Health products startup says its topical treatment can thwart coronavirus

A startup health care company that splits its headquarters between Indianapolis and suburban Dallas says an independent test shows that one of its over-the-counter products helps keep the coronavirus from entering the body through the nasal passages.

Advanced Penetration Technology LLC, founded in 2016, said Friday that a London-based research laboratory, Virology Research Services, evaluated the anti-viral impact of a product, called APT T3X, and concluded it is a “highly effective formulation” against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, effectively neutralizing viral infectivity within seconds.

The product, APT T3X, is a topical liquid formulation applied inside the nasal passages by a cotton tip applicator with three or four drops on the tip. As an over-the-counter health product, APT T3X does not require a prescription.

Brian Huber, company founder and CEO, said the product was originally developed eight years ago for resistant-bacterial infections but its formulation also provides anti-fungal and anti-viral side effects.

In an interview, Huber said he never intended to use the product as an anti-viral treatment.

“But in April of this year, when the world changed and we saw everybody throwing stuff against the wall, digging out old drugs, dusting them off, trying to put them in use for some level of treatment or therapeutic outcomes in COVID treatments,” Huber said. “I looked at my partner and COO and said, over eight years of use, I see a lot of antiviral, anecdotal case evidence—certain cases that responded, and they were more viral than anything else. I said I think there’s something here.”

He said he decided to see if he could validate the antiviral component. So they found a virology lab and ran tests, and said the data showed the product had a “very strong efficacy” in neutralizing the virus. The testing was performed over two months, in May and June.

Huber, a veterinarian, said until a vaccine is developed, products such as APT T3X are useful in mitigating or preventing the risk of people contracting COVID-19. The company compared the product to the effectiveness of using soap to reduce the likelihood of the virus entering the body after contact with the hands.

It said that by coating the nasal passages, APT T3X creates a barrier to the virus. But the company acknowledged that even with the use of APT T3X, the virus can still enter the body through the mouth and the eyes.

The company said the product has no documented side effects. APT has also used the same technology to develop an over-the-counter arthritis formulation.

Huber declined to say who invented the technology or where his company licensed it from. “The gentleman who created it, kind of a—it’s a crazy story. So just say it was licensed from an independent small company. And that’s where I’m going to leave that story for now. So I didn’t invent it. We licensed it from the inventor.”

When pressed to name the inventor, Huber added: “There’s more hair on that dog than this conversation has time for.”

The company has only three employees and contracts outside for its manufacturing. Huber said he splits his time between his home in Texas and Indianapolis, where several large investors live. He identified the investors only as the Rapp family and the Harlan family.

The product is available on the company’s website, aptt3x.com. A bottle of 120 drops, which Huber said could last 14-20 days, sells for $28.95.