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Cost of dengue vaccine production could be as low as $0.20 per dose

Research funded by the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) involving an economic analysis of producing a tetravalent dengue vaccine shows that the cost could be as low as $0.20 per dose with an annual production level of 60 million doses packaged in ten-dose vials. The study used data on a vaccine developed by US NIH and the facilities of the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

29 Jun 2012

RapidChek- SELECT Salmonella highly sensitive to the presence of S. Typhi vaccine in stool

Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) is the causative agent of typhoid fever, a serious health threat resulting in some 22 million new cases yearly and approximately 217,000 fatalities. A number of novel vaccine candidates using live attenuated strains of Salmonella are being developed, but care must be taken to ensure the bacteria are not excreted into the environment following vaccination.

29 Jun 2012

Medivir, Bristol-Myers Squibb to initiate TMC435 and daclatasvir phase II combination study in HCV

Medivir AB, the research-based pharmaceutical company focused on the development of high-value treatments for infectious diseases, announces that a phase II combination study with the investigational compound TMC435 and Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational compound daclatasvir will start in July.

29 Jun 2012

Flu immunity depends on number of viruses involved during initial infection

Not only does the type of flu virus affect a patient's outcome, but a new research report appearing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that the number of viruses involved in the initial infection may be important too.

29 Jun 2012

AASLD, EASL to hold special conference on therapy of HCV

The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), together with the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), will be holding an exciting "Special Conference" dedicated to the timely topic of: Therapy of Hepatitis C: Clinical Application and Drug Development.

29 Jun 2012

Researchers probe origin of optimized antibodies against infections

An organism's ability to make new antibodies and use them to optimize its own immune defenses is of central importance in the fight against pathogens. In the case of severe infections, the overall relative speed with which an immune response proceeds could mean the difference between life and death.

29 Jun 2012

Scientists discover new gene in the influenza virus

Scientists have discovered a new gene in the influenza virus that helps the virus control the body's response to infection.

29 Jun 2012

Gilead submits cobicistat NDA with FDA for treatment of HIV

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing approval of cobicistat, a pharmacoenhancing or "boosting" agent that increases blood levels of certain commercially available protease inhibitors, including atazanavir and darunavir, in order to enable once-daily dosing.

29 Jun 2012

Congressman 'dissatisfied' with handling of controversial H5N1 papers calls for cohesive policy for handling 'risky' research

"Dissatisfied with the government's handling of two research papers on mutant forms of avian influenza," Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) on Wednesday "said that the lack of a cohesive policy for handling risky research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies could necessitate new laws, a situation that researchers have been trying to avoid," the Nature News Blog reports.

29 Jun 2012

AHF urges Gilead to set initial price on latest HIV/AIDS drug combination

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced that California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer has sent a letter to California-based drug company, Gilead Sciences, Inc. urging the company to set an initial price on its latest HIV/AIDS drug combination—which is known as the 'Quad'—that is "…sensitive to ongoing state budget difficulties," and which will also "…provide the means to keep people with HIV/AIDS alive and as healthy as possible."

28 Jun 2012

UTMB researchers improve existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus

University of Texas Medical Branch researchers have significantly improved an existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus, making possible the development of a more effective defense against the dangerous mosquito-borne pathogen.

28 Jun 2012

Efforts to fight illegal drugs contributing to spread of HIV, report says

The Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) on Tuesday published a report titled "The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS: How the Criminalization of Drug Use Fuels the Global Pandemic," which "condemns the drug war as a failure and recommends immediate, major reforms of the global drug prohibition regime to halt the spread of HIV infection and other drug war harms," according to the report summary.

28 Jun 2012

World must work together to take advantage of 'unique opportunity' to end polio

"Ten years after Europe was declared polio-free, the world stands tantalizingly close to eradicating the disease for good," but "the world's chances of achieving this once unthinkable goal of ending polio are being jeopardized by a funding gap of $945 million," Sir Liam Donaldson, chair of the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, writes in this EurActiv.com opinion piece.

28 Jun 2012

Ghana to contribute $1M to fight NTDs

Ghana "will contribute about $1 million towards the prevention and control of endemic neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in order to protect the gains made by the country in Guinea worm eradication and the elimination of trachoma," the country's health minister announced on Monday at the opening of a Regional Stakeholders' Consultative Meeting on NTDs, PANA/AfriqueJet reports. Health Minister Albin Bagbin "also called on African countries to support interventions to address NTDs and improve coordination among all stakeholders in implementing NTD programs," the news agency writes.

28 Jun 2012

Miriam Hospital receives NIH renewal grant to support growth of Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR

The Miriam Hospital has received an $8.5 million, five-year renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the continued growth of the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).

28 Jun 2012

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator reflects on lessons learned from PEPFAR's first decade

In this post in the Department of State's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby reflects on his speech at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday in anticipation of the AIDS 2012 conference scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. from July 22-27.

28 Jun 2012

U of S training program receives $1.65 million over six years from NSERC

A new University of Saskatchewan training program that will produce future leaders in food safety, infectious disease control and public policy has been awarded $1.65 million over six years through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

28 Jun 2012

Senior Taliban commander bans polio vaccination efforts in Southern region of Pakistan

"A senior Taliban commander has effectively banned polio eradication in one of the most troubled areas of the Pakistan frontier in an effort to force the U.S. to end drone strikes," the Guardian reports. "Leaflets distributed in South Waziristan on behalf of Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (Fata), accused health workers who administer anti-polio drops of being U.S. spies" and "questioned the sincerity of international efforts to tackle the highly infectious disease," the newspaper adds.

28 Jun 2012

UNFPA Executive Director calls for international community to put family planning back on 'radar'

UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin on Tuesday told the Associated Press that the world should focus more on family planning issues, stating that "'family planning seems to have fallen off the radar' in the past two decades -- a victim of politics, funding shortages and focus on other priorities such as fighting AIDS," the news service reports.

28 Jun 2012

Nanosphere receives FDA marketing approval for Verigene GP Blood Culture Nucleic Acid Test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first nucleic acid test that can identify 12 different bacterial types known to cause bloodstream infections.

28 Jun 2012

Disease/Infection News

Cost of dengue vaccine production could be as low as $0.20 per dose

RapidChek- SELECT Salmonella highly sensitive to the presence of S. Typhi vaccine in stool

Medivir, Bristol-Myers Squibb to initiate TMC435 and daclatasvir phase II combination study in HCV

Flu immunity depends on number of viruses involved during initial infection

AASLD, EASL to hold special conference on therapy of HCV

Researchers probe origin of optimized antibodies against infections

Scientists discover new gene in the influenza virus

Gilead submits cobicistat NDA with FDA for treatment of HIV

Congressman 'dissatisfied' with handling of controversial H5N1 papers calls for cohesive policy for handling 'risky' research

AHF urges Gilead to set initial price on latest HIV/AIDS drug combination

UTMB researchers improve existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus

Efforts to fight illegal drugs contributing to spread of HIV, report says

World must work together to take advantage of 'unique opportunity' to end polio

Ghana to contribute $1M to fight NTDs

Miriam Hospital receives NIH renewal grant to support growth of Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator reflects on lessons learned from PEPFAR's first decade

U of S training program receives $1.65 million over six years from NSERC

Senior Taliban commander bans polio vaccination efforts in Southern region of Pakistan

UNFPA Executive Director calls for international community to put family planning back on 'radar'

Nanosphere receives FDA marketing approval for Verigene GP Blood Culture Nucleic Acid Test

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