Inhaled Versions of Two U.K. Covid-19 Vaccines to Be Studied

(Bloomberg) -- Researchers are beginning the first study of whether two of the U.K.’s experimental Covid-19 vaccines can be inhaled, a possible way of raising their ability to prevent the airborne infection.

The study will compare vaccine candidates from Imperial College London and the University of Oxford delivered by inhalation through the mouth, according to a statement Monday. The hope is that targeting cells in the lining of the lungs will induce a more effective immune response.

Scientists are searching for the most efficient way to protect the most vulnerable from the coronavirus, which has already struck more than 29 million people around the world. While dozen of vaccines are already in human testing, most of them are injected. Other techniques of administration may be more effective, said Robin Shattock, a vaccine developer from Imperial College’s Department of Infectious Disease.

“It may well be that one group has the right vaccine but the wrong delivery method, and only trials such as this will be able to tell us that,” he said in the statement.

Cells in the lung are specialized and produce different immune responses than those seen in the rest of the body, said Chris Chiu, the head of the Imperial Network for Vaccine Research and leader of the inhaled vaccine study. The research will begin at a west London facility in the coming weeks with 30 volunteers.

Scientists will test a delivery technique similar to the way inhaled asthma drugs are given. For each vaccine, they will test low, medium and high doses. The trial is funded by the U.K.’s National Institute for Health Research and U.K. Research and Innovation.

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