GREENVILLE, N.C. — Researchers at East Carolina University have found a new nanotechnology that they say could successfully treat COVID-19.
What You Need To Know
A research team at East Carolina University discovered a new COVID-19 drug treatment
The drug, SNAT, stands for Smart Nano Antiviral Therapy
It helped reduce symptoms and viral load in hamsters
SNAT is low cost, highly effective and easily stored
Dr. Shaw Akula has been working at ECU for almost 20 years. He and his research partner, Dr. Lok Pokhrel, are working on a new nanotechnology drug to help treat COVID-19.
The drug is called SNAT, and it stands for Smart Nano Antiviral Therapy.
“We being able to develop this amazing technology. It feels really good and exciting, obviously, for the technology and what the technology future might hold,” Pokhrel said.
Pokhrel and Akula were working on this technology years before COVID-19 to try to create an antibacterial. However, during the pandemic, they decided to test SNAT on hamsters infected with COVID-19 to see if it helped improve symptoms. They found that hamsters who received SNAT had fewer symptoms, a lower viral load and good lung health.
Through continued studies over the past three years, the team has a low-cost, highly effective, easily stored COVID-19 drug. The possibilities extend far beyond their lab.
“Because of COVID-19, we saw this big gap between the rich and the poor, high resource country versus low resource country, not having access to health care, antiviral therapy or the vaccine,” Pokhrel said. “So our SNAT may fill that void.”
The hope is because SNAT doesn't require refrigeration, it may give third-world countries access to COVID-19 treatments that aren't available to them right now. Pokhrel and Akula hope that their research can benefit people all over the world who are struggling, not only with COVID-19 but other respiratory diseases as well.
“It's like a platform,” Akula said. “We can try to adapt this platform against other pathogens, other respiratory disease-causing pathogens. So we are really excited.”
With the research phase of their study complete, Pokhrel and Akula are hoping to start the clinical trial process with humans. If it's effective in all phases of a clinical trial, they can look for FDA approval.
You can read the full study here for more about how this new technology works.