A nasal spray typically used to relieve allergy symptoms may help combat COVID-19, according to a new study.
People who received the azelastine nasal spray in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Germany were less likely to test positive for COVID-19, researchers reported on Sept. 2.
Only 5 participants who were administered the spray had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, compared with 15 in the placebo group, they said.
Spray recipients also had a lower incidence of symptomatic infections, a shorter duration of positivity, and a lower incidence of rhinovirus infections.
The single-center trial involved 450 people receiving the spray or a placebo three times a day for 56 days. The trial lasted from March 2023 to July 2024.
“Importantly, the safety profile was comparable to placebo, with only mild, expected local side effects such as bitter taste and occasional nosebleeds. Together, these results support azelastine as a safe, accessible candidate for respiratory infection prophylaxis,” Dr. Robert Bals, professor of internal medicine at Saarland University, who led the trial, told The Epoch Times in an email.
In a commentary article, also published by JAMA Internal Medicine, U.S. researchers Dr. Samuel Vidal and Dr. Dan Barouch said that the German scientists reported “promising data.”
Since the trial was carried out at one center and had a relatively modest size, further studies are needed to assess whether the spray is actually effective against COVID-19, Bals and his coauthors said.
“These findings support the potential of azelastine as a safe prophylactic approach warranting confirmation in larger, multicentric trials,” they wrote. Bals said that they are planning on how to further investigate the potential of azelastine against respiratory infections.
The trial was funded by URSAPHARM Arzneimittel GmbH, which manufactures the spray, and some of the authors are employees of the company.
In the United States, azelastine was approved in 2012 to reduce symptoms of seasonal allergies. It is sold as Dymista and is also available generically. Side effects include drowsiness and headache.
Earlier Findings
Some earlier papers have also indicated that the spray works against seasonal viruses.
In a trial carried out in India that involved some of the same German researchers, neither arm had COVID-19-related hospitalizations, but recipients of azelastine had lower viral loads and improved symptoms, the researchers said in a 2024 paper.
People who tested positive for COVID-19 and received the antihistamine had lower viral loads than placebo recipients, researchers, including some of the authors of the new paper, said in a 2023 paper. The trial was conducted in Germany.
Both of those trials were funded by URSAPHARM.
Scientists said in 2022 that a study indicated that azelastine reduced the effects of COVID-19 in vitro, or in a laboratory setting. The study received funding from CEBINA GmbH, a partner of URSAPHARM.