Designed to Block Virus from Entering the Nose
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a Phase 2 clinical trial of GeneOne Life Science’s nasal spray GLS-1200. The double-blind clinical trial is scheduled to be conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and 225 participants will be divided into administered and control groups. GLS-1200 will be sprayed through the nose for four weeks, three times a day, in order to find out whether the administration leads to a decrease in the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections.
According to research results recently published in the Nature Medicine journal, the infection occurs mainly through the nose. This is because nasal epithelial cells have a relatively large amount of viral receptors. When the virus enters the body through the nose, viral genes are inserted into and replicate in the cells to result in the infection. In other words, COVID-19 can be prevented at least to some extent if it is possible to block the virus from entering the nose in the form of droplets.
GLS-1200 creates and discharges nitrogen oxide after being sprayed into the mucous membrane of the nose. This nitrogen oxide prevents infection by blocking the replication of a coronavirus such as SARS and COVID-19.