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- Starpharma (SPL) has latest data on efficacy of its VIRALEZE antiviral nasal spray against SARS-CoV-2 published in an international peer-reviewed journal
- The company’s results have been published in the Viruses journal and demonstrate the efficacy of its VIRALEZE antiviral nasal spray against SARS-Co-2 in vivo in a humanised mouse model of the coronavirus infection
- The study shows the treatment can reduce a viral load by more than 99.9 per cent in the lungs and trachea of animals with SARS-CoV-2, compared with the virus levels in control animals
- Starpharma is up 6.56 per cent, trading at $1.30 at 12:43 pm AEST
Starpharma (SPL) has had its latest data on the efficacy of its VIRALEZE antiviral nasal spray against SARS-CoV-2 published in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Starpharma’s results were published in a special issue of Viruses journal, titled “Medical Interventions for Treatment and Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infections”. The company’s publication included data demonstrating the efficacy of its VIRALEZE antiviral nasal spray against SARS-Co-2 in vivo in a humanised mouse model of the coronavirus infection.
VIRALEZE is an antiviral nasal spray developed to help reduce exposure to viruses. The antiviral agent in VIRALEZE has been shown in vitro to have antiviral activity in multiple respiratory viruses and variants of SARS-CoV-2.
For the publication’s experiment, animals received VIRALEZE once a day for a week and were infected with SARS-CoV-2 five minutes after the first product administration.
The study showed that VIRALEZE administered to the nose can reduce the viral load by more than 99.9 per cent in the lungs and trachea of animals with SARS-CoV-2, compared with the virus levels in control animals.
The trials marked one of the few animal models endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to accelerate testing of vaccines and therapeutic agents for COVID-19. The genetically modified mouse model expresses the human enzyme receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells in the human nasal cavity and respiratory tract. The company says animal models of SARS-CoV-2 make it possible to investigate aspects of the pathogenesis of disease that are not easily studied in humans.
Starpharma CEO Jackie Fairley says it’s exciting to see VIRALEZE demonstrate highly protective effects against SARS-CoV-2.
“One of the potential advantages of VIRALEZE that these data in this rigorous animal model support is its ability to significantly reduce viral load in the respiratory tract, which would lower both the transmissibility of the virus to others and severity of disease,” Dr Fairley said.
While vaccines have been proven to prevent hospitalisation and death, individuals can still become infected and shed virus. Additional intervention to reduce viral load at the site of infection would therefore reduce transmission of the virus.
Starpharma was up 6.56 per cent, trading at $1.30 at 12:43 pm AEST.
