Immune Response News and Research

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VBI's flu vaccine offers protection against H1N1

Variation Biotechnologies, Inc. (VBI), an emerging leader in the discovery and development of novel vaccines to fight infectious diseases, today reported that the company’s proprietary influenza vaccine triggered a robust immune response and provided protection against the H1N1 strain of influenza.

14 Sep 2009

NIAID conducts human clinical trials of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, also is conducting clinical trials of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines, produced by Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Limited. The NIAID trials are testing two different dosages (15 micrograms versus 30 micrograms) and evaluating the immune response to one and two doses of these vaccines.

14 Sep 2009

U.S., Australian researchers say single H1N1 vaccine dose protects adults against virus

The results of clinical trials have shown one dose of the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine is enough to offer adults protection against the virus, U.S. and Australian researchers said Thursday, the Associated Press reports (Neergaard, 9/11).

11 Sep 2009

NIH provides Inviragen second major grant to develop a dengue vaccine

Inviragen has received a $600,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to partially support its continued efforts to develop a safe and effective dengue vaccine. The two-year grant will fund a collaborative effort led by Inviragen and involving scientists at the University of Wisconsin and Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The supported work will include additional optimization of Inviragen’s vaccine to generate more potent immune responses.

10 Sep 2009

University of California receives $3.5 million grant from NIDA for AIDS vaccine research

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded a $3.5 million grant for AIDS vaccine research to Phillip Berman, professor and chair of biomolecular engineering at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

9 Sep 2009

NIH awards Vaxart $2.8M grant to develop an orally-delivered H5N1 Avian influenza vaccine

Vaxart, Inc., a San Francisco biotechnology company developing oral-delivery vaccines, has been awarded a $2.8 million phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (National Institutes of Health) to support development of its first product, an orally-delivered vaccine for H5N1 Avian influenza.

9 Sep 2009

Research study highlights unique aspects of tumor immunology

Immune responses are capable of killing tumors before they can be directed toward normal body tissue, according to new scientific findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

9 Sep 2009

COPD patients to have better protection against pneumonia with new vaccine

A new vaccine against pneumonia may offer better protection from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients than the currently accepted vaccine, according to recent research that will be published in the September 15 issue of the American Journal of the Respiratory and Critical Care Journal, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.

8 Sep 2009

Microbe's multilayer defence mechanisms could treat fungal infections

Unravelling a microbe's multilayer defence mechanisms could lead to effective new treatments for potentially lethal fungal infections in cancer patients and others whose natural immunity is weakened.

8 Sep 2009

New protein fragments identified for anthrax vaccine development

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified two small protein fragments that could be developed into an anthrax vaccine that may cause fewer side effects than the current vaccine.

4 Sep 2009

rPA anthrax vaccine and its Valortim anthrax anti-toxin program data presented

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today that data from the Company's third generation recombinant protective antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine program and its Valortim((R)) anthrax anti-toxin program were presented at the Bacillus - ACT 2009 meeting, August 30 - September 3, 2009, organized by the American Society for Microbiology.

4 Sep 2009

Clinical trial of Novartis MF59 swine-flu vaccine elicits a strong immune response

Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose.

4 Sep 2009

H1N1 vaccine to cost countries $2.50 - $20 per dose

The H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine will cost countries between $2.50 and $20 per dose, based on their ability to pay, according to the director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research at the WHO, Marie-Paule Kieny, Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times reports. During an interview published in the September issue of the WHO Bulletin, Kieny "also warned that there would not be enough vaccines for the world's population and that people should not rely entirely on the vaccine," the news service writes (9/2).

3 Sep 2009

Germany’s BMBF awards NOXXON grant for developing Spiegelmer NOX-A12

NOXXON Pharma AG (NOXXON), clinical-stage developer of L-RNA based scaffolds (Spiegelmers®) that bind their targets conceptually similar to antibodies, announced today that the company was awarded a research grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the ministry’s small and medium enterprise innovation initiative (“KMU-Innovativ”).

3 Sep 2009

First swine-flu vaccine trials reveal strong immune response

Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose.

3 Sep 2009

Alloantigen-specific Treg cells targeted for organ transplantation

An increased understanding of the role of the body's immune system in the development of diseases such as prostate cancer, squamous cell carcinoma (a type of skin cancer), type 1 diabetes, autoimmune liver disease, and in the rejection of transplanted organs by some transplant patients, has paved the way for a pioneering research programme which aims to develop 'enhanced' cells as therapies.

3 Sep 2009

TRAF6 protein plays a role in cell growth and carcinogenesis, says researchers

The mainstay immune system protein TRAF6 plays an unexpected, key role activating a cell signaling molecule that in mutant form is associated with cancer growth, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Aug. 28 edition of Science.

2 Sep 2009

T cells influence aggressive immune cells by regulating the chemical environment between cells

University of Michigan scientists say they have uncovered a fundamentally new mechanism that holds in check aggressive immune cells that can attack the body's own cells. The findings open a new avenue of research for future therapies for conditions ranging from autoimmune diseases to organ transplants to cancer.

2 Sep 2009

Single-dose H1N1 vaccine wins approval in China

The Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech Ltd. on Monday announced its H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine won the approval of a panel of experts from China's State Food and Drug Administration, the Associated Press/Forbes reports. The company expects to obtain a production license later this week. According to the company, clinical trials of the H1N1 vaccine showed a single shot produced an immune response capable of protecting against H1N1 (8/31).

2 Sep 2009

Phase II result reveals effectiveness of GS-101 eye drops at inhibiting corneal neovascularisation

Gene Signal, a company focused on developing innovative drugs to manage angiogenesis based conditions, today announced the publication of interim results from a phase II study suggesting that the antisense oligonucleotide GS-101 (eye drops) is safe and effective at inhibiting and regressing corneal neovascularisation (abnormal new blood vessel growth).

1 Sep 2009