Researcher Patrick Pageat will begin in October a phase of animal testing of a drug against Covid-19 on which he has been working since May 2020. The founder of the Institute for Research in Semiochemistry and Applied Ethology (IRSEA) in Apt (Vaucluse) assured the
Dauphiné Libéré to
have so far "obtained interesting results".
He worked on human cells grown in the laboratory.
Ultimately, the treatment could be administered in the form of a nasal spray in order to stop the process of coronavirus replication.
The objective is therefore to eliminate the latter, and not to fight against the vascular manifestations of Covid-19, described as "second phase of the disease" by the scientist.
"The idea is to administer it very quickly after contamination, ie after the appearance of the first symptoms", explained Patrick Pageat.
Tests on contaminated hamsters
Clinical trials will be carried out on contaminated hamsters, which have, among other things, the characteristic of not risking infecting humans.
The work will last several weeks and, if successful, will be followed by tests on humans in collaboration with a future partner.
The drug will have to be used in parallel with the vaccine anyway since it does not immunize against the coronavirus.
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