Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Albany Medical College will use a $500,000 grant from the New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund for early development of a pentosan polysulfate (PPS) nasal spray for the prevention of respiratory infections, including COVID-19. PPS is currently approved in the US as an oral treatment for bladder pain related to interstitial cystitis. According to RPI, the nasal spray would be designed for potential daily use as a prophylactic for people who cannot be vaccinated.
Principle investigator Jonathan Dordick, a professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at RPI commented, “Despite advances in both therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19, there remains a critical need to develop a simple, easy to use, and highly effective prophylactic to prevent transmission and serious illness as a result of infection with SARS-CoV-2. Since the virus uses the nasal passages as a first line of infection, an ideal approach is to use a safe and effective nasal spray. We have shown that pentosan polysulfate (PPS), an FDA-approved drug for an entirely different indication, shows very strong binding to SARS-CoV-2, thereby neutralizing the virus. Our goal now is to incorporate PPS into a nasal spray formulation to block SARS-CoV-2 infection either pre- or post-exposure. Moreover, a similar mechanism of infection is used by a number of viruses, including other coronaviruses and some common cold viruses, and thus the PPS-based nasal spray could be useful against other respiratory infections.”
Read the Rensselaer press release.
