While the world is talking about possible accelerators, and poorer countries are trying hard to get vaccinated, the developers say the pill could “change the rules of the game” by simplifying logistics.
A promising oral coronavirus vaccine is set to begin clinical trials in Israel, and the developer believes it could help deliver vaccines to countries experiencing vaccination difficulties due to limited infrastructure.
Oramed Pharmaceuticals has developed an oral version of the disposable vaccine, developed by the Indian company Premas Biotech, and announced in March that it has successfully produced antibodies in pigs.
The tablets developed by Israel will be suitable as an initial vaccination, as they do not need to be stored at low temperatures, and there will be no need for specialists who inject.
This could “change the rules of the game” in countries like India, where only 5 percent of the population is vaccinated, said Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed.
He expects that this technology can help healthcare providers address the potential issue of booster vaccinations – which are increasingly being discussed in connection with the spread of the Delta option in some countries – and believes that the pills will be particularly useful for this task. He considers the formula especially stable in the face of new options.
Israel has already begun revaccinating people with weakened immune systems, and health officials in many parts of the world are talking about the possibility of revaccination for all. Meanwhile, medical circles are increasingly speculating that revaccination vaccines do not necessarily have to have the same vaccine formula as the initial vaccines, and that a mixed-type approach may even be useful.
Kidron told The Times of Israel that he felt the need to get product approval immediately and hand it over to healthcare professionals, given the prospect of booster demand and the lack of vaccines in some parts of the world.
“Our oral vaccine, which is independent of the deep-freeze supply chain, unlike other coronavirus vaccines, can mean all the difference between a country being able to break out of a pandemic or not,” he told The Times of Israel.
“In particular, in areas severely affected by the virus, where the population has not yet been vaccinated, the oral vaccine against COVID-19 may change the rules of the game.”
Oramed has been approved by Tel Aviv Suraski Medical Center to begin clinical trials on 24 unvaccinated volunteers and will monitor whether the vaccine tablet induces antibodies and, if so, to what level.
The company said it plans to begin testing its Oravax pill next month as soon as it receives final approval from the Ministry of Health.
Kidron said his vaccine targets three surface proteins of the SARS CoV-2 virus, while most others target only one, and added that it targets proteins that are not prone to mutations, and suggested that it would remain effective. vaccines in the face of new options.
“Our vaccine is a particularly strong candidate against the COVID-19 virus because of its unique effect on three proteins, not one,” he said.