LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) - The Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla says two of its scientists are part of a $4M research consortium to discover the first ever antiviral drugs to treat the Ebola virus.
Dr. Sumit Chanda, director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis program, says the team will be testing 300,000 different drugs. It’s a little like searching for a “needle in a haystack,” he says.
They’re hoping to find a drug that will kill the Ebola virus, but not human cells.
Dr. Chanda and his colleagues will be working on a “stripped down” version of the Ebola virus that does not infect humans. If they find a drug that seems promising, they’ll send it to an out of state team that will test it on the live Ebola virus.
Dr. Chanda hopes a treatment can be found before there’s another pandemic.
“There’s no reason to believe it won't happen again,” he said.
For more information on the Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute: https://www.sbpdiscovery.org/
