Hepatitis B News and Research

Latest Hepatitis B News and Research

Food preparation methods may put Canadians at risk of liver disease

As we head into the winter months, when locally grown food is less available and our fresh foods have to be imported, do you know just how far your food has travelled and what it may have picked up along the way?

14 Sep 2009

ALF, Celsion partner to educate physicians about primary liver cancer treatments

Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSN) and the American Liver Foundation (ALF) announced today that they have formed a partnership to provide education to physicians and liver patients about the treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma (commonly referred to as primary liver cancer) and Celsion’s on-going ThermoDox Phase III global HEAT clinical study.

14 Sep 2009

Phase III STARTMRK clinical study on ISENTRESS in comparison to efavirenz

ISENTRESS , an integrase inhibitor from Merck & Co., Inc., was studied in comparison to efavirenz in maintaining viral load suppression to undetectable levels (less than 50 copies/mL) and at improving CD4 cell counts in previously untreated (treatment-naïve) HIV-1-infected patients through 96 weeks in a Phase III study called STARTMRK.

14 Sep 2009

Mellow Hope completes MEVAC-A tender for Bangladesh

HTDS company is pleased to announce that its China based operating subsidiary Mellow Hope has successfully completed and delivered on its tender for Mevac-A for the country of Bangladesh.

14 Sep 2009

St. Vincent develops the first-ever HIV educational widget

Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) today unveiled a novel Web-based technology to rapidly instruct health care providers throughout New York State about HIV diagnosis and prevention.

10 Sep 2009

FDA removes clinical hold on HEPLISAV hepatitis B vaccine

Dynavax Technologies Corporation today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed the clinical hold for the HEPLISAVTM Investigational New Drug (IND) application in individuals with chronic kidney disease.

10 Sep 2009

BioTrends Research Group ranked by Philadelphia 100 for the second consecutive time

For the second year in a row, BioTrends Research Group, Inc. has been ranked as one of the fastest-growing, privately-held companies in the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia 100, a joint project of the Wharton Small Business Development Center, the Entrepreneurs' Forum of Greater Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Business Journal.

10 Sep 2009

Merck's GARDASIL receives approval from FDA Advisory Committee

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee agreed that efficacy, immunogenicity and safety data from clinical trials in males support the use of GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in boys and men 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11.

10 Sep 2009

Phase II trial of ANA598 commenced by Anadys Pharmaceuticals

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDS) announced today that dosing has begun in a Phase II trial of ANA598 in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study will evaluate ANA598 over 12 weeks, taken in combination with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin, in treatment naive HCV patients. ANA598 is an investigational, oral, non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor.

9 Sep 2009

HCV treatment study reveals low relapse rate of Pegetron

Recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the largest prospective study of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments Pegetron and Pegasys RBV (R) found both treatments equal in achieving sustained viral response. The study also found that Pegetron had a significantly lower relapse rate and is a safe and effective treatment option which has shown long term viral eradication.

9 Sep 2009

INSPIRE Phase I/IIa study data to be presented at ICAAC

Cytheris SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced that data from an interim analysis of its INSPIRE Phase I/IIa study of HIV-infected patients with low CD4 T cell counts treated with a three injection cycle of the Company’s investigative immune-modulator, recombinant human Interleukin-7 (CYT107), will be presented during an oral late breaker session at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), to be held September 12-15, 2009, in San Francisco, CA.

9 Sep 2009

Physicians to educate Congress on the importance of reducing viral hepatitis

The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) is hosting a briefing, "The Experts' Perspective: Gaps and Strategies in the Hepatitis Crisis." "Leading hepatitis physicians, one of whom is a Congressman, will be on the hill today to educate Congress on the importance of developing a strategy to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality from end-stage liver disease and liver cancer caused by chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C in the United States," said Martha Saly, Director of NVHR.

9 Sep 2009

Nanoemulsion-based adjuvant increases immunity and cross protection against influenza

NanoBio Corp. announced today that data from a large ferret study indicates that its intranasal, nanoemulsion-based adjuvant elicits robust immunity and cross protection against influenza using 1/15th of the standard antigen dose, without evidence of toxicity or tolerability concerns.

9 Sep 2009

Genetic risk factor involved in cystic fibrosis discovered

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a genetic risk factor for severe liver disease in people with cystic fibrosis. Those who carry a particular variant of the SERPINA1 gene (also known as alpha-1-antitrypsin or alpha-1-antiprotease) are five times more likely to develop cirrhosis and other liver complications than patients who carry the normal version of the gene.

9 Sep 2009

Biomagnetics Diagnostics deploys IOBS testing technology

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria detection, today announced its entry into the Integrated Optical Biosensor System (IOBS) market. IOBS are a relatively new classification of pathogen detection equipment which use advanced fiber optic-based technology to detect a wide variety of human and animal pathogens.

9 Sep 2009

Rise in primary liver cancer cases attributed to increased alcohol consumption

Cases of primary liver cancer have tripled in the last 30 years according to statistics published today by Cancer Research UK.

7 Sep 2009

Positive impact on medication adherence through Aetna's care management program

Aetna announced today results of an analysis from the first half of 2009, demonstrating an average medication adherence of over 95 percent for its members taking Specialty medications. Disease states evaluated in Aetna’s analysis include: multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV, Crohn's disease, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), psoriasis, Hepatitis C and asthma.

4 Sep 2009

Medtronic's COPE-HCV clinical study commences

Medtronic, Inc., today reported the initiation and first enrollments of patients in COPE-HCV (COntinuous Interferon Delivery via the Medtronic Paradigm Pump Infusion System Clinical Evaluation for Chronic HCV), the company’s first-ever clinical study using an external pump infusion system to treat patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

3 Sep 2009

Government, medical and community experts to discuss about prevention and detection of viral hepatitis

To address this public health challenge, government, medical and community experts will meet September 10-11 in Washington, D.C. to plan an improved national response to viral hepatitis. The conference "The Dawn of a New Era: Transforming our Domestic Response to Hepatitis B & C" will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions and scientific poster sessions focused on enhancing the prevention and detection of viral hepatitis and improving care for people who are already living with the disease.

2 Sep 2009

Cimzia approved for treating adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis

UCB Canada Inc. announced today that Health Canada has approved Cimzia, the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

1 Sep 2009