Whether it’s allergies, a sinus infection or runny nose, many people turn to nasal sprays for quick relief. Now, there’s growing interest in other nasal spray products, such as vaccines, and even life-saving medications.
For years, nasal sprays have helped people with allergies. Recently, treating migraines, depression and opioid overdoses joined the list. There’s even an intranasal option for the flu vaccine.
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Doctors and researchers are working on other vaccines that would be beneficial in nasal spray form.
“Mucosal immunization gives you superior immunity in the airways, which is of a special utility for respiratory diseases, like COVID,” said Dr. David T. Curiel, a radiation oncologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Curiel says vaccines in nasal form target the airway, where a respiratory virus enters the body.
“A systemic injection, like mRNA, will augment antibodies in the blood, not so much in the lung,” Curiel said. “Airway vaccination, nasal vaccination, augments antibodies in the nose and airways, and that’s a better defense.”
And people who suffer from severe allergic reactions could also soon have a new defense. According to the allergy and asthma network, ARS Pharmaceuticals has completed a clinical study for a nasal spray version of epinephrine, called “NEFFY” and they just got FDA approval.
The FDA is also reviewing a self-administered FluMist nasal spray vaccine. If approved, it could be available later this year.
Other clinical trials of nasal sprays include Alzheimer’s at the University of Texas Medical branch and abnormal heart rhythms at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.