Results from a Phase 1 trial of an inhaled version of CanSino Biologic’s Ad5-nCoV vaccine against COVID-19 have been published online in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study enrolled 130 healthy volunteers who got either intramuscular Ad5-nCoV, two doses of aerosolized vaccine, or IM vaccine with an aerosolized booster and found that the nebulized vaccine was effective, well tolerated, and caused fewer adverse events than the intramuscular vaccine.
Two doses of aerosol Ad5-nCoV 28 days apart, which was equivalent to 40% of a dose of the IM vaccine, were found to elicit a similar immune response to a single dose of the IM vaccine. Giving a single dose aerosolized booster following IM vaccination also triggered a strong immune response. In addition, the authors note, “The safety profile for aerosol vaccination is similar to that described in studies of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccines, which showed that adverse events tended to be more frequent and more severe after the booster vaccination.”
They authors conclude that, “The humoral and cellular immune response induced by aerosolized Ad5-nCoV and its dose-sparing potential show that aerosol vaccination is a promising [sic] for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. In conclusion, the aerosol inhalation of Ad5-nCoV is painless, simple, well tolerated, and immunogenic, and the current data support the evaluation of aerosolized Ad5-nCoV in ongoing phase 2 and 3 clinical trials.”
Read the Lancet Infectious Diseases article.
