LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE) – The first clinical trials in the UK of a nasal spray that is known to kill 99.9% of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 will begin on January 11 at the Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey.
SaNOtize nitric oxide nasal spray (NONS) is designed to kill the virus in the upper airways, preventing it from incubating and spreading to the lungs.
The treatment, developed by SaNOtize Research and Development Corp. based in Vancouver, Canada, it proved to be 99.9% effective in killing coronavirus in independent laboratory tests at Utah State University Antiviral Research Institute. Additional studies in rodents with COVID-19 infection showed more than 95% reduction on the first day after infection. It is currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials across Canada, approved by Health Canada, and in other countries.
SaNOtize treatment is based on nitric oxide, a natural nanomolecule produced by the human body with proven antimicrobial properties that have a direct effect on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Treatment can be administered by nasal spray, gargle or nasal wash.
Laboratory tests on SaNOtize treatment at Utah State University Antiviral Research Institute confirmed that the company’s nitric oxide release solution inactivated more than 99.9% of SARs-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid -19, in two minutes.
Rodent studies at Colorado State University showed an average reduction of more than 95% in the SARS-CoV-2 viral load tested the day after infection with half of the rodents with no detectable virus. This occurred after inoculation with the virus and two treatments with SaNOtize nasal spray.
“Any intervention to treat the coronavirus – the virus responsible for Covid-19 – is welcome. The fact that a relatively easy and simple nasal spray can be an effective treatment is good news and offers a significant advance in our therapeutic arsenal against this devastating disease. Ashford and St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is proud to be at the forefront of testing this intervention, ”said Pankaj Sharma MD PhD FRCP, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The importance of nitric oxide in the human body and its healing properties were first discovered by Prof Ferid Murad of Stanford University, among others, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998. Prof Murad is a member of the board of SaNOtize .
“Nitric oxide is an incredibly versatile molecule that regulates almost everything in our body,” said Dr. Murad. “When used therapeutically, it has a well-documented safety profile and has been shown to be effective against a wide variety of viruses, bacteria and fungi. I am excited to work with the SaNOtize team and believe that they have safe technology that can be effective in treating infections, including Covid-19. ”
“SaNOtize nasal spray provides a barrier. It contains nitric oxide that prevents and treats early infection, destroying the virus and preventing viral replication within the cells of the nose. In addition, nitric oxide has been shown to block the ACE-2 receptor essential for the virus to infect our cells. This is what makes our product unique and allows it to be independent of any other nasal approach, ”said Dr. Chris Miller, director of science and co-founder of SaNOtize.
“It is a safe technology that can be effective in treating infections, including Covid-19,” said Dr. Miller. “Everyone thinks you get the virus, it gets into your lungs and you die, but it’s a progression. First you are exposed to it, and the virus tries to attach itself to the cells in your nose, and it takes a while to incubate and multiply in the nasal cells for a few days and then the virus spreads to your lungs ”.
“What we imagine is to clean the upper respiratory region at various times of the day. In the morning, when you get up, where the virus has spread and started to accumulate in the back of your upper respiratory tract, first spray of the day, and then you go out for the day, and you can’t always control social distance as we end the blockage, so we have nasal sprays throughout the day. At the end of the day, you come home and basically rinse your nose and nasopharynx to clean your nose, sinuses, and the back of your throat, where these viruses initially reside, ”said Dr. Miller.
Rob Wilson, a former British government minister who represents SaNOtize in the UK and the EU, is overseeing the trial.
“If, as we hope, the current Phase II results in Canada confirm the very encouraging results received from the Antiviral Research Institute and ongoing studies at Colorado State University, SaNOtize will seek emergency approval in Canada to proceed directly to the introduction of Phase Product IV to the market as part of the ongoing global struggle against this deadly pandemic, ”said Wilson.
“The vaccination program is essential, but it will also take time to be distributed to the general public. Mutant strains may develop, requiring changes to the vaccine. It is not known how long the immune protection will last. It is also unclear whether vaccines will prevent vaccinated people from becoming infected and potentially transmit the virus to other unprotected individuals.
For these reasons, it is important to explore and deliver simple, safe and inexpensive therapeutic product solutions over the counter in the UK and the EU as quickly as possible, which is why I am conducting these tests in the UK, the first in Europe, in soon. The nasal spray can not only block the virus from entering, but the active ingredient nitric oxide actually kills the virus and prevents it from multiplying. If successful, people in Britain and Europe can have an effective, safe and affordable treatment in a few months, which can be used daily to kill the coronavirus and prevent it from spreading, ”said Wilson.
“This simple treatment will help us get back to something close to normal social life, work and travel with some confidence that, even if we inhale the virus, we can protect and destroy it by applying the SaNOtize solution regularly,” Wilson said.
“SaNOtize treatment should be thought of as an effective treatment for the upper airways, similar to when people use hand sanitizers to clean their hands on the outside. When people are potentially exposed, they use spray to clear the upper respiratory tract and kill the virus, before it causes serious illness, ”said Wilson.
Research published in Nature confirms that the nose is the primary area of infection, especially in the initial period of infection. Tests in nitric oxide hospitals are underway in the United States and Europe with critically ill patients with coronavirus inhaling the gas to kill the virus in their lungs and prevent progression to serious infection. SaNOtize’s solution can be applied outside a hospital environment. It is easy to use, cheap and safe.
The company’s strategy is to use the nitric oxide spray as a multi-stage defense against infections and provide an effective treatment for mild and moderate cases with the goal of preventing severe inflammatory response and infection of the lungs.
Scientists believe that the coronavirus is transmitted via air droplets to the mucous membranes of the nose, where it is replicated during a three-day incubation period, damaging the cells of the nasal mucosa, and is then transported in nasal secretions to the respiratory tract. lower, leading to the danger of fatal viral pneumonia.