Soon, a pill to cure a cold

Got a cold? In a few years, you can get rid of it by simply popping a pill.
Scientists have long grappled for ways to cure the common cold. Now, an international team has developed a drug which it claims can be effective against bugs that cause half of colds in adults and almost all colds in children.
According to researchers, the cold-busting pill, known as BTA798, could be used to clear up sniffles in healthy people and prevent any kind of life-threatening infections in asthma and cystic fibrosis sufferers.
In fact, the drug works by latching on to cold-causing HRV, preventing them from breaking into the body���s cells and causing infection. In a double-pronged attack, it also stops any infection from spreading.
���It���s a significant milestone in the development of what could be a world-first anti-viral treatment for HRV (human rhinoviruses) in high-risk
patients,��� said Peter Cook of Australia-based Biota Holdings, which has developed the drug.
In laboratory tests, the drug killed large quantities of cold virus within a couple of hours. And, trials on volunteers have started to determine whether it could prevent people from catching a cold.
If successful, the drug could hit the markets in five years��� time, the researchers said.