Atossa Therapeutics said that it has gotten the go-ahead for a Phase 1 clinical study of its AT-301 nasal spray, which the company is developing for the treatment of COVID-19, and expects to begin enrollment within a month. Atossa previously announced that it had contracted with Summit Biosciences for development and manufacturing of the nasal spray and with Advance Clinical for the Phase 1 trial.
The study, which will take place in Australia, is expected to enroll 32 healthy adults. The first part of the study will compare two different single doses of AT-301 to placebo. The second part will compare two different doses of AT-301 to placebo administered over 14 days.
Atossa President and CEO Steven Quay commented, “The most common entry point for the coronavirus is the nasal passage where the virus can infect locally for one to three days before progressing into the lungs. Our nasal spray drug is being developed with a ‘vaccine-like mechanism’ to help maintain a protective mucosal barrier with anti-viral properties within the nasal cavity, hopefully leading to lower infectivity and reduced symptoms in COVID-19 patients. If this can slow virus growth sufficiently to allow the patient to mount a strong, natural immune response AT-301 could be very impactful on the current public health options for controlling COVID-19. We look forward to quickly opening enrollment in this important study and reporting results before the end of the year.”
Read the Atossa Therapeutics press release.
