Two Novartis AG (NOVN) leukemia drugs, Gleevec and Tasigna, fought the deadly Ebola virus in laboratory experiments, suggesting the products could be used against a disease for which there are no treatments.The two medicines stopped the release of viral particles from infected cells in lab dishes, a step that in a person may prevent Ebola from spreading in the body and give the immune system time to control it, researchers from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases wrote in the journal Science Translational Medicine today. There’s no cure and no vaccine for Ebola, a virus that causes high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and internal and external bleeding. Death can ensue within days, and outbreaks in Africa have recorded fatality rates of as much as 90 percent, according to the World Health Organization.
