A coronavirus vaccine that exists in pill form could enter the early stages of this year’s clinical trials.
Oravax, the company working on the substance, announced in a press release that it expects to begin the first phase of human clinical trials in June.
The step is only the first stage of developing a vaccine. There is no guarantee of success, and even if it works it may be a year or more before use is authorized (Moderna and Pfizer began their first human trials in March and May 2020 respectively. ).
Oral vaccines are an option being evaluated for “second generation” vaccines, designed to be more scalable, easier to administer, and easier to distribute.
Oravax is a joint venture of two companies: the Israeli-American company Oramed and the Indian company Premas Biotech. His press release on Friday said the trials could begin in June.
An oral vaccine could “potentially” [enable] people get the vaccine at home, ”Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed, said in the statement.
The vaccine could be sent to a normal refrigerator and stored at room temperature, Kidron said, “making it logistically easier to get anywhere in the world,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
In an email to Insider, Professor Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, sounded a cautionary note.
“We would need studies done properly to prove it [oral vaccines’] it’s worth it, ”he said.
“But they can also be helpful in people who are severely phobic to the needle and can be easier and faster to administer.”
Oral vaccines could also offer other benefits over vaccines taken on the arm, Hunter told Insider.
“What happens with systemic vaccines (arm shots) is that they are generally very good at preventing serious illness,” but they are often not excellent at preventing infection.
The theory is that because the infection first occurs in the nose and throat, vaccines focused on these areas will help stop the infection before it can develop until it gets worse.
To date, no data have been published on the Oravax vaccine. “The results of animal studies are encouraging,” Hunter told Insider. “But don’t assume that animal results always translate into human results.”
“We need human studies to be safe,” he said.
Other types of second-generation vaccines are being investigated, such as vaccines that are given with an aerosol through the nose. Scientists are also studying whether vaccines could be given by patches.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, lead scientist in the development of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, said Oxford is evaluating the possibility of developing nasal spray tablets and oral vaccines, the Independent reported on 25 February.
Oxford University declined to answer questions about oral vaccines Insider asked before publishing them.
Another company, ImmunityBio, is conducting phase 1 clinical trials of an oral version of the vaccine. However, it would be used more as a booster dose in the intramuscular vaccine, rather than on its own.
The only COVID-19 oral vaccine test performed in humans to date has not been completed.
In late 2020, a company called Vaxart announced good results in animal trials, but disappointing responses were obtained in the first human trials.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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