A new antiviral nasal spray by Melbourne biotechnology firm Starpharma reportedly shows effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection following a successful animal trial.
Starpharma’s Viraleze is said to have reduced the viral load by over 99.9% when it was administered nasally into the trachea and lungs of animals who were positive with the virus, compared to saline control. The results, published in the journal Viruses, provided empirical proof that SL7013 (Viraleze) was potent against the Delta variant and multiple other variations of the SARS-CoV-2.
The latest results were from research conducted by The Scripps Research Institute, which used a humanized SARS-CoV-2 mouse model under the World Health Organization’s recommendation.
The protective effects of the drug were found to be consistent with SPL7013’s virucidal activity previously reported in a separate study also by Starpharma, which highlighted the topical drug astodrimer sodium as a potential agent against the virus after one minute of exposure.
“In this study Viraleze was highly protective against SARS-CoV-2 challenge in an established SARS-CoV-2 animal model of coronavirus infection. These results provide compelling data supporting the utility of a broad-spectrum nasal spray, like Viraleze, to potentially reduce exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus in respiratory tract and other organs. One of the potential advantages of Viraleze is its ability to significantly reduce viral load in the respiratory tract, which could lower both the transmissibility of the virus to others and severity of disease,” said Dr. Jackie Fairley, chief executive officer of Starpharma, in a statement.
The title of the report is “Medical Interventions for Treatment and Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infections.“
https://www.biospace.com/article/nasal-antiviral-spray-shows-promising-results-against-sars-cov-2/
