A coronavirus vaccine that exists in pill form may enter the early stages of clinical trials this year.
Oravax, the company that works with the substance, announced in a press release that it hopes to start the first phase of clinical trials in humans by June.
The stage is only the first stage in the development of a vaccine. There is no guarantee of success and, even if it works, it can take a year or more to be authorized for use (Moderna and Pfizer started their first tests on humans in March and May 2020, respectively).
Oral vaccines are an option evaluated for “second generation” vaccines, which are designed to be more scalable, easier to administer and simpler 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 should get the vaccine at home, “said Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed, in the statement.
The vaccine can be shipped in a normal refrigerator and stored at room temperature, said Kidron, “making it logistically easier to get it anywhere in the world,” reported the Jerusalem Post.
In an email to Insider, Prof. Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, expressed caution.
“We would need studies properly conducted to prove [oral vaccines’] worth it, “he said.
“But they can also be valuable in people with severe needle phobia and can be easier and faster to administer.”
Oral vaccines may also offer other benefits over vaccines given in the arm, Hunter told Insider.
“The issue with systemic vaccines (gun injections) is that they are generally very good at preventing serious illnesses,” but they are often not good at preventing infections.
The theory is that, as the infection occurs first in the nose and throat, vaccines concentrated in these areas will help to stop the infection before it progresses to something worse.
Data on the Oravax vaccine have not been published to date. “The results of animal studies are encouraging,” Hunter told Insider. “But don’t assume that results in animals always translate into human results.”
“We need human studies to be sure,” he said.
Other types of second generation vaccines are being investigated, such as vaccines administered by nasal spray. Scientists are also studying whether vaccines can be administered using patches.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, chief scientist in the development of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, said that Oxford is evaluating the possibility of developing oral pills and nasal spray vaccines, the Independent reported on February 25.
Oxford University declined to answer questions about oral vaccines posed by Insider before publication.
Another company, ImmunityBio, is conducting Phase 1 clinical trials of an oral version of the vaccine. However, this would be used more as a booster dose for the intramuscular vaccine, rather than the vaccine alone.
The only human oral test of a COVID-19 vaccine so far has failed.
In late 2020, a company called Vaxart announced good results in animal testing, but in the first tests on humans it got disappointing responses.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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