Tel Aviv, Israel, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Medigus Ltd. (Nasdaq: MDGS), a technology company engaged in advanced medical solutions, innovative internet technologies and electric vehicle and charging solutions, today announced that Polyrizon Ltd., a privately held company which Medigus owns 37.03% of its share capital, presented pre-clinical data showing that its Capture and Contain (C&C™) technology, PL-15 product candidate, has demonstrated the potential to reduce the infection rates of the highly transmissible coronavirus Omicron variant BA.1 in Cell Culture Assay.

The Omicron variant is a rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating an unusually high number of novel mutations, affecting the spike protein targeted by most COVID-19 vaccines and classified as a Variant of Concern (VOC) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Polyrizon evaluated several lead formulations of its platform for their preventative effect against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant BA.1 in cell culture assays. In these studies, different doses of Polyrizon’s product candidates were placed on the host cell surface prior to viral infection to potentially block the interaction and consequent infection. Among the tested formulations, PL-15 demonstrated the highest protection effect against the Omicron BA.1 variant from infecting epithelial host cells. The preventative effect of PL-15 was validated by both PCR for viral load quantification and viral induced cell mortality methods.