Melbourne - Starpharma (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced that VIRALEZE antiviral nasal spray has been registered for sale in Saudi Arabia.
This is the first registration for VIRALEZE in the Middle East and registration in Saudi Arabia is an important step for other countries in the region.
Saudi Arabia has a population of 35 million and contributes almost half of the annual GDP in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.
Starpharma is well advanced in negotiations for distribution of VIRALEZE in Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, consumers in Saudi Arabia can purchase VIRALEZE online.
Dr Jackie Fairley, Starpharma CEO commented: 'The registration of VIRALEZE in Saudi Arabia, our first in the Middle East, marks another important milestone for the product. Starpharma is advancing negotiations with a local distributor in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region for VIRALEZE, and we look forward to making the product available in that region as soon as possible.'
VIRALEZE is a broad-spectrum antiviral nasal spray that contains SPL7013, which has been shown to have potent antiviral and virucidal activity in multiple respiratory viruses, including inactivation of >99.9% of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, in laboratory studies
Antiviral laboratory testing of SPL7013 earlier this year also confirmed it is active in other respiratory viruses, including influenza as well as two other pandemic coronaviruses - Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) or 'MERS' and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) or 'SARS'. There are no vaccines available for MERS or SARS.
This latest registration follows recent registrations for VIRALEZE in Vietnam and New Zealand.
VIRALEZE Antiviral Nasal Spray
VIRALEZE is a broad-spectrum antiviral nasal spray. The antiviral agent in VIRALEZE, referred to as SPL7013, has been shown to have potent antiviral and virucidal activity in multiple respiratory viruses (including influenza and RSV) and multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2, including inactivation of >99.9% of the highly infectious Delta variant, in laboratory studies. VIRALEZE is applied in the nose to provide a physical barrier - between viruses and the nasal mucous membrane - that traps and irreversibly inactivates virus. Importantly, the mechanism of action of VIRALEZE means that mutations of the spike protein that make SARS-CoV-2 more infectious, as occurred for the Delta strain, appear to make the virus more susceptible to trapping and blocking by SPL7013.
VIRALEZE is registered in Europe, Vietnam, India, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, and available in certain markets online. VIRALEZE is partnered with LloydsPharmacy in the UK, ADMENTA Italia Group in Italy, and HealthCo/TBL in Vietnam. VIRALEZE is not registered for sale or supply in Australia.
Starpharma acknowledges the $1 million in funding for the development of VIRALEZE provided by the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Biomedical Translation Bridge (BTB) Program, with support from UniQuest. Delivered by MTPConnect, the Australian Government's BTB program is a $22.3 million MRFF initiative that provides up to $1 million in matched funding to nurture the translation of new therapies, technologies and medical devices through to proof of concept to turn innovative medical ideas into reality
Contact:
Grant Titmus
Tel: +61 419 388 161
Email: grant@sumitmedia.com.au
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