Scientists study new way of fighting flu

TROWBRIDGE, N.Y., May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they are creating a new drug compound to combat the influenza virus, targeting the illness on two fronts.

Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said the world has been fortunate with the H1N1 swine flu virus in that it, so far, responds to treatment with available drugs.

"But if the virus mutates substantially, the currently available drugs might be ineffective because they only target one portion of the virus," Professor Robert Linhardt said. "By targeting both portions of the virus, the H and the N, we can interfere with both the initial attachment to the cell that is being infected and the release of the budding virus from the cell that has been affected."

The scientists said influenza A virus is classified based on the form of two of its outer proteins, hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Current flu drugs target only the neuraminidase proteins, but the Linhardt team's new process shows strong binding potential to hemagglutinin.

"We are seeing promising preliminary results that the chemistry of this approach will be effective in blocking the hemagglutinin portion of the disease … ," he said, noting his team has also shown their compound to be just as effective at targeting neuraminidase.

The study is the featured cover article in the June edition of European Journal of Organic Chemistry.