‘Vaccine pill’ produces antibodies with only one dose

An oral vaccine has been found to start the production of Covid-19 antibodies in animals after only one dose.

The Oravax capsule was developed in India and Israel.

“An oral Covid-19 vaccine would eliminate several barriers to rapid, wide-scale distribution, enabling people to take the vaccine themselves at home,” said Nadav Kidron, chief executive of Israel’s Oramed Pharmaceuticals.

“While ease of administration is critical today to accelerate inoculation rates, an oral vaccine could become even more valuable in the likely case that a Covid-19 vaccine may be required annually or biannually like the standard flu shot.”

Oramed, in Jerusalem, has a long-standing partnership with Premas Biotech, which is based near New Delhi.

The capsule combines a vaccine developed by Premas with Oramed technology, which makes it possible to swallow a drug that would normally be delivered by injection.

Clinical data from the study has not yet been shared, but the development of an oral vaccine raises the possibility of people being able to vaccinate themselves.

In animals, the vaccine promoted systemic immunity by encouraging the body to create antibodies called immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A.

IgG protects against viral infections, whereas IgA protects the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

Premas and Oramed said they aim to start human trials within a few months.

The nature of the collaboration accelerated the development of the vaccine, said Prabuddha Kundu, co-founder and managing director of Premas Biotech.

“Oramed’s experience and success in conducting Phase-2 and 3 oral protein trials positions our programme very favourably in the race to find an effective oral Covid-19 vaccine that can be administered by anyone, anywhere,” he said.

The vaccine is easy to produce, and can be manufactured cheaply on a large scale.

Distribution of oral vaccines is also easier because they do not need to be refrigerated.