New Delhi: Diversified entity ITC on Thursday confirmed that it is developing a nasal spray for COVID-19 prevention, for which it has initiated clinical trials.
Developed by scientists at ITC Life Sciences and Technology Center (LSTC), Bengaluru, the company plans to market the nasal spray under the Savlon brand once it gets all the requisite regulatory approvals, according to sources.
When contacted for comments, a spokesperson of ITC said, "We are unable to share more details at the current moment as the clinical trials are underway." The spokesperson declined to comment on a detailed query on where is the clinical trial being done, from where the commercial production would be done when approved and under what brand the nasal spray would be marketed.
However, sources said the company had received approvals from ethics committees and is registered with Clinical Trial Registry-India (CT RI) for clinical trials of the nasal spray, in which is designed to arrest the virus at the entry point in the nasal cavity itself.
They further said the product has the potential to be effective and safe in preventing infection and transmission of COVID-19 along with the existing measures of hygiene recommended by health authorities.
ITC's LSTC has been at the core of the company's drive for science-led product innovation to support and build its wide range of product portfolio.
The company's R&D teams were instrumental in developing a range of innovative health and hygiene offerings that were commercially made available under the Savlon brand, during the pandemic.
According to Sagacious IP, a global intellectual property research and consulting firm, ITC topped the list of Indian private companies that filed patents in India in healthcare and pharma between 2015-2020 at 453 filings. The ranking was part of its report on the pharma and healthcare sector earlier this year.
It had further noted that ITC was among the top 15 companies to file patents in India.
Though not yet confirmed, the nasal spray would most likely be launched under the “Savlon” brand. Through the Covid-19 pandemic, ITC had launched a slew of products – from disinfectant sprays, masks to wipes –under the Savlon brand in keeping with consumer requirements.
That pushed the Savlon consumer spend to more than Rs 1,000 crore in FY21, a four-fold jump over the previous year and about 15-16 times since its acquisition in 2015.
The nasal spray, according to sources, is to build on the health and hygiene platform.
Diversification is not quite new to ITC. In a bid to hedge against headwinds in cigarettes it had created multiple drivers of growth and the two-decade-old non-cigarettes FMCG (of which Savlon is a part) is the youngest entrant in the portfolio.
“Nasal sprays may yet be a promising weapon against Covid:
Clinical trials of a nasal spray called Sanotize in the UK also look promising for use in people already infected with Covid. The spray, which is not yet available to purchase, could prevent the transmission of Covid, shorten its course and reduce the severity of symptoms in those already infected – according to strong phase two trial results.
Pankaj Sharma, Professor of neurology and director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Research at Royal Holloway, University of London, explains that the spray works by delivering nitric oxide into the nasal cavity, where the virus incubates when it first enters our bodies.
Nitric oxide has been shown to inactivate the Covid virus by disrupting its structural integrity. Our bodies produce nitric oxide naturally and it helps with important bodily functions such as widening the blood vessels to allow for blood flow. “
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