Nasal delivery as a strategy for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19

The upper respiratory tract is a major route of infection for COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. Thus, it appears logical to exploit the nose as administration site to prevent, fight, or minimize infectious spread and treat the disease. Numerous nasal products addressing these aspects have been considered and developed for COVID-19.

This review gives a comprehensive overview of the different approaches involving nasal delivery, i.e., nasal vaccination, barrier products, and antiviral pharmacological treatments that have led to products on the market or under clinical evaluation, highlighting the peculiarities of the nose as application and absorption site and pointing at key aspects of nasal drug delivery.

From the analysis of nasal delivery strategies to prevent or fight COVID-19, it emerges that, especially for nasal immunization, formulations appear the same as originally designed for parenteral administration, leading to suboptimal results. On the other hand, mechanical barrier and antiviral products, designed to halt or treat the infection at early stage, have been proven effective but were rarely brought to the clinics. If supported by robust and targeted product development strategies, intranasal immunization and drug delivery can represent valid and sometimes superior alternatives to more conventional parenteral and oral medications.