India got its first-ever intranasal vaccine iNCOVACC on its Republic Day on Thursday. Manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, the vaccine was launched by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh here.
The first made-in-India intranasal vaccine will be priced at `800 per dose for the private markets and `325 per dose for Central and State Governments. Two doses of the vaccine are to be given 28 days apart.
The intranasal Covid-19 vaccine marks a glorious tribute to the call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, Dr Mandaviya said adding that "India’s vaccine manufacturing and innovation capability is appreciated all over the world as it has made a mark in producing quality and affordable medicines."
India has taken a lead in developing vaccines and medicines for diseases common in the developing world, added Dr Jitendra Singh.
The nasal vaccine - BBV154 - received the Drugs Controller General of India's (DCGI) approval in November for restricted emergency use among adults as a heterologous booster dose. iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein.
This vaccine candidate was evaluated in phase I, II and III clinical trials with successful results, the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker had said.
The company, in December 2022, got the approval for the primary 2-dose schedule, and as a heterologous booster dose. Before that, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had approved the restricted use of the intranasal vaccine in emergency situations in the age group of 18 and above. The nasal vaccine cannot be administered to those who have taken a precaution or booster dose, the head of the country's vaccine task force told NDTV last month, a week after the vaccine was introduced on the CoWin platform.
As per Bharat Biotech, one can book an appointment for the intranasal vaccine dose by visiting the CoWin website. iNCOVACC was developed in partnership with Washington University, St. Louis, which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored construct and evaluated in preclinical studies for efficacy. Product development and clinical trials were funded in part by the Government of India through the Department of Biotechnology's Covid Suraksha programme.
A rollout of iNCOVACC is expected to begin in private hospitals that have placed advance orders. An initial manufacturing capacity of several million doses per annum has been established, this can be scaled up to a billion doses as required.