India has received its first nasal spray for treating adult COVID patients, as Glenmark on Wednesday launched Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (FabiSpray), in partnership with SaNOtize.
Glenmark is based in Mumbai, while SaNOtize is headquartered in Vancouver.
The country’s drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI), gave approval to Glenmark for manufacturing and marketing for the spray as part of the accelerated approval process.
According to the pharma company, the Phase 3 trial in India met the key endpoints and demonstrated a reduction of the viral load of 94 percent in 24 hours and 99 percent in 48 hours.
"Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) was safe and well-tolerated in COVID-19 patients. Glenmark to market NONS under the brand name FabiSpray", it stated.
Glenmark claims that when Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray is administered over nasal mucosa, it acts as a physical and chemical barrier against the virus.
Terming the spray an effective and safe antiviral treatment for COVID-19, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd's Chief Commercial Officer Robert Crockart said: "We are confident it will offer patients a much needed and timely therapy option".
Talking about the clinical trials results, Dr Monika Tandon, senior vice president and head of clinical development at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said, "The results from this Phase 3, double blind, placebo controlled trial are encouraging".
She said the demonstration of a reduction in the viral load has a significant positive impact from a patient and community perspective.
“In the current scenario, with new emerging variants exhibiting high transmissibility, NONS provides a useful option in India's fight against COVID-19”, she added.
She further explained that as per studies conducted at Utah State University in the US, NONS has proven to kill 99.9 percent of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, including the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon variants within two minutes.