LEXINGTON, Ky. — Injected COVID-19 vaccines may not be the only preventative measure against coronavirus by the end of 2021.
The University of Louisville has received funding to develop a nasal spray to prevent COVID-19 and other viral respiratory infections. An $8.5 million agreement with the Department of Defense allowed U of L to launch a one-year project for developing the spray, the university announced Wednesday.
The one-year project includes testing the spray formula in lab studies and conducting a Phase I clinical trial, U of L said.
"The idea is to deliver the antiviral agent to the location in the body where the virus is known to replicate first, the upper respiratory tract," Kenneth Palmer, director of the U of L Center for Preventative Medicine, said in a statement. Palmer is leading the project, which has been titled "PREVENT-CoV," U of L said.
Researchers plan to seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration if the lab studies and the Phase I clinical trial are successful, U of L said. If authorization was granted, the spray could be deployed as soon as the end of 2021, according to U of L.
The nasal spray would be deployed to front line workers and "vulnerable people for whom a vaccine might not be fully protective," U of L said.
The nasal spray will use a compound known as Q-Griffithsin. It's an anti-viral protein that can also help prevent the Middle East respiratory syndrome and Nepah, according to U of L.
Pentagon executive official Douglas Bryce said in a statement the department was "pleased" to work with U of L to develop the spray.
"Repurposing a medical countermeasure that is already in development as a stopgap to potentially provide pre-exposure prophylaxis is a critical component of an effective layered defense," he said.
