Scary Sounding Drug Could Actually Cure Colds And Ebola
LatestA drug with the villainous name of “Draco” shows promise against viruses from the common cold to Ebola. But it still needs to be tested in humans.
The BBC reports that Draco kills cold viruses, swine flu, polio, dengue, and Ebola in samples of human tissue, and in mice. Some drugs, like interferon, work against viruses but produce an immune response that causes intense side effects. Draco appeared not to spark such a response. Obviously, this is pretty exciting, and not just because of the prospect of stopping sniffles — says immunologist Hugh Pennington, “No-one can say when the next pandemic will occur, it may be next year or it may be in 100 years’ time. […] If we had a wonder drug like Draco might be, we could sleep much easier at night.”