- At the Strasbourg Faculty of Medicine, researcher Philippe Lavalle works on biomaterials in an Inserm laboratory.
- In October 2019, he participated in the creation of the company Spartha Medical, with a view to marketing antibacterial coatings.
- In April 2020, the National Research Agency supported its work which could be used in the fight against the coronavirus.
In one shot, defend your mouth and your nostrils from the coronavirus ... With a few other sprays, protect the equipment in a hospital room ... It will take several months to find out if Spartha Medical's research will allow this revolution. The National Research Agency has in any case shown interest: € 200,000 has been allocated to the Strasbourg company as part of the fight against Covid-19.
It all started with research by the Inserm laboratory on biomaterials in Strasbourg. This involves improving materials intended to come into contact with the human body, such as prostheses or implants. "For four or five years, the laboratory has been working on the installation of coatings intended to fight against infections," says Philippe Lavalle, research director at unit 1121. It has been observed that, among infections in hospitals which are more and more numerous, half were linked to a medical device. "
The target: proteins
How to protect materials from bacteria? Thanks to the properties of long molecules, polymers. "Our biopolymer coatings tend to stick to cells, to make holes in the membranes of bacteria", describes the researcher. In October 2019, the company Spartha Medical was created on the basis of this discovery with the aim of producing antibacterial coatings.
But bacteria and viruses don't work the same way. So, what interest in the fight against the Covid-19? “By consulting the scientific literature, we realized that the molecule that we wanted to use in our technology had antiviral properties, explains Philippe Lavalle. Our coatings will stick to and destroy the surface proteins of the virus. "
A "mask" to spray
Spartha Medical, which was already working on the idea of an antibacterial spray, could therefore eventually develop a spray that is also antiviral. "It could probably be used on medical devices," considers the Strasbourg researcher. We are thinking about oral or nasal inhalation, why not for the general public? Instead of putting on a mask, it is about protecting the mucous membranes, which are often the gateway to the virus. "
The molecule of the spray could thus "trap" the virus when it comes into contact with a person who has sprayed the product. Be careful, it's not for now. “As soon as you touch the human body, the regulations are very heavy, says Philippe Lavalle. It takes several months, even several years of testing and regulatory phase, even if with the Covid certain processes are accelerated. "
Prepare for the next virus
According to the researcher, it will take at least eighteen months to prove the effectiveness of the product, before a possible marketing of a spray usable on objects. In the meantime, there is reason to hope that the coronavirus epidemic has lost ground, or even is ancient history. But the spray would still be useful for other viruses.
“It is really generic, since it plays on a physical action between our molecule and the protein of viruses, whatever they are, underlines Philippe Lavalle. There may be small adaptations to be made, but we will be able to rely on databases and artificial intelligence to predict which is the right molecule to act against this or that virus, without doing months of experiments. And, perhaps, prevent future epidemics.
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