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Tibotec submits NDA for TMC278 anti-HIV compound to FDA

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals today announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for TMC278 (rilpivirine), an investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), being studied for once-daily use with other antiretroviral agents in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected adults. If approved, TMC278 will be the third anti-HIV compound to be introduced by Tibotec Pharmaceuticals.

26 Jul 2010

Vical's prophylactic Vaxfectin-formulated pDNA vaccine effective against HSV-2 in animal model

Vical Incorporated today announced that its prophylactic Vaxfectin®-formulated plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccine against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) protected mice against lethal challenge, provided sterilizing immunity and inhibited viral counts at both the primary and latent infection sites. The Vaxfectin® adjuvant substantially improved vaccine effectiveness. A related vaccine significantly reduced the recurrence of HSV-2 lesions in a therapeutic model using guinea pigs with latent infection.

26 Jul 2010

Sec. of State Clinton signs 5-year AIDS control partnership agreement with Vietnam

During her trip to Vietnam, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "engaged in health diplomacy by visiting the Ngoc Lam Pagoda orphanage for AIDS-affected children," Foreign Policy's blog "Madam Secretary" reports.

26 Jul 2010

Toolkits to facilitate implementation of new WHO guidelines for reducing HIV infections issued

At the XVIII International AIDS Conference, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has issued the first of a series of three linked toolkits to facilitate the adaptation and implementation of the revised World Health Organization recommendations for four technical areas: antiretroviral drugs for treating pregnant women and preventing HIV infection in infants, infant feeding in the context of HIV, and antiretroviral treatment for children, adolescents, and adults.

26 Jul 2010

AU Summit panel focuses on water, sanitation to meet MDG targets in Africa

African countries should focus on preventing diarrhea - the biggest killer of children in Africa - in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal targets, Yunia Musaazi, WaterAid's East Africa policy advisor, told delegates at the 15th African Union Summit, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

26 Jul 2010

Scientists study Legionella's reprogramming on cells for survival, propagation

When it infects the lungs, the Legionnaire's bacterium Legionella pneumophila causes acute pneumonia. The pathogen's modus operandi is particularly ingenious: it infiltrates deliberately into cells of the human immune system and injects a host of proteins which then interfere in the normal cellular processes. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund have now discovered how Legionella reprogrammes the cells to ensure its own survival and to propagate. They examined a protein used by the pathogen to divert the material transport within the cells for its own purposes.

26 Jul 2010

AIDS 2010: Obama, Clinton vow U.S. support to global fight against HIV/AIDS

During the closing ceremonies of the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, President Barack Obama "on Friday pledged to redouble efforts to fight HIV and AIDS through his Global Health Initiative, despite dealing with economic hard times in the wake of a global recession," Reuters reports. According to the news service, "Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said their focus was on a broad, sustainable and effective approach to the global epidemic" (Kelland, 7/23).

26 Jul 2010

Babesiosis disease on the rise in Lower Hudson Valley: NYS DOH

Babesiosis, a rare and occasionally fatal tick-borne disease caused by microscopic parasites known as Babesia which infect red blood cells, is on the rise in the Lower Hudson Valley according to the NYS DOH, including the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan and Rockland.

23 Jul 2010

Securing universal access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support

The biennial meeting of the global AIDS community concluded today with clear evidence of tangible progress in HIV research and programme scale up, yet facing an urgent need for increased resources, the protection of human rights, and broader use of scientifically sound prevention strategies. Delegates and organizers depart Vienna - where the conference opened 18 July under the theme of Rights Here, Right Now -- with a renewed commitment to push for securing universal access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support.

23 Jul 2010

AVAC releases GPP Guidelines at International AIDS Conference

The draft second edition of The Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials were released yesterday at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna by AVAC. The GPP Guidelines aim to provide trial funders, sponsors, and implementers with systematic guidance on how to effectively work with a range of stakeholders as they design and conduct biomedical HIV prevention trials.

23 Jul 2010

Vienna Declaration signed to support evidence-based drug policy for improving community health

Sandra Roelofs, First Lady of Georgia; George Tsereteli, Georgia's Deputy Chairman of Parliament; and Irakli Giorgobiani, Georgia's Vice Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, today signed the Vienna Declaration, the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria.

23 Jul 2010

AIDS 2010 calls for extension of human rights protections as central tenet of global response to AIDS

The appalling lack of access to scientifically proven interventions for key populations at risk -- including sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who use drugs - and the lagging scale up of simple and inexpensive treatment regimens to prevent vertical transmission of HIV reflect persistent, underlying human rights violations that threaten future progress on AIDS, according to organizers of the XVIII International AIDS Conference taking place in Vienna this week under the theme of Rights Here, Right Now.

