The Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price finished in the green today following a positive release by the company.
At Tuesday's market close, the biopharmaceutical company's shares were up 3.46% to $1.345.
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What did Starpharma announce?
Starpharma announced the results for its multiple dose clinical safety study for its Viraleze antiviral nasal spray.
The company said the product was very well tolerated, with no notable or serious adverse events reported.
Starpharma also confirmed the antiviral agent in Viraleze, SPL7013, was not absorbed into the bloodstream following repeated nasal application. This is in line with previous non-clinical and clinical data.
The randomised, double-blind study involved 40 healthy volunteers who used Viraleze four times a day for a 2-week period. The primary objective of the trial was to assess the safety and tolerability of Viraleze.
Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley commented:
We are pleased to report that Viraleze was very well tolerated in the study. This additional clinical data adds to the extensive body of evidence for SPL7013, demonstrating its extremely benign safety profile and confirming lack of systemic absorption of SPL7013 in Viraleze. These data further support the suitability of Viraleze antiviral nasal spray for use in everyday situations as a preventative product where individuals may be at risk of exposure to respiratory viruses.
An antiviral nasal spray like Viraleze is advantageous because respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, take hold by initially infecting mucosal cells in the nasal cavity, and Viraleze and SPL7013 form a barrier that traps and irreversibly inactivates viruses before they can infect cells.
Quick take on Viraleze
Viraleze is an antiviral nasal spray that has shown in laboratory studies to inactivate a broad spectrum of respiratory/cold viruses. This includes multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), influenza, RSV, SARS, and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
Starpharma's Viraleze is currently registered for sale in Europe and India. It is not approved for sale or supply in Australia.
About the Starpharma share price
Over the last 12 months, Starpharma shares gained 27%, but tracked the other way in 2021, down 13%.
Starpharma presides a market capitalisation of roughly $548.2 million, with approximately 406 million shares on its books.
