Beyond Air, a Garden City-based medical device and biopharmaceutical company, has received the green light from the federal Food and Drug Administration for a clinical trial of its LungFit system to fight COVID-19.

The firm’s LungFit system, not yet approved for commercial use, is designed to generate and deliver nitric oxide to the lungs for potential treatment of a variety of pulmonary diseases, according to a company statement.

The clinical study will evaluate the use of high concentrations of nitric oxide for the treatment of COVID-19 in the United States. Beyond Air says applications are currently pending with Health Canada and the Israel Ministry of Health to allow studies to be conducted using high concentrations of nitric oxide to treat COVID-19 patients.

“We are pleased with the rapid action taken by the FDA to allow this first step in providing high concentration nitric oxide therapy to COVID-19 patients,” Steve Lisi, chairman and CEO of Beyond Air, said in the statement. “The Beyond Air team is working tirelessly to initiate this important study, into which we expect to begin enrolling patients within weeks.”