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New treatment for adults with rare, life-threatening blood disease receives FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ultomiris (ravulizumab) injection for the treatment of adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare and life-threatening blood disease.

21 Dec 2018

Pregnant women and extremely obese people at high risk of flu complications

Pregnant women and the extremely obese are among those at high risk for complications from the flu - including death - and should be tested and begin antiviral treatment promptly if they are sick enough to be hospitalized with flu symptoms, according to updated guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

19 Dec 2018

EU Member States fall short on influenza vaccination coverage for vulnerable groups, says ECDC

None of the European Union (EU) Member States could demonstrate that they reach the EU target of 75% influenza vaccination coverage for vulnerable groups, according to a new report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

19 Dec 2018

Butantan Institute signs collaboration agreement with MSD to develop dengue vaccines

On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, Brazil's Butantan Institute signed a collaboration agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) to develop dengue vaccines.

12 Dec 2018

FSU study finds racial disparity among adolescents receiving flu vaccine

Black adolescents living in the United States tend to receive the influenza vaccine at significantly lower rates than their white and Hispanic counterparts, according to Florida State University researchers.

11 Dec 2018

Reusable respirators can effectively protect health care workers from airborne contaminants

Half-facepiece reusable elastomeric respirators are an effective and viable option for protecting health care workers from exposure to airborne transmissible contaminants or infectious agents -- for example, influenza virus -- during day-to-day work or with a sudden or rapid influx of patients, such as during a public health emergency, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

7 Dec 2018

New study launched in Burkina Faso to test typhoid conjugate vaccine

A new study has been launched in Burkina Faso for Bharat Biotech's typhoid conjugate vaccine. It is the second clinical study underway in Africa for the vaccine and the first in West Africa.

4 Dec 2018

First modeling system developed for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines

A team of scientists at Boston Children's Hospital has developed the first modeling system for testing age-specific human immune responses to vaccines -- outside the body. The practical, cost-effective new platform, using all human components, is expected to accelerate and de-risk the development, assessment and selection of vaccines.

20 Nov 2018

InDevR's new VaxArray to improve potency testing for measles and rubella vaccines

InDevR announced today that it will pursue proof of concept development for new VaxArray potency assays for measles and rubella vaccines sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

8 Nov 2018

Persuading more health workers to have flu jab needs new approach

Persuading more health workers across the continent to have the flu jab to protect themselves and their patients cannot be done through facts and statistics alone, new research by a leading behavioral scientist from Kingston University in London has revealed.

7 Nov 2018

Phase III CLL14 study evaluating Venclexta plus Gazyva to treat CLL meets its primary endpoint

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group , announced today that the randomized Phase III CLL14 study, which evaluated fixed-duration Venclexta® in combination with Gazyva® in people with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia and co-existing medical conditions, met its primary endpoint and showed a statistically significant reduction in the risk of disease worsening or death compared to standard-of-care Gazyva plus chlorambucil.

1 Nov 2018

Could we prevent Alzheimer's disease by treating herpes?

An exciting new paper suggests that over half of all cases of Alzheimer’s disease could be traced back to herpes simplex virus 1, which causes cold sores.

19 Oct 2018

Cases of Acute Flaccid Myelitis on the rise across U.S.

According to the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), cases of dangerous and rare Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) are being noted across United States. This disease manifests similar to acute flaccid paralysis caused by polio virus say the experts. There is at present no treatment for this condition that primarily affects children and leads to paralysis of the limbs.

18 Oct 2018

Mysterious polio-like illness baffles medical experts while frightening parents

A spike in the number of children with a rare neurological disease that causes polio-like symptoms has health officials across the country scrambling to understand the illness. Yet, more than four years after health officials first recorded the most recent uptick in cases, much about the national outbreak remains a mystery.

17 Oct 2018

Maternal Tdap immunization during third trimester linked with higher levels of pertussis antibodies in newborns

Risk of whooping cough (pertussis) is highest in infants too young to have completed their primary immunization series (6 months old or younger) and they are at highest risk of developing life-threatening complications.

10 Oct 2018

HPV vaccination offers best protection against cervical and genital cancers

In low-resource countries without well-developed screening programs, expanding access to human papilloma virus vaccination is the best means of preventing cervical cancer and other diseases caused by HPV infection, according to an editorial in the October special issue of the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, official journal of ASCCP.

28 Sep 2018

Alexion announces positive results from Phase 3 PREVENT study of Soliris in patients with NMOSD

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 PREVENT study of Soliris in patients with anti-aquaporin-4 auto antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

24 Sep 2018

Vax-Hub to influenze radical change in development and manufacturing of vaccines

Vax-Hub, a new Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub, will bring together academia, industry and policy makers to affect radical change in the development and manufacturing of vaccines and improve responses to outbreaks of deadly pandemics such as Swine Flu and Ebola.

20 Sep 2018

Kids with mild or moderate adverse events following immunization can be safely reimmunized

Children who experience some type of adverse event following initial immunization have a low rate of recurrent reactions to subsequent vaccinations, reports a study in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, the official journal of The European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

14 Sep 2018

Rare antibodies could be key ingredients in therapeutics capable of neutralizing many Ebola types

Two new studies by scientists at Scripps Research are bringing Ebola virus's weaknesses into the spotlight, showing for the first time exactly how human and mouse antibodies can bind to the virus and stop infection--not only for Ebola virus, but for other closely related pathogens as well.

13 Sep 2018