According to Marinomed Biotech, a clinical trial of the company’s Inhaleen Carragelose iota-carageenan inhalation solution for the treatment of moderate COVID-19 is now underway. In April 2020, Marinomed announced that it had received funding for development of a Carragelose inhalation solution for the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia.
The trial of the inhalation solution is expected to enroll 204 patients who have been admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 at 3 hospitals in Vienna, Austria. Within 48 hours of admission to the hospital, patients will start receiving either Inhaleen or placebo 3 times per day for 5 days. The primary endpoint will be improvement in clinical status on Day 8.
Marinomed Chief Scientific Officer Eva Prieschl-Grassauer said, “We still see a very high medical need for effective therapies against COVID-19. Currently, doctors have only limited treatment options beyond supportive care and cannot help much while a patient’s condition is deteriorating. With this trial of inhaled Carragelose, we hope to show that Inhaleen can be an effective treatment for recently hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Additionally, we intend to show that Inhaleen can aid faster recovery and prevent the disease from further damaging a patients’ lungs or progressing to more severe stages. We have done comprehensive preclinical work showing the efficacy of Carragelose against SARS-CoV-2. Together with the recent clinical results, which showed that iota-carrageenan can be effectively used for COVID-19 prophylaxis, we are very confident that Inhaleen will be an effective treatment for COVID-19 patients.”
The company is also developing its Carragelose nasal spray for the treatment of COVID-19 and says that a clinical trial of the nasal spray in Argentina demonstrated an 80% reduction in COVID-19 cases in hospital workers. Marinomed’s Carragelose nasal spray is marketed as an over-the-counter antiviral in a number of countries.
Read the Marinomed Biotech press release.
