VIRALEZE™ Nasal Spray Protects Against Highly Infectious Omicron in Viral Challenge Model - Before or After Viral Exposure

MELBOURNE,Australia,July 20,2022 --Starpharma'sbroad-spectrum VIRALEZE™ nasal spray has shown protection against infection with the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a stringent viral challenge model.

VIRALEZE™ is a broad-spectrum barrier nasal spray,developed by Melbourne biotech company Starpharma,for application in the nasal cavity to help reduce exposure to virus. VIRALEZE™ is registered in more than 30 countries,including in Europe,and the UK where it is marketed by LloydsPharmacy.

Challenge models are often used in viral diseases to assess the ability of a product to treat or prevent an infection.

In this study,conducted at Scripps Research in the US,100% of animals treated with VIRALEZE™ before and after Omicron virus challenge had no detectable virus in lung,trachea,or nasal cavity at up to four days post-challenge.

VIRALEZE™ was also highly effective even if used only after exposure to virus– animals treated with VIRALEZE™ only after virus exposure exhibited a >99.999% reduction in viral load in both lung and trachea,compared with saline-treated animals,at day seven. This finding is important because it suggests that even when VIRALEZE™ is used after exposure to virus (e.g.,you forget to use the spray before exposure in a high-risk situation),it has potential to provide significant benefit.

These impressive results for VIRALEZE™ were in contrast to saline-treated animals,where 100% had high levels of virus detected in lung,and nasal cavity from as early as two days post-challenge.

Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley commented:

"Countries around the world are experiencing significant strain in their healthcare systems as a result of Omicron outbreaks. VIRALEZE™ represents an additional tool for use alongside vaccinations in these challenging times."

These new data provide further in vivo validation that VIRALEZE™ is highly effective in trapping and blocking virus in the nasal cavity and suggest that VIRALEZE™ could be used to help protect from infection with respiratory viruses,including multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants,and potentially as post-exposure prophylaxis to reduce severity of viral respiratory disease.

VIRALEZE™ also has a potential role in future pandemic preparedness given that SPL7013 in VIRALEZE™ has been shown to highly effectively block a broad spectrum of respiratory viruses,including pandemic-causing viruses,such as multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2,SARS-CoV,MERS-CoV,influenza A and B,and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in vitro.

For more information,visit www.starpharma.com