First your nose starts to run. Then the coughing, sneezing and aches and pains start to set in. If these symptoms sound familiar — you're not alone. Millions of people come down with the common cold every year, but it looks like there could be some relief on the way.

Scientists in Australia are hopeful that they have come up with a pill that could cure the miserable condition, Sky News reported.

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

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

"I definitely think it's a good idea for the treatment of the common cold if it works — and only time will tell as far as that is concerned," professor Sebastian Johnston of Imperial College's National Heart and Lung Institute told Sky News.

"For it to be effective, it would have to be taken very quickly at the first signs of infection or contact with someone with a cold."

Click here to read more on this story from Sky News.