Israel and New Zealand have given interim approval for the sale of biotech firm SaNOtize Research and Development’s nitric oxide nasal spray, which could help prevent transmission of the Covid-19 virus, the company said on Monday.
Manufacturing of NONS, under the brand name Enovid, has begun in Israel with SaNOtize’s partner Nextar Chempharma Solutions, and it is expected to be on sale there this summer.
If widely adopted and proven effective through public use, the nasal spray will be another useful tool in the anti-Covid inventory of two countries which have effectively responded to the pandemic.
Dr Eran Segal, a scientist at Israel's Weizmann Institute, said on Twitter that Covid-19 infections are still falling in Israel 40 days after the lifting of lockdowns.
The optimistic assessment on the country’s strategy of mass inoculation comes after the institute analysed the latest Covid-19 case data, where the R number is defined as the average number of people to whom one infected person will pass a virus.
In New Zealand, SaNOtize has registered its spray with the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, which permits the company to distribute and sell the spray over the counter immediately, the Vancouver-based company said.
New Zealand’s health ministry said it has not approved the product for use as an antiviral nasal spray.
The approval referred to by the company may relate to a notification made to the New Zealand Web-Assisted Notification Database operated by Medsafe, where medical devices for supply in the country are required to be notified.
This is not an application or approval process, New Zealand's health ministry said on Tuesday.
“The presence of an entry on this database does not confirm or imply that the product meets the requirements of the Medicines Act 1981,” it said. The ministry would follow up with the company, it said.
Last week, SaNOtize and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, UK, announced results of clinical trials showing that the spray was an effective antiviral treatment that could prevent the transmission of Covid-19, shorten its course and reduce the severity of symptoms and damage in those already infected.
Chris Miller, SaNOtize’s chief science officer, said its formulation of nitric oxide for use in humans was designed to “kill viruses in the upper airways, preventing them from incubating and spreading to the lungs”.
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In pictures: UK grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic
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Artist Luke Jerram with his new giant glass sculpture of the Covid-19 virus in Bristol. The sculpture marks the anniversary of the UK’s first national lockdown, on 23rd March 2020. Getty Images -
A member of security sprays hand sanitiser for a patient as they arrive at the Riverside Stadium Vaccination Centre in Middlesbrough. Getty Images -
A woman speaks with volunteers as they deliver Covid-19 test kits to the doors of residents near Muswell Hill in London. Over the weekend, the Haringey and Barnet borough councils began door-to-door distribution of test kits after a local resident tested positive for the coronavirus variant first identified in Brazil. Getty Images -
Volunteers plan where to head next as they deliver Covid-19 test kits to the doors of residents near Muswell Hill in London. Getty Images -
Dr Kuldip Sule administers a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh temple, in Luton. AP Photo -
A pedestrian walks over a quiet London Bridge in London. EPA -
Kew Garden horticulturist Joanna Bates works in a heart shaped flower bed at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London. The 'Yellow Hearts to Remember' is a planting tribute to remember those lost to Covid-19. AP Photo -
Pedestrians walk through the City of London in London as lockdown restrictions continue. EPA -
Customers browse plants at Lydstep Nurseries and garden centre in Lydstep. Reuters -
A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks past shops on the almost empty Oxford Circus in central London. AFP
