By Karen Roman
NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE: NNVC) said the recent outbreak of the hantavirus on a cruise ship highlights the need for broad-spectrum antiviral drugs such as NV-387.
The hantavirus gets into the lungs through droplets of cough or spit from an infected person and incidents are becoming more common on cruises, making a global spread more likely, it said.
“Patient zero” and his wife, who passed away, were infected with the virus before boarding the ship, as well as another passengers onboard, the company said. Several passengers are under observation, while other people have recovered. NanoViricides said onboard, the hantavirus can transmit person to person and has a high fatality rate.
Authorities are tracing everyone that disembarked before the deadly cases were confirmed on May 2, including seven Americans that are now in four states, with none of them testing positive and suggesting minimal risk so far, the company said.
“NV-387 could have possibly saved lives of the infected patients, given the preponderance of evidence on effectiveness of NV-387 in lethal lung infections in animal models,” said Anil R. Diwan, PhD, NanoViricides President and Executive Chairman. “Physicians in charge could have sought it under emergency or expanded use procedures, given that there is no drug for the treatment of hantavirus infections. NV-387 has successfully completed Phase I clinical trial of safety and tolerability in healthy human volunteers.”
The NV-387 drug has been effective in the treatment of a range of viruses including Coronaviruses, RSV, Influenza, Monkeypox, and Measles virus, since it is a broad-spectrum antiviral that is ready for use, NanoViricides confirmed. NV-387 is designed to address over 90% of pathogenic viral infections, known and unknown, and it could have saved the lives of the deceased passengers and all the other persons infected onboard of the ship, the company declared.
Vaccine development takes time and it’s not always feasible to produce a new set of drugs to combat all possible viruses, considering variants like COVID-19, the company stated.
“Only safe and effective broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that can effectively combat most viral infections will enable the world to defend the global population in the war against known and unknown nanoscopic enemies that are viruses,” said Dr. Diwan. “NV-387 is the only drug with this potential that is in clinical development today, to the best of our knowledge.”
For more information, find the full press release HERE.
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