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Genocea Biosciences to develop Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine with UPMC grant

Genocea Biosciences, a leading vaccine discovery and development company, today announced it has been awarded a grant from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Cooperative Research Center for the development of vaccines for Chlamydia trachomatis.

15 Dec 2009

Seattle Genetics announces collaboration to globally develop and commercialize brentuximab vedotin

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company with its parent company Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today jointly announced that Seattle Genetics and Millennium have entered into an agreement to globally develop and commercialize brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35).

15 Dec 2009

Merck granted exclusive license to Pfenex' Pseudomonas-based protein expression technology

Pfenex Inc. announced today that it has granted Merck & Co., Inc., through an affiliate, an exclusive worldwide license to Pfenex Expression Technology(TM) Pseudomonas-based recombinant protein expression technology for the production of specific proteins to be used in the development of an undisclosed vaccine candidate.

15 Dec 2009

Researchers advance in developing a vaccine against AIDS disease

Led by Matthias J. Schnell, Ph.D., director of the Jefferson Vaccine Center, the researchers found that a rabies virus-based vaccine administered to monkeys protected against the simian equivalent of the HIV virus (SIV). The data were published in the journal Vaccine.

15 Dec 2009

Researchers present new data for diagnosis and management of beast cancer

As therapies for breast cancer continue to emerge, the issues of how to best monitor success and gauge prognosis remain important questions.

14 Dec 2009

Texas researchers identify new detection method for circulating tumor cells

Circulating metastatic breast cancer cells can lose their epithelial receptors, a process that enables them to travel through the bloodstream undetected, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Dec 2009

Modified blood adult stem-cell transplant regimen reverses sickle cell disease

A modified blood adult stem-cell transplant regimen has effectively reversed sickle cell disease in 9 of 10 adults who had been severely affected by the disease, according to results of a National Institutes of Health study in the Dec. 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

13 Dec 2009

Zevalin clinical data presented at 2009 ASH meeting

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, today announced that clinical data on ZEVALIN (ibritumomab tiuxetan) was presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), which was held December 5-8, 2009 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

11 Dec 2009

NIH awards $14.6M for Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource expansion

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia have been awarded a five-year, $14.6 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health, to expand and extend work on the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource, http://EuPathDB.org.

11 Dec 2009

Initiation of multi-national Phase III study of Stimuvax announced

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced the initiation of its multi-national Phase III study of the investigational therapeutic cancer vaccine Stimuvax® (BLP25 liposome vaccine) in Asian patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

11 Dec 2009

Merck commences Stimuvax Phase 3 trial in Asian patients with NSCLC

Oncothyreon Inc. today announced that Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, has initiated a Phase 3 trial of Stimuvax(R) (BLP25 liposome vaccine) in Asian patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial, named INSPIRE (Stimuvax trial In Asian NSCLC Patients: Stimulating Immune Response), is anticipated to enroll approximately 420 patients in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

10 Dec 2009

Promising trial on immunotherapy for preventing childhood cancer recurrence

CHILDREN in the UK with a high risk form of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma are set to benefit from a new international clinical trial - funded by Cancer Research UK - which uses immunotherapy to help prevent the disease from coming back.

10 Dec 2009

New IME-developed cardiac biomarker testing system saves time

Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed a rapid and sensitive integrated system to test simultaneously for specific cardiac biomarkers in finger prick amount of blood.

9 Dec 2009

Xanthohumol compound may aid in preventing prostate cancer

The natural compound xanthohumol blocks the effects of the male hormone testosterone, therefore aiding in the prevention of prostate cancer.

9 Dec 2009

BARDA cancels PharmAthene's RFP for Recombinant Protective Antigen Anthrax Vaccine

PharmAthene, Inc. a biodefense company specializing in the development and commercialization of medical countermeasures against chemical and biological threats, announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has canceled its request for proposal (RFP) for Recombinant Protective Antigen Anthrax Vaccine for the Strategic National Stockpile (RFP BARDA 08-15).

8 Dec 2009

ERSPC study shows PSA screening reduced prostate cancer deaths by 20%

The effectiveness of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening on reducing prostate cancer mortality has been given a boost with new data from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC). This shows the true impact to be far higher than previously reported - up to 31%.

8 Dec 2009

Bortezomib can improve control of GVHD and immune system recovery

A drug that has become a mainstay of multiple myeloma treatment may outperform alternative therapies in re-establishing the immune system of patients who have received stem cell transplants from unrelated, partially matched donors, according to early clinical trial results to be presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators at the American Society of Hematology's (ASH) annual meeting on Sunday, Dec. 6 (Abstract 48, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 243-245, 5:45 pm CT).

6 Dec 2009

New data from PharmAthene's anthrax vaccine program presented

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today the presentation of new data from the Company's anthrax vaccine program showing that its lyophilized recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) based anthrax vaccine is structurally stable and potent after 16 months at various temperatures up to and including 55 degrees C.

5 Dec 2009

Results from Phase III pivotal study of FIRMAGON presented

Drs. Neal Shore and E. David Crawford presented results for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence from the additional analysis of secondary end points of biochemical recurrence rate in a Phase III pivotal study of FIRMAGON® (monthly degarelix for injection) or monthly leuprolide in prostate cancer patients during the first year of treatment.

4 Dec 2009

Protein plays a key role in cancer and DNA repair

A protein that plays a key role in copying DNA also plays a vital role in repairing breaks in it, UC Davis scientists have found. The work is helping researchers understand how cancer cells can resist radiation and chemotherapy, as well as how cells become cancerous in the first place.

4 Dec 2009