In an unprecedented development, a Canadian company, SaNOtize, has developed an antiviral nasal spray for use against COVID-19 called Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS).
According to details, NONS is 99.9% effective in killing SARS-COV-2, the Coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease, in the upper respiratory tract which consists of nose, nasal cavity, and pharynx.
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Aside from preventing the virus’s transmission from the respiratory tract to the lungs in healthy people, NONS not only shortens the course of the infection but also reduces the severity of symptoms and damage in people already battling with COVID-19.
SaNOtize determined the clinical efficacy of NONS for the treatment of COVID-19 infection in a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled phase-II clinical trial.
Results of the trial showed that NONS accelerated the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 by a factor of 16-fold in participants with high viral loads. The viral load reduced by 95% in the first 24 hours while it fell by 99.9% after 72 hours.
Moreover, no adverse health events were reported in 7,000 healthy people who administered NONS by themselves.
Dr. Chris Miller, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and co-founder of SaNOtize, has termed the development of NONS as ‘remarkable’ because the viral load is directly linked with infectivity and poor outcomes.
He added that NONS effectively destroys the virus, blocks entry and stops viral replication in the nasal cavity, resulting in a significant reduction in the viral load in the next 2-3 days.
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Note that NONS is the only novel therapeutic treatment so far proven to reduce viral load in humans that is not a monoclonal antibody treatment. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific, expensive, and must be administered intravenously in a clinical setting.
In a recent statement, SaNOtize revealed that NONS has received regulatory approvals in Israel and New Zealand, with the sales set to begin in the next few weeks.
