'Oral Pill to End It All' COVID-19 Vaccine Soon to Be Introduced... Israeli Pharma Company Awaiting Clinical Trial Approval

Likely to be completed within the approved order period... Fast manufacturing speed and low production cost

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] An Israeli pharmaceutical company is set to become the world's first to enter clinical trials for an oral COVID-19 vaccine.

On the 22nd (local time), according to the local daily The Jerusalem Post, the pharmaceutical company in the spotlight is Oramed Pharmaceuticals' subsidiary, Oravax Medical. Oravax received approval for clinical trials of an oral COVID-19 vaccine from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

Oravax is currently awaiting approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health. The authorities are expected to grant approval within weeks.

Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed, stated in a press conference with The Jerusalem Post, "Oral vaccines have faster manufacturing speeds, lower production costs, and are easier to produce compared to injectable vaccines."

Moreover, pill-form vaccines can be distributed much more easily to countries with relatively lower income levels. CEO Kidron predicted, "By quickly supplying the vaccine orally and allowing it to be taken at home, especially if COVID-19 vaccines need to be administered annually like flu vaccines, oral vaccines will greatly contribute to increasing vaccination rates."

The oral vaccine manufacturing technology is the same technology Oramed applied in developing insulin capsules for type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. Regarding this clinical trial, CEO Kidron explained, "The focus is not on testing efficacy but on proving the concept."

Oravax plans to recruit 24 unvaccinated volunteers for COVID-19 vaccines, administering one pill to 12 of them and two pills to the other 12. They will then monitor safety and collect blood samples from the volunteers to measure antibody levels. If the results are successful, the trial will proceed to Phase 3, where the vaccine will be compared and tested against a placebo. CEO Kidron expressed high expectations, saying, "The emergence of an oral vaccine would be a truly revolutionary event."

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines target only the spike protein (the membrane protein of COVID-19). However, the Oravax vaccine targets three types of proteins. CEO Kidron confidently stated, "Therefore, it can be more effective against variants."

The oral vaccine can be shipped refrigerated but stored at room temperature. Additionally, it does not require expert management, making it easy to distribute to schools, companies, and other institutions.