NY drugmaker to start trials of COVID-19 vaccine nasal drops

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Codagenix Inc. has given the go signal by the UK to start its Phase 1 testing of its COVID-19 vaccine called COVI-VAC.
• The COVI-VAC would be a one-time dose that will be administered via nasal drop.
• The New York-based company has partnered with fellow drugmaker, Serum Institute of India.

A pharmaceutical company in New York has received a clearance to begin its human trials in a bid to come up with a COVID-19 vaccine through the method of nose drops.

On Monday, Codagenix announced that the United Kingdom has granted them regulatory approval for their initial human testing. The Phase 1 trial, which would commence in the first week of January, would need 48 volunteers.

Compared to other vaccines, the company said that its vaccine, called the ‘COVI-VAC’, has already “shown to be safe and efficacious in preclinical animal studies” and “may induce a more robust immune response and long-lasting cellular immunity.”

The vaccine, in the form of a nose drop, won’t be needing a syringe or a second dose. It also does not require to be kept in freezing temperatures.

According to the company’s CEO, J. Robert Coleman, the capability of the “COVI-VAC to meet the global demand as a single-dose, needle-free vaccine that needs only a standard freezer or fridge cannot be overstated.”

Using a single dose of the vaccine, the Phase 1 trial would be conducted in a random, double-blind, and placebo-controlled research.

Codagenix, which is based at the Broad Hollow Bioscience Research Park in Farmingdale, New York, has also partnered with Serum Institute of India, the biggest vaccine producer in the world.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use clearance to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and German-based company BioNTech last Friday. The nationwide inoculation campaign kicked start yesterday as vaccines are being rolled out. Health care workers and the elderly were among the priority groups who will be given the first available doses. 

The vaccine also got an emergency use approval in the United Kingdom and Bahrain on December 2, followed by Canada a week ago.

This week, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is also expected to get an emergency use grant from the FDA.

Source: New York Post