Auris Medical soared as high as 480% on Tuesday after it announced lab-test results that showed its nasal spray could protect against the coronavirus. Shares of the Bermuda-based clinical-stage company were trading at over $5 per share after closing at just $1.1 on Monday - Insider reports.
Auris tested its nasal spray AM-301 on human nasal cells reconstituted in a lab. Auris found that cultures treated with AM-301 right before inoculation with the coronavirus had effective protection against the virus.
The amount of virus was 90% lower 48 hours after infection than that observed in controls. And 72 hours after infection, the virus was 99.2% lower. In saline-treated control cultures, the coronavirus replicated efficiently.
"With our newly developed spray formulation, we have direct evidence that AM-301 has the potential to significantly mitigate the risk of infection of nasal mucosal cells," Auris Medical CEO Thomas Meyer said.
Meyer said Auris would take AM-301 through additional tests and look to submit to regulatory applications in 2021.
AM-301 is a drug-free nasal spray being developed by Auris' affiliate, Altamira Medica.
