COVID-19 cure found? Swedish firm claims its mouth spray can deactivate virus by 98.3%

Guwahati: Enzymatica, a life science company from Sweden, hinting at a cure for the COVID-19, has recently claimed that its mouth spray ColdZyme can deactivate the dreaded virus by 98.3 percent in just 20 minutes.

According to the company, the primary results of an in-vitro (lab test) study of the mouth spray have shown that ColdZyme deactivates COVID-19 and other viruses by deactivating it in the "oral cavity", the company.

The company, in a statement, said, "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."

Enzymatica says that no cytotoxicity (the quality of being toxic to cells) was detected for ColdZyme at any dilution tested. The study was conducted by the US company Microbac Laboratories Inc, an independent accredited, and certified laboratory.

In previous lab tests, it was seen that the ColdZyme had the potential to cure another coronavirus, HCoV-229E, which causes the common cold. The company says the aggregated results have indicated that ColdZyme can be effective against a variety of coronaviruses, said the company.

COVID-19 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 minimize the spread of SARS-CoV-2," the company said.

Claus Egstrand, Enzymatica's CEO, said that even if the current in vitro results cannot be directly translated into clinical efficacy, the fact that ColdZyme is able to effectively deactivate SARS-CoV-2 in vitro shows that that can be taken further into clinical studies. He further added 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 Watch: Get Set Global: Travel Restrictions Creating Havoc For People In The UK