Scientists in Australia are hopeful that they have come up with a pill that will end our winter misery.

Trials with British volunteers started last week and if successful, the pill could be on the market within five years.

A cure for the common cold has long been sought after by drug makers who know that an effective remedy would be highly profitable.

Tests on the drug, known as BTA 798, have already shown that it can kill large quantities of the cold virus within hours.

The drug latches on to cold-causing human rhinoviruses (HRV), preventing them breaking into the body's cells and causing infection. In a double-pronged attack, it also stops any infection that has taken hold from spreading.

The first limited human trials finished last year and showed BTA798, which is being developed by Victoria-based Biota Holdings, to be safe.

The next thing the scientists want to find out is whether it can actually prevent them starting.

The drug is being tested by Australian company Biota Holdings, which also developed the flu treatment Relenza.

Larger-scale trials are now under way to determine whether it can actually prevent people from catching a cold. Two hundred healthy people will be given the drug or a dummy pill before being exposed to human rhinovirus. Three different doses of the drug will be used, in order to determine which, if any, can keep the infection at bay.

If successful, the drug is expected to be directed initially towards high-risk groups - those who are vulnerable to infection, such as those with asthma, bronchitis and cystic fibrosis.

Members of the medical world say the drug, if proved to work, is a great idea.