Scientists are working on fast-acting nasal sprays to block coronavirus infections
Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library
Despite their promise, these sprays have a long way to go: Funding and interest from pharmaceutical firms for human trials has been limited, in part because trials to determine efficacy for prophylactics are large and expensive, says Moscona. And the sprays must achieve the difficult task of coating any surface to which a virus might attach, because once a viral particles enter even a few cells, a full-scale infection can progress rapidly.
To test their peptide, Moscona and her colleagues administered it into the noses of ferrets once daily for two days and co-housed the treated animals with another ferret that was infected with SARS-CoV-2. None of the six ferrets that received the peptide became infected with the virus, while all six ferrets that received a placebo dose did. Before testing the peptide in humans, Moscona wants to replicate these results in another animal model, such as mice.
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