Nasal Vaccine for COVID-19

An intranasal vaccine for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 is being developed by Bharat Biotech.

An intranasal vaccine for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 is being developed by Bharat Biotech, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

The minister said that the Hyderabad-based drugs and vaccine research and manufacturing company has entered into an agreement with Washington University and St. Louis University for the trials of the nasal vaccine candidate.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

‘Bharat Biotech and Washington University are developing nasal vaccine for COVID-19.’

"It (Bharat Biotech) has entered into an agreement with Washington University's School of Medicine under which the company will conduct trials, produce and market an intranasal vaccine for the COVID-19," Vardhan told his social media audience at his weekly webinar, Sunday Samvaad.

The minister also informed that the Phase 1 trials of the vaccine candidate will take place in St Louis University's vaccine and treatment evaluation unit while further stages of the trials will be conducted in India.

"Bharat Biotech on receipt of regulatory approval will pursue further stages of clinical trials in India," he added.

COVID-19 Vaccine: Sputnik V Vaccine Gets Nod For Clinical Trials In India
Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine made by Russia, gets the nod for clinical trials in India. Sputnik V became the first registered COVID-19 vaccine on the market.

Vardhan also informed about the development of another intranasal vaccine by the US-based biotech company Codagenix along with Serum Institute of India.

"Codagenix is collaborating with the Serum Institute of India to develop CDX-005, which is the company's intranasal, live-attenuated vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2. The preclinical animal studies have been successfully completed, and Codagenix expects to initiate a Phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial in the UK by the end of 2020," he said.

UK's COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Ready by Christmas
In the UK, the COVID-19 vaccine could be ready by Christmas, according to the head of the country's vaccine task force.

CDX-005 is a single dose intranasal vaccine made with a live attenuated version of the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cataloged 169 candidate vaccines for the COVID-19.

Russia Approves One More COVID-19 Vaccine
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced that the country has registered the second COVID-19 vaccine after sputnik, according to media reports.

The vast majority of these use a dead virus, genetic material from the virus, or components of the virus, such as the spike protein. Only Codagenix and two other developers have used a live attenuated version of the virus.

Source-IANS