Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Biota Scientific receives BARDA contract to develop single-dose antiviral drug

A contract has been awarded to develop a long-acting single-dose antiviral drug for use in the United States, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority announced today.

1 Apr 2011

Hands-free electronic water faucets more likely to be contaminated with hazardous bacteria

A study of newly installed, hands-free faucets at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, all equipped with the latest electronic-eye sensors to automatically detect hands and dispense preset amounts of water, shows they were more likely to be contaminated with one of the most common and hazardous bacteria in hospitals compared to old-style fixtures with separate handles for hot and cold water.

1 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Controlling long-term-care spending; march madness and health reform; hospital physicians

Prepare to hear a lot about Medicaid, the government health-insurance program for the poor. ... The U.S. government can't put itself on a sustainable fiscal course without doing something to slow health spending. It can't slow health spending costs without treating Medicaid. And it can't treat Medicaid without confronting the fact that it has become the long-term-care insurer of last resort for an aging society.

1 Apr 2011

Biota wins U.S. drug development contract for Laninamivir

Australian biotechnology company Biota Holdings revealed its US subsidiary has won a five year $US231 million ($A224.36 million) contract from the US government to develop a long-acting, single-dose flu drug for sale in the US. Shares in the Melbourne-based drug development company jumped 60 cents, or 57%, to $1.60 at the market open today falling back to $1.43, 1pm (AEST).

31 Mar 2011

Sinovac reports fourth quarter net sales of $9.1 million

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today its fourth quarter and full year financial results periods ended December 31, 2010.

31 Mar 2011

Vertex announces interim results from VX-222 ongoing Phase 2 study against hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study designed to assess the safety and tolerability of 12-week response-guided treatment regimens with its polymerase inhibitor, VX-222, and its protease inhibitor, telaprevir, in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who were new to treatment.

31 Mar 2011

ACAAI to launch 15th annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program

The nation's allergists help adults and children learn if they are at risk for asthma or exercise-induced bronchoconstriction as the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology conducts its 15th annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program.

31 Mar 2011

International experts meet to focus on impact of vaccines on global health at a time of public scepticism and complacency

International experts gather in Prague today for a three day meeting focused on the impact of vaccines on public health, at a time of increasing concern that public scepticism and complacency could undermine the positive impact of current and future vaccine campaigns.

31 Mar 2011

WHO Director-General responds to draft report on agency's handling of H1N1 pandemic

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on Monday responded to the first results of a probe into the agency's response to the H1N1 pandemic, Agence France-Presse reports.

30 Mar 2011

Prompt treatment with correct antibiotic may prevent longer hospital stay in children with severe pneumonia

In critically ill children with pneumonia, delays of even a few hours to treatment with the correct antibiotic can mean more days in the hospital, reports a study in the April issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

30 Mar 2011

Positive results from Vertex VX-770 Phase 3 trial against CF

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced positive results from a 24-week analysis of the ongoing Phase 3 ENVISION study of VX-770, an oral medicine in development that targets the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis.

30 Mar 2011

Transgenomic discovers novel BLOCker-Sequencing technology

Transgenomic, Inc. today announced that it has discovered a novel sequencing technology, which the company has termed BLOCker-Sequencing, which enhances the limit of detection of standard Sanger Sequencing, enriches for direct sequencing of mutated DNA over wild-type and can be run on standard Sanger Sequencing equipment.

30 Mar 2011

People of all ages and both sexes can have congestive heart failure

Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure at the age of 79 on March 23. Her death raises awareness of this serious condition that affects an estimated five million Americans.

29 Mar 2011

Scientist develops new model to understand peoples' behaviors during flu outbreaks

When influenza pandemics arrive, the specter of disease spread through person-to-person contact can mean that schools close, hand sanitizer sales rise, and travellers stay home. But is severing social and business interactions with our neighbors really better than taking a chance on getting sick?

29 Mar 2011

Reports of H1N1 outbreaks in Venezuela, Mexico prompt quick preventive action by health authorities

Health officials in Venezuela announced on Friday the number of confirmed H1N1 cases in the country has grown to more than 200, the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports.

29 Mar 2011

Atypical antipsychotics is a safe mental health medication for nursing home residents

Conventional antipsychotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines often administered to nursing home residents are no safer than atypical antipsychotics and may carry increased risks, according to an article in CMAJ.

29 Mar 2011

Chembio develops DPP assay for rapid detection of HIV and HEP B/C

A kidney recipient in a New York City hospital recently contracted HIV from the transplanted organ, which came from a living donor, according to the New York State Department of Health. Although an initial screening had been performed on the donor, he or she apparently had unsafe sex after the test but before donating the kidney.

28 Mar 2011

CHPA issues statement in response to anti-consumer law on cold and allergy drugs

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association today issued the following statement in response to passage of Senate Bill 437: "Legislation sponsored by Senator Percy Malone and now signed into law places new, onerous burdens on Arkansas families and makes it more difficult for those with common colds and allergies, even basic aches and pains, to get the medications they need. Unfortunately, Senate Bill 437 falls short of the common-sense approach Arkansans expect from their leaders."

28 Mar 2011

Mexico on swine flu alert again

After four new deaths from swine flu (H1N1), authorities in Mexico's Chihuahua state along the U.S. border announced preventive health measures Sunday to staunch a return of an H1N1 epidemic.

27 Mar 2011

First evidence of H5N1 transmission between domestic farms and wild birds

Wild migratory birds may indeed play a role in the spread of bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.

25 Mar 2011

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Biota Scientific receives BARDA contract to develop single-dose antiviral drug

Hands-free electronic water faucets more likely to be contaminated with hazardous bacteria

Viewpoints: Controlling long-term-care spending; march madness and health reform; hospital physicians

Biota wins U.S. drug development contract for Laninamivir

Sinovac reports fourth quarter net sales of $9.1 million

Vertex announces interim results from VX-222 ongoing Phase 2 study against hepatitis C

ACAAI to launch 15th annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program

International experts meet to focus on impact of vaccines on global health at a time of public scepticism and complacency

WHO Director-General responds to draft report on agency's handling of H1N1 pandemic

Prompt treatment with correct antibiotic may prevent longer hospital stay in children with severe pneumonia

Positive results from Vertex VX-770 Phase 3 trial against CF

Transgenomic discovers novel BLOCker-Sequencing technology

People of all ages and both sexes can have congestive heart failure

Scientist develops new model to understand peoples' behaviors during flu outbreaks

Reports of H1N1 outbreaks in Venezuela, Mexico prompt quick preventive action by health authorities

Atypical antipsychotics is a safe mental health medication for nursing home residents

Chembio develops DPP assay for rapid detection of HIV and HEP B/C

CHPA issues statement in response to anti-consumer law on cold and allergy drugs

Mexico on swine flu alert again

First evidence of H5N1 transmission between domestic farms and wild birds

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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