The CSIRO said drugs based on its research into the influenza virus had been shown to be effective, in lab tests, against a sample of an H5N1 influenza virus currently infecting chickens in Asia.
CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition scientist Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin tested the ability of Relenza to inhibit the virus. The tests, used to monitor virus sensitivity to drugs, showed the drug was as effective, in lab experiments, against this bird flu as it was against other strains of flu that affect humans.
"There is a direct correlation between enzyme sensitivity as measured by these laboratory tests and the ability of the drug to prevent the virus from multiplying," said Dr McKimm-Breschkin.
The CSIRO said the Asian bird flu had not been shown to be passed from human to human. All those who had died from the disease had caught it directly from infected birds. The current strategy for preventing this virus from spreading further and endangering more humans has been to cull millions of chickens in Asian farms and markets.
"In the event that the disease does mutate into a form which can be passed from human to human, it is important to know that we already have a treatment available," Dr McKimm-Breschkin said. "The fact that our experiments show that in the laboratory this Australian-designed drug is effective against bird flu again shows just how important a discovery this was. "In order to establish that Relenza is effective in humans infected with bird flu, clinical data from humans will be needed.
I believe more to come in regards to the above article. Also, As a result, under its profit-sharing agreement with Thermo, Biota now expects to receive net revenues of about $2.2 million for the half-year, compared with $700,000 a year earlier.
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