
At a time when pharma firms are jostling with each other to find a cure to COVID-19, a Swedish life science company, Enzymatica, claims its mouth spray ColdZyme can deactivate SARS-Cov-2 or COVID-19 by 98.3 per cent in just 20 minutes. The primary results of an in-vitro (lab test) study of the mouth spray have shown that ColdZyme acts as a protective barrier against COVID-19 and other viruses by deactivating it in "oral cavity", the company has said.
The barrier solution of the device is mainly composed of glycerol and Atlantic cod trypsin. "The goal of the present study was to determine the ability of ColdZyme to deactivate SARS-CoV-2 known to cause the COVID-19 pandemic. A virucidal efficacy suspension test was conducted using ColdZyme against SARS-CoV-2. ColdZyme deactivated SARS-CoV-2 by 98.3% (1.76 log10) in 20 minutes," the company added.
Furthermore, no cytotoxicity (the quality of being toxic to cells) was detected for ColdZyme at any dilution tested. The study -- based on a standardised and validated methodology, i.e. ASTM International test method -- was conducted by the US company Microbac Laboratories Inc - an independent, accredited and certified laboratory.
Notably, previous in-vitro results made with the same method had also shown that ColdZyme was effective against another coronavirus, HCoV-229E, which causes the common cold, and in comparison to SARS-CoV-2 belongs to another subgroup within the corona family. The company says the aggregated results have indicated that ColdZyme can be effective against a variety of coronaviruses.
How does ColdZyme work?
SARS-CoV-2 actively replicates in the throat and shows high viral shedding also at a time of mild symptoms. "ColdZyme sprayed onto the mouth and throat could lower the risk of infection, and decrease the viral load locally. The lowered viral load may decrease viral shedding and thus minimise the spread of SARS-CoV-2," the company claimed.
"Even if the current in vitro results cannot be directly translated into clinical efficacy, it is very interesting that ColdZyme is able to effectively deactivate SARS-CoV-2 in vitro since it constitutes a proof-of-principle that can be taken further into clinical studies," said Claus Egstrand, Enzymatica's Chief Operating Officer.
Egstrand said the results indicated that ColdZyme could offer a protective barrier against SARS-CoV-2. No company has claimed full-proof success in finding COVID-19 pandemic so far.
Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: BCG vaccine trials start in Tamil Nadu; Bill Gates hails Indian pharma
Copyright©2025 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today