Allergies News and Research

Latest Allergies News and Research

H1N1 vaccine to be available in U.S. earlier than anticipated

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Sunday that the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine will be available in the U.S. earlier than previously anticipated, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We are on track to have an ample supply rolling out by mid-October, but we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. And we plan to get the vaccine rolling out the door as fast as it hits the production line," Sebelius said (Davis, 9/13).

14 Sep 2009

Altair announces positive Phase I results for AIR645 in treating asthma

Altair Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for respiratory diseases, today announced positive results from a phase I multiple dose safety and pharmacokinetic study of its lead product, once-weekly inhaled AIR645 in healthy adults and mild asthmatics.

14 Sep 2009

Zabecor Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase II clinical trial of its Excellair asthma drug

ZaBeCor Pharmaceuticals ("ZaBeCor" or the "Company") announced today the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial for its asthma drug candidate Excellair™, following the successful results of the Company's Phase I clinical trials. ZaBeCor is one of the first companies to deliver siRNA to the lung and one of the first to target asthma with siRNA.

14 Sep 2009

Mylan Pharmaceutical's ANDA for Teva's Copaxone accepted by FDA (Correction)

Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing Mylan Pharmaceutical Inc.'s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Glatiramer Acetate Injection (20 mg/mL), a generic version of Teva's Copaxone(R), a product indicated for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

14 Sep 2009

NIAID conducts human clinical trials of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, also is conducting clinical trials of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines, produced by Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Limited. The NIAID trials are testing two different dosages (15 micrograms versus 30 micrograms) and evaluating the immune response to one and two doses of these vaccines.

14 Sep 2009

Signum Biosciences awarded $1.6 million SBIR Phase II grant

Signum Biosciences, Inc has been awarded a $1.6 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases (NIAID) to continue the development of its topical STM (Signal Transduction Modulator) anti-inflammatory technology for the treatment of inflammatory skin disease.

11 Sep 2009

Bed bugs are back in America

They're BAA-AACK! Thirty years after bed bugs were believed to be exterminated nationwide, the teeny, insidious bloodsuckers--which feast on sleeping humans--are making a comeback of epidemic proportions.

11 Sep 2009

Dyax' Phase 3 hereditary angioedema clinical program affirms reliability of its novel PROs

Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ:DYAX) today announced a study published evaluating the Company’s novel Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROs) used to assess hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks affirmed the PROs as valuable instruments in capturing HAE symptom severity and impact of treatment.

11 Sep 2009

Culinary Software adds Allergen Alerts functionality to its ChefTec software

Culinary Software Services, Inc., the leading provider of back-of-the-house technology for the foodservice industry, announces the addition of Allergen Alerts to its ChefTec software. Under the Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act, the FDA requires food labels to clearly state if food products contain any ingredients from the eight major allergenic foods.

11 Sep 2009

Order Optimizer to implement order entry system at JPS Health Network

JPS Health Network (JPS), a Fort Worth, Texas-based healthcare system, has selected Order Optimizer to provide its evidence-based order set and clinical decision support platform. In support of the facility’s top clinical priority for 2009, Order Optimizer was selected from a field of vendors for its renowned usability, extensive protocol library, and rapid implementation.

11 Sep 2009

Children's Hospital to determine optimal duration of antimicrobial treatment for UTIs

In the largest study of its kind, pediatric researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have received a federal contract for a project to determine the most beneficial method of using antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children.

11 Sep 2009

NIH provides Inviragen second major grant to develop a dengue vaccine

Inviragen has received a $600,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to partially support its continued efforts to develop a safe and effective dengue vaccine. The two-year grant will fund a collaborative effort led by Inviragen and involving scientists at the University of Wisconsin and Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The supported work will include additional optimization of Inviragen’s vaccine to generate more potent immune responses.

10 Sep 2009

Non-invasive CR-2000 Research System to be used in START clinical trial

Hypertension Diagnostics, Inc., today announced that its non-invasive HDI/PulseWave CR-2000 Research System (CR-2000) has been selected for use in the Strategic Timing of AntiRetroviral Treatment (START) substudy on Arterial Elasticity that will examine blood vessel function and cardiovascular risk during HIV infection.

10 Sep 2009

Biovista's BVA-201 drug for MS shows positive results

Biovista Inc. today announced that BVA-201, its drug targeting Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has shown significant positive results in the MOG-induced Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis (EAE) murine model of MS. BVA-201 is an existing drug that Biovista repositioned in MS and is aimed at neuroprotection. It was shown to have both efficacy in reducing symptoms and no toxic effects in this well established model of MS.

10 Sep 2009

E.V-Trax Employee Vaccination Tracking System helps eliminate manual data entry

General Data Company, Inc., which specializes in barcode-based error-proofing and tracking system solutions, is offering a new mobile application to help healthcare organizations administer employee vaccinations and track the immunization status of their personnel for H1N1, influenza, and other vaccinations.

10 Sep 2009

First trial of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine testing launched

The first trial testing a candidate 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in pregnant women is launching this week, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today.

10 Sep 2009

Federal contract awarded to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to study use of antibiotics in children

10 Sep 2009

Ceragenix awarded $2.87M NIH grant to develop a drug for treating Clostrdium difficile and Shigella

Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Ceragenix”) (OTCBB:CGXP), a medical device company focused on infectious disease and dermatology, today announced that the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) has awarded a $2.87 million grant to fund the pre clinical development of a Ceragenin™based oral drug to treat two common and potentially deadly gastrointestinal infections: Clostrdium difficile and Shigella.

9 Sep 2009

Foodborne illnesses could be tackled with FDA's Reportable Food Registry

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a new way to head off potential cases of foodborne illness - the Reportable Food Registry (RFR), where food industry officials must use to alert the FDA quickly, through an electronic portal when they find their products might sicken or kill people or animals. The requirement, a result of legislation, took effect with the launch of the portal.

9 Sep 2009

NIH awards Vaxart $2.8M grant to develop an orally-delivered H5N1 Avian influenza vaccine

Vaxart, Inc., a San Francisco biotechnology company developing oral-delivery vaccines, has been awarded a $2.8 million phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (National Institutes of Health) to support development of its first product, an orally-delivered vaccine for H5N1 Avian influenza.

9 Sep 2009