Union Health Minister Launches First Intranasal Covid Vaccine

A rollout of iNCOVACC is expected to begin in private hospitals that have placed advance orders

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, unveiled the world’s first intranasal covid-19 vaccine iNNCOVACC on Thursday in the presence of Union Minister of State (IC) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh.

iNNCOVACC is to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule, and as a heterologous booster dose. It is developed by Bharat Biotech International (BBIL) in collaboration with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance (BIRAC), a PSU under the Dept of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

Mandaviya said that over 65 per cent of vaccines supplied in the world are from India. Congratulating the BBIL team and the dept of Biotech for bringing about the world’s first nasal vaccine, he said, “Being the world’s first intra-nasal covid-19 vaccine, this marks a glorious tribute to the call for Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

The Union Health Minister added that India’s vaccine manufacturing and innovation capability is appreciated all over the world as it has made a mark in producing quality and affordable medicines. He also highlighted that BBIL in collaboration with ICMR introduced Covaxin in India within a month of the launch of first covid vaccine in the world.

ZyCoV-D, the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA based vaccine for covid-19 to be administered in humans including children and adults 12 years and above, was also developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science and Technology under ‘Mission Covid Suraksha’ through BIRAC.

iNCOVACC is a cost effective covid vaccine which does not require syringes, needles, alcohol wipes, bandage, etc, saving costs related to procurement, distribution, storage, and biomedical waste disposal, that is routinely required for injectable vaccines. It utilises a vector-based platform, which can be easily updated with emerging variants leading to large scale production, within a few months. These rapid response timelines combined with the ability of cost effective and easy intranasal delivery, makes it an ideal vaccine to address future infectious diseases. 

A rollout of iNCOVACC is expected to begin in private hospitals that have placed advance orders. Initial manufacturing capacity of several million doses per annum has been established, this can be scaled up to a billion doses as required. iNCOVACC is priced at Rs 325/dose for large volume procurement by state governments and government of India.