served herself during the pandemic challenges but also a strong provider to the global platform in distributing vaccines and medicines to over 150 countries With iNCOVACCreg the worlds 1st intranasal Covid vaccine we are privileged to defend the nations health with global quality and scaleThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever