Immune System News and Research

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Chikungunya: Experimental vaccine successfully tested in monkeys

Imagine a mosquito-borne virus that has already infected millions of people in recent outbreaks in South and Southeast Asia, the islands of the Indian Ocean, Africa and northern Italy. Although seldom fatal, it causes highly painful arthritis-like symptoms that can linger for months or even years. It's capable of adapting to spread through a mosquito species common in much of North America. And no vaccine or treatment exists to protect humans from its effects.

5 Mar 2010

Risk of MS increases by many folds following infection with EBV: Study

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and a team of collaborators have observed for the first time that the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) increases by many folds following infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

5 Mar 2010

Argos Therapeutics' AGS-004 immunotherapy for HIV demonstrates clinical and commercial potential

Argos Therapeutics today announced the publication of a manuscript in the February edition of Clinical Immunology, detailing positive immune response, safety and manufacturing data for its AGS-004 immunotherapy for HIV. AGS-004 is a product of the Company’s Arcelis™ technology, and is a personalized, RNA-loaded dendritic cell-based immunotherapy that is perfectly matched to each patient’s unique HIV viral burden. The manuscript details a clinical study in which AGS-004 was evaluated in type-1 HIV-infected adults who were being treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART).

5 Mar 2010

Study: Genetic variant of LTA4H offers protection against TB and leprosy

A study into why some people are more resistant than others to diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy has identified a new genetic variant which affects susceptibility to these diseases. The findings, published today in the journal Cell, may have implications for future treatments for the two conditions.

5 Mar 2010

FDA approves CSL Behring's Hizentra for PI

CSL Behring announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for HizentraTM, Immune Globulin Subcutaneous (Human), 20% Liquid, for treating patients diagnosed with primary immunodeficiency (PI). A once weekly immunoglobulin (Ig) replacement therapy, Hizentra provides effective protection against infection by maintaining a steady and normal level of immunoglobulin in the body.

4 Mar 2010

Dermatologist speaks about common forms of hair loss and treatment options at 68th Annual Meeting

For many women, unexplained hair loss can take a significant psychological toll on their overall quality of life. From altering their hairstyle to hide a thinning part to scaling back their hair care regimen in an effort to halt further hair loss, women try countless ways to cover up this problem - and the results are often lukewarm at best.

4 Mar 2010

BioVex commences dosing in Phase 1 study of ImmunoVEX live attenuated genital herpes vaccine

BioVex Inc, a private biotechnology company developing new generation biologics for the treatment of cancer and prevention of infectious disease, announced today that the first subject had been dosed in the Phase 1 study of its live attenuated genital herpes vaccine, ImmunoVEXHSV2. The Phase 1 study is an open label ascending dose trial, assessing safety and immune response in healthy volunteers. The study is taking place in the UK at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London and will involve up to 42 already identified subjects.

4 Mar 2010

Celldex Therapeutics reports net loss of $13.5M for fourth-quarter of 2009

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. Celldex reported a net loss of $13.5 million, or $0.43 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to a net loss of $7.5 million, or $0.47 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2008.

4 Mar 2010

Mosaic vaccines show promise in reducing HIV spread

Two teams of researchers-including Los Alamos National Laboratory theoretical biologists Bette Korber, Will Fischer, Sydeaka Watson, and James Szinger-have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines.

4 Mar 2010

Severe inflammatory diseases: Blocking "death messenger" might be a promising treatment

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as "death messenger," causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing. This discovery was published by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move. Therefore, substances which block the death messenger might offer a new approach in the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases.

4 Mar 2010

Boosting immune response to vaccinations: Role of aluminium adjuvants

An imminent publication in Trends in Immunology by a leading researcher in the bioinorganic chemistry of aluminium, Dr Christopher Exley, Reader in Bioinorganic Chemistry at The Birchall Centre, Keele University in Staffordshire, has now gone some way to giving the fullest possible explanation of how aluminium adjuvants work in boosting the immune response to vaccination.

4 Mar 2010

TNFerade's suppression of cancer metastases: Mechanisms revealed

GenVec, Inc. announced the publication of new preclinical research revealing mechanisms by which TNFerade(TM) suppresses cancer metastases through activation of the immune system.

