HYDERABAD: Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid-19 vaccine iNCOVACC will be priced at Rs 800 per dose in private markets and at Rs 325 per dose for procurement by central and state governments, the vaccine maker announced on Tuesday. If one adds 5% GST and administration charges of Rs 150, the total cost to the user will be around Rs 990 per dose in private hospitals.
Unveiling the pricing after consulting the government, Bharat Biotech said iNCOVACC will be rolled out in the fourth week of January 2023 as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above. The vaccine made its debut on CoWin on December 24.
The company said that iNCOVACC is the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine to bag approval for a primary two-dose and heterologous booster dose. It will also be the first needleless booster in the country.
The recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Washington University at St Louis.
iNCOVACC was evaluated in phases I, II and III clinical trials, with recipients demonstrating significant levels of mucosal IgA antibody as measured in the saliva. “Mucosal IgA antibodies in the upper respiratory tract may provide benefit in reducing infections and transmission,” the company said.
What could also make iNCOVACC a gamechanger in the Covid-19 fight is that its manufacturing platform offers the double benefit of enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery that will make mass immunisation faster to protect from emerging variants of concern, it added.
Bharat Biotech executive chairman Dr Krishna Ella said iNCOVACC’s “vectored intranasal delivery platform gives the company the capability for rapid product development, scale-up, easy and painless immunisation during public health emergencies and pandemics”.
According to the company, iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops. “The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries. The vaccine is stable at 2°-8°C for easy storage and distribution.”
Bharat Biotech has already established large manufacturing capabilities in multiple states across India, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana, for iNCOVACC, whose output can be scaled up rapidly unlike its inactivated virus vaccine Covaxin, where output was hampered by yield constraints due to the vero cell platform.
The Phase III trials of the vaccine as a second-dose regimen were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in around 3,100 subjects, at 14 trial sites across India, while the heterologous booster dose studies were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in around 875 subjects at nine trial sites across the country.
Unveiling the pricing after consulting the government, Bharat Biotech said iNCOVACC will be rolled out in the fourth week of January 2023 as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above. The vaccine made its debut on CoWin on December 24.
The company said that iNCOVACC is the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine to bag approval for a primary two-dose and heterologous booster dose. It will also be the first needleless booster in the country.
The recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Washington University at St Louis.
iNCOVACC was evaluated in phases I, II and III clinical trials, with recipients demonstrating significant levels of mucosal IgA antibody as measured in the saliva. “Mucosal IgA antibodies in the upper respiratory tract may provide benefit in reducing infections and transmission,” the company said.
What could also make iNCOVACC a gamechanger in the Covid-19 fight is that its manufacturing platform offers the double benefit of enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery that will make mass immunisation faster to protect from emerging variants of concern, it added.
Bharat Biotech executive chairman Dr Krishna Ella said iNCOVACC’s “vectored intranasal delivery platform gives the company the capability for rapid product development, scale-up, easy and painless immunisation during public health emergencies and pandemics”.
According to the company, iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops. “The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries. The vaccine is stable at 2°-8°C for easy storage and distribution.”
Bharat Biotech has already established large manufacturing capabilities in multiple states across India, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana, for iNCOVACC, whose output can be scaled up rapidly unlike its inactivated virus vaccine Covaxin, where output was hampered by yield constraints due to the vero cell platform.
The Phase III trials of the vaccine as a second-dose regimen were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in around 3,100 subjects, at 14 trial sites across India, while the heterologous booster dose studies were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in around 875 subjects at nine trial sites across the country.
