Antibody News and Research

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An antibody is a blood protein that is produced in response to and counteracts an antigen. Antibodies are produced in response to disease and help the body fight against the particular disease. In this way, antibodies help the body develop an immunity to disease.

Researchers develop new process for synthesis of potent anti-cancer agents

A team led by Rice University synthetic organic chemist K.C. Nicolaou has developed a new process for the synthesis of a series of potent anti-cancer agents originally found in bacteria.

10 Mar 2016

Specific gene mutation may significantly reduce risk of heart attack

People with a specific gene mutation have a 50 percent lower risk of suffering a heart attack. This is what an international team of researchers headed by the cardiologist Prof. Heribert Schunkert, Medical Director of the German Heart Center at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), discovered in a broad comparative study. If this gene were switched off with medications it could reduce the risk of coronary disease significantly.

10 Mar 2016

Vanderbilt investigators isolate human antibodies against H7 bird flu

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have isolated human antibodies against a type of bird flu that has killed more than 200 people in China since 2012 and which may pose a worldwide pandemic threat.

10 Mar 2016

Thermo Fisher exhibits new UHPLC-MS workflow solutions for biopharmaceutical characterization at Pittcon 2016

Biopharmaceutical companies can now achieve advanced levels of specificity, sensitivity and speed with specialized analytical workflow solutions for the characterization and quantification of proteins.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 9 Mar 2016

Study: 2.3 million people living with HIV co-infected with HCV

An estimated 2.3 million people living with HIV are co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) globally, a new study by the University of Bristol and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has found.

9 Mar 2016

Patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis achieve significant improvement with ixekizumab

Eli Lilly and Company announced today that patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who did not respond to treatment with etanercept achieved significant improvement in their psoriasis plaques when treated with ixekizumab in a Phase 3 clinical trial. Detailed results of the UNCOVER-2 study were presented during the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting taking place March 4-8 in Washington, D.C.

8 Mar 2016

Xencor begins XmAb5871 Phase 2 trials in patients with IgG4-RD and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Xencor, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases and cancer, today announced dosing the first patient in a Phase 2 trial of XmAb5871 in patients with IgG4-Related Disease (IgG4-RD).

8 Mar 2016

Zika virus can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, study finds

New research presents strong evidence that the Zika virus can indeed cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus -- with the effects manifesting any time during pregnancy. Some of the abnormalities noted have not been reported in connection with the virus.

7 Mar 2016

Researchers solve structure of key protein in coronaviruses, like MERS and SARS

When the respiratory illness SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) emerged in 2003, it killed at least 775 people before it was contained. Nine years later, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) began circulating in the human population—and has gone on to have a 36 percent case fatality rate.

7 Mar 2016

Omalizumab treatment significantly decreases colds in inner-city children with allergic asthma

Treatment with omalizumab significantly decreases the number of colds in inner-city children with allergic asthma, researchers reported at a press conference today at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 2016 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. Omalizumab, sold under the brand name Xolair, is an injectable antibody that can be used to treat asthma cases not controlled by inhaled corticosteroids.

7 Mar 2016

Routine stress adversely affects women’s heart

While the number of men dying from a heart attack has been constantly decreasing during the past twenty years, the fatal risk particularly in young women has increased significantly. Gender medicine has already demonstrated that women exhibit different symptoms. A new insight shows that stress in the daily routine has particularly adverse effects on the hearts of women. This was emphasised by Alexandra Kautzky-Willer, Professor for Gender Medicine of MedUni Vienna, on the occasion of the impending International Women's Day on 8 March 2016.

4 Mar 2016

Study highlights new approach to produce coral snake antivenom from synthetically designed DNA

Coral snake venom carries significant neurotoxicity and human injuries can be severe or even lethal. Despite this, antivenom treatments are scarce due to challenges collecting adequate amounts of venom needed to produce anti-elapidic serum. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases highlights exciting new research from the Butantan Institute in Brazil using synthetically designed DNA to produce coral-snake antivenom.

4 Mar 2016

Scientists track rare potent antibodies in HIV-infected individual

One of the most crucial and elusive goals of an effective HIV vaccine is to stimulate antibodies that can attack the virus even as it relentlessly mutates.

4 Mar 2016

Simple method could make early disease diagnosis much easier

Detecting diseases such as cancer in their earliest stages can make a huge difference in patient treatment, but it is often difficult to do. Now scientists report in the journal ACS Central Science a new, simple method that could make early disease diagnosis much easier.

3 Mar 2016

Omalizumab drug can be better targeted to treat people with severe asthma

Around five million people in the UK are currently being treated for asthma. Of these, a quarter of a million are unable to get good control of their condition, resulting in frequent, severe, or even life-threatening attacks. A new study brings hope to these patients by investigating whether the drug Omalizumab can be better targeted.

2 Mar 2016

Added benefit of aflibercept not proven in myopic choroidal neovascularisation

Aflibercept (trade name: Eylea) has been approved since October 2015 for adults with impaired vision due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation.

2 Mar 2016

Single antibody could hold promise as potential treatment for human cases of EVD

A single monoclonal antibody isolated from a human survivor of Ebola virus disease (EVD) completely protected monkeys from lethal infection with the virus, according to research published in today's online edition of the journal Science.

27 Feb 2016

Researchers identify, isolate and characterize two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine, affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana, and Humabs BioMed SA, a Swiss antibody therapeutics company, have identified, isolated and characterized two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from the blood of a survivor of an Ebola infection.

27 Feb 2016

Phase III study: Ocrelizumab significantly reduces disease activity in PPMS patients

Ocrelizumab (OCR) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively targets CD20+B cells. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III study (ORATORIO), OCR significantly reduced disease activity in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS).

27 Feb 2016

Research unveils standard front-line treatment for advanced ovarian cancer

Research led by a Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center physician on ovarian cancer was published in the Feb. 24, 2016 issue of New England Journal of Medicine. The research was directed by Bradley J. Monk, M.D. and researchers at 12 other medical facilities around the nation.

27 Feb 2016