Immunization News and Research

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NACI updates, strengthens statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada

This week, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization updated and strengthened its statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada. Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in children under the age of three. The NACI statement now includes Grade A recommendations (good evidence to recommend immunization) for healthy and preterm infants.

21 Jul 2010

Natural, needle-free vaccination against malaria

If mice are administered an antibiotic for three days and are simultaneously infected with malaria, no parasites appear in the blood and life-threatening disease is averted. In addition, the animals treated in this manner also develop robust, long-term immunity against subsequent infections. This discovery was made by the team headed by Dr. Steffen Borrmann from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital in cooperation with Dr. Kai Matuschewski of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin. The scientists think that safe and affordable prophylaxis with antibiotics in residents of areas with high malaria transmission has the potential to be used as a natural "needle-free" vaccination against malaria.

21 Jul 2010

Abortion fight again heats up over high-risk pools, other health reform news

Anti-abortion activists have "scored a victory" after a decision last week by the Obama administration to not allow the new high-risk pools in America to cover most abortions, The Associated Press reports.

20 Jul 2010

Study evaluates immunization benefits of dissolving microneedles

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could allow persons without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines - while providing improved immunization against diseases such as influenza.

19 Jul 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

As part of a series in advance of AIDS 2010, the "Science Speaks" blog features an interview with U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby "about his expectations for the conference, what was behind the Uganda problem with shortages of AIDS medicine, and whether The New York Times was right when it reported in May that the Ugandan drug shortfall was 'the first example … of how the war on AIDS is falling apart.'"

16 Jul 2010

Health Canada approves FluMist for preventing seasonal influenza

AstraZeneca Canada Inc. announced today that Health Canada has approved FluMist (Influenza Vaccine, Live, Attenuated) for the prevention of seasonal influenza. FluMist is the first vaccine in Canada that is administered as a gentle mist sprayed into the nose.

14 Jul 2010

Loyola primary care physicians honored with Blue Ribbon rating from Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Loyola University Health System primary care physicians recently received a Blue Ribbon rating from Blue Cross and Blue Shield. This honor is given to physicians who have received a satisfaction rate of 85 percent or higher based on a member survey.

14 Jul 2010

New research studies presented at Alzheimer's Association International Conference

The primary therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease has been the beta amyloid peptide, which clusters outside cells in the brain to form sticky clumps known as plaques. Recently, more attention has been given to the tau protein, which aggregates inside the brain cells of people with Alzheimer's, forming neurofibrillary tangles. Precisely how these proteins interact in causing the disease is unclear.

14 Jul 2010

Emergent awarded $107M HHS BARDA contract to develop large-scale manufacturing of BioThrax

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that it has signed a contract valued at up to $107 million with the Office of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to develop and obtain regulatory approval for large-scale manufacturing of BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) in Building 55. Building 55 is the company's large-scale state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing facility in Lansing, Michigan.

14 Jul 2010

Anti vaccine group has only a week left to heed to HCCC’s warnings

The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission disapproves of the anti vaccination reports from a Bangalow, NSW based Australian Vaccination Network.

13 Jul 2010

Report on program to develop, test nasally delivered H5N1 vaccine filed with Japan's MHLW

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., announced that it has received a report, prepared by Hideki Hasegawa, M.D. Ph.D., Director, Laboratory of Infectious Disease Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Disease, that summarizes the results of a three year Japanese government funded program to develop and test a nasally delivered H5N1 (Avian Flu) vaccine which, when coupled with Ampligen®, an experimental therapeutic, provided a robust and long lasting immune response to the vaccine.

12 Jul 2010

UKPTO grants arGEN-X patent covering SIMPLE Antibody platform

arGEN-X, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies using its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody(TM) platform, announces that it has been granted the first patent covering the platform. The patent GB2461546B, has been granted by the UK Patent and Trademark Office (UKPTO).

9 Jul 2010

HTDS, Shenzhen Mellow Hope secure new business partner in Ethiopia

Hard to Treat Diseases, Inc. and Shenzhen Mellow Hope are excited to announce that the company has secured a new business partner in Ethiopia through which Mellow Hope will distribute biomedical vaccines.

6 Jul 2010

Infoway adds diagnostic imaging, drug information systems to Certification Services

Canada Health Infoway has added diagnostic imaging and drug information systems to its pre-implementation Certification Services. Health information technology vendors can now receive certification for seven classes of technology.

6 Jul 2010

LEAPS vaccine technology generates dendritic cells to stimulate immune system to fight viral illnesses

CEL-SCI Corporation and researchers at the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) jointly announced today that a LEAPS-based vaccine (Ligand Epitope Antigen Presentation System) study has demonstrated the technology's potential using dendritic cells to stimulate the immune system to fight viral illnesses and other diseases.

29 Jun 2010

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

The combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) is associated with double the risk of febrile seizures for 1- to 2-year-old children compared with same-day administration of the separate vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and the varicella (V) vaccine for chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Pediatrics. A febrile seizure is a brief, fever-related convulsion but it does not lead to epilepsy or seizure disorders, researchers explained.

28 Jun 2010

Overview of scientific research on medical technology to combat anthrax threat

The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States are fostering development of a new generation of vaccines, antibiotics, and other medications to protect people against the potentially deadly bacteria in any future bioterrorist incident. That's the conclusion of a sweeping overview of scientific research on medical technology to combat the anthrax threat. It appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

25 Jun 2010

Research findings suggest possible diagnostic test for ALS

A team led by a Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute researcher developed a novel approach to efficiently identify disease relevant genes in human complex neurological disorders and demonstrated the effectiveness of this method by applying it to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, according to a new study reported online in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics.

25 Jun 2010

Editors of Canadian Medical Association Journal warn polio outbreak in Tajikistan could spread

"A large polio outbreak in Tajikistan - Europe's first in years - has the potential to further spread the dangerous virus to other regions of the world, the [editors of] the Canadian Medical Association Journal [CMAJ] warned Wednesday" in an editorial appearing in the journal, the Canadian Press reports.

25 Jun 2010

Emergent BioSolutions completes sales, deliveries of BioThrax to allied international governments

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that it has completed separate international sales and deliveries of BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) to governments of several allied nations. The company's international sales efforts have resulted in these sales of an undisclosed number of BioThrax doses for aggregate revenue of approximately $2.3 million in the second quarter.

24 Jun 2010

Immunization News and Research

NACI updates, strengthens statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada

Natural, needle-free vaccination against malaria

Abortion fight again heats up over high-risk pools, other health reform news

Study evaluates immunization benefits of dissolving microneedles

Recent releases in Global Health

Health Canada approves FluMist for preventing seasonal influenza

Loyola primary care physicians honored with Blue Ribbon rating from Blue Cross and Blue Shield

New research studies presented at Alzheimer's Association International Conference

Emergent awarded $107M HHS BARDA contract to develop large-scale manufacturing of BioThrax

Anti vaccine group has only a week left to heed to HCCC’s warnings

Report on program to develop, test nasally delivered H5N1 vaccine filed with Japan's MHLW

UKPTO grants arGEN-X patent covering SIMPLE Antibody platform

HTDS, Shenzhen Mellow Hope secure new business partner in Ethiopia

Infoway adds diagnostic imaging, drug information systems to Certification Services

LEAPS vaccine technology generates dendritic cells to stimulate immune system to fight viral illnesses

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

Overview of scientific research on medical technology to combat anthrax threat

Research findings suggest possible diagnostic test for ALS

Editors of Canadian Medical Association Journal warn polio outbreak in Tajikistan could spread

Emergent BioSolutions completes sales, deliveries of BioThrax to allied international governments

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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