What if the Covid-19 solution came from the nose?
By Louis Torronde – C19 World News
March 7 2021
In the research to fight effectively against Covid-19, studies and tests focus on the entry points of infection of the virus to fight it in a preventive way in addition to the classical intramuscular vaccination. These include several avenues developed by various institutes in the United States, Australia and France to diffuse a solution into the nose to prevent the virus from developing in the respiratory tract.
Comparisons between intramuscular and nasal injection methods have shown that conventional vaccination does not prevent the virus from settling in the nose and lungs, whereas nasal injection sterilizes the mucous membranes and prevents the virus from attaching itself.
In the United States, the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the company Regeneron, aims to offer a product that spreads to the nose and throat. The injected genetic material triggers an immune response and antibodies. The University of Washington at St. Louis is developing a vaccine by inserting a virus protein into a cold virus.
A third project is being developed by the Australian company ENA Respiratory to strengthen the immune system through the diffusion of a spray in the nose. First tests carried out in Great Britain in 2020 on ferrets were 96% conclusive in reducing the replication of the virus.
In France, two research teams, at the Sorbonne and at the Pasteur Institute of Lille, are also working on nasal treatments. In the case of the Sorbonne University in Paris, the aim is to develop a protein that acts as a lure and prevents the virus from infecting lung cells, the administration of this lure could be done either by nasal route or in the form of a lozenge. Tests are currently conclusive on cells and are expected to continue in humans.
In the case of Institut Pasteur, based on research on the pertussis vaccine, this involves administering a vaccine through the nose to induce a response before the virus enters the body. Currently, Phase 2 trials have been successful.
In parallel with these two projects, it should also be noted that a treatment in the form of a spray developed by Pharma Beauty, initially planned for early March, has been suspended by the national drug safety agency because the data attesting to the effectiveness of the treatment have not yet been submitted. The product, composed of 40% ionized water and 60% purified water, should eliminate 99% of viral load in the nose in 30 seconds. It is based on tests carried out in vitro by the IHU Méditerranée in Marseille to study the effectiveness of ionized water.
All of these projects, which are less restrictive and less costly than vaccination, are showing encouraging results in the test phases, but their effectiveness has yet to be proven in humans, an essential step in the approval and marketing of treatments. As these approvals are country-specific, it is likely that the countries with the most responsive licensing systems for emergency decisions will be the first to benefit from these innovative treatments, as was the case for vaccines,
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