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University of Maryland receives grant from NCRR to acquire superconducting NMR spectrometer

The University of Maryland, in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore County, has received a $7.9 million federal grant to acquire a superconducting 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) magnet that will help researchers unravel the mysteries of molecules and develop new agents to treat cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

12 Aug 2010

AHF led sustained advocacy campaign leads to BMS's offer of discounts in AIDS drug pricing

Following ongoing advocacy campaigns spearheaded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) that targeted several of the largest AIDS drug companies over their pricing and rebate policies for the nation's AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), the federally funded, state run programs that supply lifesaving AIDS drugs to low-income Americans in need, that the last remaining major AIDS drug company, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) today announced an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide.

12 Aug 2010

Africa needs policies, regulations to spur development of innovative mobile phone-based applications

The fast-growing use of cell phones in Africa - where many people lack the basic human necessities - has made headlines worldwide the past few years. The surprising boom has led to widespread speculation that cell phones could potentially transform the impoverished continent.

10 Aug 2010

Al Shabaab demands World Vision to close operations in Somalia

World Vision Somalia received a demand today from Al Shabaab to close operations in Somalia. World Vision guards were disarmed and their keys were taken. Nothing was removed from the offices although Al Shabaab representatives occupied the offices.

10 Aug 2010

AHF launches new ad campaign 'President Obama, The War on AIDS Has Not Been Won'

As part of its ongoing advocacy efforts to spur President Obama and the Administration to do more on AIDS, AHF is rolling out an ad headlined "President Obama, The War on AIDS Has Not Been Won" which compares the amount of U.S. dollars spent fighting the global AIDS epidemic vs. the amount spent on the war in Afghanistan. The ad features a scale with the globe on one side and the words "Global War on AIDS: $6.5 billion in 2010" and a map of Afghanistan on the other side with the words "Afghanistan War: $102 billion in 2010."

10 Aug 2010

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

Drug resistance remains a major problem in combating HIV infection, but a different approach to drug development could be the answer.Current viral inhibitors target the HIV-1 protease function with a competitive mechanism. Writing in the BJ ChemBio Knowledge Environment of the Biochemical Journal, Max Chang and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, suggest that pharmaceutical companies look at compounds that use an allosteric non-competitive mechanism of inhibition.

10 Aug 2010

CQ Weekly reports on advocates' response to Obama administration's domestic, global HIV/AIDS efforts

CQ Weekly examines how HIV/AIDS advocates are "[i]Increasingly dissatisfied with [President Barack] Obama's approach, both at home and abroad." According to the article, some advocates say that Obama and congressional Democrats "have failed to show the political will and marshal the necessary resources" to fight HIV/AIDS.

10 Aug 2010

Lancet World Report examines how U.N. Women agency will work to address global health issues

A Lancet World Report article examines how many are looking to the new U.N. agency tasked with advancing women's equality and rights to help improve the health of women in developing countries.

10 Aug 2010

Female Health Company third-quarter net revenues decrease 75% to $1.8 million

The Female Health Company, which manufactures and markets the FC2 Female Condom®, today reported its operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of FY2010.

7 Aug 2010

BMS to join ranks of AIDS drug companies to offer price concessions

Bristol-Myers Squibb will soon announce an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide. The agreement, with the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) of the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors, is expected to be announced any day. BMS has been the target of a sustained advocacy campaign led by AHF over its pricing of its key AIDS drug Reyataz.

7 Aug 2010

Bloomberg Businessweek explores growing trend in pharma to license, donate HIV drugs

"Pharmaceutical companies, once blasted as uncaring or downright greedy for charging thousands of dollars for a year's worth of AIDS medicines … in poor countries, lately have been slashing prices and licensing their drugs for free or nominal cost to nonprofits or local manufacturers in the developing world," Bloomberg BusinessWeek writes in an analysis piece that examines how this trend, combined with a growing capability among aid agencies to distribute drugs, has the potential to increase access to HIV/AIDS drugs worldwide.

7 Aug 2010

Clinical trials in Asia, Africa confirm safety, effectiveness of rotavirus vaccine

Two studies published online Thursday in the Lancet show that the rotavirus vaccine is safe and effective at preventing much of the gastrointestinal illness in developing countries, where rotavirus kills more than 400,000 children under age 5 annually, Reuters reports. Based on the findings in Asia and Africa, the studies' authors "urged the governments of developing nations to make the vaccines a priority," the news service writes.

