Bharat Biotech's intranasal COVID-19 vaccine to cost Rs 800 for private markets

Bharat Biotech International Limited on Tuesday said its COVID-19 intranasal vaccine iNCOVACC, which is now available on CoWIN portal, is priced at Rs 800 (excluding GST) for private markets and Rs 325 (excluding GST) for government supplies.

A press release from the vaccine maker said the jab will be rolled out in the fourth week of January, 2023.

iNCOVACC is the world's first intranasal vaccine for COVID to receive approval for the primary two-dose schedule, and as a heterologous booster dose.

Earlier this month, Bharat Biotech received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for the use of heterologous booster doses of iNCOVACC.

Krishna Ella, Executive Chairman of BBIL, said: "We have developed Covaxin and iNCOVACC, two COVID vaccines from two different platforms, with two different delivery systems. The vectored intranasal delivery platform gives us the capability for rapid product development, scale-up, easy and painless immunisation during public health emergencies and pandemics." Phase-III trials of iNCOVACC (as a two-dose regimen) were conducted for safety, immunogenicity in approximately 3100 subjects, in 14 trial sites across India while Heterologous booster dose studies were conducted for safety and immunogenicity in 875 subjects, the release further said.

iNCOVACC was developed in partnership with Washington University, St Louis, which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored construct and evaluated in pre-clinical studies for efficacy, it added.