US Scientists Developing Nasal Spray To Prevent Covid-19https://www.barrons.com/news/us-scientists-developing-nasal-spray-to-prevent-covid-19-01606854309Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the biotech firm Regeneron are investigating whether technology developed for gene therapy can be used to make a nasal spray that will prevent infection with the new coronavirus.
The idea is to use a weakened virus as a delivery truck to carry genetic instructions to cells within the nose and the throat, which will in turn create powerful antibodies to stop SARS-CoV-2 from invading our bodies.
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Wilson is a pioneer of gene therapy -- delivering genetic code into a patient's cells to correct for defects and treat disease.
His research team discovered that the Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) group of viruses, which infect both humans and other primates but aren't known to cause disease, can be engineered to ferry healthy DNA into cells.
This approach led in 2019 to the approval of Zolgensma, the first drug for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, and today AAVs are being investigated for dozens of more possible applications.
Wilson was contacted by the US government in February to see if he and his lab could use the technology against Covid-19.
But it wasn't until Regeneron developed two promising lab-made antibodies against the coronavirus, which bind to a surface protein of the pathogen and stop it from invading our cells, that his team could move ahead.
My emphasis. So
Trump-Who-Wasted-Two-Months started working with both this UPenn research group and Regeneron in February.
