The oral vaccine?
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As vaccine makers pursue the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, some are working to develop products that wouldn't require a shot.
Why it matters: Delivering a vaccine through a pill or a nasal spray could make them much easier to administer, especially in places where distribution is challenging — or even for people who just don't like needles.
Driving the news: San Francisco-based biotech Vaxart is working on a COVID vaccine that would be delivered in an oral tablet.
India's Bharat Biotech advanced its nasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate into a phase 2 clinical trial earlier this fall.
What they're saying: Vaxart founder and chief scientific officer Sean Tucker told Axios he started the company because he found it difficult to get his flu shot every year."I thought 'Hey, if someone mailed me a tablet in the mail every year, I would take that vaccine all the time,'" Tucker said.
State of play: Tucker will present details of the oral vaccine program at the World Vaccine & Immunotherapy Congress West Coast 2021 next week.Vaxart began enrolling about 100 people in a Phase 2a clinical trial last month and expects to have a readout of that efficacy trial in the first quarter of 2022.
Vaxart's vaccine showed promise in animal trials, the results of which were published in early October.
What's next: Even if everything continues to go well, the earliest the company would be able to apply for an emergency use authorization from the FDA is still at least a year to 18 months away — but the world will still need COVID vaccines in a year to 18 months. -
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