7 Aug 2010

Drugs that reduce activity of ABDH6 enzyme can prevent brain damage: Study

A newly discovered molecular mechanism helps control the amount and effectiveness of a substance that mimics an active ingredient in marijuana, but that is produced by the body's own nerve cells.

7 Aug 2010

Equatorial Guinea, ECCAS partner to form network to fight H1N1, HIV

Equatorial Guinea (Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial) and the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative, along with several Central African States, have partnered with the Economic Community of Central African States to form a network to fight H1N1 and HIV. The purpose of the network's recent forum was to share knowledge and best practices, and to collect data and prevention procedures among military health professionals in the region.

7 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

According to a Lancet Comment, "alcohol remains conspicuously absent from the larger field of research and programming in HIV and substance use. ... Patterns of hazardous alcohol consumption prevail in countries with the most severe HIV epidemics, notably eastern and southern Africa." In addition, "hazardous drinking patterns also dominate in the concentrated epidemics of eastern Europe and Asia, where alcohol use by injecting drug users and other marginalised groups might be an additional barrier to effective efforts to prevent HIV infection."

7 Aug 2010

Kaiser Family Foundation/CSIS forum reviews AIDS 2010, looks ahead to AIDS 2012

Last month's 18th International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010 in Vienna, Austria, will be remembered as the first since the global economic downturn, the growing recognition of treatment as part of prevention and a focus on the importance of human rights, HIV/AIDS experts said Thursday during a panel discussion in Washington, D.C. A webcast of the event is available online.

6 Aug 2010

Research on human disease origins to predict, prevent next outbreak

Most infectious diseases infect multiple host species, but to date, efforts to quantify the frequency and outcome of cross-species transmission (CST) of these diseases have been severely limited.This lack of information represents a major gap in knowledge of how diseases emerge, and from which species they will emerge.A paper published this week in the journal Science by a team of researchers led by Daniel Streicker of the University of Georgia has begun to close that gap.

6 Aug 2010

German Virtual Liver Network aims to grasp whole organ and functions in computer model

The aim of this unique research consortium is to grasp the whole organ and its functions in a computer model

5 Aug 2010

Nature News examines how scientists, farmers are working to meet the growing demand for artemisinin

"From bust to boom to bust again: artemisinin, the key ingredient of front-line antimalarial drugs, is entering the third chapter of its turbulent history," Nature News writes in an article that examines the challenges scientists and farmers are facing as they attempt to keep up with the growing demand for the compound just as a "$343-million initiative starts to battle malaria through hugely subsidized medicines."

5 Aug 2010

Study finds proximal prayer may help another person's healing

Findings reported today from a new international study of healing prayer suggest that prayer for another person's healing just might help especially if the one praying is physically near the person being prayed for.Candy Gunther Brown, an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, led the study of "proximal intercessory prayer" for healing. It is available online today and will be published in the September 2010 issue of the Southern Medical Journal.

5 Aug 2010

AIDS News and Research

University of Maryland receives grant from NCRR to acquire superconducting NMR spectrometer

AHF led sustained advocacy campaign leads to BMS's offer of discounts in AIDS drug pricing

Africa needs policies, regulations to spur development of innovative mobile phone-based applications

Al Shabaab demands World Vision to close operations in Somalia

AHF launches new ad campaign 'President Obama, The War on AIDS Has Not Been Won'

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

CQ Weekly reports on advocates' response to Obama administration's domestic, global HIV/AIDS efforts

Lancet World Report examines how U.N. Women agency will work to address global health issues

Female Health Company third-quarter net revenues decrease 75% to $1.8 million

BMS to join ranks of AIDS drug companies to offer price concessions

Bloomberg Businessweek explores growing trend in pharma to license, donate HIV drugs

Clinical trials in Asia, Africa confirm safety, effectiveness of rotavirus vaccine

Drugs that reduce activity of ABDH6 enzyme can prevent brain damage: Study

Equatorial Guinea, ECCAS partner to form network to fight H1N1, HIV

Recent releases in Global Health

Kaiser Family Foundation/CSIS forum reviews AIDS 2010, looks ahead to AIDS 2012

Research on human disease origins to predict, prevent next outbreak

German Virtual Liver Network aims to grasp whole organ and functions in computer model

Nature News examines how scientists, farmers are working to meet the growing demand for artemisinin

Study finds proximal prayer may help another person's healing

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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