NTAGI may soon review efficacy data of India's first intranasal Covid vaccine

The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is likely to review safety and efficacy data of India's first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech at a meeting slated for this month. "The company has approached us to give a presentation on its intranasal vaccine. We will invite them to our meeting," people in the know told ET.

The date of the meeting is yet to be fixed. India's drug controller had in January this year given permission to Bharat Biotech to conduct standalone phase III trials on its Covid-19 intranasal vaccine.

The company also received approval to evaluate the intranasal vaccine, BBV 154, as a booster dose on those who have already received both doses of Covaxin.

Bharat Biotech has developed the single-dose, intranasal vaccine in partnership with Washington University in St Louis, US. If found effective in the final stage trial, it could prove to be a game changer in the global efforts to quell the pandemic.

The vaccine is nearing completion of its development. "The phase 3 trials of the intranasal vaccine candidate BBV154 are underway and likely to be completed soon. The efficacy data will then be submitted to the drug regulator for approval," people in the know, further said.