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A consortium formed by the University of Coimbra, the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra and two companies, one Portuguese and the other Canadian, wants to develop an innovative therapy to eliminate “in a few seconds” the virus that causes covid-19
Called FOTOVID, the project aims to eliminate the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the covid-19 disease, “right at the body’s main ‘gateway’, that is, in the nasal cavities, using photodynamic therapy ”, says the University of Coimbra (UC), in a note sent this Wednesday to the Lusa agency.
The investigation, which “just 450 thousand euros of financing“of the 2020 Center Operative Program, brings together the UC, through multidisciplinary teams from the Faculties of Science and Technology (FCTUC) and Medicine (FMUC), the Hospital and University Center of Coimbra (CHUC) and the companies LaserLeap, of Coimbra , who coordinates the project, and Ondine Biomedical (Canada), a world leader in antibacterial photoinfection.
FOTOVID is based on “recent knowledge that SARS-CoV-2 is associated with a protein preferentially present in the nasal passages, where a reservoir of viruses responsible for the transmission of the disease and generalization of the infection is created,” they refer those responsible for the consortium.
So, “Inactivation of viruses present in the nasal cavities in the early stages of COVID-19 disease can speed up treatment., allow only the mildest forms of the disease to manifest themselves and help prevent the spread of the pandemic. “
Starting from a nasal disinfection technology created by the Canadian company partner in the project, which is already used worldwide to kill multi-resistant bacteria, the consortium will develop an innovative therapy capable of killing viruses, in particular the coronavirus responsible for covid-19.
Therefore, the investigation will be “much faster and, if successful, the putting on the market will be easier and at a reduced cost“, highlights the UC.
“This is the innovation of the project, since the technology was never applied to the inactivation of viruses”, underlines, quoted by UC, Luís Arnaut, one of the scientists involved in the research.
“We are proposing a procedure with a high degree of sophistication, which has already proven its effectiveness in disinfecting the nasal passages, even for multi-resistant bacteria where existing therapeutic alternatives always fail, that is, multi-resistant bacteria have been inactivated with photodynamic therapy. “, Explain.
“This high degree of sophistication augurs the greatest success of therapy to combat covid-19”, argues Luís Arnaut.
In practice, synthesizes the FCTUC professor, the consortium proposes “a repositioning of molecules”, that is, it uses a therapy that “is being used to destroy multi-resistant bacteria”, repositioning them to kill viruses.
the the first tests will start in October, at the UC School of Medicine, with virus samples from patients infected with COVID-19, provided by CHUC.
Subsequently, when the efficacy of the photodynamic inactivation of the virus is verified, clinical trials will continue (to be coordinated by specialists Manuel Santos Rosa and José Saraiva da Cunha) with volunteer patients, foreseeably in the next year.
Photodynamic therapy is a non-invasive, fast (it can only last a few seconds) and inexpensive treatment.
The technology “will be applied in an early phase of treatment, to avoid further complications, on an outpatient basis”, underlines Luís Arnaut.
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