SaNOtize Phase II COVID prevention and treatment trial underway in B.C.

VANCOUVER – SaNOtize Research and Development Corp., a biotech company based in Vancouver, B.C., announced on May 25 it enrolled its first participant on May 12 in a multi-centre Phase II trial of its Nitric Oxide Releasing Solution (NORSTM) for the prevention and early treatment of COVID-19.

The company is continuing enrolment in British Columbia and will initiate enrolment in Quebec on June 1.

SaNOtize is seeking a total of 210 individuals for the trial. Eligible participants include people who have either tested positive for COVID-19, or who are at high risk of becoming infected, such as front-line healthcare workers or people sharing a household with others who have tested positive.

SaNOtize has outfitted a mobile testing unit staffed by two research coordinators. The mobile unit can travel to a participant’s location to ease access and ensure proper safety protocols and physical distancing.

“We are focused on testing frontline healthcare workers and other people at greatest risk from COVID-19,” said SaNOtize co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Chris Miller, in a prepared statement. “We encourage healthcare professionals, facility operators and individuals who believe they or others may be eligible for the clinical trial to contact us immediately.”

The company also announced that it will receive advisory services and up to $400,000 in research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). This is in addition to a recent oversubscribed equity offering from current and new investors.

SaNOtize will use the funds to help advance COVID/Flu treatment and prevention towards fast regulatory approval. The company initiated a new equity offering to accelerate additional COVID-19 trials in the U.S.

“We thank our investors and especially NRC IRAP for its support in helping drive the Company forward in the most efficient and effective way,” said Gilly Regev, SaNOtize CEO and co-founder. “We are thrilled to have NRC IRAP’s support in this critical effort.”

SaNOtize announced on April 22 an approval from Health Canada to conduct a multi-centre Phase II prevention and efficacy trial for a front-line antiviral prevention and early treatment for use against COVID-19. Tests conducted by an independent antiviral research institute based in the U.S. confirm NORS inactivated more than 99.9% of SARs-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, within two minutes, in laboratory tests.

SaNOtize has been evaluating nitric oxide (NO), a naturally occurring nanomolecule, as a first-in-class drug with the potential to be used as a topical antimicrobial agent to treat a wide variety of bacterial, viral and fungal diseases, including chronic sinusitis, diabetic foot ulcer and COVID-19.