(MENAFN) In the battle to find a treatment for coronavirus, Australian scientists have revealed that a compound initially aimed to combat SARS can also halt coronavirus growth in the laboratory.

Prof. David Komander, who co-leads a team from Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, told Xinhua on Monday, August 31, that their concentration on a specific protein in the virus makes their study different from other medication repurposing around the world.

Komander stated, "Our example was different insomuch that we focused repurposing on a single protein from the virus that we identified as an Achilles heel of the virus".

The protein, named PLpro, can be located in all coronaviruses, counting those that cause coronavirus and SARS, allowing them to take over human cells and stop their anti-viral battlements.

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