Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Canada's pharmaceutical products industry stands out strong during recession

Canada's pharmaceutical products industry stands out for its strong growth during the 2008-09 recession. This sets it apart from other industries covered in the Winter 2010 edition of The Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Industrial Profile Service - chemicals, plastic and rubber products, non-metallic mineral products, and computer and electronic products, which will take at least a couple of years to return to pre-recession production, revenue and profit levels.

27 Feb 2010

Interventional radiologists to highlight scientific advances, new discoveries at 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

Interventional radiologists-minimally invasive specialists-will share scientific advances and new discoveries in treating a host of diseases at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting March 13󈝾 at the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Fla. This year's meeting theme is "IR Innovation"-one that celebrates the remarkable inventiveness of interventional radiologists.

25 Feb 2010

α-defensins1-3 may be potential prophylactic agents in treatment of HIV / AIDS

HIV/AIDS remains one of the world's most significant public health challenges, particularly in developing countries. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1), the variant responsible for the pandemic, has the ability to infect different cell types such as T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (DC). These latter cells are crucial in the defense against infectious agents and play a major role in viral pathogenesis.

25 Feb 2010

FDA recommends H1N1 for inclusion in next year's flu vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday recommended that the H1N1 (swine flu) strain be added to next year's seasonal flu vaccine, "putting an end to separate shots deployed against the pandemic," Bloomberg reports. The FDA committee voted unanimously to make the H1N1 strain one of the three strains included in the shot, according to the news service. "The panel's recommendations are routinely adopted and used to guide vaccine manufacturers," Bloomberg writes (Randall, 2/22).

24 Feb 2010

Alliance Biosciences to provide engineering and biosafety guidance for Nyumbani's HIV/TB diagnostic facility

Alliance Biosciences reached an agreement with the Nyumbani Children's Home in Kenya to provide engineering and biosafety guidance to Nyumbani's planned HIV/TB diagnostic facility.

24 Feb 2010

FDA grants EUA for Longhorn Influenza A/H1N1-09 Prime RRT-PCR Assay in CLIA high complexity laboratories

Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics today announced it has been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Longhorn Influenza A/H1N1-09 Prime RRT-PCR Assay™ in CLIA high complexity laboratories. . The Longhorn Influenza A/H1N1-09 Prime RRT-PCR Assay™ is a ready-use assay that requires no mixing prior to use and has been authorized for use on the ABI 7500.

24 Feb 2010

Medco Health Solutions announces record 16.7% increase in total net revenues for 2009

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today reported record fourth-quarter 2009 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.70, up 29.6 percent compared to $0.54 in fourth-quarter 2008. Excluding the amortization of intangible assets that existed when Medco became a publicly traded company in 2003, fourth-quarter 2009 diluted earnings per share increased 28.8 percent to a record $0.76. Medco also reported record full-year 2009 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.61, up 22.5 percent -- exceeding the high-end of the company's guidance.

23 Feb 2010

TCAD therapy active and synergistic against drug resistant influenza virus strains

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, reported today on the publication of results from a preclinical study that demonstrated the synergistic effects of triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy against multiple strains of seasonal, pandemic, and avian influenza A (H1N1, H3N2 and H5N1) virus, including three strains of amantadine resistant pandemic H1N1 and two strains of oseltamivir resistant seasonal H1N1.

23 Feb 2010

Research reveals human Chlamydia pneumoniae has originated from animal source

Animals have been found to have infected humans sometime in the past with the common respiratory disease Chlamydia pneumoniae, according to Queensland University of Technology infectious disease expert Professor Peter Timms.

23 Feb 2010

PositiveID, RECEPTORS announce successful completion of rapid virus detection system Phase I development

PositiveID Corporation, in conjunction with its development partner RECEPTORS LLC, announced today that it has successfully completed Phase I development of its rapid virus detection system, a non-invasive, point-of-care test to test patient samples and identify various forms of influenza within minutes. Phase II of the development, which the Company expects to complete by the end of 2010, is planned to launch in February 2010.

23 Feb 2010

Study shows CEL-2000 vaccine blocks RA progression in mice

CEL-SCI Corporation and their scientific collaborators announced today that the Company's CEL-2000 vaccine demonstrated that it is able to block the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a mouse model.

23 Feb 2010

HHS Secretary reviews H1N1 response at NACCHO conference

Thank you, Tom. I also want to thank NACCHO for hosting this important conference and for inviting me to speak here today. Public health is a top priority for this administration. So is strengthening our partnerships across government. So I’m glad I could come talk with you about how we can work together to keep Americans healthy and safe.

