Laboratory tests show new drug 'prevents bird flu'
(cnn)
Updated: 2004-02-20 14:13

An Australian-designed drug could prove to be an effective human treatment for the deadly bird flu strain that has been causing havoc across Asia.

Laboratory tests by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) have shown the drug, called Relenza, can prevent the transmission of the H5N1 influenza virus and reduce the symptoms.

The H5N1 virus has so far killed 21 people in Asian nations as well as decimated millions of chickens and other poultry in the region.

CSIRO scientist Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin said the drug was effective against H5N1 as well as other strains of flu that affect humans.

The World Health Organization has warned that a potential mutation of the virus which could see the flu spread between humans could have a devastating impact, worse even than the SARS illness which killed more than 800 people last year.

"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."

Human clinical trials testing the effectiveness of Relenza will need to be to be conducted, however, before the drug could be confirmed as a counter for bird flu.

A spokesperson for the license-holder for Relenza, GlaxoSmithKline, told CNN the company could not say at this stage whether such trials would be conducted.

Dr McKimm-Breschkin said Friday the drug prevented transmission of flu in about 80 percent of cases and was similarly successful in reducing the duration and severity of flu symptoms.

She said the laboratory tests indicated a similar level of effectiveness could be expected for prevention or treatment of bird flu in humans.

Relenza, which was first released in 1999, works by targeting and binding to a small, non-mutating part of all strains of flu viruses.

The drug emerged from a 20-year research project involving CSIRO scientists, the Victorian College of Pharmacy and pharmaceutical companies Biota Holdings and Glaxo Wellcome Australia.

Another flu drug, Tamiflu, based on the CSIRO research, has also been released.

The WHO's pandemic planning committee earlier this year recommended nations begin stockpiling these two drugs in the event of a human bird flu virus outbreak.

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