23 Jul 2010

Emotional barriers, structural barriers can prevent PLWHA from seeking care, treatment: Survey

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today presented results from a national survey which found that emotional barriers, such as stigma, fear, denial and shame, and structural barriers, such as lack of knowledge, transportation, and insurance coverage, can prevent people living with HIV/AIDS from seeking care and treatment.

23 Jul 2010

Organizations highlight plight of HIV-positive Haitians, call for donors to support 'whole of society' health system strengthening

Organizations attending the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010 highlighted the plight of HIV-positive earthquake survivors in Haiti who are "still waiting for aid promised to them before" the quake as rebuilding efforts slowly move along, Agence France-Presse reports.

23 Jul 2010

New model for scaling up treatment, prevention of HIV amongst IDUs

Against the backdrop of some of the globe's fastest growing HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a report launched today at the XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna makes the case for a new model for scaling up treatment and prevention of HIV amongst Injecting Drug Users.

23 Jul 2010

Health bodies to discuss steps to further reduce mother to child HIV transmission

Transmission of HIV to children before or at birth has dropped dramatically around the country in the last decade since the advent of powerful new therapies. That certainly is true for Florida, where each year, fewer than 10 babies are born with the disease despite the fact that more than 600 HIV-positive women each year, on average, give birth.

23 Jul 2010

Study identifies infection mechanism of disease-causing microbes

A study published in the July 23 issue of Cell identifies the mechanism used by several types of common, virulent microbes to infect plants and cause devastating blights. Microbes using this infection mechanism include fungi that are currently causing wheat rust epidemics in Africa and Asia, and a class of parasitic algae, called oomycetes, that resulted in the Irish potato blight of the 19th Century. These microbes remain an agricultural scourge today.

23 Jul 2010

Pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria cause death of 6 million of world's poorest children

A Johns Hopkins University scientist, whose team of researchers recently identified pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria as the primary causes of death of 6 million of the world's poorest children, today called on leaders in donor and developing nations to take action to address the terrible death toll.

23 Jul 2010

Early HAART during TB treatment prolongs survival of untreated HIV-infected adults: CAMELIA study

A clinical trial in Cambodia has found it possible to prolong the survival of untreated HIV-infected adults with very weak immune systems and newly diagnosed tuberculosis (TB) by starting anti-HIV therapy two weeks after beginning TB treatment, rather than waiting eight weeks, as has been standard.

23 Jul 2010

NVHR releases statement on New York Times article 'Hope against Hepatitis C'

In response to today's New York Times article, "Hope against Hepatitis C," Andrew Muir, M.D., M.H.S., Director, Gastroenterology/Hepatology Research, Duke Clinical Research Institute and Steering Committee Member of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) released the following statement:

23 Jul 2010

Disease/Infection News

Tibotec submits NDA for TMC278 anti-HIV compound to FDA

Vical's prophylactic Vaxfectin-formulated pDNA vaccine effective against HSV-2 in animal model

Sec. of State Clinton signs 5-year AIDS control partnership agreement with Vietnam

Toolkits to facilitate implementation of new WHO guidelines for reducing HIV infections issued

AU Summit panel focuses on water, sanitation to meet MDG targets in Africa

Scientists study Legionella's reprogramming on cells for survival, propagation

AIDS 2010: Obama, Clinton vow U.S. support to global fight against HIV/AIDS

Babesiosis disease on the rise in Lower Hudson Valley: NYS DOH

Securing universal access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support

AVAC releases GPP Guidelines at International AIDS Conference

Vienna Declaration signed to support evidence-based drug policy for improving community health

AIDS 2010 calls for extension of human rights protections as central tenet of global response to AIDS

Emotional barriers, structural barriers can prevent PLWHA from seeking care, treatment: Survey

Organizations highlight plight of HIV-positive Haitians, call for donors to support 'whole of society' health system strengthening

New model for scaling up treatment, prevention of HIV amongst IDUs

Health bodies to discuss steps to further reduce mother to child HIV transmission

Study identifies infection mechanism of disease-causing microbes

Pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria cause death of 6 million of world's poorest children

Early HAART during TB treatment prolongs survival of untreated HIV-infected adults: CAMELIA study

NVHR releases statement on New York Times article 'Hope against Hepatitis C'

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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