A new nasal spray treatment shows promise for rapidly clearing the coronavirus that causes covid-19 from our nasal passages. In a recent Phase III trial in India, the spray was found to significantly reduce nasal viral load within days and at a faster rate than for those given a placebo. Treated people also tested negative more quickly in a swab test.
The potential treatment is being developed mainly by the Canadian company SaNOtize, with different partners in various countries, such as Glenmark Pharmaceuticals in India. Contains nitric oxide, a molecule with several important functions in the human body that is also used as medicine to help widen the airways and blood vessels in people with certain conditions. Some research has indicated that nitric oxide may also have a potent antimicrobial effect, raising hopes that it might be deployed as a first-line treatment once morest COVID-19 soon following suspected or confirmed exposure to the coronavirus. If so, a nasal spray may be the best delivery method, since the infection often begins in the upper respiratory tract.
Details of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial are published last week in The Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia. The trial enrolled more than 300 adults with confirmed COVID-19 and mild symptoms (both vaccinated and unvaccinated). Two groups used a nasal spray six times a day for seven days, although only one group received the actual treatment.
On average, those taking nitric oxide were able to clear the virus from their nose sooner than the placebo group, and their overall viral load dropped by 99% within 48 hours. The median time for those in the treatment group to test negative for the virus was three days, compared to the median of seven days seen with the placebo group. The treatment was also well tolerated, with only a few participants reporting mild adverse effects such as nasal discomfort. The trial took place during periods of the pandemic when the Delta and Omicron variants were widely circulating, suggesting that it was equally effective once morest either.
“The results of the Phase 3 study strongly support the safety and efficacy of the [spray nasal de óxido nítrico] in treating COVID-19 and its known variants,” Gilly Regev, co-founder and CEO of SaNOtize, said in a statement. jointly published by the company and Glenmark.
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In February 2022, it authorized the use of the nasal spray and was launched in India under an accelerated approval process, under the name of Fabispray. It has also been approved and is now sold in parts of Asia and Israel with different names, and has been registered as a medical device in the European Union. There doesn’t seem to be recent updates regarding its possible development and availability in North America, although at least one test is in progress. course in Canada, as well as in Sri Lanka.
While the results of this latest trial appear to be the largest yet of any nitric oxide treatment once morest Covid-19, there are some lingering questions. At this time, for example, the results suggest, but do not show with certainty, that nitric oxide may reduce the severity of symptoms, the risk of further transmission to others, or the chance of worsening the disease; the latter is especially important for people at higher risk. However, a greater proportion of those who took the spray reported feeling markedly better on day eight than the placebo group (78% vs. 62%).
If more research continues to find similar positive data, SaNOtize hopes that this spray will not only be useful once morest covid-19 but also once morest other respiratory infections, and influenza in particular.
