Local antiviral activity of the drug «Thymogen®», nasal dosed spray, against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in vitro

On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global pharmaceutical industry has achieved impressive results in the development and introduction of various types of vaccines causing the formation of acquired immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus into clinical practice. However, none of them currently show the declared one hundred percent guarantee of protection. In the case of the COVID-19 disease, patients with concomitant pathologies are the most vulnerable to the occurrence of severe complications. The aerosol route of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 contributes to the emergence of outbreaks of the new coronavirus infection in crowded places and closed rooms with poor ventilation. In this regard, an urgent problem is the search for drugs with local antiviral activity, which, together with restrictive measures and mask wearing policy, can potentially reduce the likelihood of contracting coronavirus. In this experimental in vitro study on Vero CCL81 cell culture (ATCC), the local antiviral activity of the drug Thymogen^® spray against the SARS-CoV-2 virus was studied in comparison with the antiseptic Miramistin® solution. As a result of the experiment, no toxic effects on Vero cells were detected in the drugs in the studied concentrations. In a series of experiments, Thymogen^® spray showed local antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 when the virus titer was 5,2 lg TCID50. Therefore, the drug Thymogen^® dosed nasal spray has high potential as a topical drug for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 disease, which requires additional confirmation in relevant clinical studies.

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