As we sniffle, suffer, and stress about lurking germs, researchers across the Boston area are developing new ways of fighting the flu.

A start-up in Cambridge is making a drug — so far, effective in mice — intended to treat most forms of the flu and prevent its spread. Scientists in Boston are creating vaccines that would fight a variety of strains, so people wouldn’t need to get an annual shot. And researchers in Worcester are trying to predict how the flu virus is evolving so that the shots are better matched to each year’s strains.