Saarland University announced that the Phase 2 CONTAIN study of azelastine nasal spray as a prophylactic against SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated a significant reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infection and also a reduction in rhinovirus infection for subjects using azelastine versus placebo. Results from the trial were published online in JAMA Internal Medicine on September 2, 2025.
The study enrolled 450 healthy adults who used either azelastine or intranasal placebo 3 times a day for 56 days. According to the university, the confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection rate for the azelastine group was 2.2% versus 6.7% for the placebo group, and the rhinovirus infection rate was 1.8% for the azelastine group vs 6.3% for placebo. For participants who received azelastine and subsequently were infected with SARS-CoV-2, mean time to infection was 31.2 days versus 19.5 days for the placebo group.
In July 2020, the Central European Biotech Incubator and Accelerator (CEBINA) announced that it was looking for partners to develop azelastine nasal spray for the treatment of COVID-19, and in February 2021, CEBINA said that it had teamed up with Ursapharm on that project. Ursapharm sponsored the CONTAIN study and manufactured the azelastine nasal spray for the trial.
Saarland professor Robert Bals commented, “Azelastine nasal spray could provide an additional easily accessible prophylactic to complement existing protective measures, especially for vulnerable groups, during periods of high infection rates, or before traveling. Our results highlight the need for larger, multicenter trials to continue exploring the use of azelastine nasal sprays as an on-demand preventive treatment, and to examine its potential effectiveness against other respiratory pathogens.”
Read the Saarland University press release
