Israel-led maker of nose spray that kills Covid-19 applies for UK rollout

The Israeli-led maker of a “revolutionary” nasal spray that fights COVID-19 is to apply for emergency permission to use it in the UK after announcing the results of a successful trial.

Biotech firm SaNOtize said its testing showed the spray successfully reduced the severity of the virus in patients and prevented it being transmitted to others.

The Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) is designed to kill the virus in the upper airways of the body, preventing it from incubating and spreading to the lungs.

SaNOtize’s Israeli co-founder Dr Gilly Regev told the Jewish News earlier this year that using it daily would prevent infection.

“We call it ‘the hand sanitiser for the nose’ because the idea is everyone will carry it in their pocket like they carry a hand sanitizer today and so prevent people getting infected so we can get out of this,” she said.

The randomised and placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial in the UK, which was run with Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, evaluated 79 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Thousands of people have previously tested NONS across Canada, where SaNOtize is based.

No adverse effects were recorded.

Dr Stephen Winchester, a virologist who led the NHS trial, said it was a “major advance” in the global battle against the pandemic.

“Our trial included patients with a variant of concern and high viral loads yet still demonstrated significant reductions in the levels of SARS-CoV-2, which could be critical in supporting vaccines, preventing future outbreaks and safely reopening economies,” he said.

“Simply stated, I think this could be revolutionary.”

SaNOtize, which is applying for emergency authorisation in Britain and Canada to deploy the spray, said swift approval could help with a swift return to work and school.