Immune System News and Research

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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

JDA Software helps pharmaceutical companies enhance supply-chain management

Successful supply chain management, including managing demand, planning API and formulation production, packaging and distributing, is a goal shared by all pharmaceutical manufacturers. According to PharmaTech.com, effective supply-chain management is particularly important as the pharmaceutical industry seeks ways to reduce costs, maintain regulatory compliance, and adhere to quality and safety standards.

3 Sep 2009

National Pasteurized Eggs opens new state-of-the-art egg pasteurizing plant

In tandem with the Food and Drug Administration's quest to dramatically reduce Salmonella-related food poisoning, National Pasteurized Eggs (NPE) www.SafeEggs.com, the country's largest shell egg pasteurizer, opened a new state-of-the-art plant that more than doubles its production and expands Americans' access to eggs free from dangerous egg-related Salmonella-enteritidis.

3 Sep 2009

Study assesses protective capabilities of DNA vaccines against SIV

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that data generated from a pre-clinical collaborative study by National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Inovio scientists were published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper entitled: “DNA vaccination in rhesus macaques induces potent immune responses and decreases acute and chronic viremia after SIVmac251 challenge.”

3 Sep 2009

Green to Grow calls for support of the California Toxics-Free Babies and Toddlers Act

Green to Grow (www.greentogrow.com), a leading Los Angeles-based manufacturer of BPA-free baby bottles that provide a safe alternative to polycarbonate products containing Bisphenol A (BPA) - a chemical currently banned in Canada, Minnesota, Connecticut and under scrutiny in several European nations - is urging the public and California Assembly members to support the Toxics-Free Babies and Toddlers Act (SB 797).

3 Sep 2009

Fashion show to help raise public awareness of psoriasis

Today, Tim Gunn, television host and fashion consultant ("Project Runway," "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style") and chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne, Inc., is hosting the Addressing Psoriasis(TM) Fashion Show, sponsored by Amgen and Wyeth, in New York City.

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

Gloucester’s romidepsin recommended for approval by the FDA Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee

Gloucester Pharmaceuticals announced today that the Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC) appointed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 10 in favor with one abstention to recommend approval of romidepsin to treat patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). CTCL is a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is a cancer of the immune system.

3 Sep 2009

Researchers to analyse nanoparticles

Researchers at Swansea University's Centre for NanoHealth have been awarded £1 million by the Research Councils' Nanoscience through Engineering to Application cross-council programme, led by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), to analyse the levels at which nanoparticles can be deemed safe within cells.

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

Pacific Biometrics enters into a Loan and Security Agreement to raise $4 million

Pacific Biometrics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PBME), a leading provider of specialized reference laboratory and contract research services, today announced the Company's entry into a Loan and Security Agreement with Terry M. Giles, providing for a $4 million loan (the "Loan") to the Company.

2 Sep 2009

Lupus Foundation of America to educate people with lupus on clinical trial participation

It has been more than 50 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last approved a new medicine specifically for lupus – when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Existing treatments have been "borrowed" from other disorders and the risk/benefit ratio of these treatments is far from optimal. However, hope is on the horizon.

2 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

New study on behaviour of telomeres during cell division in cancerous human cells

A process that limits the number of times a cell divides works much differently than had been thought, opening the door to potential new anticancer therapies, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report in the Aug. 7 issue of the journal Cell.

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

Nuvo Research's co-operative drug development project with Fraunhofer Institute for developing WF10

Nuvo Research Inc., a Canadian drug development company focused on the research and development of drug products that are delivered to and through the skin using its topical and transdermal drug delivery technologies, and on the development of its immune modulating drug candidate WF10, today announced a co-operative drug development project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig, Germany for the preclinical and clinical development of WF10 as a potential treatment for Allergic Rhinitis.

2 Sep 2009

New ARRA-funded research on white blood cell functioning

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has provided funding for new research to learn more about how white blood cells work. Jonathan Reichner, PhD, of the department of surgery at Rhode Island Hospital has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health with funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Reichner's hope is that the research will lead to new immune-enhancing therapies, with potential implications for improvements in both cancer treatment and controlling inflammation accompanying injury and infection.

2 Sep 2009

$Prolonged surgery should be avoided in trauma patients with multiple fractures$

Prolonged surgery should be avoided in trauma patients with multiple fractures

Trauma patients who sustain multiple fractures are often in serious condition when they arrive at the emergency department. A review article published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) explains that trauma patients who have several orthopaedic injuries and are considered to be in unstable condition should only have a few hours of surgery when first arriving at the hospital. This principle is known as 'damage control'.

2 Sep 2009

Pathogenic microbes can suppress immune system in newborns

Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a bacterial pathogen that causes sepsis and meningitis in newborn infants, is able to shut down immune cell function in order to promote its own survival, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

2 Sep 2009