Australia : Researchers conduct trials of blood thinner as Nasal spray to combat covid19
Australian researchers are conducting a trial to see whether squirting a blood thinner into the nose could offer protection against Covid19. The nasal spray uses the cheap drug heparin in an attempt to neutralise Covid’s spike protein.
Some 175 patients have tested the drug by taking daily doses of a nasal spray containing cancer drug interferon developed by scientists at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The spray coats the nose but does not go down into the lungs. The researchers say it is cheap, easy to distribute and is expected to be effective against mutant strains of the virus including the Omicron variant. The treatment has received $4.2 million from the Victorian government to undergo clinical trials.
