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.

HIV patient cured!

German researchers working with stem cell therapy have claimed they have cured an American patient with HIV and leukemia. Experts are wary of accepting the development at its face value and caution that there is a need for further research. Dr David Scadden, a co-director of the Harvard University Stem Cell Institute added, “Cured is a strong word. But this is very encouraging… from all indications, there was no residual virus… It’s as good an outcome as one could hope for.”

16 Dec 2010

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Profectus Biosciences, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, announced today that its GENEVAX™ IL-12 pDNA adjuvant has significantly improved the vaccine-induced response rate in a Phase I clinical study of an experimental DNA vaccine for the prevention of HIV infection.

15 Dec 2010

Chimerix reports positive results from CMX157 Phase 1 clinical trial for HIV

Chimerix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, today announced first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial results for CMX157 demonstrating a favorable safety, tolerability and drug distribution profile.

14 Dec 2010

PREZISTA/ritonavir once-daily dosing for HIV-1 receives FDA approval for treatment in no DRV RAM adults

Tibotec Therapeutics, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a revision to the dosing recommendation to include once-daily dosing of PREZISTA® (darunavir) tablets in combination with ritonavir for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in treatment-experienced adult patients with no darunavir resistance-associated mutations (DRV RAMs).

13 Dec 2010

GeoVax's phase 2a trial results indicate excellent safety profile for HIV vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., announced today that early results from part A of an ongoing phase 2a clinical trial indicate an excellent safety profile and highly reproducible immunogenicity.

10 Dec 2010

VIRxSYS presents study results of VRX1116 at HIV DART 2010

VIRxSYS Corporation, a privately held company developing vaccines and RNA therapies, today presented results from a study of VRX1116 at HIV DART 2010 in Los Cabos, Mexico, showing that vaccinated monkeys challenged with highly pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus achieve sustained viral load reduction, preservation of the immune system and increased survival compared to controls.

9 Dec 2010

GeoVax expands Phase 2a clinical trial for MVA62B HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., announced today the expansion of the Phase 2a clinical trial testing of its HIV/AIDS vaccine products. The expanded Phase 2a trial will test the administration of three doses of the recombinant poxvirus vaccine MVA62B without the use of the recombinant DNA-vectored vaccine, which was used to prime immune responses in the first part of this trial.

7 Dec 2010

Preclinical study results for Syk, JAK inhibitor program presented at ASH 2010

Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical study results for its novel Syk and JAK inhibitor program at the American Society of Hematology's 52nd Annual Meeting and Exposition. Portola's novel Syk and JAK inhibitors are in development to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, and certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

6 Dec 2010

BioCryst reports Phase 2 trial data of forodesine in patients with CLL

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the presentation of new data that confirms forodesine's clinical activity in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia at the 52nd Annual American Society of Hematology Meeting & Exposition being held in Orlando, Florida.

6 Dec 2010

Cytheris' combinational therapy demonstrates possible therapeutic strategy for PML

Cytheris SA, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced the publication of a case study report based on successful treatment of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) with combination therapy consisting of two investigational agents, Cytheris' recombinant human interleukin-7 (CYT107) and CMX001, an investigational, oral broad-spectrum antiviral drug (Chimerix, Research Triangle Park, NC) in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

30 Nov 2010

GeoVax supports Bionor's Phase 2b trial of therapeutic HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for HIV/AIDS (HIV-1, Human Immunodeficiency Virus), announced it was pleased to learn of the partial success observed in the recently completed Phase 2b trial of a therapeutic HIV/AIDS vaccine produced by Bionor Immuno AS of Oslo, Norway.

30 Nov 2010

Merck announces initial results from ISENTRESS Phase III study in HIV-1

Merck today reported initial results from the Phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of a treatment regimen including ISENTRESS® (raltegravir) Tablets once daily in treatment-naïve adult patients infected with HIV-1. ISENTRESS is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adults.

29 Nov 2010

Looking back and moving forward: 100 years of Pneumococcal vaccination

"Since the introduction of smallpox vaccination by Sir Edward Jenner in 1796, it took 184 years until the WHO could declare the world free of smallpox. How long will it take to eliminate pneumococcus from the world?"

25 Nov 2010

Omni Bio receives U.S patent for treatment of viral infections

Omni Bio Pharmaceutical, Inc., today announced that U.S. Patent No.7,807,781, entitled "Inhibitors of Serine Protease Activity and Their Use in Methods and Compositions for Treatment of Viral Infections", was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on October 5, 2010

23 Nov 2010

Despite progress in testing Americans for HIV, lack of federal/private insurance impedes expansion

With projections that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates are increasing in some populations, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop -- who charted the nation's policies on HIV/AIDS following the first deaths from AIDS in 1981 -- today issued a stern warning to the public health community: HIV/AIDS continues to be a major epidemic and requires a national mobilization to identify and provide immediate care for many Americans with HIV who remain undiagnosed -- an estimated 200,000 people.

18 Nov 2010

Duke awarded $52.8M federal grant to oversee external quality assurance programs for HIV/AIDS labs

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has awarded Duke University Medical Center up to $52.8 million over the next seven years to support the development, implementation and oversight of external quality assurance programs that monitor laboratories involved in HIV/AIDS research and vaccine trials around the world.

17 Nov 2010

Progenics initiates ONO-3849 phase 2 clinical trial for OIC in Japan

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 2 clinical trial of subcutaneous methylnaltrexone in Japan by its collaborator, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The drug, designated ONO-3849 in Japan, is being evaluated for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with advanced illness such as cancer.

17 Nov 2010

Children's Hospital pediatric immunologist collaborates with European gene therapy researchers to study WAS syndrome

A pediatric immunologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia collaborated with European gene therapy researchers who achieved marked clinical improvements in two young children with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a very rare but often severe immunodeficiency disorder.

16 Nov 2010

Science and precedent do not support biosimilar approach for plasma protein therapies

The current science and experience does not support the safety and efficaciousness of a biosimilar pathway for plasma protein therapies. At a public hearing last week, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) urged the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make patient safety its top priority by adopting a global approach in its evaluation of plasma protein therapies for the biosimilars process.

15 Nov 2010

Scientists to present new findings from NIAID-funded research at ACAAI Annual Meeting

The 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) brings together leading allergists and immunologists from around the world.

12 Nov 2010