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Compounding pharmacies rarely get tough punishments; Another firm recalls drugs

USA Today examines how officials have dealt with charges of misconduct at the pharmacies in the past. Meanwhile, a compounding pharmacy, which is owned by the same company that owned the plant linked to the meningitis outbreak, is recalling its products after an FDA review.

2 Nov 2012

Afghanistan, U.N. agencies working to improve routine immunization as winter approaches

"Afghanistan is taking steps to improve its routine immunization coverage, after a drop in coverage led to a sharp increase in measles outbreaks last year, killing more than 300 children," IRIN reports.

2 Nov 2012

Janssen, Vertex to evaluate TMC435 and VX-135 in Phase 2 HCV study

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated to evaluate in a Phase 2 study the safety and efficacy of an all-oral regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV).

2 Nov 2012

New data: 4 in 5 children received recommended doses of DTP vaccine during infancy in 2011

Four in five children (83%) worldwide received the recommended three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine during infancy in 2011, according to new data released in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER).

2 Nov 2012

Malarial drug shows promise in stopping breast cancer

A malarial drug is showing promise in stopping breast cancer before it starts, Mason researchers are discovering during a clinical trial.

2 Nov 2012

Multiple sclerosis disease activity reduced by leukaemia drug, even when first-line treatment has failed

A drug which was originally developed to treat leukaemia and other cancers of the immune system offers substantial improvements over existing treatments in reducing relapse rates for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), even when they have not responded well to first-line treatment, according to the results of two phase 3 trials published Online First in The Lancet.

1 Nov 2012

U.N. agencies publish 'Atlas' linking climate, health

"Two U.N. agencies on Monday presented a new tool to map health risks linked to climate change and extreme weather conditions, enabling authorities to give advance warnings and act to prevent 'climate-sensitive' diseases from spreading," Agence France-Presse reports.

1 Nov 2012

Study shows reduced risk of liver-related mortality in African American women with HIV/HCV

A new study shows that African American women coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are less likely to die from liver disease than Caucasian or Hispanic women. Findings in the November issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, indicate that lower liver-related mortality in African American women was independent of other causes of death.

1 Nov 2012

Drug-resistant malaria spreading in Asia, experts warn

"Drug-resistant malaria is spreading in Asia, experts warned as a high-level conference opened Wednesday with the aim of hammering out an action plan to strengthen the region's response," Agence France-Presse reports.

1 Nov 2012

Encouraging results from Gilead’s TAF Phase 2 trial on HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, an investigational novel prodrug of tenofovir for the treatment of HIV-1 infection, met its primary objective.

1 Nov 2012

Polio eradication efforts helping to improve other health indicators

"The world is on the verge of a great success story: the eradication of polio," John Hewko, CEO and general secretary of Rotary International, and Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, write in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

1 Nov 2012

Political will, funding needed for successful polio eradication initiative

While there is "much to be proud of" in the progress in the fight against polio, "there's still more work to be done," former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin writes in a GlobalPost opinion piece. Martin, a polio survivor, notes that in 1988, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched, 350,000 cases in more than 125 countries were recorded annually, but "so far this year, we've seen just 171 cases, and only Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria have never stopped transmission."

1 Nov 2012

AP examines future of AMFm following conflicting reports on program's success

The Associated Press examines the debate over the future of the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), after the recent release of two papers evaluating the program's effectiveness. AMFm was established in 2010 as "a pilot project to subsidize artemesinin combination drugs, the most effective malaria treatment," the AP writes, noting the $460 million program is managed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

1 Nov 2012

PLoS NTDs celebrates 5th anniversary with special collection on 'Geopolitics of NTDs'

To commemorate its fifth anniversary PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) on Thursday "compiled editorials and research papers published over the last five years to create a collection called 'The Geopolitics of NTDs,'" the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog reports.

1 Nov 2012

CDC report outlines international influenza activities

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday released a 268-page annual report that "profiles a wide range of CDC influenza-related projects around the world, from flu surveillance in Indonesia to vaccine effectiveness studies in El Salvador and epidemiology training in Ghana," CIDRAP News reports.

1 Nov 2012

New track-and-trace proposal advanced to combat drug counterfeiting, gray market

The bipartisan track and trace draft legislation released last week would allow drugs to be authenticated throughout the supply chain, which could help combat counterfeiting as well as the so-called gray market that's been highlighted in the drug shortage crisis, Democratic staffers who worked on the draft said.

1 Nov 2012

Microbiologists confirm existence of new tick disease in Switzerland

Until now, we knew that ticks primarily transmit two pathogens to humans in Switzerland: the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi - which causes borreliosis - and the early-summer-meningoencephalitis virus, which can cause cerebral inflammation. Now, microbiologists from the University of Zurich confirm the existence of another tick disease in Switzerland - neoehrlichiosis.

1 Nov 2012

Experimental HIV test might help improve diagnosis, treatment in developing countries

"Scientists have come up with a test for the virus that causes AIDS that is 10 times more sensitive and a fraction of the cost of existing methods, offering the promise of better diagnosis and treatment in the developing world," Reuters reports.

1 Nov 2012

Novartis resumes distribution of two seasonal influenza vaccines in Canada

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. has announced it is resuming distribution of two seasonal influenza vaccines in Canada, Fluad and Agriflu, following the announcement by Health Canada earlier today that it has completed its review of safety information for Agriflu and Fluad and is releasing the two vaccines for immediate use.

1 Nov 2012

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason wins Grand Challenges Explorations grant

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

1 Nov 2012

Disease/Infection News

Compounding pharmacies rarely get tough punishments; Another firm recalls drugs

Afghanistan, U.N. agencies working to improve routine immunization as winter approaches

Janssen, Vertex to evaluate TMC435 and VX-135 in Phase 2 HCV study

New data: 4 in 5 children received recommended doses of DTP vaccine during infancy in 2011

Malarial drug shows promise in stopping breast cancer

Multiple sclerosis disease activity reduced by leukaemia drug, even when first-line treatment has failed

U.N. agencies publish 'Atlas' linking climate, health

Study shows reduced risk of liver-related mortality in African American women with HIV/HCV

Drug-resistant malaria spreading in Asia, experts warn

Encouraging results from Gilead’s TAF Phase 2 trial on HIV-1 infection

Polio eradication efforts helping to improve other health indicators

Political will, funding needed for successful polio eradication initiative

AP examines future of AMFm following conflicting reports on program's success

PLoS NTDs celebrates 5th anniversary with special collection on 'Geopolitics of NTDs'

CDC report outlines international influenza activities

New track-and-trace proposal advanced to combat drug counterfeiting, gray market

Microbiologists confirm existence of new tick disease in Switzerland

Experimental HIV test might help improve diagnosis, treatment in developing countries

Novartis resumes distribution of two seasonal influenza vaccines in Canada

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason wins Grand Challenges Explorations grant

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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