PTI reported Bharat Biotech chairman and managing director, Krishna Ella, as saying in a session of TiE Global Summit that two more facilities could be established for vaccine manufacturing including Covaxin, a vaccine for the coronavirus. Besides Covaxin, Bharat Biotech has been actively working on developing another vaccine, for which it tied up with Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis for the novel “chimp-adenovirus” (Chimpanzee adenovirus), a single dose intranasal vaccine for Covid-19.

“I think it will enter into Phase I (next month) because it is going to be a single-dose vaccine. The clinical trial process is also going to be faster.” In September, Bharat Biotech signed a licensing agreement with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis for a novel chimp adenovirus, single-dose intranasal vaccine for Covid-19.

With the deal, the company gained the rights to supply the vaccine in all markets except the US and Japan, as well as Europe. The Phase I trials of the vaccine candidate will take place at Saint Louis University’s Vaccine & Treatment Evaluation Unit.

“BBV154 (intranasal Covid-19 vaccine), preclinical testing has been completed for toxicology, immunogenicity and challenge studies. These studies have conducted in the USA and India. Phase I human clinical trials will commence during Feb – March 2021,” an email reply from the city-based vaccine maker told.

On receiving the required regulatory approval, the company will conduct further stages of trials in India. It also anticipates carrying out large scale manufacture of the vaccine at its GMP facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, a city in the Indian state of Telangana.

Krishna Ella, Chairman of Bharat Biotech had earlier said the company is focusing on the intranasal vaccine as the existing vaccines require two dose intramuscular injections and a country like India needs 2.6 billion syringes and needles which may add up to pollution.

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