The Phase 1 human clinical trials of Bharat Biotech’s intranasal COVID-19 vaccine have started at some selected sites, including Hyderabad and Nagpur. The vaccine has been codenamed BBV154.

The trials of the chimpanzee adenovirus vectored vaccine candidate will be conducted on 175 healthy volunteers aged 18-60 years at Hyderabad, Nagpur, Patna and Chennai. The vaccine candidate is being developed in association with the Washington University School of Medicine at St Louis. The randomized, double-blinded trial will assess the reactogenicity, safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate and the volunteers will be divided into three groups. The first group will have 70 volunteers who will be given a single dose of the vaccine followed by a placebo after 28 days. Volunteers in the second group (n=70) will receive two doses of the vaccine 28 days apart and the third group of 35 volunteers will receive two doses of placebo… (ET Healthworld – TNN, March 8, 2021)