Bharat Biotech’s intra-nasal COVID vaccine gets emergency use approval.

• Bharat Biotech’s ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant nasal vaccine has been approved by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for primary immunization against COVID-19 in 18+ age group for restricted use in emergencies.
• This is India’s first intranasal vaccine for COVID-19.

About iNCOVACC

• The product – iNCOVACC – is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution.
• Bharat Biotech has established large manufacturing capabilities at multiple sites across India including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana with operations pan-India.
• iNCOVACC has the double benefit of enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery that enables mass immunisation to protect from emerging variants of concern.
• “iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein. This vaccine candidate was evaluated in Phase-I, II and III clinical trials with successful results.
• iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries.
• iNCOVACC was developed in partnership with Washington University St. Louis, which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored constructs and evaluated them in preclinical studies for efficacy.