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A new drug that can combat flu, ebola, yellow fever, and other killer viruses may soon be available in the market.
Discovered by Professor Paul Kellam of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge, the multi-purpose “antibiotic for viruses” works by zapping a range of different viruses to treat and even prevent infection. In contrast, antibiotics currently available in the market work by fighting off just one virus.
Professor Kelam’s discovery of a gene that makes some individuals more susceptible to severe flu paved the way for the discovery of the multi-purpose medicine.
The gene called IFITM3 makes a compound that prevents the flu virus from invading the cells of the body. Individuals with a faulty IFITM3 gene don’t make enough of this compound, enabling the viruses to easily take over.
Professor Kelam intends to develop a drug that would raise the levels of the compound in the body. The drug, which can be used to treat or prevent flu among individuals with the flawed gene, may also protect us against other viruses that employ the same mechanism as flu to invade our body.
The drug is yet to be developed, but Professor Kelam is positive that the “antibiotic for viruses” may possibly be available in five to ten years.
“This has very real implications. This will prevent influenza viruses, dengue viruses, yellow fever viruses, ebola viruses, amongst others, from getting into cells,” Professor Kelam explained.
