Scientist identify first-ever likely treatments for deadly 'MERS'

Scientists have identified the first-ever possible treatments for deadly virus Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

University of Maryland School of Medicine and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., scientists have found and validated two therapeutics that show early promise in preventing and treating the disease, which can cause severe respiratory symptoms, and has a death rate of 40 percent.

These therapeutics are the first to succeed in protecting and treating animal models of the MERS virus.

Lead researcher on the study, assistant professor Matthew B. Frieman, PhD said that the findings were pointed towards real potential to help MERS patients, and they hope that clinical study would progress on these two antibodies to see whether they can eventually be used to help humans infected with the virus.

The two antibodies, REGN3051 and REGN3048, showed an ability to neutralize the virus. This research, done in collaboration with Regeneron, a biopharmaceutical company based in Tarrytown, New York, used several of the company's proprietary technologies to search for and validate effective antibodies targeting the virus.

The virus had claimed lives of over 400 people since it was first discovered three years ago in Saudi Arabia.

Last month, the South Korean outbreak began when a traveler returned from Saudi Arabia, and infected many people before officials realised he had the disease. So far, around 180 people have been infected in South Korea, and nearly 30 have died.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).