On 12 November the world’s first inhaled Covid-19 vaccine was unveiled at the Fifth Hainan International Health Industry Expo.
The vaccine was jointly developed by CanSinoBIO and researchers from the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences led by Chen Wei.
How does the inhaled Covid-19 vaccine work?
For users taking the inhaled vaccine, the whole process takes a matter of seconds. Under the guidance of medical staff, users inhale the vaccine from the cup and then hold their breath for 5 seconds. Research has shown that the adverse side-effects in those who received the inhaled vaccine were significantly lower than those receiving the injected vaccines.
The vaccine is atomized into small particles by special equipment and when users inhale the vaccine it enters their respiratory tract and lungs. According to reports, research has shown that mucosal, humoral, and cellular immunity is stimulated by inhaling the vaccine.
“This inhaled vaccine can not only effectively form immunity to the virus but also create a protective barrier around the human respiratory tract due to its inhaled characteristics.” Zhao Guojun, vice president of sales of Cansino Bio.
Zhao mentioned that coronavirus mainly invades the body by infecting the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract. The mucosal immune system is the body’s first line of defense. The establishment of good mucosal immunity can kill the new coronavirus before it invades the tissues protecting them from damage.
CanSino Biologics Inc.
Based in Tianjin, CanSino Biologics Inc. was established in 2009 and is in the biopharmaceutical industry where the focus of its work is to find the best solutions for the prevention of diseases.
Since its establishment, the company has worked on 16 vaccines preventing 13 diseases, including approved vaccines for the Ebola virus and meningitis.
CanSinoBIO has been listed on the Main Board of Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Limited (HKEx) since March 2019. In 2020 the company was listed on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market) of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, making it the first “A+H” dual listing vaccine company.
Clinical trials
On 22 March 2021, CanSino obtained approval from the National Medical Products Administration to conduct clinical trials for the inhaled version of the COVID-19 vaccine in China.
On 26 July 2021, CanSino Biologics published the results of an early-stage clinical trial. It found that an aerosol inhaled version of its Ad5-nCoV vaccine – which is already approved for use in a single-dose, injectable form in China, Pakistan, and Mexico – triggered immune responses without serious side effects.
The research team recruited 130 people to conduct the phase-1 clinical trials on the inhaled vaccine, its results were published in an international medical journal – The Lancet.
The inhaled version was also found to trigger neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses after one dose.
According to experts, the inhaled form requires only one-fifth of the dosage of an injected one, which preserves more doses and relieves production pressure
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