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VaxInnate commences VAX161 Phase I trial in pandemic avian influenza

VaxInnate Corporation today announced that enrollment has commenced in a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate VAX161, its novel H5 vaccine candidate in development for the prevention of pandemic avian influenza or bird flu. VaxInnate is a biotechnology firm pioneering breakthrough technology for developing novel vaccines.

13 Jun 2012

Single test developed that detects all known strains of H5N1

The close collaboration between scientists from the Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC) under the Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR) and clinicians from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has enabled the successful development of the most comprehensive and rapid H5N1 bird flu test kit available to date.

29 May 2012

Researchers barcode different strains of influenza virus and HRSV

Dr Julian Hiscox and Dr John Barr of the University's Faculty of Biological Sciences are working with the Health Protection Agency Porton (HPA) to build a bank of molecular signatures that will help identify the severity of virus infection from characteristic changes seen in cells. Currently the team is barcoding different strains of influenza virus and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) - a virus associated with the onset of asthma in young children.

14 May 2012

Researchers discover potential way to develop universal flu vaccines

University of British Columbia researchers have found a potential way to develop universal flu vaccines and eliminate the need for seasonal flu vaccinations.

8 May 2012

NIH responds to criticism over handling of controversial bird flu studies

In a letter dated April 25, Amy Patterson, associate director for science policy in the office of the director of the National Institutes of Health, "has refuted criticism of the way a meeting held to allow a biosecurity advisory group to review controversial bird flu studies was handled," denying "the agenda was crafted to achieve a predetermined outcome," the Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press writes.

7 May 2012

Nature publishes first of two controversial studies on H5N1 avian flu

"In a long-awaited study that helped prompt a contentious debate over the wisdom of conducting research that has the potential to help as well as harm, scientists reported Wednesday that they had engineered a mutant strain of [H5N1] bird flu that can spread easily between ferrets -- a laboratory animal that responds to flu viruses much as people do," the Los Angeles Times (Brown, 5/3).

4 May 2012

One of the controversial avian flu studies published in full finally

After endless debates and controversies on whether two studies that demonstrated how bird flu, also known as avian H5N1 influenza, or avian flu, should be published, one of them has appeared in the latest issue of the journal Nature in its entirety. The two studies aimed for publication in journals Nature and Science show how the bird flu virus could become transmissible from mammal-to-mammal; as humans are mammals, the same would apply to humans.

4 May 2012

Flu paper publication amidst threats of bioterrorism raises need for better rules of censorship

According to the editor of the scientific journal Nature, Dr Philip Campbell current procedures to assess and censor medical research potentially of use to terrorists need to be improved. He was speaking about the recent controversy regarding the bird flu virus H5N1 study. The study was initially stopped from publication fearing risk of bioterrorism. He was speaking to BBC News.

2 May 2012

'Mandatory oversight' of potentially dangerous biological research will be necessary

"In the sobering annals of disaster prevention, genetic manipulation of the H5N1 influenza virus is looming as a seminal case," John Steinbruner, director of the Center for International Security Studies at the University of Maryland, writes in an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog," noting that two "laboratory experiments have rendered the highly virulent avian strain transmissible among ferrets, strongly suggesting that it would be transmissible among humans as well."

2 May 2012

Dutch government grants export license allowing publication of controversial H5N1 study

"The Dutch government has agreed to grant an export license to allow Ron Fouchier, a virologist at the Erasmus Medical University in Rotterdam, to publish his work on H5N1 avian influenza in Science," Nature's "News Blog" reports (Owens, 4/27). "

30 Apr 2012

Senate committee questions federal officials about dual-use research of concern procedures

"Spurred by events surrounding two controversial H5N1 transmission studies, a U.S. Senate committee [on Thursday] questioned federal officials whose agencies have a stake in dual-use research of concern (DURC) about the procedures they use to spot possible bioterror threats," CIDRAP News reports.

27 Apr 2012

Funders should follow lead of U.S. in creating policies for scientific research oversight

"The controversy over the research into the genetic modification of the H5N1 flu virus, finally approved for publication, should offer a reminder of the importance of debate" over dual-use technology, a Nature editorial states.

27 Apr 2012

U.S. government must be prepared to handle dual use research of concern

"This week, a Senate panel is investigating biological security in the wake of" controversial "potentially dangerous research" on H5N1 avian influenza, "with good reason," Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

26 Apr 2012

Dutch government rule export permit required to publish controversial bird flu study

Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center, "[t]he Dutch scientist at the center of the controversy over recent bird flu experiments, says that his team applied for government permission today to submit a paper describing their research to a science journal," NPR's health blog "Shots" reports.

26 Apr 2012

Rep. Sensenbrenner sends second letter inquiring about U.S. government's review of controversial H5N1 studies

"A senior Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is asking more questions about how the U.S. government reviewed two controversial H5N1 avian influenza studies, and how it wrote a new policy for reviewing taxpayer-funded studies that might be used for good and evil," ScienceInsider reports.

25 Apr 2012

Process of reviewing controversial experiments for publication must be streamlined in future

"We can worry less that a newly created bird flu virus might kill tens or hundreds of millions of people if it escaped from the laboratory," a New York Times editorial states. "But there is still some residual danger. And we remain appalled at the slipshod way in which this research was authorized despite its potential dangers to public health and national security," the editorial continues.

24 Apr 2012

U.S. gives go-ahead on publication of H5N1 research; Dutch regulators continue to debate

The U.S. government on Friday formally accepted a recommendation from the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) "to publish two controversial studies of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, moving the pair of papers another step closer to publication," ScienceInsider reports.

24 Apr 2012

NSABB calls for global guidelines for conducting, communicating research involving dangerous pathogens

NewScientist reports on the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity's (NSABB) recommendation that revised versions of two controversial studies on H5N1 avian flu be published in scientific journals, reversing its previous recommendation that the studies only be published if certain details were withheld. According to the news service, dissent among the board members over the issue has prompted the committee to "propose talks to draft global guidelines for doing and communicating work involving dangerous pathogens."

20 Apr 2012

Positive data from Synairgen’s SNG001 Phase II trial on asthma

Scientists from the University of Southampton and Synairgen, a respiratory drug development company spun out from the University, can announce positive data from its Phase II clinical trial, into the effectiveness of the drug SNG001 (inhaled interferon beta) for asthma patients.