Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Bristol-Myers Squibb signs definitive agreement to acquire Inhibitex

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Inhibitex, Inc. announced today that the companies have signed a definitive agreement under which Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire Inhibitex for $26.00 per share in cash pursuant to a cash tender offer and second step merger.

8 Jan 2012

Anthrax defenses need to be strengthened say experts

It has been a decade since the anthrax attacks brought home the reality of bioterrorism and the nation has a stockpile of some basic tools to fight back against a few of the threats that worry defense experts the most.

8 Jan 2012

The Lancet announces first iPad app for healthcare professionals

The Lancet, the world's leading independent general medical journal, today announced its first app for iPad is now available on the App Store. The Lancet App is an innovative article-based navigation app that makes it easier for healthcare professionals (HCPs) to find the information they need quickly and efficiently from the convenience of their iPad.

7 Jan 2012

FDA approval of raltegravir offers new weapon to treat HIV infection in children

For children and adolescents with HIV infection, the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the use of raltegravir, an antiretroviral drug that slows the spread of HIV infection, offers a new weapon to treat HIV infection in children.

7 Jan 2012

APUA applauds FDA for acting to limit antibiotics in food-producing animals

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) today praised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for acting to limit certain extra label uses of cephalosporins in major animal species – cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys – where misuse and overuse are cause for great concern. Extra label use occurs when use of a drug does not comply with the approved labeling.

6 Jan 2012

UNC HIV researcher Cohen discusses his work, HPTN 052

PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog features a video from the UNC Medical Center News Office in which Myron Cohen, a professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and public health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, discusses his research into HIV/AIDS prevention, including his lead role in HPTN 052.

6 Jan 2012

TrovaGene enters definitive agreement to acquire MultiGEN

TrovaGene, Inc., a developer of trans-renal molecular diagnostics, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MultiGEN Diagnostics, Inc.'s clinical laboratory assets in exchange for the issuance of 750,000 shares of common stock of TrovaGene, with an additional earn-out of up to $3.7 million in cash and common stock, subject to the achievement of specific sales and earnings targets.

6 Jan 2012

Tetragenetics reports results from G-SOME H5N1 vaccine preclinical study

Tetragenetics Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of recombinant vaccines, today reported preclinical study results showing that an investigational nanoparticle-based influenza vaccine protects against a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain.

6 Jan 2012

Novel vaccine combinations can protect against infection by SIV

Results from a recent study show that novel vaccine combinations can provide partial protection against infection by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in rhesus monkeys.

5 Jan 2012

Investigational HSV vaccine shows promise against two genital herpes diseases

An investigational vaccine protected some women against infection from one of the two types of herpes simplex viruses that cause genital herpes, according to findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.

5 Jan 2012

Study reveals factors associated with prevention, control of HIV infection

New vaccine research in monkeys suggests that scientists are homing in on the critical ingredients of a protective HIV vaccine and identifies new HIV vaccine candidates to test in human clinical trials.

5 Jan 2012

Researchers show how modern science can unlock mysteries of the past

Two teams of Michigan State University researchers - one working at a medieval burial site in Albania, the other at a DNA lab in East Lansing - have shown how modern science can unlock the mysteries of the past.

4 Jan 2012

Scientists discover chemical compound that inhibits poxviruses from replicating

A team of scientists from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a novel compound that inhibits viruses from replicating. The findings, which are published online in the Journal of Virology, could lead to the development of highly targeted compounds to block the replication of poxviruses, such as the emerging infectious disease Monkeypox.

4 Jan 2012

Issue of NCDs in post-conflict countries must be addressed, say experts

Countries recovering from war are at risk of being left to their own devices in tackling non communicable diseases, leaving an "open door" for exploitation by alcohol, tobacco and food companies, health experts warn.

2 Jan 2012

FDA approves Pfizer's Prevnar 13 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine as a single dose for adults

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of the Company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) as a single dose for use in adults.

31 Dec 2011

Additional financing to fund Advaxis' cervical cancer trials

Advaxis, Inc.,, a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, has entered into a definitive Convertible Notes Purchase Agreement (Agreement) with certain accredited investors, for the purchase of the aggregate principal value of approximately $1.2 million of Convertible Promissory Notes (Notes) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.0 million.

31 Dec 2011

Speedy drug metabolism more likely to cause multidrug-resistant TB

A UT Southwestern Medical Center study using a sophisticated "glass mouse" research model has found that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is more likely caused in patients by speedy drug metabolism rather than inconsistent doses, as is widely believed.

29 Dec 2011

Study linking chronic fatigue syndrome with virus infection retracted

The study published in the journal Science in October 2009, which found an association between the illness and a mouse leukemia retrovirus known as XMRV, was retracted last week by the editors of the journal.

28 Dec 2011

Pioneer in infectious disease medicine shares his perspectives in new podcast series

Beginning this month, the journal Medicine launches a series of podcasts featuring pioneering infectious disease physician John Bartlett, MD. Medicine is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

28 Dec 2011

LANL's top 10 science stories of 2011

Los Alamos National Laboratory's top 10 science stories of 2011 illustrate the broad variety of scientific excellence that's the hallmark of the Laboratory. This year's stories include alternative energy research, world record magnetic fields, disease tracking, the study of Mars, climate change, fuel cells, solar wind, and magnetic reconnection.

26 Dec 2011