Researchers at the University of Hong Kong said on Tuesday they have, in collaboration with InnoHK, developed the world's first nasal spray for patients suffering from the most common type of stroke to receive timely emergency aid prior to their arrival at hospital.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the SAR, and ischemic stroke – caused by a blocked main artery – accounts for about 80 percent of the cases.

Patients inhaling the nasal spray, NanoPowder, within 30 minutes of the onset of stroke symptoms, the team said, will have medication delivered straight to their brain, reducing the size of the infarction by more than 80 percent and thus reducing complications.

Associate professor of pharmacology and pharmacy Aviva Chow said it currently takes more than two hours for patients to receive treatment in hospitals from the onset of symptoms and that only half of ischemic stroke patients manage to get the urgent medical assistance they need in time.

The NanoPowder nasal spray only gives ischemic stroke patients a bit of leeway timewise to get medical assistance, he stressed, and that hospitalisation is crucial.

While it usually takes 10 to 15 years to get a new medication from the discovery to the sale stage, the team expects the nasal spray will take only about five to seven years as they believe their application can be fast-tracked.

"Ischemic stroke is a major disease in global setting. Normally when FDA [the US Food and Drug Administration], EMA [European Medicines Agency] ... for some of the major disease that will have a global impact, for example like Covid, for example cancer, their approval process normally will be faster because that will be very helpful to patients to receive early treatment," Chow said.

Researchers aim to ultimately make the drug available for sale in pharmacies after carrying out clinical trials in 2030.

Chow hopes the drug can be rolled out up to three years after the trials, depending on regulatory approval.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden