Altamira Therapeutics Ltd, a Bermudian-headquartered biotechnology company, has reported promising results for trials of a nasal spray in reduction of an allergy.

Altamira, which says it is dedicated to developing therapeutics that address important unmet medical needs, reported results from its clinical trial with Bentrio nasal spray in house dust mite (HDM) allergic rhinitis.

The company said the HDM challenge trial demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of nasal symptoms as opposed to untreated controls, besides good tolerability and safety.

Bentrio is a drug-free nasal spray intended for personal protection against airborne viruses and allergens with a triple mode of action.

At a single Canadian study site, Altamira said, the trial enrolled a total of 37 patients with a history of perennial allergic rhinitis caused by HDM exposure.

Study participants were randomised under an open label, three-period crossover design to receive either Bentrio in a single or double dose, or no treatment, prior to controlled allergen exposure in an environmental exposure chamber for three hours.

The primary endpoint was the change in the Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS; determined in 20-minute intervals) from baseline.

The Ancova (analysis of covariance) model showed that Bentrio treatment reduced the increase in mean TNSS during the three-hour exposure by 1.1 points (-1.87 to -0.28 in the 95 per cent confidence interval; p<0.01) v no treatment.

Under Bentrio treatment, the mean TNSS was 4.1 points v 5.2 points under no treatment.

The company said the changes in TNSS started to separate at the 40-minute time point and, on average, reached 1.5 to 2 points from the mid-point to the end of exposure.

The protective effect was observed both with a single or double puff per nostril with no meaningful difference between the two treatment approaches.

Regarding safety, there were only few adverse events, mostly mild, and more than 85 per cent of study participants rated the tolerability of Bentrio as “good” or “very good”, the company said.

Thomas Meyer, Altamira Therapeutics’ founder, chairman and CEO, said: “We are delighted with the outcome from the house dust mite challenge study as it confirms Bentrio’s ability to effectively and safely protect against various types of airborne allergens.

“The positive data from this perennial allergic rhinitis study is congruent with the favourable outcomes from our previous study of grass pollen in seasonal allergic rhinitis.”

He added: “We look forward to continuing the commercial rollout of Bentrio, helping to provide relief for those many allergy sufferers who have been looking for an effective over-the-counter treatment without any drug or preservative ingredients.”