Scientists from the University of Utah have developed a new drug discovery tool against the Ebola virus by building a molecule that mimics the virus' structure.

This molecule can be then used as a drug target for anti-Ebola drugs without having the deadly disease present.

Biochemists from Utah were able to design a peptide that mimics part of the Ebola protein that initiates infection by dictating the entry of the virus into the human host cell.

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They were able to show the target peptide can be mass produced for use in drug screening. Rapid identification of potential new drugs from millions of possible candidates is allowed by the screens.

Generally, only one out of the five species of Ebola is targeted by current experimental drugs.

"The current growing epidemic demonstrates the need for effective broad-range Ebola virus therapies," said Dr. Tracy Clinton, lead author on the study. "Importantly, viral sequence information from the epidemic reveals rapid changes in the viral genome, while our target sequence remains the same."

She said their target would lead to the discovery of medicines with the potential to treat any future Ebola epidemic, even if new strains of the virus emerge.

Ebola is a life-threatening virus that produces a severe hemorrhagic fever. It has a mortality rate of 50 percent to 90 percent.

To date, there are five identified species of the deadly virus. Outbreaks of the disease have been appearing and becoming more frequent in the recent years.

A novel and quickly expanding outbreak of the disease is, as of the moment, sweeping through a number of nations in West Africa.

The development of an effective agent to combat Ebola and safeguard against potential weaponized and natural outbreaks is an urgent need. Although there are no authorized anti-Ebola agents, several promising trial drugs are being pushed into clinical tests to combat the disease.

TagsEbola drug, Anti-Ebola drug, Drug testing, Clinical trials, Ebola Virus, Ebola Virus, Ebola outbreak, Ebola structure