Next big bet: Experts bullish on Bharat Biotech's upcoming nasal vaccine

Bharat Biotech is currently working on two intra-nasal vaccines

Bharat Biotech is bullish on its upcoming nasal vaccine, which in under trial in the US. Experts say the vaccine, if successful, could play a major role in stopping transmission of the virus, and lead to eradication of the disease from the globe.
 

The firm recently received restricted emergency use approval from India’s drug regulator for its intra-muscular vaccine Covaxin.

Bharat Biotech is working on two intra-nasal vaccines, one with US-based vaccine maker FluGen and scientists from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and the other with the University of Washington School of Medicine.
 

Meanwhile, Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD) has started a pilot project to make intra-nasal syringes, to facilitate delivery of the vaccine. Rajiv Nath, managing director of HMD, said by April the firm would have a pilot production of the intra-nasal syringes.
 

“These will have adaptors that will calibrate the dose in each nostril, and deliver the vaccine as an aerosol spray. This will also help prevent choking in the throat cavity,” said Nath. His firm does not have any supply contract and is manufacturing at risk.

The University of Washington vaccine is set to enter phase-1 and phase-2 human trials this month, having shown promising results in animal studies. It could be ready for use by mid-to-end 2021. It is a single-dose vaccine and will be easy to administer.
 

Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech, told the media that nasal vaccines protect the upper respiratory tract, and all pathogens are in the nasal and upper respiratory tract.
 

“The nasal vaccine route is the only way to stop transmission,” said Ella on Monday. He had earlier said it could be administered as two drops in two nostrils, which could speed up the vaccination drive as one would not need technically trained vaccinators.
 

Commenting on the nasal vaccine, Jacob John, former head (Centre for Advanced Research in Virology), Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR), said that to have a nasal vaccine was a “fantastic idea” for two reasons — one, it could potentially create sterile immunity (nasal mucosa is sterile; when pathogen comes in contact with nasal mucosa, it has antibodies to neutralise the pathogen), and second, it is easy to administer and therefore scalable.

 

John added that while intra-muscular vaccines could potentially prevent transmission of a disease that spreads through the respiratory tract (such as the small pox vaccine), the chance was higher in case of a nasal vaccine.
 

“It is important to eradicate the virus. When vaccines reduce transmission it will help, but if a vaccine potentially stops transmission, the process will be faster,” said John.
 

Another expert, Shahid Jameel, senior virologist and director at Ashoka University, said a different kind of antibodies protect the nasal mucosa — IgA antibodies.
 

“This is not sufficiently generated when a vaccine is administered through the intra-muscular route,” said Jameel. The end-point of efficacy of vaccines is that one does not get the disease.