Researchers from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia have developed two new drugs which can protect people from spreading COVID-19 and prevent those who are infected from developing severe disease. A team led by Professor Sudha Rao, senior researcher and head of QIMR Berghofer’s Gene Regulation and Translational Medicine Group, has developed two peptide-based drugs, which are now being tested in hamsters at IDMIT, a pre-clinical and clinical research facility in France. The early results showed that the drugs are not toxic and have few side effects. “The drugs are also stable and can be stored at room temperature—which would make them easy to distribute,” the Institute said in a statement. “These are the first drugs we are aware of that can operate on dual fronts,” Rao said. “We hope, if the clinical trials are successful, that the first drug could be given as a therapy alongside vaccination …