Bharat Biotech’s intranasal vaccine BBV154 ‘safe and well-tolerated’ – pharma giant confirms in clinical trials

New Delhi: Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) on Monday confirmed that basis the clinical development of its intranasal covid vaccine BBV154 has proved to be safe, immunogenic, and well-tolerated in subjects in controlled trials of the vaccine. This marks the completion of the clinical development for phase III trials and booster doses of the vaccine, news agency ANI confirmed in a tweet.

“#COVID19 | Bharat Biotech completes clinical development for phase III trials & booster doses for BBV154 intranasal covid vaccine. Bharat Biotech International LTd, announces that BBV154 has proven to be safe, well-tolerated & immunogenic in subjects in controlled clinical trials,” ANI tweeted.

The BBV154 is a novel adenovirus vector intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 and is the first of its kind to undergo trials in India. The injection shots work by producing antibodies – however, there still is a risk of transmission. It has raised the possibility that even vaccinated people could catch and spread the virus when not infected. However, experts say that if the vaccine is given intranasally, there is a good chance that it may block the virus in intranasal passages and the bloodstream. Thus, the intranasal immunisation of ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-S can create an immune response in the pose which is the point of entry for the virus thereby protecting against the infection.

“Injectable vaccine only protects the lower level (of the body). That’s why people who were vaccinated with injectable vaccines may still get RT-PCR positive, whereas the nasal jab gives protection to the whole body," Dr Krishna Ella, MD and Chairman of the pharma giant, said earlier.

What are the key attributes of the nasal vaccine?

Some of the main attributes of BBV154 are:

1. It stimulates an immune response by neutralizing IgG, T cell responses, and mucosal IgA
2. Offers organised immune system of the nasal mucosa
3. Needle-free
4. Non-invasive
5. Ease of administration
6. Does not required trained healthcare experts
7. Scalable manufacturing
8. Eliminates the risk of infections and injuries
9. Best suits the needs of children and older adults
10. Generates immune responses at the site of the infection
11. Blocks infection and transmission of covid

Earlier, Bharat Biotech was credited with developing the two-dose Covaxin – an injectable vaccine with 78 per cent efficacy against covid.