Streptococcus pneumoniae News and Research

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Streptococcus pneumoniae, or Pneumococcus, is a very common bacterial infection in both industrialized and developing countries. In particular, young children and the elderly represent high-risk populations of developing pneumococcal infections. According to the WHO, the bacterium kills up to one million children under the age of five years each year worldwide. It accounts for many Bacterial Meningitis cases in adults and it is the most common cause of Bacteraemia, Pneumonia, Meningitis and Otitis media in young children.

S. pneumoniae thrives in human saliva

Streptococcus pneumoniae is able to survive and thrive in human saliva, Dutch researchers have shown.

17 Mar 2014

TFDA approves TaiGen's Taigexyn NDA for treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia

TaiGen Biotechnology Company, Limited today announced that the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration has approved the new drug application (NDA) of Taigexyn (nemonoxacin) oral formulation (500 mg) for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CAP). With this NDA approval, Taiwan is the first region to grant marketing approval to Taigexyn.

13 Mar 2014

Hypervirulent S. pneumoniae mutants discovered

Swedish researchers studying Streptococcus pneumoniae have discovered “hypervirulent” mutant forms of the bacteria that are selected for because they are more resistant to clearance by macrophages.

3 Mar 2014

S. pneumoniae highly prevalent in urban Indonesians, especially children

Streptococcus pneumoniae is present in the nasopharyngeal mucosa in nearly half of children under the age of 5 years and one in 10 adults living in Java Island, Indonesia, a survey has found.

25 Feb 2014

Invasive pneumococcal disease in Taiwan on the wane, but threats remain

The incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in Taiwan has decreased significantly in recent years, study findings indicate.

17 Feb 2014

Walgreens collaborates with NMAC to improve treatment outcomes for African Americans with HIV

In collaboration with the National Minority AIDS Council, Walgreens is furthering its commitment to improve HIV treatment outcomes for African Americans living with HIV by deepening pharmacists' training and expanding access to the pneumococcal vaccination specifically indicated for persons living with HIV as incidents of flu and pneumonia rise.

11 Feb 2014

S. pneumoniae predicts acute sinusitis microbial response

Research from the USA shows that confirmed nasopharyngeal colonization with Streptococcus pneumoniae independently predicts a rapid response to antimicrobial therapy in children with acute sinusitis.

27 Jan 2014

TaiGen, R-Pharm sign exclusive agreement to develop and commercialize nemonoxacin

TaiGen Biotechnology Company, Limited today announced that they have signed an exclusive agreement with R-Pharm, a leading Russian pharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize nemonoxacin (Taigexyn) in the Russian Federation, Turkey and other members of the Commonwealth Independent States.

15 Jan 2014

Clinical features not sufficiently pathognomonic in pneumonia

Clinical signs and symptoms are not sufficiently reliable to distinguish the different etiologies of pneumonia, Dutch researchers report.

6 Jan 2014

Streptococcus biofilms persist on objects, surfaces in daycare center for longer periods after cleaning

Numerous scientific studies have concluded that two common bacteria that cause colds, ear infections, strep throat and more serious infections cannot live for long outside the human body.

27 Dec 2013

FDA grants QIDP and Fast Track designations to TaiGen's nemonoxacin

TaiGen Biotechnology Company, Limited today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted nemonoxacin (Taigexyn) Qualified Infectious Disease Product and Fast Track designations for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections.

23 Dec 2013

Children hospitalized for pneumonia have similar outcomes with big gun antibiotics or penicillin

Children hospitalized for pneumonia have similar outcomes, including length of stay and costs, regardless of whether they are treated with "big gun" antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime or more narrowly focused antibiotics such as ampicillin or penicillin, according to a Vanderbilt study published in Pediatrics.

10 Dec 2013

Genocea commences GEN-004 Phase 1 study to prevent pneumococcus infections

Genocea Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage company pioneering novel T cell vaccines, announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1 study of GEN-004, an investigational vaccine candidate for pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae), a major cause of infectious disease-related death globally. GEN-004 is the first vaccine candidate designed to prevent infections caused by all strains of pneumococcus through a novel T cell-mediated mechanism of action.

5 Dec 2013

Novel urinary antigen test boosts S. pneumoniae CAP detection

Research published in the European Respiratory Journal shows that addition of a serotype-specific urinary antigen detection test to existing diagnostic methods can increase the detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae community-acquired pneumonia by over a third.

25 Nov 2013

Researchers find zinc starves bacteria by preventing its uptake of essential metal

Australian researchers have found that zinc can 'starve' one of the world's most deadly bacteria by preventing its uptake of an essential metal.

11 Nov 2013

European Commission approves updated label of Prevenar 13 for high risk pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced today that the European Commission approved updates to the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar 13* (pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), regarding its use in certain populations at high risk of pneumococcal disease.

18 Oct 2013

Urinary pneumococcal antigen testing ‘useful in children’

Urinary antigen testing is effective in detecting invasive pneumococcal pneumonia in children, say the authors of a UK-based case–control study.

23 Sep 2013

Research shows how mammalian and bacterial kingdoms interact

The bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae harmlessly colonizes the mucous linings of throats and noses in most people, only becoming virulent when they leave those comfortable surroundings and enter the middle ears, lungs or bloodstream. Now, in research published in July in mBio, University at Buffalo researchers reveal how that happens.

8 Aug 2013

MAPS method could speed development of new vaccines for serious pathogens

A new method of vaccine design, called the Multiple Antigen Presentation System, may result in vaccines that bring together the benefits of whole-cell and acellular or defined subunit vaccination.

1 Aug 2013

Pfizer's Prevenar 13 receives European approval to include adults for prevention of invasive disease

Pfizer Inc. announced today the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar 13 (pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), received European approval for an expanded indication to include adults aged 18 to 49 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by vaccine-type Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae).

10 Jul 2013