Infectious Diseases News and Research

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FDA grants Abbott 510(k) clearance to market molecular diagnostic test for detection of chlamydia, gonorrhea

Abbott announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market a new, sensitive molecular diagnostic test and instrument to simultaneously detect two of the nation's most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), gonorrhea and chlamydia, including a new variant strain of chlamydia recently discovered in Sweden.

28 Jun 2010

Marinomed, Boehringer Ingelheim sign licensing agreement for common cold anti-viral nasal spray

Marinomed Biotechnologie GmbH, a company focused on the development of innovative therapies for respiratory diseases, announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with the international pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The deal will aim to further extend marketing of Marinomed's anti-viral nasal spray for the treatment of the Common Cold to all of Europe (except Austria and UK), Russia and CIS, South America, parts of Asia and Australia.

28 Jun 2010

St. Mary Medical Center opens new outpatient center for chronic wound treatment

High Desert residents suffering from hard-to-heal wounds now have greater resources to help heal their wounds and get their lives back. St. Mary Medical Center, a 190-bed acute care hospital in the High Desert of Southern California, announced today the opening of its Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine.

28 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

International child health experts to converge for Excellence in Paediatrics

International child health experts to converge on London for Excellence in Paediatrics. Experts from all over the world will be converging on the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, London, from 2 - 4 December 2010 for Excellence in Paediatrics, which promises cutting edge topics by outstanding speakers.

28 Jun 2010

New affiliation formed to accelerate nation's progress in fighting HIV/AIDS

Two leading institutions in public health and health policy are joining forces to accelerate the nation's progress in fighting HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and tuberculosis in Washington – the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health.

28 Jun 2010

Antioxidant therapy may prevent long-lasting cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria: Research

Using an experimental mouse model for malaria, an international group of scientists has discovered that adding antioxidant therapy to traditional antimalarial treatment may prevent long-lasting cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria. Their findings were published online June 24, 2010, in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

28 Jun 2010

Additional results from BLISS-76 Phase 3 trial of BENLYSTA presented at International Congress on SLE

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. today announced the presentation of additional results from BLISS-76, one of two pivotal Phase 3 trials of BENLYSTA (belimumab) in seropositive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. The additional data will be presented in Vancouver at the 9th International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus on Friday and Saturday, June 25-26.

28 Jun 2010

Scientist at Children Hospital Los Angeles receives NIH grant to research on meningitis

A white blood cell that normally removes bacteria from the bloodstream helps Escherichia coli (E. coli) accumulate in the blood and enter the brain resulting in the deadly infection known as meningitis. Prasadarao V. Nemani, PhD, a scientist at The Saban Research Institute at Children Hospital Los Angeles plans to find out how this happens with a grant of $1.65 million from the National Institutes of Health - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.

25 Jun 2010

IDRI signs Research Collaboration Agreement with PATH

Two global health non-profit organizations headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the Infectious Disease Research Institute and PATH, have entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement to evaluate novel adjuvants for their ability to enhance the immune response of pandemic influenza vaccines in development. The collaboration supports the goal of PATH's influenza vaccine project to advance the development of promising new influenza vaccines focusing on novel technologies that can be accessible, affordable, and available to people in low-resource countries in a global outbreak.

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

Merck proposes to initiate Phase II proof-of-concept clinical study of posaconazole for chronic Chagas disease

Merck today announced plans to initiate a Phase II investigational proof-of-concept clinical study to evaluate its oral antifungal agent posaconazole for the treatment of chronic Chagas disease. Chagas disease results from infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that is spread by biting insects. The disease is estimated to affect approximately eight million people in Latin America, of whom approximately 30-40 percent will develop serious cardiac disease, digestive disease, or both as a result of this infection.

24 Jun 2010

NIH to invest $25M over five years for international collaboration on genetic research in Africa

The NIH on Tuesday announced a partnership with Wellcome Trust and the African Society for Human Genetics that will enable African researchers to "use the latest genetic and clinical technology to study common health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases," VOA News reports (DeCapua, 6/22).

