Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Urgent vaccine requirements for treating epidemic diseases voiced at ECI 2009

As a result of dominant media coverage of new epidemic threats such as swine influenza, other infection risks receive less public attention than they deserve. "We would like to bring to everybody's attention that the infectious diseases with the most severe consequences continue to be old acquaintances such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria and hepatitis C. About six million people worldwide die of these diseases every year," says Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Stefan H. E. Kaufmann, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology ECI 2009.

16 Sep 2009

Opinion piece calls for enhanced U.S.-Russia health collaboration

While legislators in Moscow attempt to reform the Russian health system in a way that is "strikingly similar" to the reform process in the U.S. and "[g]iven the importance of the U.S.-Russia relationship ... our two countries have a historic opportunity to expand our health collaboration and, in so doing, improve our diplomatic ties," former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

16 Sep 2009

CIDRAP summit to address employee protection measures during H1N1 pandemic

Business and healthcare leaders looking to fast-track preparedness for the H1N1 pandemic are gathering with infectious disease experts and Fortune 500 planners this month to determine how best to protect their employees and preserve their operations.

16 Sep 2009

NIAID awards Sanaria an SBIR Grant for expediting its malaria vaccine manufacturing process

Sanaria Inc. has received additional support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health in the form of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant. The award for two years is $1.99 million. Subject to satisfactory progress by Sanaria, continued funding for a third year will bring the total to nearly $3 million.

16 Sep 2009

New peptide-based cancer vaccine tested in genital cancer patients

Preventive vaccination against infectious diseases has been a major milestone for the health of modern society. The development of therapeutic vaccination against established diseases is much more difficult. For more than 100 years researchers have already tried to develop cancer vaccines and now first promising clinical results raise hopes. A summary of the most attractive new approaches gave Professor Carmen Scheibenbogen, Institut für Medizinische Immunologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, at a press conference in Berlin.

16 Sep 2009

FDA approves BioVex' design of a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate OncoVEX

BioVex Inc, a biotechnology company developing clinical stage treatments for cancer and the prevention of infectious disease, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the design of a single, pivotal, Phase III clinical trial evaluating its lead product, OncoVEX (GM-CSF), for the first-line treatment of patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck.

15 Sep 2009

RAPS honors award recipients for contributions to healthcare product regulatory profession

The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) today honored the recipients of its prestigious awards for outstanding contributions to the healthcare product regulatory profession. RAPS' Leonard Stauffer Award for mentoring and furthering regulatory professional education was given to independent consultant Nanci Dexter.

15 Sep 2009

Significant uptake of medical imaging equipment in Ghana

Ghana's healthcare industry is experiencing growth across a range of sectors. However, the drive towards improved diagnostic capability has led to high demand for medical imaging devices.

15 Sep 2009

MSD's ISENTRESS approved by the EU Commission for treating HIV-1 infection in adult patients

Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) announced today that ISENTRESS® (raltegravir) has been granted an expanded licence from the European Union Commission (Commission) for use in combination with other antiretroviral (ARV) medicinal products for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adult patients, including adult patients starting HIV-1 therapy for the first time (treatment-naïve), as well as treatment-experienced adult patients.

15 Sep 2009

Anti-fungal pill found to be effective for treating oral candidiasis

A once-daily medication option for treating the most common mouth infection in HIV/AIDS patients has shown to be just as effective and safe as taking an anti-fungal pill five times a day, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

15 Sep 2009

Phase II VICTOR-E1 clinical study results reported

Schering-Plough Corporation today reported long-term data with vicriviroc, its investigational CCR5 receptor antagonist, from an ongoing, open-label extension of the Phase II VICTOR-E1 study in treatment-experienced HIV-infected patients.

15 Sep 2009

New 'adjuvant' developed by scientists could allow the creation of important new vaccines

Scientists at Oregon State University have developed a new "adjuvant" that could allow the creation of important new vaccines, possibly become a universal vaccine carrier and help medical experts tackle many diseases more effectively.

15 Sep 2009

Rib-X and NIAID collaborate to develop an antibiotic treatment for N. gonorrhoeae

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs for the treatment of multi-antibiotic resistant infections, today announced that it intends to enter into a Clinical Trials Agreement with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

15 Sep 2009

Phase I results of Tobira's TBR-652 CCR5 antagonist for the treatment of HIV

Tobira Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company committed to research and product discovery for the treatment of life-threatening and life-altering infectious diseases, today announced pharmacokinetic data and results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose randomized study of TBR-652 in sixty healthy volunteers.

15 Sep 2009

Nebulized interferon-gamma helps minimize transmissibility of TB

A new study published in the September 15, 2009, issue of PLoS ONE found that patients with cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis receiving anti-TB medications supplemented with nebulized interferon-gamma have fewer bacilli in the lungs and less inflammation, thereby reducing the transmissibility of tuberculosis in the early phase of treatment.

15 Sep 2009

BioAlliance announces Phase III results of miconazole Lauriad MBT for treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis

Strativa Pharmaceuticals, the proprietary products division of Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. (NYSE: PRX), today announced that its development partner BioAlliance Pharma SA presented Phase III study results for miconazole Lauriad(R) mucoadhesive buccal tablets (MBT) that demonstrate noninferiority to clotrimazole troches for oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC), an opportunistic infection of the mouth and throat.

14 Sep 2009

Emerging Growth Research to manage investor relations programs for Biomagnetics Diagnostics

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a producer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria detection, today announced it has retained Emerging Growth Research, LLP to manage its public relations and investor relations programs. Emerging Growth Research specializes in small market capitalization companies in the technology and biotechnology sectors.

14 Sep 2009

H1N1 vaccine to be available in U.S. earlier than anticipated

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Sunday that the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine will be available in the U.S. earlier than previously anticipated, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We are on track to have an ample supply rolling out by mid-October, but we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. And we plan to get the vaccine rolling out the door as fast as it hits the production line," Sebelius said (Davis, 9/13).

14 Sep 2009

IVIS Lumina XR in vivo imaging system from Caliper Life Sciences

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today introduced the IVIS Lumina XR in vivo imaging system, the latest addition to the IVIS product family.

14 Sep 2009

Gen-Probe to merge industrial testing assets into an independent company

Gen-Probe Incorporated announced today that it is spinning off its industrial testing assets into a new, independent company focused on developing rapid, highly accurate molecular assays for biopharmaceutical production, water and food safety testing, and other applications.

14 Sep 2009