Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Children and young patients with chronic HBV infection do have a protective immune response

Scientists from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London , discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered.

7 Sep 2012

RSV virus selectively kills cancer cells

RSV, a virus that causes respiratory infections in infants and young children, selectively kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone, researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio said.

7 Sep 2012

Boston researchers develop neonatal mouse model of sepsis

Sepsis, or bacterial infection of the bloodstream, is a grave, hard-to-diagnose threat in premature newborns in the NICU. Even when it's detected and treated with antibiotics, its inflammatory effects can harm fragile babies' development. Now, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have modeled the effects of sepsis on the unique newborn immune system, using mice.

7 Sep 2012

Durata completes target enrollment in dalbavancin Phase 3 trials for abSSSI

Durata Therapeutics today announced that it has completed its target enrollment for DISCOVER 1 ("Dalbavancin for Infections of the Skin COmpared to Vancomycin at an Early Response"), one of two ongoing, global, Phase 3 clinical trials of Durata's lead product candidate, dalbavancin, under investigation for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (abSSSI).

7 Sep 2012

Cleaning capsule danger highlighted

Physicians in the UK are calling for improved warnings and more child-proof packaging for liquid cleaning capsules after a number of incidents in which toddlers were hospitalized after swallowing them.

6 Sep 2012

Antibiotics: facts and fictions: an interview with Dr Philippa Binns, clinical adviser at NPS MedicineWise

Antibiotics are medicines used to treat infections or diseases caused by bacteria, such as some respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia and whooping cough), urinary tract infections, skin infections and infected wounds.

6 Sep 2012

Akonni receives NSF's Phase 2 SBIR Grant to develop Lab-on-a-Film microarray

Akonni Biosystems, a life science tools / molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and plans to market molecular testing devices for diagnosing infectious diseases and human genetic disorders, announced today the receipt of a $498,780 Phase 2 SBIR Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

6 Sep 2012

Baxter commences anti-MIF antibody Phase I trial in malignant solid tumors

Baxter International Inc. today announced that the company has begun dosing patients with malignant solid tumors in a Phase I clinical trial of a monoclonal antibody, representing the company's efforts to extend its oncology portfolio with advanced biological research and development.

From Baxter International Inc. 6 Sep 2012

Janssen receives FDA Priority Review for bedaquiline NDA to treat MDR-TB

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review to the New Drug Application (NDA) for bedaquiline (TMC207) to treat pulmonary, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in adults as part of combination therapy.

6 Sep 2012

People need to protect themselves against West Nile virus

As this year's threat from the West Nile virus continues, one infectious diseases expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham says a vaccine is not in our near future, so people need to protect themselves.

5 Sep 2012

Scientists identify three new genes associated with Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma

Singapore scientists have identified three new genes associated with Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma (PACG), a leading cause of blindness in Chinese people. PACG affects 15 million people worldwide, 80% of whom live in Asia.

5 Sep 2012

NCI awards Soligenix $300,000 SBIR grant for orBec Phase 2 chronic GI GVHD trial

Soligenix, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the National Cancer Institute has awarded Soligenix a Small Business Innovation Research grant to support the conduct of a Phase 2 clinical trial designed to evaluate orBec (oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate or BDP) as a treatment for the gastrointestinal manifestation of chronic Graft-versus-Host disease.

5 Sep 2012

Medivir strengthens hepatitis C platform

Medivir AB, announced today that it has acquired preclinical research stage assets from Novadex Pharmaceuticals AB. The acquisition includes intellectual property and prodrug technologies in order to further strengthen Medivir's hepatitis C platform and know how.

5 Sep 2012

Baxter seeks FDA BLA approval for BAX 326 rFIX protein to treat hemophilia B

Baxter International Inc. today announced that the company has submitted a biologics license application to the United States Food and Drug Administration for approval of BAX 326, a recombinant factor IX (rFIX) protein being investigated for the treatment and prophylaxis of bleeding episodes for patients over 12 years of age with hemophilia B.

From Baxter International Inc. 5 Sep 2012

FDA clears Roche's automated type-specific herpes tests

Roche announced today that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its IgG Antibody to herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 assays for use on cobas modular platforms. The tests are intended for use with sexually active individuals and expectant mothers as an aid in the presumptive diagnosis of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 5 Sep 2012

Predictors of early death after traumatic bleeding uncovered

The strongest predictors of early death after traumatic postinjury bleeding are Glasgow coma score, age, and systolic blood pressure, report researchers.

4 Sep 2012

Biokine, BioLineRx sign license agreement to develop and commercialize BL-8040 for AML

BioLineRx Ltd., a biopharmaceutical drug development company, announced today that it has signed an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Biokine Therapeutics Ltd., a Clal Biotechnology Industries portfolio company, for the development and commercialization of BL-8040 (formerly BKT-140), a Phase II ready drug candidate for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as other types of hematological cancer.

4 Sep 2012

Whole-genome sequencing can track origin and movement of TB pathogens

Reconstructing the spread of killer diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) from person to person using DNA sequencing quickly identifies the origin and movement of pathogens. This approach is directly informing public health strategies to control infectious disease outbreaks, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.

4 Sep 2012

High-dose vitamin D appears to help patients with TB recover more quickly

For decades before antibiotics became generally available, sunshine was used to treat tuberculosis, with patients often being sent to Swiss clinics to soak up the sun's healing rays. Now, for the first time scientists have shown how and why heliotherapy might, indeed, have made a difference.

4 Sep 2012

Hospitalist-led ED reduces diversion, improves patient flow

Implementing a hospital medicine-led emergency department team could reduce the number of times such departments are forced to divert new patients because of a lack of beds, as well as improve patient flow, show study findings.

3 Sep 2012