Bharat Biotech has sent a proposal to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to seek its approval for trials of a nasal vaccine against Covid-19. Bharat Biotech has been working on a nasal vaccine apart from Covaxin, which has already been approved for emergency use in India.

Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech is all set to start Phase 1 and 2 trials of its nasal vaccine at Gillurkar Multi Speciality Hospital in Nagpur.

Earlier, V Krishna Mohan, executive director of Bharat Biotech, said the company is working on a nasal vaccine. Covaxin is meanwhile in its late-stage trials while it has been already approved for rollout in India.

Dr Krishna Ella, CMD of Bharat Biotech, has said, “We are working on a nasal vaccine and have partnered with the Washington University School of Medicine. We are working on a single dose vaccine compared to two-dose inactivated vaccine. Research has proven that nasal vaccine is the best choice. Coronavirus also attacks through the nose.”

Trials of the nasal vaccine will be conducted on at least 30-45 healthy volunteers above the age of 18 years at four trial sites in the country - Bhuvneshwar, Pune, Nagpur and Hyderabad.

https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/vaccine-updates/story/bharat-biotech-applies-for-covid-nasal-vaccine-trials-1757133-2021-01-08