New compound may cure common cold, other viruses

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Scientists are researching a new compound that could wipe out the common cold, influenza and many other viral infections. The researcher behind it says the discovery could be bigger than penicillin, with far less resistance.

Two or three times a year most of us go through the misery of the common cold. That's not even counting the stomach bug and other viruses.

Dr. Todd Rider, a scientist at the Draper laboratory in Massachusetts, is working on a way to cure viruses by getting virus-infected cells to commit suicide while keeping a person's healthy cells intact. He calls it Draco.

"Draco is looking for this particular type of RNA that is only made by a very broad spectrum of viruses and it finds that and knows that the cell is infected," Dr. Rider told ABC30.

He created Draco by combining three molecules. One invades cells in the body. Another detects viral RNA, and a third causes the infected cells to self-destruct. Without the infected cells the virus cannot replicate.

"Think about a burglar alarm inside every house. Draco works by rewiring certain parts of that burglar alarm to make them more effective," Dr. Rider said.

Once the Draco treatment is produced, it is added to cells infected with viruses and tested.

Draco has worked against 15 viruses so far in Dr. Rider's experiments. He hopes to get more funding so he can do further testing. The treatment has been shown to be non-toxic to all of the cell types tested thus far including those from humans.

For more information on this report, please contact:

Jeremy Singer
Media Relations Manager
Draper Laboratory
617-258-2464
jsinger@draper.com