London (PTI): Got a cold? Now, you can get rid of it by simply popping a pill.

Scientists have long grappled for ways to cure common cold. Now, an international team has developed a drug which it claims can be effective against bugs that cause half of colds in adults and almost all colds in children.

According to researchers, the cold-busting pill known as BTA798 could be used to clear up sniffles in healthy people and prevent any kind of life-threatening infections in asthma and cystic fibrosis sufferers.

In fact, the drug works by latching on to cold-causing HRV, preventing them from breaking into the body's cells and causing infection. In a double-pronged attack, it also stops any infection from spreading, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

"It's a significant milestone in the development of what could be a world-first antiviral treatment for HRV (human human rhinoviruses) in high-risk patients," said Peter Cook of Victoria-based Biota Holdings which has developed the drug.

In laboratory tests, the drug killed large quantities of cold virus within a couple of hours. And, trials on British volunteers have started to determine whether it could prevent people from catching a cold.

If successful, the drug could hit the markets in five years' time, the researchers claimed.