Covid-19 nasal spray: Israel, New Zealand give interim approval for sale; watch how it works

Jerusalem, Wellington - Company says its formulation is designed to “kill viruses in the upper airway".

Israel and New Zealand have given interim approval for the sale of biotech firm SaNOtize Research and Development’s Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) which could help prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus, the company said on Monday.

Manufacturing of NONS, under the brand name Enovid, has begun in Israel with SaNOtize’s partner Nextar Chempharma Solutions Ltd and it is expected to be on sale there this summer.

In New Zealand, SaNOtize has registered its nasal spray with the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, which permits the company to distribute and sell NONS over the counter immediately, the Vancouver-based company said.

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However, New Zealand’s health ministry said it has not approved the product for use as an anti-viral nasal spray.

But the approval referred to by the company may relate to a notification made to the New Zealand Web-Assisted Notification Database (WAND) operated by Medsafe, where medical devices for supply in New Zealand are required to be notified. This is not an application or approval process, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.