India’s first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine gets approval for human trials

India's first intranasal vaccine against Covid-19 has received regulatory approval for human trials, it was officially announced today.

This is the first intranasal Covid-19 jab to undergo human clinical trials in India, the Ministry of Science and Technology said.

The vaccine BBV154 is an intranasal replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus SARS-CoV-2 vectored vaccine, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Bharat Biotech India Limited, the manufacturer of India's first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine being used in the country's ongoing vaccination drive, has in-licensed technology from Washington University in St Louis, USA, for the intranasal vaccine.

The Phase 1 clinical trial of the intranasal vaccine has been completed in age groups ranging 18 to 60 and above.

According to Bharat Biotech, the doses of the intranasal vaccine administered to healthy volunteers in the Phase I clinical trial has been well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported.

Previously, the vaccine was found to be safe, immunogenic and well tolerated in the pre-clinical toxicity studies. The vaccine was able to elicit high level of neutralising antibodies in animal studies.

Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology, said, "Bharat Biotech's BBV154 is the first intranasal vaccine being developed in the country to enter into late-stage clinical trials."