Kolkata-based ICMR-NICED has submitted a proposal to the Department of Biotechnology under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology for research on an oral COVID vaccine, a senior official of the institute said. The proposed research project will be done in collaboration with a German firm and it has been shortlisted for presentation, she said.
“We have submitted a proposal for research on an oral vaccine. It will be carried out in collaboration with a German firm. Work can be started once it gets selected and funded,” Shanta Dutta, Director, ICMR-NICED said. She said it will take around five to six years to develop the oral vaccine in a laboratory.
Once the oral vaccine is developed, it will first be tested on animals as is done for all vaccines, Dutta said. “All stages of developing a vaccine, and phases of clinical trials for safety and immunogenicity will be followed in this case too and the vaccine will be first tested on animals.
“The entire process will take at least five to six years and we can expect the oral vaccine in the market only after that,” she added.