22 Feb 2010

ASU epidemiologist to take close look at factors impacting influenza dynamics within Mexico

Influenza surveillance mechanisms in Mexico were adequate during the fast-spreading H1N1 outbreak in 2009, yet Mexico did not have the infrastructure to quickly identify the emergence of this novel strain, according to an Arizona State University (ASU) epidemiologist.

21 Feb 2010

Quidel acquires Diagnostic Hybrids for $130 million

Quidel Corporation, a leading provider of rapid diagnostic tests, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc. for approximately $130 million in cash.

20 Feb 2010

CMAJ study summarizes risk factors for severe outcome among patients admitted to hospital with H1N1

A new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.091823 of all patients in Canada admitted to hospital for H1N1 in the first five months of the outbreak summarizes the risk factors for a severe outcome (www.cmaj.ca). The H1N1 pandemic presents important learnings for clinicians and researchers and data on severe outcomes can help inform future treatment and prevention guidelines.

19 Feb 2010

Data from Novavax's Pivotal 2009 A/H1N1 VLP pandemic influenza vaccine study presented at WHO meeting

Novavax, Inc. today presented to the world's leading pandemic influenza vaccine experts a summary of the recent preliminary safety and immunogenicity data from its Pivotal 2009 A/H1N1 VLP pandemic influenza vaccine study in Mexico.

19 Feb 2010

WHO recommends H1N1 be added to next year's seasonal flu virus

The WHO is recommending the H1N1 (swine flu) virus be added to the regular flu vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere's 2010-2011 regular flu season, the Associated Press reports (2/18).

19 Feb 2010

ITS secures £8.65M Series-A equity funding round extension to fund synthetic flu vaccine study

Immune Targeting Systems (ITS) Limited (“ITS”), one of the leading developers of synthetic vaccines for mutating viruses, today announced it had secured a Series-A equity funding round extension for £8.65m which brings the total Series A financing to £13.15m. The company’s key investors HealthCap (Sweden), London Technology Fund (UK), Novartis Venture Fund (US & Basel) and Truffle Capital (France) are all participating. The round will be kept open until mid-2010 for new potential investors to invest.

17 Feb 2010

CMAJ study: Increased dosage of Tamiflu required in treating H1N1 influenza patients

An increased dosage of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for patients with critical illness is unlikely to be required in the treatment of pandemic (H1N1) influenza, contrary to current international guidelines, found a new study http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.092127 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

17 Feb 2010

Biota Holdings reports total revenue of $61.7M for half-year of 2009

Biota Holdings Limited today announced a half year net profit after tax of $33.5 million, (1H F09: $7.2m). Profit before tax was $41.4 million (1H F09: $10.1m) benefiting significantly from an increase in Relenza royalties.

16 Feb 2010

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Canada's pharmaceutical products industry stands out strong during recession

Interventional radiologists to highlight scientific advances, new discoveries at 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

α-defensins1-3 may be potential prophylactic agents in treatment of HIV / AIDS

FDA recommends H1N1 for inclusion in next year's flu vaccine

Alliance Biosciences to provide engineering and biosafety guidance for Nyumbani's HIV/TB diagnostic facility

FDA grants EUA for Longhorn Influenza A/H1N1-09 Prime RRT-PCR Assay in CLIA high complexity laboratories

Medco Health Solutions announces record 16.7% increase in total net revenues for 2009

TCAD therapy active and synergistic against drug resistant influenza virus strains

Research reveals human Chlamydia pneumoniae has originated from animal source

PositiveID, RECEPTORS announce successful completion of rapid virus detection system Phase I development

Study shows CEL-2000 vaccine blocks RA progression in mice

HHS Secretary reviews H1N1 response at NACCHO conference

ASU epidemiologist to take close look at factors impacting influenza dynamics within Mexico

Quidel acquires Diagnostic Hybrids for $130 million

CMAJ study summarizes risk factors for severe outcome among patients admitted to hospital with H1N1

Data from Novavax's Pivotal 2009 A/H1N1 VLP pandemic influenza vaccine study presented at WHO meeting

WHO recommends H1N1 be added to next year's seasonal flu virus

ITS secures £8.65M Series-A equity funding round extension to fund synthetic flu vaccine study

CMAJ study: Increased dosage of Tamiflu required in treating H1N1 influenza patients

Biota Holdings reports total revenue of $61.7M for half-year of 2009

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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