On Wednesday, 23 September, Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech announced a licensing agreement with Washington University School of Medicine for a novel chimp-adenovirus, single dose intranasal COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are proud to collaborate on this innovative vaccine. We envision that we will scale this vaccine to 1 billion doses, translating to 1 billion individuals vaccinated receiving a single-dose regimen. An intranasal vaccine will not only be simple to administer but reduce the use of medical consumables such as needles, syringes, etc., significantly impacting the overall cost of a vaccination drive.”
Bharat Biotech’s press release.

Bharat Biotech is also conducting phase 2 human clinical trials for the first indigenous COVID vaccine candidate Covaxin in India.

Explaining the procedure for the new vaccine, they said, “While the Phase I trials will take place in Saint Louis University’s Vaccine & 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, Hyderabad.”

This intranasal vaccine candidate has shown “unprecedented levels of protection in mice studies”; the data has recently been published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell and the Journal Nature.

“The ability to accomplish effective immunization with a single nasal dose is a major advantage, offering broader reach and easier administration. An effective nasal dose not only protects against COVID-19, but it also prevents the spread of the disease by offering another kind of immunity that occurs primarily in the cells that line the nose and throat. Most other vaccine candidates currently under development can’t do that.”
Dr. David T. Curiel, MD, Ph.D., Director of Biologic Therapeutics Center and Professor of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Precision Virologics Interim CEO

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