NASA Develops Nasal Spray for Motion Sickness
A new nasal spray can relieve symptoms of motion sickness, says NASA. The space exploration agency has tied up with Epiomed Therapeutics Inc. to market one of its inventions, a fast-acting nasal spray that helps against motion sickness.
Who would better understand motion sickness than the NASA? The agency has done extensive research on the subject to find ways that could help the astronauts work in space stations without getting nauseated.
Epiomed will formulate the drug called intranasal scopolamine or INSCOP. The drug can be injected or taken as a pill. NASA says that with proper dosage, the drug in the form of nasal spray can work better than the pill.
The drug was developed and tested by Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola. The drug was found to be effective in treating motion sickness.
"NASA and Epiomed will work closely together on further development of INSCOP to optimize therapeutic efficiency for both acute and chronic treatment of motion sickness which can be used by NASA, the Department of Defense and world travelers on land, in the air and on the seas," said Lakshmi Putcha, developer of the innovative treatment strategy at Johnson in a news release.
NASA will be transferring FDA approvals and sponsorships of future trials for the drug to Epiomed. The company would then make the drug and supply it to NASA and others, the agency said in a statement.