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G20 Addresses Food Aid, Advocates React To Commitments

The G20 said the World Bank trust fund for agricultural investment in poor countries that they called for on Friday "should be designed so that money will be disbursed quickly and countries can decide for themselves where they want it spent," Reuters reports.

28 Sep 2009

Presentations on Inovio Biomedical's electroporation-delivered DNA vaccines

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today it will make multiple presentations at the Vaccine 3rd Global Congress being held in Singapore October 4th – 6th.

28 Sep 2009

Investigational vaccine regimen 31% effective in preventing HIV infection

In an encouraging development, an investigational vaccine regimen has been shown to be well-tolerated and to have a modest effect in preventing HIV infection in a clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adult participants in Thailand. Following a final analysis of the trial data, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, the trial sponsor, announced today that the prime-boost investigational vaccine regimen was safe and 31 percent effective in preventing HIV infection.

27 Sep 2009

Millennium Foundation announces fundraising initiative for global health

The Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health today announced MASSIVEGOOD, a new, innovative travel-related fundraising initiative that will help finance health care for the world's poor.

26 Sep 2009

GenVec to receive $2.3M from NIAID for HIV vaccine candidate production

GenVec, Inc. announced today that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has executed its third option period (year four) under a previously announced, five-year contract with GenVec valued at up to $52 million for the production of HIV vaccines.

26 Sep 2009

Associated Press/Washington Post examine contributions of military research to reducing global disease burden

In light of the U.S. Army's announcement yesterday that an experimental HIV vaccine trial it is sponsoring in Thailand showed modest potential for preventing infection, the Associated Press/Washington Post examines how military research is contributing to the fight against major diseases around the world.

25 Sep 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

A study appearing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases explores how well access to safe drinking water reduces rates of diarrhea experienced by 6-month-old infants born to HIV-infected mothers following weaning.

25 Sep 2009

Non-AIDS-defining malignancies more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that non-AIDS-defining malignancies such as anal and lung cancer have become more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients since the introduction of anti-retroviral therapies in the mid-1990s.

25 Sep 2009

Prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease important to Americans

A new voter survey sponsored by the ACT-AD Coalition (Accelerate Cure/Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease) finds that three-quarters of Americans nationwide and across party lines say it is personally important to them to find a cure or to prevent Alzheimer's disease, while a similar proportion of the national electorate say they look to Congress to make it "a national priority" to speed up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) review process in specific ways for therapies that slow, halt or reverse the disease.

25 Sep 2009

Phase III clinical trial of investigational HIV vaccine regimen complete

Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases (“GSID”) announced today that a Phase III clinical trial of an investigational HIV vaccine regimen has been shown to be safe and modestly effective in preventing HIV infection. The double-blind, placebo controlled study was conducted in Thailand among more than 16,000 volunteers.

25 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Urban malnutrition in CAR; U.S. HIV travel ban; East Africa hunger

"The global financial crisis has led to an alarming rate of urban malnutrition in the south of the Central African Republic, where diamond mines have closed as demand for the gems falls, the medical relief group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says," Reuters AlertNet reports (Fominyen, 9/24). In a related blog post, Reuters AlertNet writes that aid agencies are warning that without additional support from donors, the Central African Republic could "start sliding backwards after three years of progress at a time when humanitarian assistance was raised" (Fominyen [2], 9/24).

25 Sep 2009

African Leaders Malaria Alliance launched at U.N. General Assembly

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, African heads of state formed a 20-member African Leaders Malaria Alliance with the goal of eliminating deaths from malaria by 2015, the Associated Press writes. "With an estimated 500 million annual cases, Africa is the continent most affected by malaria, accounting for 86 percent of all cases and 91 percent of all malaria deaths worldwide, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania said at the alliance's launch," according to the news service (9/24).

25 Sep 2009

Partial success reported in the Phase 3 trial of HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for HIV/AIDS (HIV-1, Human Immunodeficiency Virus), was pleased to hear the announcement today of partial success in the recently completed Phase 3 trial in Thailand of a candidate HIV/AIDS vaccine owned by Sanofi-Aventis and Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases.

25 Sep 2009

Investigational vaccine shows modest potential for protecting against HIV infection

For the first time, scientists say an investigational vaccine has modest potential for protecting people against HIV infection, the Associated Press reports. "The vaccine — a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines — cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by ... 31 percent in the world's largest [HIV] vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok," the news service writes (Marchione/Casey, 9/24).

25 Sep 2009

Experimental HIV vaccine shows promise

An experimental HIV vaccine raises hope of reducing the risk of infection. Wall Street Journal/Associated Press reports: "For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible."

25 Sep 2009

Living Proof Project showcases U.S. government's efforts to improve health around the world

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today launched the Living Proof Project: U.S. Investments in Global Health are Working, a multi-year awareness campaign to highlight the extraordinary success of the U.S. government's efforts to improve health around the world.

24 Sep 2009

Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's publication on infectious diseases released

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, proudly announces the release of Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 7th Edition. Marking 30 years since its initial publication, it remains the most respected reference source of its kind, and maintains its relevance in the face of the emergence of newly recognized infectious diseases, including new strains of the swine (H1N1) and avian influenza viruses.

24 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 24, 2009

Today's headlines shed light on developments during the second day of the Finance Committee's health bill mark up.

24 Sep 2009

Phase III efficacy trial of two AIDS vaccine candidates shows promise

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) greeted with excitement today’s announcement by the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and the Thai Ministry of Public Health that, according to an initial analysis, a prime-boost combination of two AIDS vaccine candidates has shown partial efficacy in a phase III efficacy trial in Thailand. The prime-boost combination appeared to be about 31% effective at preventing infection with HIV.

24 Sep 2009

Obama addresses U.N. General Assembly, calls for 'new era of engagement'

In his first U.N. General Assembly address, President Obama on Wednesday "called for 'a new era of engagement' ... with the world, pledging to work together with other countries while defending the interests of the United States," Reuters reports (9/23).

24 Sep 2009