Ole Miss, UMMC part of research effort to develop nasal spray to block COVID-19 infection
By Justin Vicory / Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Researchers at the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi Medical Center are on the front lines of developing a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Two faculty members for the university’s schools of pharmacy and medicine are part of a research team that is looking at developing a nasal spray that could potentially prevent infection of the virus.
If successful, the treatment could be prescribed by a doctor and self-administered, according to researchers.
The treatment uses heparin, a complex sugar that is commonly used as an anticoagulant, to block the virus from attaching to and entering cells.
The group of researchers is led by Joshua Sharp, a UM associate professor of pharmacology, and Ritesh Tandon, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Additional media interviews:
WTVA: Ole Miss researchers working on a coronavrius treatment
FOX 13: Ole Miss researchers a sniff away from stopping COVID-19
WJTV: Ole Miss professor developing nasal spray to combat COVID-19
MPB: Nasal spray could block coronavirus, Mississippi researchers say