24 Jun 2010

SIGA completes fourth human clinical trial of ST-246 smallpox antiviral drug candidate

SIGA Technologies, Inc., a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to combat bio-warfare pathogens, announced today the successful completion of its fourth human clinical trial, supporting the safety and tolerability of the anticipated clinical dose of ST-246®, SIGA's lead smallpox antiviral drug candidate.

23 Jun 2010

IQ Therapeutics achieves 100% survival in rabbit model at 48 hours after inhalation anthrax infection

IQ Therapeutics B.V., Groningen, the Netherlands, announced this week that in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch it has obtained outstanding results for the treatment of inhalation anthrax. In a rabbit model up to 100% survival could be achieved with extended time to treatment (48h post infection) with a combination of two specific monoclonal antibodies developed by IQ Therapeutics. This has significant potential for saving lives of infected people who have no immediate access to treatment.

23 Jun 2010

MDI raises $1.4M as part of follow-on to its $3.3M Series C financing round

Molecular Detection Inc., a company developing Detect-Ready assays designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, today announced the first close of a new financing. The financing was led by MentorTech Ventures II, LP and included Robin Hood Ventures, Elm Spring Holdings and the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group Fund I and II, LP, all existing investors. The company raised $1.4 million as part of a follow-on to its $3.3 million Series C round announced in late 2009.

23 Jun 2010

Four new EVP grants awarded for interdisciplinary research to tackle environmental challenges

The Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University has awarded four new Environmental Venture Projects grants for interdisciplinary research aimed at finding practical solutions promoting global sustainability.

23 Jun 2010

ATP-driven bioluminescence predicts children at high risk for tooth decay: OHSU study

Researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry have determined that ATP-driven (adenosine triphosphate-driven) bioluminescence - a way of measuring visible light generated from ATP contained in bacteria - is an innovative tool for rapidly assessing in children at the chair-side the number of oral bacteria and amount of plaque that can ultimately lead to tooth decay.

23 Jun 2010

NIH, Wellcome Trust partner to support population-based genetic studies of disorders, communicable diseases in Africa

The National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in London, today announced a partnership to support population-based genetic studies in Africa of common, non-communicable disorders such as heart disease and cancer, as well as communicable diseases such as malaria.

22 Jun 2010

SynCon DNA vaccine shows advantages in magnitude and breadth of immune responses in non-human primates

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Therapy has published a paper entitled "Comparative Analysis of Immune Responses Induced by Vaccination With SIV Antigens by Recombinant Ad5 Vector or Plasmid DNA in Rhesus Macaques." The paper, co-authored by researchers from Merck, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, notes that significant advances in the design, formulation, and delivery of DNA plasmid-based vaccines have dramatically increased their ability to induce antigen-specific immune responses.

22 Jun 2010

Infectious Diseases News and Research

FDA grants Abbott 510(k) clearance to market molecular diagnostic test for detection of chlamydia, gonorrhea

Marinomed, Boehringer Ingelheim sign licensing agreement for common cold anti-viral nasal spray

St. Mary Medical Center opens new outpatient center for chronic wound treatment

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

International child health experts to converge for Excellence in Paediatrics

New affiliation formed to accelerate nation's progress in fighting HIV/AIDS

Antioxidant therapy may prevent long-lasting cognitive impairment in cerebral malaria: Research

Additional results from BLISS-76 Phase 3 trial of BENLYSTA presented at International Congress on SLE

Scientist at Children Hospital Los Angeles receives NIH grant to research on meningitis

IDRI signs Research Collaboration Agreement with PATH

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

Merck proposes to initiate Phase II proof-of-concept clinical study of posaconazole for chronic Chagas disease

NIH to invest $25M over five years for international collaboration on genetic research in Africa

SIGA completes fourth human clinical trial of ST-246 smallpox antiviral drug candidate

IQ Therapeutics achieves 100% survival in rabbit model at 48 hours after inhalation anthrax infection

MDI raises $1.4M as part of follow-on to its $3.3M Series C financing round

Four new EVP grants awarded for interdisciplinary research to tackle environmental challenges

ATP-driven bioluminescence predicts children at high risk for tooth decay: OHSU study

NIH, Wellcome Trust partner to support population-based genetic studies of disorders, communicable diseases in Africa

SynCon DNA vaccine shows advantages in magnitude and breadth of immune responses in non-human primates

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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