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Motavizumab should not be licensed for marketing: FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee

MedImmune today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee has voted 14 to 3 to recommend that motavizumab should not be licensed for marketing regarding the prevention of serious respiratory syncytial virus disease in high-risk infants.

3 Jun 2010

Scientists awarded $3.9M grant to study how XDR-TB transmitted in rural South Africa

The National Institutes of Health has awarded scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $3.9 million grant to study how extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis is transmitted in rural South Africa. The findings could alter public health approaches for controlling the XDR-TB epidemic in the developing world.

3 Jun 2010

BD Diagnostics receives 510(k) clearance to market GBS assay on BD MAX System

BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the BD MAX™ GBS Assay for Group B Streptococcus on the BD MAX System. The BD MAX System is a next-generation automated workstation for molecular testing designed to streamline workflow and offer full walkaway automation to accommodate varying workloads for maximum lab efficiency and flexibility.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 3 Jun 2010

Barriers, misinformation still prevent many from seeking flu protection for their families: Canadian Flu Report

According to the Canadian Flu Report released today, 40 per cent of parents are now more interested in vaccinating themselves and their children against seasonal flu following last year's H1N1 outbreak. Yet, significant barriers and misinformation are still preventing many from actually seeking proper flu protection for their families.

2 Jun 2010

Research findings advance the effort to develop AIDS vaccine

In findings that contribute to efforts to design an AIDS vaccine, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has determined the structure of an immune system antibody molecule that effectively acts against most strains of human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Jun 2010

Santarus commences enrollment in rifamycin SV MMX Phase III clinical program for travelers' diarrhea

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that is has begun to enroll patients in the first study in its Phase III clinical program to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rifamycin SV MMX® for the treatment of patients with travelers' diarrhea.

2 Jun 2010

Texas A&M uses pGAP and IBM supercomputing technology to boost tuberculosis research

IBM today announced that Texas A&M University used IBM supercomputing technology to carry out potentially life-saving tuberculosis research at a rate more than four times faster than was previously possible.

2 Jun 2010

CCL5 protein plays protective role against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: New research

Ohio scientists hope to counter the re-emerging threat of tuberculosis with help from proteins from our bodies. In a research report published in the June 2010 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, scientists show how the protein CCL5 plays a protective role in helping the body ward off this contagious, airborne disease in the early stages of infection.

2 Jun 2010

Anti-Dengue drug candidates demonstrate efficacy in preliminary cell culture studies

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that its anti-Dengue drug candidates demonstrated significant efficacy in the recently completed preliminary cell culture studies. The studies were performed in the laboratory of Dr. Eva Harris, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, Berkeley.

2 Jun 2010

Azithromycin as effective as penicillin for early-stage syphilis: Study

In a clinical trial involving HIV-negative volunteers with early-stage syphilis, researchers have found that antibiotic pills (azithromycin) are as effective as penicillin injections in curing early-stage syphilis. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Jun 2010

Plans to continue flu vaccination ban – intensive investigations ongoing

In the first quarter of this year nearly 300 children across Australia fell ill with fevers, vomiting and convulsions following administration of the seasonal flu vaccine.

2 Jun 2010

Researchers identify pattern of gene expression in kidney transplant recipients who don't need anti-rejection drugs

Researchers have identified a distinct pattern of gene expression in the largest reported group of kidney transplant recipients who have not rejected the transplant kidneys even though they stopped taking anti-rejection drugs. This finding may help identify other transplant recipients who could safely reduce or end use of immunosuppressive therapy. In 2008, more than 80,000 people in the United States were living with a kidney transplant.

31 May 2010

Model to help investigators make "socially responsible decisions" in community-based health research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics to study obligations researchers may have to provide ancillary health care unrelated to their study while working in impoverished settings.

29 May 2010

RNAi therapy shuts down gene critical to RSV, prevents virus replication

John DeVincenzo, MD, professor and researcher in the Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has proven for the first time that a totally new concept in drug design can be used to treat human disease. Dr. DeVincenzo, who also serves as a children's infectious diseases specialist at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, conducted his study at the Children's Foundation Research Center, a UT Health Science Center partner located at Le Bonheur.

29 May 2010

Study demonstrates protection against Ebola infection in nonhuman primates using RNAi

Scientists using tiny particles of genetic material to interfere in the replication process of the deadly Ebola virus have successfully prevented monkeys exposed to that virus from dying of hemorrhagic fever. The proof-of-concept study, published in this week's issue of The Lancet, suggests that such protection also should be possible in humans.

29 May 2010

Allergic reactions prevent people with allergic asthma from generating healthy immune response to influenza

New research from UT Southwestern Medical Center suggests that allergic reactions to pet dander, dust mites and mold may prevent people with allergic asthma from generating a healthy immune response to respiratory viruses such as influenza.

29 May 2010

Study highlights need for earlier diagnosis and treatment of HIV

Despite growing evidence that the earlier people are diagnosed with HIV and get access to care, the better their clinical outcomes, many HIV-infected people in the United States and Canada are not receiving the care they need early enough.

29 May 2010

VaxGen signs definitive agreement to acquire diaDexus in stock-for-stock merger

VaxGen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, and diaDexus, Inc., a privately held diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of patent-protected in vitro diagnostic products addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease, announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which VaxGen will acquire diaDexus in a stock-for-stock merger.

29 May 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet Infectious Diseases Leading Edge article examines the history of the global efforts to control polio and the challenges associated with targets to globally eradicate the disease. "The eradication of polio seems imminent, but with so few cases, there is a temptation to think an acceptable level of infection has been achieved. Not so.

29 May 2010

Infectious diseases specialist from Walter and Eliza Hall Institute receives Frank Fenner Award

Infectious diseases specialist Dr Marc Pellegrini from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute will today receive the Frank Fenner Award from the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, recognising Dr Pellegrini's efforts to understand human responses to chronic infections.

28 May 2010

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Motavizumab should not be licensed for marketing: FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee

Scientists awarded $3.9M grant to study how XDR-TB transmitted in rural South Africa

BD Diagnostics receives 510(k) clearance to market GBS assay on BD MAX System

Barriers, misinformation still prevent many from seeking flu protection for their families: Canadian Flu Report

Research findings advance the effort to develop AIDS vaccine

Santarus commences enrollment in rifamycin SV MMX Phase III clinical program for travelers' diarrhea

Texas A&M uses pGAP and IBM supercomputing technology to boost tuberculosis research

CCL5 protein plays protective role against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: New research

Anti-Dengue drug candidates demonstrate efficacy in preliminary cell culture studies

Azithromycin as effective as penicillin for early-stage syphilis: Study

Plans to continue flu vaccination ban – intensive investigations ongoing

Researchers identify pattern of gene expression in kidney transplant recipients who don't need anti-rejection drugs

Model to help investigators make "socially responsible decisions" in community-based health research

RNAi therapy shuts down gene critical to RSV, prevents virus replication

Study demonstrates protection against Ebola infection in nonhuman primates using RNAi

Allergic reactions prevent people with allergic asthma from generating healthy immune response to influenza

Study highlights need for earlier diagnosis and treatment of HIV

VaxGen signs definitive agreement to acquire diaDexus in stock-for-stock merger

Recent releases in Global Health

Infectious diseases specialist from Walter and Eliza Hall Institute receives Frank Fenner Award

NGS for Infectious Disease Surveillance eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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