Intranasal H1N1 vaccine to hit market today

The first ever intranasal vaccine against novel H1N1 virus will hit the market today.

The first ever intranasal vaccine against novel H1N1 virus will hit the market Monday.

Serum Institute of India (SII),which developed the vaccine,said it had got final clearance from Drug Controller General of India Dr Surinder Singh to launch Nasovac on Monday.

One million doses are ready to be supplied in the market. Thereafter,about 4 lakh doses will be supplied every month, said Sunil Bahl,Director (Business Development),SII. This is the painless solution to keep novel H1N1 virus at bay.

Nasovac is the first intranasal vaccine developed in India. At Rs 200,it is cheaper than the H1N1 vaccine launched by Zydus Cadila some time ago.

The vaccine was tested on around 370 people and found to have no major side effects. Only some minor side effects like sneezing,nasal discharge,fever,headache can be watched out for. There are no major side effects that surfaced during the trials, Dr Prasad Kulkarni of SII said.

The vaccine is safe for children above three years of age. It has been found safe for pregnant rats,but regulatory authorities have yet not cleared it for pregnant women. People allergic to eggs have been advised not to use it.

Sources in the Health Ministry said SII had an installed capacity of 328 million doses of the vaccine a year. Bharat Biotech International,Hyderabad and Panacea Biotech are also likely to launch H1N1 vaccines this year.