Australian biotech entity develops COVID-19 spray
MELBOURNE: Melbourne-based biotech company Firebrick Pharma has developed a “disinfectant for your nose” that could be capable of reducing the amount of detectable coronavirus by almost 100 per cent.
In a report laboratory tests in a test tube showed its nasal spray, Nasodine, reduced the amount of detectable coronavirus by 99.97 per cent and eliminated the infectious properties of any remaining virus.
The company, founded in 2012 by Betadine throat gargle creator Dr Peter Molloy, tested its nasal spray on the coronavirus on the basis that it kills viruses indiscriminately, so logically could be effective on the coronavirus – as well as SARS, MERS or influenza.
The catch is that the patented nasal spray, developed to-date as a combative measure against the common cold, is in the final stages of its phase three clinical trial and yet to be approved for use by any global regulators.
Dr Molloy is hoping to receive permission from the health department and the Therapeutic Goods Administration to make the nasal spray available in special conditions to healthcare workers at risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
“We’re saying to the government … why wouldn’t you want to disinfect the nose like you would hard surfaces? It’s the same proposition,” he said.
“If it’s safe, it should be used in the same way that you would wear a mask. We encourage the government not to think of this as a drug, but as a nasal disinfectant.”
However, Dr Molloy said that even if the spray received accelerated approval for use in special cases, it would not offer protection for long.
“You have to use it frequently to maintain the protection. We can’t make recommendations on how it’s used … but it doesn’t have a long residual effect,” he said.
“I believe that it could be the kind of agent that fills an important role, just like other personal protection equipment, in reducing the risk of healthcare workers.”
