Key takeaways
- A nasal spray developed by UCLA virologists works by disabling molecules on the surface of viruses that help them infect cells and does not require the body to mount an immune response like vaccines do.
- The spray has been highly effective at preventing or minimizing the severity of COVID in mice, and several other deadly viruses such as Ebola, Nipah, and other airborne viral diseases in cells.
- The team has now received up to $12.76 million dollars over four years from the federal government's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) for further development and, eventually, human trials.
A nasal spray developed by UCLA virologists could prevent the next viral pandemic. The spray works by directly disabling molecules on the surface of viruses that help them infect cells and does not require the body to mount an immune response like vaccines do. Research led by virologist Hector Aguilar-Carreno in collaboration with chemist Adam Braunschweig as co-founders of Synko Pharma Corp along with CEO Bob Serrano, has shown that the sprays have been highly effective at preventing or minimizing the severity of COVID in mice, and several other deadly viruses such as Ebola, Nipah and other airborne viral diseases in cells. The team has now received up to $12.76 million dollars over four years from the federal government's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) for further development and, eventually, human trials.
Most viruses of high threat to human health are encapsulated within a lipid envelope densely decorated with proteins carrying complex carbohydrates called glycans that bind and fuse with the surface of host cells and open a pathway into the cell like a key in a lock. Aguilar-Carreno, who is a UCLA professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, leads a research team that has discovered that small molecules called synthetic carbohydrate receptors (SCRs) bind to the viral glycans and interfere with viral entry into the host cells, effectively disarming the viruses to prevent infection.
"When SCRs bind to a glycan, they block its function," Aguilar-Carreno said. "It's like putting a stiff brace or a weight on your arm. Your arm is not totally destroyed, but it can't work normally."
Vaccines work by helping the body recognize a virus and launch an immune response against it, and must be carefully tailored to each type of virus. Vaccine development is thus often too slow to prevent a completely new epidemic or halt it in its tracks. By targeting surface molecules common across many categories of viruses, SCRs inhibit viruses from multiple families, including flaviviruses, coronaviruses, paramyxoviruses and filoviruses in cell cultures and against COVID when delivered by a nasal spray, in mice.
"We tested around 65 SCRs on all of the deadliest viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Nipah, Hendra and Marburg, and found four SCRs that work against every single one of these viruses," Aguilar-Carreno said. "This is very exciting because our SCRs could be the first true broad-spectrum antivirals."
The federal funding from ARPA-H under the SCRIBE (Synthetic Carbohydrate Receptors for Infection Blocking of the Exposed) initiative will allow the team to analyze in cells and animals a broader spectrum of viruses, test how well the compounds prevent infection, treat existing infections and prevent viral transmission, as well as assess toxicity and experiment with different modes of delivery, in addition to as an intranasal spray. The funding to the Aguilar-Carreno group is about $3.3 million, a part of the larger up to $12.76 million award, with about half of the total earmarked for a phase I human clinical trial.
