Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Ways to economically recover recombinant proteins from transgenic tobacco

The economics of producing biopharmaceuticals from transgenic plants such as tobacco is still a roadblock to producing large quantities of urgently needed medicines, especially for people in underdeveloped nations.

12 Aug 2004

No adverse side-effects have been observed in clinical trial of SARS vaccine

Sinovac Biotech has announced that all 36 subjects of the Phase I human clinical trial for its inactivated SARS vaccine have now been vaccinated with either SARS vaccine or placebo.

11 Aug 2004

Vaccine trial shows promising results for streptococcal infection protection

A study published in the current issue of JAMA reports that a streptococcal vaccine trial has shown promising results for protection against streptococcal infections.

11 Aug 2004

Children vaccinated against chickenpox who then contract chickenpox are half as contagious as those who have not been vaccinated

A study published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that children and young adults who have had the chickenpox vaccine and gone on to contract chickenpox are half as contagious as those who have not been vaccinated.

11 Aug 2004

Free licences of European patents on the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2

The Institute of Cancer Research and Cancer Research Technology Limited, the technology transfer company of the charity Cancer Research UK, today announced the availability of free licences of European patents on the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2 to publicly funded research laboratories and not-for-profit research laboratories.

11 Aug 2004

Changes to the UK's childhood vaccination programme

From the end of September these vaccines will be given in the routine vaccination schedule in a combined vaccine along with Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Hib.

9 Aug 2004

Austrian researchers in a world first have successfully engineered an allergy vaccine

Austrian researchers in a world first have successfully engineered an allergy vaccine using a genetically modified version of the birch pollen allergen.

9 Aug 2004

The British government has announced plans for a new combined vaccination for babies and children

The British government has announced plans for a new combined vaccination for babies and children. A single jab will protect children against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), and polio.

9 Aug 2004

Reminder to avoid handling bats for risk of rabies

In the wake of an increase in calls reporting human and pet contacts with bats, the Washington Department of Health has reminded people that avoiding bats can protect them from rabies. Bats are not aggressive animals and they generally do not intentionally attack humans.

9 Aug 2004

Self-recovery from Hep C infection linked to genes that suppress action of killer immune cells

In a study to be published in Science online Aug. 6, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that genes involved in suppressing the body's defensive "killer" immune cells are a potential key factor in spontaneous recovery from hepatitis C.

5 Aug 2004

Mayo Clinic and IBM have announced a broad collaboration to accelerate advances in patient care and research

Mayo Clinic and IBM have announced a broad collaboration to accelerate advances in patient care and research with an aggressive set of technology initiatives. The goal is to take advantage of an explosion in new medical data to drive tighter linkage between research and the practice of medicine to achieve breakthroughs.

5 Aug 2004

Potential of genomics in disease research yet to be realized

Over the past decade genomics has revolutionized our understanding of how microorganisms cause disease. However, genomic studies need to be extended to a more diverse array of microorganisms and research tools improved to gain additional insights into pathogenesis, according to a new report released by the American Academy of Microbiology.

5 Aug 2004

Experimental vaccine against ricin

Scientists have developed an experimental vaccine against ricin, a potential biological threat agent, which fully protected mice from aerosol challenge with lethal doses of the toxin.

5 Aug 2004

Aventis ships its influenza vaccine, Fluzone

Aventis began to ship its influenza vaccine (Fluzone(R), Influenza Virus Vaccine) today, meeting the company's goal to provide Fluzone vaccine to customers to allow health-care providers to plan successful immunization programs for the upcoming influenza season.

3 Aug 2004

Determining the age of female mosquitoes may be crucial to halting the spread of diseases like malaria

A recent project at The Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia found that determining the age of female mosquitoes may be crucial to halting the spread of diseases like malaria that kill 2 million people annually.

2 Aug 2004

New approach to cancer vaccines may eradicate skin cancer tumors

Mayo Clinic and British researchers have developed a new approach to cancer vaccines that purposely kills healthy skin cells to target the immune system against tumors. The new approach has eradicated skin cancer tumors in mice.

2 Aug 2004

America's childhood immunization rates are at record high levels

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that the nation's childhood immunization rates are at record high levels, including significant increases in rates of immunization for chickenpox and pneumococcal pneumonia, the two most recent additions to the childhood immunization schedule.

2 Aug 2004

New glycan arrays discover autoimmunogenic activities of SARS-CoV

Researchers in New York City and Guangzhou, China applied the rapidly-developing carbohydrate microarray technology to study an inactivated SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) vaccine and discovered autoimmunogenic activity of this newly identified human viral pathogen.

2 Aug 2004

Philadelphia diet drug trial completed

Wyeth has announced that the jury in the case of Rhonda Istnick and Henry Clepper v. Wyeth, et al. rendered its decision, finding in favor of the Company in the case brought by Ms. Istnick, while awarding Mr. Clepper compensatory damages in the amount of $48,000.

29 Jul 2004