16 January 2013 According to researcher Dr David Harrich, the
protein can be modified so that, instead of replicating, it
protects against the deadly infection. “I consider that this is
fighting fire with fire. What we’ve actually done is taken a
normal virus protein that the virus needs to grow, and we’ve
changed this protein, so that instead of assisting the virus, it
actually impedes virus replication and does it quite strongly,”
Dr Harrich said. Dr Harrich added that modified protein cannot
cure HIV but it has protected human cells from AIDS in the
laboratory. “This therapy is potentially a cure for AIDS. So
it’s not a cure for HIV infection, but it potentially could end
the disease,” he said. Over 30,000 people have been diagnosed
with HIV in Australia. If clinical trials are successful, one
treatment could be effective enough to replace the multiple
therapies they currently need. “Drug therapy targets individual
enzymes or proteins and they have one drug, one protein,” Dr
Harrich said. He added that the