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RDI launches HIV-TRePS system to predict patients’ response to HIV drugs

A ground-breaking system for predicting how individual patients with HIV and AIDS will respond to different drugs is launched today by RDI, a UK-based not-for-profit research group. The experimental system, called the HIV Treatment Response Prediction System (HIV-TRePS), is available free of charge over the Internet and helps physicians select the best treatment for their patients.

6 Oct 2010

AHF applauds Obama administration for reasserting U.S. leadership in contributions to fight global AIDS

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today lauded the Obama administration's announcement that it will seek $4 billion for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis over the next three years—a 38% increase over what has been provided in the previous three-year period. The U.S. also urged better management of grants by participating countries, as well as increased accountability and efficiency by the Global Fund.

6 Oct 2010

Global health fund to get big boost from U.S.

The Wall Street Journal: "The Obama administration is expected on Tuesday to announce a large increase in its pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and to call for reform of the organization. The pledge of $4 billion over the next three fiscal years to the Geneva-based organization comes as governments and donors around the world have slowed increases in spending to combat HIV/AIDS, with weaker economies straining budgets."

6 Oct 2010

Chevron Corporation raises $25 million for Global Fund

Chevron Corporation today announced that it will commit an additional $25 million to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, raising its 6-year investment in the organization to $55 million.

6 Oct 2010

Amino acid mixture increases survival in mice

When mice are given drinking water laced with a special concoction of amino acids, they live longer than your average mouse, according to a new report in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. The key ingredients in the supplemental mixture are so-called branched-chain amino acids, which account for 3 of the 20 amino acids (specifically leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that are the building blocks of proteins.

6 Oct 2010

Profectus BioSciences awarded $3.1M Fast Track SBIR grant to develop prophylactic vaccine against HIV

Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a technology based vaccine company devoted to the treatment and prevention of chronic viral diseases, today announced the award of a Fast Track SBIR from the Division of AIDS, National Institutes of Health for $3.1M to support the development of the Company's Transition State Vaccine (TSV) technology for a prophylactic HIV Vaccine.

6 Oct 2010

Altravax receives two SBIR grants for antibody-inducing vaccines research on HIV-1

Altravax, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded two SBIR grants totaling $1.2 million from the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research on antibody-inducing vaccines for HIV-1.

6 Oct 2010

New approach method could simplify study and treatment of human diseases

Therapeutic antibodies can be an efficient alternative when common drugs do not work anymore. However, antibodies obtained from blood of animals such as mice could not be used: The human immune system recognizes them as foreign and rejects them.

6 Oct 2010

Isogenica, NovaBiotics to accelerate the development of peptide anti-infective technology

Isogenica Ltd, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with NovaBiotics, a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company to fast-track the development of NovaBiotic's platform peptide anti-infective technology.

6 Oct 2010

Liquidia commences dosing in LIQ-001 Phase 1 trial for seasonal influenza

Liquidia Technologies, a privately held nanotechnology company developing particle-based vaccines and therapeutics, today announced the initiation of human dosing of its lead vaccine product candidate, LIQ-001, in a Phase 1 clinical trial. LIQ-001, the first in a pipeline of PRINT® vaccines, is being developed as a seasonal influenza vaccine for enhanced protection in the elderly and represents the company's migration from proof of concept to the clinical application of PRINT technology.

5 Oct 2010

Tris Pharma receives FDA final approval for generic Tussionex ANDA

Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. today announced that its licensing partner, Tris Pharma, Inc., has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for hydrocodone polistirex and chlorpheniramine polistirex (CIII) extended-release (ER) oral suspension (equivalent to 10 mg of hydrocodone bitartrate and 8 mg of chlorpheniramine maleate per 5 mL).

5 Oct 2010

FDA grants Matrix tentative approval under PEPFAR for Atazanavir Sulfate Capsules ANDA

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Atazanavir Sulfate Capsules, 150 mg and 300 mg. This product will be eligible for purchase outside the U.S. in certain developing countries.

5 Oct 2010

Data shows Take Care Clinics’ quality of care exceeds national benchmarks

Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens and the nation's largest and most comprehensive manager of convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers, today announced that an analysis of de-identified data collected through the company's electronic medical record (EMR) system by the Jefferson School of Population Health showed that the quality of care delivered in Take Care Clinics for treatment of pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat) and upper respiratory infections (URI) meets or exceeds the quality of the care delivered in other settings.

5 Oct 2010

EU called upon to tackle problem of chronic non-communicable diseases

Members of the European Parliament are calling on the Presidency of the EU and Member States to tackle urgently the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases that are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region. Their call is supported by an alliance of European health professionals, including ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation - and ESMO - the European Society for Medical Oncology.

5 Oct 2010

FMCNA offers annual flu vaccine to patients and clinical staff

Beginning in mid-October, Fresenius Medical Care North America will offer all of its patients and clinical staff an annual flu vaccine, which protects against both seasonal flu and H1N1 this year. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) cautions that it is likely that H1N1 will continue to spread along with seasonal viruses this flu season.

5 Oct 2010

Dangers of not vaccinating children

Deadly diseases are making a comeback. Pertussis, or whooping cough, has killed nine infants this year in California, and outbreaks of measles and Hib meningitis have struck U.S. communities in the past three years.

5 Oct 2010

NIH awards $4 million grant to develop novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis

William R. Jacobs, Jr., Ph.D., professor of microbiology & immunology and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, has been awarded a three-year, $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a novel genetic strategy for combating tuberculosis (TB). TB causes almost two million deaths each year, making it the world's most deadly bacterial infection.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers develop pioneering method to identify lytic enzymes for optimum bacteria killing characteristics

With the worrying rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs like MRSA, scientists from a wide range of disciplines are teaming up to identify alternative therapies to keep them at bay.

5 Oct 2010

cobas TaqScreen DPX Test now available with CE Mark: Roche

Roche announced today that the cobas TaqScreen DPX Test for use on the cobas s 201 system is now available with the CE Mark. It is the first IVD test to offer complete coverage of all human genotypes of parvovirus B19 (B19V) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in one assay.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers call for sustained funding to move HIV vaccine R&D ahead

At the AIDS Vaccine 2010 conference last week in Atlanta, researchers emphasized the need for sustained funding for vaccine research and development in order to further progress toward an HIV vaccine, SciDev.Net reports.

5 Oct 2010