A Cure For AIDS? New Drug Gammora Is 'The Death Of HIV Cells,' Israel Doctor Says

A new drug could soon lead to a cure for AIDS, according to evidence gleaned from recent experiments in Israel. The drug, which is named Gammora, has been effectively killing high amounts of the cells that cause the debilitating disease that breaks down the body's immune system, the Jewish Press reported Tuesday.

Gammora was credited with "causing the death of HIV cells" during a series of tests conducted over the course of eight days at the Kaplan Medical Center, a doctor familiar with the experiments said. The drug killed up to 97 percent of tainted cells in the blood of AIDS patients and those with HIV, Zeev Steger added.

"In our approach, we eliminate the cells so there’s no chance that the virus will return one day because there are no cells, or there will be no cells, containing the virus," said Abraham Loyter, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem who created Gammora's active ingredient.

Gammora tests will continue until the success rate of ridding the body of 100 percent of HIV cells.

The Israeli scientists made their announcement less than a month after researchers in Ghana said they found a potential cure to HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS. Details were scarce in the Oct. 4 Ghana announcement, but the new drug there was the result of a decade's worth of research, Ghana Web reported.

Just one person has ever been proven to be cured of HIV, according to BuzzFeed News. Dozens of Food and Drug Administration-approved medications and treatment for HIV exist, though none offer a cure, according to the National Institutes of Health.

It is estimated that nearly 40 million people in the world have AIDS or HIV, with the lion share of patients living in Africa, according to AIDS.gov, which provides information about the virus and disease from the U.S. federal government.