An Interesting Argument Surfaces For Treating Coronavirus Patients Prior To Requiring Hospitalization

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an interesting article expressing the argument that our healthcare system would be “less burdened” if coronavirus patients were treated prior to requiring hospitalization and suggesting that their are therapeutic options that patients can take themselves at in the comfort of their respective houses. The article is titled “Too Much Caution Is Killing Covid Patients -Doctors should follow the evidence for promising therapies. Instead they demand certainty.“

One interesting excerpt from the article read as follows: “Too many doctors have interpreted the term “evidence-based medicine” to mean that the evidence for a treatment must be certain and definitive before it can be given to patients. Because accusing a physician of not being “evidence based” can be a career-damaging allegation, fear of straying from the pack has prevailed, favoring inertia and inaction amid uncertainty about Covid-19 treatments.”

This topic is also the subject of a Nov. 19 hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. You can check out their article/video titled: “Early Outpatient Treatment: An Essential Part of a COVID-19 Solution”

Currently, Seattle-based Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS) is working on AT-301 which is their proprietary COVID-19 nasal spray program that is being developed for at home use for patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently no FDA-approved therapies to treat COVID-19 at home.

“Our COVID-19 nasal spray program has progressed very well during the quarter, with our Phase 1 study of AT-301 nasal spray demonstrating good safety and tolerability at two different dose levels in both single and multiple dose forms over a 14-day trial period. We are very encouraged by these preliminary results. In the next 30 days we plan to file a pre-IND meeting request with the FDA and, subject to their input, plan to immediately commence a Phase 2 study, either in the U.S. or abroad, in patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. We believe AT-301 nasal spray is unique among the various therapies under development for COVID-19. While other companies are focused on therapies for patients being treated in hospitals, we are developing AT-301 for at-home use for the vast majority of COVID-19 patients who do not require hospitalization. Although great progress has been made by companies developing vaccines, it has become clear that a vaccine won’t provide a complete solution to the pandemic. No vaccine will be 100 percent effective and surveys have shown that many people won’t take a vaccine even when one becomes available. Similar to the seasonal flu where vaccines don’t provide complete community protection and people also rely on therapies, our AT-301 nasal spray therapy should form an important and necessary component of a comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Steven Quay, Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

You may learn more at Atossa’s website : www.atossathereapeutics.com