A drug kills COVID-19 within 48 hours in the lab.. And it's from Australia

Researchers around the world are on a race to find a cure for the emerging Coronavirus, a study by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute showed that 'Ivermectin' has achieved promising results in the fight against the Coronavirus inside the laboratory.

The Australian 7NEWS website reported that the study on 'Ivermectin', which is an anti-parasitic drug, which is available all over the world, concluded that the drug has the ability to kill the Coronavirus within 48 hours in laboratories, and one dose of it can stop the Coronavirus growth within cells.

"We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA (effectively removed all genetic material of the virus) by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it," Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute's Dr Kylie Wagstaff said on Friday.

While it is not known how the drug works against the Coronavirus, it has shown an ability to stop the virus from weakening the host cells.

The site said that the next step for scientists is to determine the correct human dose, to ensure that the level used in the laboratory is safe for humans.

"In times when we're having a global pandemic and there isn't an approved treatment, if we had a compound that was already available around the world then that might help people sooner," Dr Wagstaff added.

The study is a joint work of the Monash Institute of Biomedicine and the The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, it's results are published in the Antiviral Research journal.

Sources:

Msn

Khaleej Times