Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd is set to manufacture and market Canadian company SaNOtize Research & Development Corp's COVID-19 nasal spray treatment, Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS).
The company, on Monday, said that they had entered a long term partnership with SaNOtize, and would be selling NONS in India and other Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Nepal, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, reported IANS.
Glenmark further said that the phase III clinical trial for NONS in India is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2021.
Following this, the spray will be commercially launched under the brand name of FabiSpray.
What do we know about SaNOtize's nasal spray COVID treatment?
What is SaNOtize?
NONS (Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray) is a nasal “disinfectant” spray, and the only COVID treatment so far that is not a monoclonal antibody treatment.
The self-administered nasal spray is not a new technology. In fact, it has previously been successfully used to treat influenza and H1N1 viruses and is currently being tested for preventing and treating COVID-19 infections.
According to a statement released by the company, clinical trials conducted in the UK in March showed that NONS reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral load "by more than 95% in infected participants within 24 hours of treatment, and by more than 99% in 72 hours."
Majority of the participants were infected with the B.1.1.7, Alpha variant.
The trial, however, only involved 79 participants, a small sample for a phase 2 clinical trial.
How does it work?
The SaNOtize treatment works by killing the virus in the upper airways, preventing it from incubating and spreading to the lungs.
It also has the advantage of being easy to use, self administrable, and portable.
When Will It Be Available?
After a successful phase 2 trial result, SaNOtize, on 23 June, obtained approval from Health Canada to begin phase 3 trials of the treatment.
On July, Glenmark pharmaceuticals approached the Subject Expert Committee of the CDSCO for emergency use approval of the nasal spray and the right to manufacture and market it in the country, reported the Hindu.
“The committee has recommended a Phase III clinical trial to be conducted in Indian patients in the weeks to follow.”Glenmark Pharmaceutical Ltd quoted by the Hindu.
The company also said that the COVID-19 treatment will be available in the market in the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2021, once the phase 3 trial results are out.
(Written with inputs from IANS and the Hindu.)
(From 26 July to 30 August, FIT is #DecodingPain. Want answers to your painful woes? Send in your questions to fit@thequint.com, and we will get pain experts to answer them for you.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)