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Semprus BioSciences to develop surface-modified endotracheal tube

Teleflex Incorporated, a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, has announced that Semprus BioSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated, has been awarded the initial phase of a $2.3 million research grant from the U.S. Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), located at Fort Detrick, MD.

9 Nov 2012

Mass. fires head of board overseeing compounding pharmacies

Officials say James Coffey did not investigate a complaint from Colorado about the center now tied to the meningitis outbreak.

9 Nov 2012

New intervention strategies needed to reach HIV-infected youth at birth

As youth infected at birth with HIV reach adolescence and young adulthood, a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases underscores the need to promote healthy behaviors as some of these young people become sexually active.

9 Nov 2012

Scarce resources threatening progress against AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa

"With donor money to fight HIV and AIDS falling, spending in sub-Saharan Africa must be targeted to get the best results," Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog, noting, "Sub-Saharan Africa has 10 percent of the world's population but is home to 70 percent of those living with HIV and AIDS."

9 Nov 2012

International community must step up fight against TB in Southern African region

"With $2.5 trillion in mineral reserves, South Africa has the largest mining sector in the world," but "[t]he work can be devastatingly toxic for the body," with "inhumane and untenable" working conditions, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

9 Nov 2012

Elevated ST2 biomarker levels strongly indicate heart failure and mortality in HIV patients

Critical Diagnostics, makers of the Presage ST2 Assay, announced today that during a presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles, the results of a study demonstrated that elevated levels of the biomarker ST2 in HIV patients was strongly indicative of the development of heart failure and mortality.

9 Nov 2012

Key areas of disease neglected by UK funding for infectious diseases

UK funding for infectious diseases research is neglecting some of the diseases that result in the highest rates of death and disability, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

8 Nov 2012

BioCryst completes planned interim analysis of peramivir Phase 3 trial for serious influenza

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced completion of the planned interim analysis of the peramivir Phase 3 trial in patients admitted to the hospital with serious influenza. The difference between peramivir and control groups for the primary endpoint was small and the recalculated sample size was greater than the predefined futility boundary of 320 subjects. Based on this information, the independent data monitoring committee (DMC) recommended that the study be terminated for futility.

8 Nov 2012

International community must continue to support cholera treatment, prevention in Haiti

Since its arrival in Haiti two years ago, "cholera has sickened more than 600,000 people and killed more than 7,500," and "[t]his year the epidemic is on track to be among the world's worst again, with nearly 77,000 cases and 550 deaths, according to the Haitian Ministry of Health," Ralph Ternier and Cate Oswald of Zanmi Lasante/Partners in Health in Haiti write in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

8 Nov 2012

Blog examines PEPFAR-funded program to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment in Ethiopia

Writing in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Dereje Bisrat, monitoring and evaluation adviser for the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS), discusses the PEPFAR-funded program, which is administered by USAID and "works with Ethiopia's Pharmaceutical Fund and Supply Agency (PFSA), nine regional health bureaus, and more than 1,717 health facilities to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment" in the country.

8 Nov 2012

Two new EU Member States now represented within TRANSVAC services platform

In addition to the initial panel of nine services, the TRANSVAC transnational access platform has integrated in July 2012 five additional groups which provide their services to users on a free and paid basis. Two new European Union (EU) Member States are now represented within the platform of services: France and Portugal.

8 Nov 2012

Growing number of dengue cases in India increases risk of disease spreading worldwide, experts warn

"An epidemic of dengue fever in India is fostering a growing sense of alarm even as government officials here have publicly refused to acknowledge the scope of a problem that experts say is threatening hundreds of millions of people, not just in India but around the world," the New York Times reports.

8 Nov 2012

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine creates International Diagnostics Centre

Today sees the launch of the International Diagnostics Centre (IDC), a global research collaboration hub, created at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to undertake innovative research on the development and deployment of new diagnostic tests that enable patients to be diagnosed faster, more accurately and cost effectively.

8 Nov 2012

HPV testing and cervical screening: an interview with Dr Rosa Legood

Human papillomavirus is a virus that is transmitted through sexual contact. In most cases the virus is transient and causes no harm, however in some cases it can go on to cause pre-cancer lesions and cervical cancer.

7 Nov 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Monday published Issue 201 of its "Global Fund Observer."

7 Nov 2012

IRIN examines intellectual property protection in South Africa

IRIN examines how patents and intellectual property protection in South Africa affects patients' access to medicines. "A form of intellectual property protection, patents are typically awarded to companies that can prove their product is new," IRIN writes, adding, "Not so in South Africa, say activists and researchers, who claim the country's patent system allows pharmaceutical companies to apply for new patents on existing drugs based on immaterial changes -- like adding table salt to a formulation or changing a pill's color."

7 Nov 2012

Kenya ramping up male circumcision efforts to meet 2015 goal

"With just over one year left to achieve its target of having some 1.1 million men circumcised as part of HIV prevention efforts, Kenya's government is ramping up efforts to bring more men into clinics, compensating them for their time and encouraging them to bring friends in for the procedure," IRIN reports.

7 Nov 2012

Previous meningitis outbreak did not trigger additional oversight, changes

The Washington Post reports that, despite an outbreak of fungal meningitis that took place 10 years ago and was linked to injections made by a compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts, not much has changed. Meanwhile, Politico adds that a recall of drugs related to the most recent round of illness could add to a critical drug shortage.

7 Nov 2012

MSF reports violence in western Myanmar preventing delivery of medical services

Ongoing ethnic tension and sectarian violence in areas of western Myanmar are preventing Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from delivering medical care in the region, the group said on Monday, the New York Times reports. The group "reported that many of its local staff members were afraid to work at refugee camps and medical centers in Rakhine State, where people wounded in clashes need treatment for wounds from guns, knives, arrows and other weapons," the newspaper writes.

7 Nov 2012

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses journal publishes special issue on prevention

The journal of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses has published a special issue examining the "complex factors involved in the sexual transmission of HIV, the urgent need for new preventive approaches, and the most promising methods currently in development," according to a press release from the publisher, Mary Ann Leibert, Inc.

7 Nov 2012

Disease/Infection News

Semprus BioSciences to develop surface-modified endotracheal tube

Mass. fires head of board overseeing compounding pharmacies

New intervention strategies needed to reach HIV-infected youth at birth

Scarce resources threatening progress against AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa

International community must step up fight against TB in Southern African region

Elevated ST2 biomarker levels strongly indicate heart failure and mortality in HIV patients

Key areas of disease neglected by UK funding for infectious diseases

BioCryst completes planned interim analysis of peramivir Phase 3 trial for serious influenza

International community must continue to support cholera treatment, prevention in Haiti

Blog examines PEPFAR-funded program to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment in Ethiopia

Two new EU Member States now represented within TRANSVAC services platform

Growing number of dengue cases in India increases risk of disease spreading worldwide, experts warn

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine creates International Diagnostics Centre

HPV testing and cervical screening: an interview with Dr Rosa Legood

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

IRIN examines intellectual property protection in South Africa

Kenya ramping up male circumcision efforts to meet 2015 goal

Previous meningitis outbreak did not trigger additional oversight, changes

MSF reports violence in western Myanmar preventing delivery of medical services

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses journal publishes special issue on prevention

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

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