Marinomed Biotech has announced that pre-clinical data show that Carragelose has the potential to reduce the risk of an infection with SARS-CoV-2 and may also treat COVID-19.
Data from Marinomed's cell-culture study confirm that Carragelose works in a dose-dependent manner to strongly reduce the infection of cells from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Carragelose coats the mucosal tissues of the respiratory tract susceptible to attack from SARS-CoV-2, forming a physical barrier that helps to protect against viral infection and viral spread. This in turn may suppress the viral load and the body's own natural defences may fight the virus more efficiently.
Typically, people can become ill with COVID-19 after the SARS-CoV-2 virus has entered the body through the nose or throat.
These studies results enable Marinomed to build on the data that have been already collected from clinical trials with other viruses, and these results can be extrapolated that SARS-CoV-2 virus may be neutralised as well.
The effectiveness of Carragelose has been proven in clinical trials with more than 600 patients suffering from early symptoms of the common cold. A particular advantage of Carragelose is the broad activity of the polymer against different virus strains, such as Rhinovirus and already known Coronaviruses. In addition, the safety profile of Carragelose is very good.
These pre-clinical data underscore the protection Carragelose can provide against SARS-CoV-2 and a multitude of different respiratory viruses. This will be particularly important as Marinomed continues to deal with COVID-19 and moves into this year's cold and flu season.
Next steps
As a next step, Marinomed is now planning clinical tests using the same technology for an inhalation solution that could also work in the lungs. The trials will include patients with a risk of virally induced pneumonia, a main complication of COVID-19 and other viruses, such as Influenza A. The first efficacy results are expected within the next 12 months. If the clinical data are positive, an inhalation product with Carragelose could be available in 2021.
Products containing Carragelose, such as nasal sprays, lozenges or a throat spray have been marketed in Austria since 2008. By now, the products have been established as first causative treatment of common cold and flu-like diseases world-wide and are distributed in more than 40 countries.
