A physician says a combination of drugs could prevent coronavirus patients from needing ventilators.

Dr Steven Quay is hoping to get a clinical trial started to see the effect of two medications, previously approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other conditions, to treat COVID-19 - the disease caused by the virus.

The first drug, nebulized heparin, is a blood-thinner that is inhaled like a fine mist, while N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is used to prevent asthma attacks from occurring and can treat overdoses from acetaminophen, or Tylenol.

He hopes that the drugs, when taken together, could either prevent patients from needed ventilation or help wean people off of the machines.

A doctor is seeking FDA approval to treat coronavirus patients with two drugs, nebulized heparin and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), in a clinical trial. Pictured: Nurse refilling medication solution nebulizer container, along with medical treatment with Dexamethasone and heparin

The first drug, nebulized heparin, an inhaled blood thinner, coats the protein found on the surface of the virus. Pictured: Nurse preparing medical treatment with Dexamethasone and heparin in the hospital

Meanwhile, the second drug, NAC, breaks the protein down to prevent it from entering the lungs. Pictured: A patient with a face mask is being carried to an ambulance at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, March 25

Clinical trials have shown that heparin alone, or used in combination with NAC, have improved lung function in patients with pulmonary damage. Pictured: A woman is placed into an ambulance after arriving at a COVID-19 mobile testing site in The Villages, Florida, March 23

The new trial has been nicknamed the nebulized Heparin-N-acetylcysteine in COVID-19 Patients by Evaluation of pulmonary function, or the HOPE trial.

'Heparin and NAC are designed to coat outside of the virus and prevent it from getting into the lungs ,' Dr Quay, founder and CEO of biopharmaceutical company Atossa Therapuetics, based in Seattle, told DailyMail.com.

'It's like putting the key into the car to start it, but the key is covered in peanut butter. It can't get in and it won't start the car.'

Dr Quay, who has invented seven FDA-approved drugs, says there are a few reasons for his recommendation of this new potential treatment.

Firstly, both drugs are currently approved by the FDA to be injected, are widely available and reasonably priced.

When developed to treat blood clots, heparin costs anywhere between $10 and $40 per month while NAC costs around $30.

Secondly, there have been at least 12 clinical trials in more than 780 patients with pulmonary damage with either nebulized heparin alone or in combination with NAC.

Dr Quay said these trial showed improved lung function and reduced the need for mechanical ventilation.

'It gets [patients] out of the hospital faster and out of the ICU faster,' he said.

He adds that the combination of drugs attacks a spike protein found on the virus's surface which interacts with molecules on the surface of lung cells.

'Heparin coats the protein that covers the virus and NAC breaks it from the bottom so it's wobbly, [and] it prevents the spike from attaching to the lungs,' Dr Quay said.

The Society of Critical Care Medicine has projected that up to 960,000 coronavirus patients in the US may to be put on ventilators at some point.

But America only has about 200,000 machines, and not all of them are beneficial for the most critically ill patients.

'The typical course of the virus is devastating, from the time you get to the hospital to being putt on the ventilator, it takes 24 to 72 hours,' Dr Quay said.

He pointed to early research out of Wuhan, China - where the virus is believed to have originated.

'Three percent of patients in Wuhan who started on respirator survived. If you get everyone coming to the hospital to nebulize within 24 hours, you'll see improvement,' he said.

Dr Quay says his team is speaking to three medical centers to find a place to start the trial and then plans to seek approval to start from the FDA within the next couple of months.

Worldwide, there are more than 741,000 confirmed cases in more than 150 countries and more than 35,000 deaths.

In the US, more than 142,000 people have been infected and more than 2,500 people have died.