Oramed to start oral Covid-19 vaccine trial in SA

Oramed Pharmaceuticals won approval to run an initial clinical trial for its orally delivered Covid-19 vaccine candidate in South Africa.

The US-listed company has been given permission by the South African Health Regulatory Products Authority to start enrolling patients in Phase 1 of tests, it said in a statement on Friday.

While South Africa has hosted a number of Covid-19 vaccine trials, this would be the first that would be an oral treatment. Delivery of a vaccine by mouth would surmount some of the logistical hurdles faced by Africa, such as the need to keep injectable shots refrigerated, in the effort to improve inoculation in the least vaccinated continent.

The dose produced by Oramed’s subsidiary, Oravax, uses a “virus-like particle” to target three of Covid-19’s surface proteins, including those less susceptible to mutation. That, the company said, could make it more effective against future variants of the coronavirus.

“Oravax’s oral Covid-19 vaccine candidate could offer an exciting potential solution to the Covid pandemic, whether as a booster or for the unvaccinated,” Oramed Chief Executive Officer Nadav Kidron said in the statement. The oral form “would eliminate several barriers to rapid, wide-scale distribution, potentially enabling people to administer the vaccine themselves at home,” he said.