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From Web and wire service accounts:
Pleconaril is an anti-viral drug made by Viro-Pharma Inc., a five year old, publicly traded firm (VPHM on the Nasdaq) near Philadelphia. The drug appears to block an entire category of viruses, including agents responsible for the common cold, meningitis, summer flu, polio, heart inflammation, and certain infections that may afflict newborns. These are called picornaviruses, and include rhinoviruses (colds, from "rhino" meaning "nose") and enteroviruses, which include the others named above.
The most important feature of the news is generic--early fruits of a new approach to anti-viral research. Formerly it was mostly hit-and-miss, try this and try that. Now biologists have been able to visualize the virus in three dimensions and find the specific sites where interactions occur, and design drugs (molecules) to "break off the key in the lock" and prevent the action of the virus, or a whole class of viruses.
Pleconaril doesn't make the sniffles disappear instantly, but reportedly it can shorten a bad cold by three or four days and ameliorate the symptoms. Two large clinical studies are in the works, due out in the spring, to prove efficacy to FDA standards. It could come to market by the end of the year.
Competition includes a nasal spray by Agouron Pharmaceuticals, a division of Warner Lambert. Its "AG7088" will be tested this fall in a 900 patient clinical trial.