Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid-19 vaccine iNCOVACC has received the Indian drug regulator’s nod to be used as a heterologous booster, after two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin. iNCOVACC has got approval for restricted use in emergency situations on those aged 18 years and above.
iNCOVACC becomes the second-approved Covid-19 vaccine in India, after Biological E’s Corbevax, which can be used as a mix-and-match booster shot. Bharat Biotech claimed that iNCOVACC is the world’s first intranasal vaccine for Covid to receive approval for the primary two-dose schedule, and also for heterologous booster.
In September, the company received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI’s) approval for this vaccine, making it the second intranasal Covid-19 vaccine in the world, after CanSino Biologics vaccine. But the DCGI had approved iNCOVACC as a primary dose vaccine for Covid-19. The company was thus awaiting approval for administering the vaccine as a booster shot, after Covishield or Covaxin shots.
iNCOVACC is a chimpanzee adenovirus-based vectored recombinant nasal vaccine that has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries. iNCOVACC is stable at 2-8°C.
In September this year, Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, “Despite lack of demand for Covid-19 vaccines, we continued product development in intra-nasal vaccines to ensure that we are well prepared with platform technologies for future infectious diseases.”
Discussion about this post