Development of aerosolized encapsulated recombinant ACE2 for treating COVID-19 early symptom patients

由于缺乏有效的疫苗和可靠的临床测试治疗方法，新冠肺炎已经引发了一场全球大流行。随着全球500多万人感染，到2020年5月中旬，全球死亡人数超过32.5万人，加拿大死亡人数超过6000人，预计还会增加。大多数全球医学研究工作目前都集中在创造疫苗上，预计至少12个月后就能上市。重症监护病房(ICU)患者合并肺组织损伤的治疗也一直受到关注。然而，在全球和加拿大的努力中，开始表现出典型初始症状的感染者被忽视了。由于检测或部件短缺，世界大部分地区无法为广大公众提供充分的检测。如果没有足够和及时的治疗，这些患者最终会演变为ICU患者，可能会使我们的医疗系统不堪重负。在经历典型早期症状的患者中控制病毒繁殖率的可能性是这一建议背后的主要灵感。 来自不列颠哥伦比亚大学(横跨土地和食品系统、科学、应用科学、机械工程和医学学院)、不列颠哥伦比亚省圣保罗鼻窦中心(心肺创新中心)、澳大利亚伍尔科克医学研究所(悉尼大学)的专家团队与设备制造商EnWave Inc.(BC)合作，提议开发一种可呼吸的诱饵：使用与病毒受体结合的封装重组血管紧张素转换酶2(RhACE2)的可吸入微粒。这些微粒将被设计成通过吸入器在早期症状患者的呼吸道内释放，在病毒到达目标之前与病毒表面结合。我们的解决方案并不旨在成为新冠肺炎的疫苗，而是旨在利用病毒与受体的亲和力来创造一种治疗SARS-CoV-2感染症状的方案。

COVID-19 has generated a global pandemic due to lack of effective vaccine and reliable clinically tested treatments. With more than 5 million people infected globally, the number of deaths surpassed 325 thousand globally, and 6 thousand in Canada by mid-May 2020, and is expected to increase. Most global medical research efforts are currently focused on the creation of a vaccine, expected to be available in at least 12 months. Attention has also been dedicated to the treatment of intensive care unit (ICU) patients with lung tissue damage. However, infected people who are starting to show typical initial symptoms, are being overlooked in both global and Canadian efforts. Large parts of the world are unable to provide adequate testing for the public at large due to a shortage of tests or components thereof. Without adequate and timely treatment, these patients eventually evolve into ICU patients, potentially overwhelming our healthcare system. The possibility of containment of the virus reproduction rate in patients experiencing typical early symptoms is the main inspiration behind this proposal. The team of experts from the University of British Columbia (across Faculties of Land & Food Systems, Science, Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Medicine), the St. Paul's Sinus Centre (Center of Heart and Lung Innovation), BC, and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (University of Sydney), Australia, in partnership with equipment manufacturer Enwave Inc., BC, proposes to develop a breathable decoy: inhalable microparticles using encapsulated recombinant Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (rhACE2) that binds to the virus-receptors. These microparticles will be designed to be released inside the respiratory tract of early symptoms patients, via inhalers, to bind to the virus surface before the virus reaches the target. Our solution does not aim to be a vaccine for Covid-19, rather aims to exploit the virus-receptor affinity to create a solution to treat the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection.