Mucoadhesive micelles for delivery of drugs to the lung for the prophylactic treatment of COVID-19

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The soaring death tolls from COVID-19 and the non-sustainability of the current economic situation pose an urgent worldwide need for an innovative solution to protect the public upon the anticipated restart of the economy. This project will focus on the development of a nasal spray formulation for post-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19 which will help control the number of infections and, in turn, hasten the safe return of the public to normal life as well as being useful for control in the anticipated second wave. This proposal offers an innovative, straightforward and scalable prophylactic approach that can be self-administered by combining anti-viral drugs with proprietary and patented mucoadhesive micelles to provide a prolonged protective effect against infection. We will focus on the formulation of a nasal spray containing either hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) or a novel Angiopoietin-Tie2 inhibitor, which is proprietary to our partner Mannin Research Inc. Each drug will be incorporated into the patented mucoadhesive micelle delivery system from the Sheardown lab. These formulations will act as a prophylactic, either preventing entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, into the respiratory tract or minimizing its impact and severity. They will then be developed for clinical use in partnership with Mannin.