EDMONTON -- Some in Edmonton can't wait for live samples of coronavirus to arrive in their city. Yes, that's right.
Scientists with the University of Alberta's Li Ka Shing Institute for Virology are working on a medication to help those diagnosed with coronavirus, as well as a vaccine to keep it from spreading.
The institute studies diseases like Alzheimer's and Hepatitis C, but is currently focused on the novel virus that has killed hundreds around the world.
If their tests with samples of coronavirus are successful, a product would then undergo other rounds of testing to ensure it is safe for humans.
But the institute's founding director, Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, told CTV News Edmonton he hopes a medication could hit the market relatively soon.
"I think the prospects of developing an antiviral that could be used in patients is very good," Tyrrell said, estimating a timeline of maybe even weeks.
"(There are) some compounds that are already on the market for other viruses which may work on this virus."
The coronavirus sample isn't expected to arrive for another week or more due to strict regulations.
Tyrrell's work is funded through the Canadian Institute of Health Research, but the institute is looking for other grants. Research efforts such as Tyrrell's team's work on coronavirus can cost between a half-million and a million dollars.
