China and India approve inhalable Covid vaccines

BEIJING, Sept 6 (AFP): Chinese drug regulators have approved the world's first inhalable Covid-19 vaccine, made by Tianjin-based manufacturer CanSino Biologics, boosting the company's share price by seven percent on Monday.
The National Medical Products Administration gave the go-ahead for the vaccine for emergency use as a booster, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday.
Following the announcement, company shares surged 14 percent on Monday morning before closing 7.1 percent higher than their opening value.
The needle-free vaccine-which can be stored and administered more easily than intramuscular jabs-will be given through a nebuliser, the company said.
"The approval will have a positive impact on the company's performance if the vaccine is subsequently purchased and used by relevant government agencies," the statement added.
India on Tuesday also approved a locally developed, needle-free and nasally administered Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, in a boost to the country's homegrown pharmaceutical industry.
The new inoculation was developed by Bharat Biotech, which had already developed an intravenous product greenlit by the World Health Organization last November.
India's drug regulator gave the new product emergency authorisation on Tuesday, which will allow it to be used as a primary dose by any unvaccinated or partially vaccinated adult, but not as a booster.
"This step will further strengthen our collective fight against the pandemic," health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Twitter.
Bharat Biotech said in a statement last month that it had conducted two successful efficacy trials for the vaccine.
Data from the trials has yet to be given a wider release and it remains unclear when the product will be available for public use.
The announcement comes just two days after China launched the world's first inhalable coronavirus vaccine, Convidecia Air, which is administered through a nebuliser.
India was hit by a devastating spike in Covid cases last year that brought its health care system close to collapse, with oxygen supplies running out and patients scrambling to source medicine from depleted pharmacies.