Covaxin booster neutralises both Omicron and Delta variants: Bharat Biotech

'More than 90% of all individuals boosted with Covaxin showed neutralising antibodies,' says Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech

Booster shot of Covaxin neutralises both Omicron and Delta variants of Sars-CoV-2 virus, Bharat Biotech said on Wednesday.

The company said that Covaxin (BBV152) booster dose generated ‘robust neutralising antibody responses’ against both Omicro (B.1.529) and Delta (B.1.617.2) using a live virus neutralisation assay (test). It added that 100 percent of the test serum samples showed neutralisation of the Delta variant, and more than 90 percent of the samples showed neutralisation of the Omicron variant.

The company today announced results from a study conducted at Emory University demonstrating that sera from subjects who received a booster dose of Covaxin (BBV152) six months after getting a primary two-dose series of Covaxin (BBV152), neutralised the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants.

“Earlier studies demonstrated the neutralising potential of Covaxin (BBV152) against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Alpha, Beta, Delta, Zeta and Kappa,” Bharat Biotech said.

The study will be published on the preprint server, medRXiv, shortly.

“The neutralisation activity of Covaxin-boosted sera was comparable to what has been observed in mRNA vaccine-boosted sera against the Omicron variant. More than 90% of all individuals boosted with Covaxin (BBV152) showed neutralising antibodies. All participants received an initial two-dose schedule of COVAXIN® (BBV152) at Day 0 and Day 28,” Bharat Biotech said.

On Saturday, the company had said that the booster dose study showed ‘promising’ results. The phase 2, double blind, randomised controlled Covaxin trial demonstrated long-term safety with no serious adverse events, it said. The booster shot was given six months after the second Covaxin dose.

“As the dominant Covid-19 variant throughout the world, Omicron poses a serious public health concern,” said Mehul Suthar, Assistant Professor, Emory Vaccine Center and who led the laboratory analysis.

“Data from this preliminary analysis show individuals receiving a booster dose of Covaxin have a significant immune response to both the Omicron and Delta variants. These findings suggest that a booster dose has the potential to reduce disease severity and hospitalizations.”

Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech said they are in a ‘continuous’ state of innovation and product development for Covaxin.

“The positive neutralisation responses against the Omicron and Delta variants, validates our hypothesis of a multi-epitope vaccine generating both humoral and cell mediated immune responses. Our goals of developing a global vaccine against COVID-19 have been achieved with the use of Covaxin as a universal vaccine for adults and children,” he claimed.