A new collaboration is underway between researchers at CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre based at NUI Galway and Industry partner Aerogen, a world leader in high-performance aerosol drug delivery.
The project, costing over €400,000, is focused on optimising the Aerogen Solo nebulizer for the delivery of Heparin into the lung of patients with Covid-19 induced Acute Respiratory Failure.
Heparin is a compound that occurs in the body, which prevents blood clotting.
The project will run until September 2021 and clinical patient trials are due to commence in December 2020.
Led by Professor John Laffey at CÚRAM, NUI Galway and Dr Ronan MacLoughlin at Aerogen, the project will determine the safety, efficacy and mechanisms of action of nebulized heparin in Covid-19 induced Acute Respiratory Failure.
The Aerogen Solo converts the liquid drug into a nebulised mist of consistently sized droplets that enable medication to get deep into the patients' lung.
Professor John Laffey, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at NUI Galway, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Galway University Hospitals and CÚRAM Investigator, said that disordered clotting in the lungs is a feature of Covid-19 induced ARDS.
"Heparin has specific potential benefits in Covid infection. It inactivates the SARSCoV-2 virus and prevents its entry into mammalian cells and appears likely to have a beneficial effect in these patients too, provided it can be safely and effectively delivered to the lungs," he said.
A recent study completed with 256 mechanically ventilated patients with or at risk of developing ARDS showed that nebulized heparin delivered by the Aerogen Solo device, reduced the development of ARDS and increased the number of surviving patients discharged home at day 60.
