Immunodeficiency News and Research

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Immunodeficiency (or immune deficiency) is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent.

HVTN opens enrollment in GeoVax’s GM-CSF adjuvanted vaccine Phase 1 trial for HIV

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based biopharmaceutical firm developing vaccines to prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced that the NIH-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) has opened enrollment for a Phase 1 trial for the company's second-generation HIV vaccine.

23 May 2012

FDA panel recommends approval of Truvada as preventive treatment for HIV

"In a move that could lead to a new milestone for treatment in the evolution of the worldwide AIDS epidemic," a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel on Thursday recommended Gilead Sciences' Truvada as a treatment for preventing HIV infection among healthy people at risk of contracting the virus, Reuters reports, noting, "It already has FDA approval to treat people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus".

11 May 2012

Truvada deemed safe & effective in HIV infection risk reduction

Gilead Sciences Inc's Truvada pills are deemed safe and effective for reducing the risk of HIV infection, U.S. regulators said on Tuesday. But they recommended a cautious approach for using the drug in efforts to prevent the virus that causes AIDS.

9 May 2012

Salix first quarter total product revenue increases 62% to $171.1M

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 and other business updates.

8 May 2012

GenVec receives NIAID’s Phase I SBIR grant to support RSV vaccine program

GenVec, Inc. announced today that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the Company's Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine program.

4 May 2012

Researchers define structure of key part of human obesity receptor

Medical researchers at the University of Sheffield have defined the structure of a key part of the human obesity receptor- an essential factor in the regulation of body fat- which could help provide new treatments for the complications of obesity and anorexia.

27 Apr 2012

Chronic cocaine abuse accelerates process of brain ageing

New research by scientists at the University of Cambridge suggests that chronic cocaine abuse accelerates the process of brain ageing. The study, published today 25 April in Molecular Psychiatry, found that age-related loss of grey matter in the brain is greater in people who are dependent on cocaine than in the healthy population.

24 Apr 2012

Researchers describe novel mechanism of HIV-1 spread by dendritic cells

A new understanding of the initial interactions of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and dendritic cells is described by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers in a study currently featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

24 Apr 2012

Researchers discover novel genetic mechanism of idiopathic CD4 lymphopenia

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a novel genetic mechanism of immune deficiency. Magdalena M. Gorska, MD, PhD, and Rafeul Alam, MD, PhD, identified a mutation in Unc119 that causes immunodeficiency known as idiopathic CD4 lymphopenia.

21 Apr 2012

PloS ONE publishes research on GenVec's new vaccine vectors

GenVec, Inc. announced publication of research on GenVec's new vaccine vectors. These vectors circumvent neutralizing antibodies in order to generate the desired immunologic response.

7 Apr 2012

Results from Abbott’s multiple interferon-free Phase 2 HCV studies to be presented at ILC 2012

Abbott will present clinical trial results from two different interferon-free, Phase 2 studies for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) at the International Liver Congress 2012 (ILC 2012), the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), April 18-22 in Barcelona, Spain.

5 Apr 2012

CSL Behring commences enrollment in SCIg PATH trial for CIDP

CSL Behring has announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the PATH study, an international clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of two different doses of subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg), compared with placebo, in maintenance treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).

26 Mar 2012

GenVec announces data from respiratory syncytial virus vaccine program

GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVC) announced today that data were presented on GenVec's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program at the "Keystone Symposium on Viral Immunity and Host Gene Influence", which is taking place in Keystone, Colorado from March 21-26, 2012.

26 Mar 2012

Emergent receives NIAID grant to advance development of MVA85A TB vaccine

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. today announced that it has received a multi-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to advance the development of MVA85A, a candidate vaccine against tuberculosis.

23 Mar 2012

Cannabinoid drugs can directly inhibit HIV in late-stage AIDS

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS, according to new findings published online in the journal PLoS ONE.

21 Mar 2012

GeoVax enters into definitive agreements to sell Series A convertible preferred stock

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based biopharmaceutical firm developing vaccines to prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, announced today that it has entered into definitive agreements with certain institutional investors, pursuant to which the Company has agreed to sell shares of its Series A convertible preferred stock at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.2 million and Series A warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,933,333 shares of GeoVax common stock with an exercise price of $1.00 per share and a term of five years.

21 Mar 2012

PaxVax announces FDA acceptance of IND for PXVX-0200 cholera vaccine

PaxVax Corporation, developer of innovative and socially responsible oral vaccines against infectious diseases, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its investigational new drug (IND) application for its single-dose oral cholera vaccine, clearing the way to begin clinical trials. The company intends to begin Phase 3 trials later this year.

19 Mar 2012

Collaborative research discovers genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to PRRS

A collaborative discovery involving Kansas State University researchers may improve animal health and save the U.S. pork industry millions of dollars each year.

16 Mar 2012

Study reveals why development of HIV treatments has been difficult

A new research report appearing in the March 2012 issue of the journal Genetics shows why the development of a cure and new treatments for HIV has been so difficult. In the report, an Australian scientist explains how he used computer simulations to discover that a population starting from a single human immunodeficiency virus can evolve fast enough to escape immune defenses.

16 Mar 2012

GenVec 2011 net loss decreases to $7.4 million

Today GenVec, Inc. announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company reported a net loss of $7.4 million, or $0.58 per share, compared with a net loss of $12.3 million, or $0.97 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2010.

15 Mar 2012