Canadian biotech firm claims its nasal spray kills 99% viral load of Covid-19

The second wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) continues to wreak havoc across the world. Several countries have expanded their vaccination drives and are administering doses to children and low-risk groups along with ramping up the tests conducted to detect the viral disease. Vaccine manufacturers, on the other hand, are working to make their doses more effective against the prevailing Covid-19 variants.

Till now, vaccines have been the only protective shield against Covid-19. But the recent emergence of a nasal spray can prove to be a turning point in the ongoing fight against the pandemic.

SaNOtize Research and Development Corp, a biotech company based in Canada, claimed that its Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS), has proven to kill 99% of the viral load of Covid-19. According to a report by Businesswire, NONS kills the virus in the upper airways, which prevents it from incubating and spreading to the lungs.

The report also stated that a “randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial” evaluated 79 people infected with Covid-19 in mid-March where the nasal spray reduced the level of Sars-CoV-2 including in those which had a high viral load. The viral load reduced by 95% in the first 24 hours after the spray was administered and further depleted by 99% within 72 hours, it stated. The spray also showed efficacy against the UK variant of Covid-19, the report further said.

SaNOtize also conducted trials back home in Canada which proved to be highly effective against Covid-19. No adverse health events were seen in both the countries.

On March 23, Israel and New Zealand gave interim approval for the sale of NONS. In Israel, the nasal spray is being manufactured under the name Enovid while New Zealand’s health ministry has not approved the product for use yet, according to news agency Reuters.

In India, which is currently the worst-hit country by the pandemic, SaNOtize said on April 20 it is in talks with many potential partners and is looking for a reputed Indian pharmaceutical firm which can help in expansion, according to media reports.