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A new experimental drug holds promise in treating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a leading cause of pneumonia in infants, according to a new report. 

"We are finally making major progress in being able to treat human RSV infections-the world's second leading cause of serious viral pneumonia, second only to influenza virus," said study author Dr. John DeVincenzo, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, in the press release.

"There is no current treatment or vaccine for RSV pneumonia, and so patients were previously forced to get over the virus by themselves," he said.

RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization among infants in the United States, the researchers added. 

The drug dubbed GS-5806 reduced the amount of virus in the systems of 140 adults, who received the medication, the study found.

"For the first time, we showed that once we reduce the amount of virus in patients, they very quickly started to feel better," DeVincenzo said.

The drug is also safe and easy to give, researchers said. 

The study has been funded by Gilead Sciences, maker of GS-5806 and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.