4 Mar 2010

Cryoablation kills breast tumors in mice

Freezing a cancer kills it in its place, and also appears to generate an immune response that helps stop the cancer's spread, leading to improved survival rates over surgery, according to a new study in mice from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

4 Mar 2010

Abbott enters into agreement with GSK to develop molecular diagnostic test for skin cancer treatment

Abbott announced today that it has entered into an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to develop a molecular diagnostic test intended for use as an aid in selecting patients who may benefit from a skin cancer treatment in development by GSK.

4 Mar 2010

Researchers demonstrate the safety of potential vaccine against mesothelioma

Researchers have demonstrated the safety of a potential vaccine against mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated primarily with asbestos exposure. The vaccine, which infuses uses a patient's own dendritic cells (DC) with antigen from the patient's tumor, was able to induce a T-cell response against mesothelioma tumors.

4 Mar 2010

Gene therapy for LCA clears another hurdle: Study

Gene therapy for a severe inherited blindness, which produced dramatic improvements last year in 12 children and young adults who received the treatment in a clinical trial, has cleared another hurdle. The same research team that conducted the human trial now reports that a study in animals has shown that a second injection of genes into the opposite, previously untreated eye is safe and effective, with no signs of interference from unwanted immune reactions following the earlier injection.

4 Mar 2010

Belatacept drug can prevent graft rejection in kidney transplant recipients

The experimental drug belatacept can prevent graft rejection in kidney transplant recipients while better preserving kidney function when compared with standard immunosuppressive drugs, data from two international phase III clinical trials show.

4 Mar 2010

Research explores the importance of patient's outlook on health behavior and health status

Research published in the March edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology explored the importance of a patient's outlook as it relates to health behavior and health status. Researchers focused on lung cancer patients and discovered that those who exhibited an optimistic disposition experienced more favorable outcomes than those with a pessimistic disposition.

4 Mar 2010

Vaccine researchers at HZI find c-di-IMP molecule, more effective than known adjuvants

The adjuvants present in vaccines have a bad reputation. For most people, they are only unnecessary compounds within a medicinal product. This is a misunderstanding since adjuvants have a critical impact on the success of a vaccination. In the best case scenario, one single vaccination shot would be now sufficient for conferring life-long protection.

3 Mar 2010

Majority of PI patients can be switched to IgPro20 without dose adjustment

Data from a European multicenter (non-IND study) showing that patients with PI who switched to IgPro20 from previously available SCIg formulations achieved comparable IgG trough levels without dosage adjustment, resulting in significantly less administration volume. The data were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, US.

3 Mar 2010

Immune System News and Research

Chikungunya: Experimental vaccine successfully tested in monkeys

Risk of MS increases by many folds following infection with EBV: Study

Argos Therapeutics' AGS-004 immunotherapy for HIV demonstrates clinical and commercial potential

Study: Genetic variant of LTA4H offers protection against TB and leprosy

FDA approves CSL Behring's Hizentra for PI

Dermatologist speaks about common forms of hair loss and treatment options at 68th Annual Meeting

BioVex commences dosing in Phase 1 study of ImmunoVEX live attenuated genital herpes vaccine

Celldex Therapeutics reports net loss of $13.5M for fourth-quarter of 2009

Mosaic vaccines show promise in reducing HIV spread

Severe inflammatory diseases: Blocking "death messenger" might be a promising treatment

Boosting immune response to vaccinations: Role of aluminium adjuvants

TNFerade's suppression of cancer metastases: Mechanisms revealed

Cryoablation kills breast tumors in mice

Abbott enters into agreement with GSK to develop molecular diagnostic test for skin cancer treatment

Researchers demonstrate the safety of potential vaccine against mesothelioma

Gene therapy for LCA clears another hurdle: Study

Belatacept drug can prevent graft rejection in kidney transplant recipients

Research explores the importance of patient's outlook on health behavior and health status

Vaccine researchers at HZI find c-di-IMP molecule, more effective than known adjuvants

Majority of PI patients can be switched to IgPro20 without dose adjustment

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