Research on a new drug that prepares the respiratory tract immune system against infection and is currently being developed for the coronavirus has also shown its efficacy against rhinovirus. Rhinovirus is a common respiratory infection that is responsible for aggravating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma. This respiratory virus is also the primary cause of the common cold.
The researchers found that treatment with the drug INNA-X before getting infected by the rhinovirus suppressed harmful inflammation and significantly decreased viral load.
Associate professor Nathan Bartlett of the Hunter Medical Research Institute and the University of Newcastle led the study. He explained that INNA-X had demonstrated great potential as a new method of protecting individuals from ailments caused by rhinovirus and other common respiratory viruses. These ailments include possibly life-threatening aggravations of chronic respiratory illnesses, which cost the world economy billions of dollars annually to the common cold.
Bartlett stated that the reports on the INNA-X treatment decreasing the level of viruses in a respiratory tract were found to be consistent even with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the coronavirus. The study also assessed the influence of INNA-X on airway cells in asthma patients and discovered that the treatment was effective, thus giving the researchers a logical basis for the use of the INNA-X treatment in at-risk populations.
An Australian biotechnology firm, Ena Respiratory developed the INNA-X treatment. The treatment works by revitalizing the first line of defense against invading respiratory virus pathogens into the body: the natural immune system in the airways. Priming the immune system makes it harder for the viruses to gain control over an individual’s immune system and give rise to severe symptoms while spreading.
The INNA-X treatment has demonstrated its effectiveness in human airway cells and preclinical infection models. The treatment has also demonstrated its efficacy in decreasing virus shedding of the SARS-CoV-2. INNA-051, which is a clinical candidate produced by the same biotech firm, will soon commence human trials in Australia.
Bartlett stated that if the treatment is found to be effective, it could be used by high-risk populations, including asthma patients and the elderly, to decrease the extremity of the coronavirus, rhinovirus and other respiratory virus infections together with the vaccine approach.
Hunter Medical Research Institute is a collaboration between the community, Hunter New England Health and the University of Newcastle. The study was reported in the “European Respiratory Journal.”
Other companies are also doing their part to take the biomedical sector to a higher level. For example, XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. (CSE: XPHY) (OTCQB: XPHYF) (FSE: 4XT) has a portable and rapid PCR diagnostic test that, once approved, will dramatically reduce the turnaround time for COVID-19 tests.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. (CSE: XPHY) (OTCQB: XPHYF) (FSE: 4XT) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/XPHYF
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