Mallinckrodt and Novoteris receive clearance from Health Canada to start a pilot trial of high-dose inhaled nitric oxide therapy for COVID-19 infection and associated complications.- Mallinckrodt + Novoteris LLC

Mallinckrodt Plc and Novoteris, LLC, a clinical stage medical device and pharmaceutical developer focused on innovative nitric oxide gas applications, announced that the Therapeutic Products Directorate Of Health Canada has cleared the companies’ joint pilot clinical trial, entitled “Inhaled Gaseous Nitric Oxide (gNO) Antimicrobial Treatment of Difficult Bacterial and Viral Lung (COVID-19) Infections” application to investigate the use of Thiolanox, a high-dose inhaled nitric oxide therapy for the treatment of patients infected with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority facilities.

The investigative therapy employs Novoteris’ Inhaled Nitric Oxide Delivery Device (INODD) and Mallinckrodt’s high-concentration, 5000 PPM nitric oxide gas for inhalation canisters. The study will investigate the therapy’s safety and effectiveness in treating COVID-19 and its associated lung complications. The companies expect to begin recruiting patients in the coming days.

Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has been evaluated in randomized controlled trials, both in pediatric and adult patients with ARDS ( acute respiratory distress syndrome), and demonstrated partially dose-dependent improvement in blood oxygenation and decreased pulmonary artery pressure and, in one trial, improvements in the composite measure of days alive or free of ventilator support at day 28 of the trial (the last day evaluated). There have been other trials evaluating iNO in the context of ARDS, which have demonstrated mixed results. In an in vitro study, inhaled nitric oxide has demonstrated an inhibitory effect on the replication cycle of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Furthermore, a small clinical trial in SARS-CoV patients demonstrated improvements in blood oxygenation, a reduction in supplemental oxygen and a reduction in the amount of ventilator

Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has been evaluated in randomized controlled trials, both in pediatric and adult patients with ARDS, and demonstrated partially dose-dependent improvement in blood oxygenation and decreased pulmonary artery pressure support.