Diphtheria News and Research

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Diphtheria is a disease caused by a bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, that usually affects the tonsils, throat, nose and/or skin. It is passed from person to person by droplet transmission, usually by breathing in diphtheria bacteria after an infected person has coughed or sneezed. Although diphtheria disease is rare in the U.S., it appears that C diphtheriae continues to circulate in areas of the country with previously endemic diphtheria. Diphtheria also occurs in many other parts of the world.

Reductionist model provides new insights on HIV infection

A major obstacle to HIV research is the virus's exquisite specialisation for its human host - meaning that scientists' traditional tools, like the humble lab mouse, can deliver only limited information. Now, a team of researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Biology have made an ingenious assault on this problem by creating a mouse that has key features of HIV infection without being infected with HIV.

1 Dec 2009

Whitehead researchers develop new type of genetic screen for human cells

Whitehead researchers have developed a new type of genetic screen for human cells to pinpoint specific genes and proteins used by pathogens, according to their paper in Science.

27 Nov 2009

Several new vaccines require booster shots to remain effective during a lifetime: Study

Preventing disease is the goal of every health care provider and fortunately every year, new vaccines are being added to assist in disease prevention. But do all vaccines boost immunity for the same period of time? And, if not, when are additional 'booster shots' needed to keep immunity strong?

24 Nov 2009

FDA Advisory Committee votes in support of Pfizer's Prevnar 13

Pfizer Inc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 10 to 1 that the data presented support the safety and effectiveness of its 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate candidate vaccine, Prevnar 13™ (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and young children.

19 Nov 2009

GAVI Alliance drives down pentavalent vaccine costs, data shows

The "co-ordinated buying policy" of the GAVI Alliance has driven down "[t]he price of a vaccine that helps babies fight off killer diseases," according to data released by the group, Reuters reports. In 2010, the price of pentavalent vaccine, which protects against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and hepatitis B, will fall "below $3.0 - a drop of almost $0.50 cents per dose on the 2009 price," according to the news services.

19 Nov 2009

Pentavalent price drops: the GAVI effect

Following the increasing impact of the GAVI Alliance on the vaccine market, the price of one of the major combination vaccines, the pentavalent, is falling considerably, enabling GAVI’s partners to vaccinate millions of more children in the developing world.

18 Nov 2009

Novartis to acquire 85% stake in Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical for US$125 million

Hard To Treat Diseases (HTDS.PK) www.htdsmedical.com, announced today that Novartis, a US$41 billion international healthcare company, is acquiring an 85% stake in HTDS' H1N1 Vaccine partner, Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for US$125 million.

10 Nov 2009

Third quarter 2009 financial results announced by Akorn

Akorn, Inc. a specialty pharmaceutical company, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

10 Nov 2009

Walls Street journal examines big pharma's 'growing interest' in emerging-market vaccine development, production

The Wall Street Journal examines "big pharma's growing interest in a corner of healthcare - emerging-market inoculations," in light of a recent move by Novartis to purchase an 85 percent stake in the Chinese vaccine maker Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. In the summer, drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA made a similar move to acquire a majority stake in India's Shantha Biotechnics, the newspaper notes.

6 Nov 2009

WHO, UNICEF launch 6-year $39B plan to prevent, treat pneumonia; World Pneumonia Day coverage

To mark the first World Pneumonia Day on Monday, the WHO and UNICEF launched a $39 billion Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia (GAPP) aimed at preventing 5.3 million child deaths from the disease by 2015, the Associated Press reports (Cheng, 11/1).

3 Nov 2009

Sanofi Pasteur presents Menactra vaccine safety data at the IDSA

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, presented Safety of a Quadrivalent (A,C,Y,W-135) Meningococcal Vaccine When Given to Infants with Other Pediatric Vaccines at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) this past weekend.

2 Nov 2009

Study indicates possibility of a vaccine to prevent Group B Streptococcus infection

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have completed a Phase II clinical study that indicates a vaccine to prevent Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection is possible. GBS is the most common cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can also cause severe illness in pregnant women, the elderly and adults with chronic illnesses.

31 Oct 2009

sanofi-aventis reports financial results for the third quarter of 2009

In the third quarter of 2009, sanofi-aventis generated net sales of euro 7,400 million, up 8.0% on a reported basis. Exchange rate movements had a favorable effect of 2.0 percentage points, with the appreciation of the U.S. dollar (and to a lesser extent the yen) against the euro more than offsetting the unfavorable effects of some other currencies.

30 Oct 2009

Vaccination rates need improvement; racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage

More teenagers are being vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal meningitis and pertussis (whooping cough), though the rates are still too low, according to recently released government data and a panel of experts convened by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

27 Oct 2009

News outlets examine challenges with expanding global child immunization campaigns

Wednesday's release of the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank joint report on childhood vaccines highlighted gains in recent global vaccination campaigns and also found that nearly 24 million infants worldwide don't get the recommended first-year vaccination.

23 Oct 2009

More infants are being immunized but funding gap leaves millions of children still at risk

Reversing a downward trend, immunization rates are now at their highest ever and vaccine development worldwide is booming, according to a new assessment released today by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Bank.

22 Oct 2009

Phase 1 clinical trial to test safety and activity of human MAB launched in India

MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School today announced the beginning of a Phase 1 clinical trial, testing the safety and activity of a human monoclonal antibody (MAB) developed to neutralize the rabies virus.

1 Oct 2009

British Prime Minister to unveil $1b effort to improve health systems in developing countries

During the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday is scheduled to announce that Britain is teaming up with Norway, the Netherlands and Australia to invest $1 billion to strengthen the health systems in developing countries, the Financial Times/NineMSN reports (Jack, 9/21).

23 Sep 2009

Exhibition on history of immunology to be presented at 2nd European Congress of Immunology

An exhibition entitled "The Birth of Immunology" during the 2nd European Congress of Immunology from13th to 16th September 2009 at the main foyer of the ICC in Berlin will offer insights into the fast-paced history of immunology. Immunology has promoted medical progress since the end of the 19th century like almost no other discipline.

8 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.