India's first nasal vaccine for Covid-19 gets DCGI nod for emergency use

Bharat Biotech's iNCOVACC cleared for 2-dose regimen

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday approved the country’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine — Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC — for restricted emergency use in those aged above 18 years. It’s only the second such vaccine in the world, after CanSino Biologics’ vaccine in China, to get regulatory approval. Around 100 mucosal (nose and mouth) Covid-19 vaccines are under development across the world.

iNCOVACC is a chimpanzee adenovirus vectored recombinant nasal vaccine that has been specifically formulated to allow intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost effective in low-