Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Researchers identify clusters of underimmunization, vaccine refusal in Northern California

Researchers used spatial analysis software and electronic medical records to identify clusters of underimmunization and vaccine refusal among Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, according to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics.

19 Jan 2015

Early estimates indicate flu vaccine is providing little protection in US

Each year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) undertake flu vaccine effectiveness studies. Early estimates for the current season indicate that those people (all ages) who had the flu vaccine were only 23% less likely to have to go to the doctor because of flu (influenza).

16 Jan 2015

NIAID awards contracts to support early-stage human clinical trials of infectious disease treatments

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded contracts to three organizations to support early-stage human clinical trials of investigational infectious disease treatments. The new awards for the Phase I Clinical Trial Units for Therapeutics increases the number of funded organizations under the program from two to three, expanding capacity for conducting early safety testing of novel investigational drugs.

15 Jan 2015

Universal vaccine against flu may be on the horizon, say researchers

The fact that this year's flu shot is not a good match against this year's influenza strain is well known, and has happened before.

14 Jan 2015

EvoNexus announces graduation of TruMed Systems

EvoNexus a San Diego-based incubator for technology startup companies, today announces the graduation of TruMed Systems, creators of the turnkey Vaccine Management Solution AccuVax.

13 Jan 2015

Two medical organizations recommend use of HPV test for cervical cancer screening

Two leading medical organizations say that using a Human papillomavirus (HPV) test alone for cervical cancer screening is an effective alternative to the current recommendation for screening with either cytology (the Pap test) alone or co-testing with cytology and HPV testing.

12 Jan 2015

LJI researcher awarded $1.6 million grant to study factors that trigger onset of type 1 diabetes

The American Diabetes Association has awarded La Jolla Institute researcher Stephanie Stanford, Ph.D., a $1.6 million grant to investigate the genetic and environmental factors that trigger the onset of type 1 diabetes.

11 Jan 2015

Current flu vaccine still offers protection, says Loyola infectious disease specialist

In baseball, three strikes and you're out. The most common annual vaccine targets three strains of flu virus. This year, two vaccine strains are spot on and successfully matched. One strain is partially mismatched, but still believed to offer partial coverage for that strain. The current flu vaccine is still in the game and, more importantly, keeping people well and on the playing field, says a Loyola University Medical Center infectious disease specialist.

8 Jan 2015

Johns Hopkins-led study offers strategy to eradicate HIV

Luring dormant HIV out of hiding and destroying its last cure-defying holdouts has become the holy grail of HIV eradication, but several recent attempts to do so have failed. Now the findings of a Johns Hopkins-led study reveal why that is and offer a strategy that could form a blueprint for a therapeutic vaccine to eradicate lingering virus from the body.

8 Jan 2015

New guidance recommends use of primary HPV test for cervical cancer screening

About 80 million U.S. women ages 25 to 65 should be screened periodically by their health care providers for cervical cancer. At present, the standard way to do that is a Pap smear alone, or co-testing using both a Pap smear and a human papillomavirus (HPV) test.

8 Jan 2015

Quadrivalent HPV vaccine cleared of multiple sclerosis risk

A study of almost 4 million girls and women allays fears that receipt of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine could increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, or other demyelinating disorders.

7 Jan 2015

Soligenix's SGX301 receives FDA 'Fast Track' designation for CTCL treatment

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing products that address unmet medical needs in the areas of inflammation, oncology and biodefense, announced today that its SGX301 (synthetic hypericin) development program for the first-line treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) has received "Fast Track" designation from the US Food and Drug Administration.

7 Jan 2015

Everyday actions could help prevent spread of flu among college students

As local college students return to Philadelphia from their long winter breaks over the next several days, it is likely that they'll be bringing who-knows-what germs with them from home, said Stacey A. Gorski, PhD, a biology professor who specializes in immunology at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

7 Jan 2015

Real-time RT-PCR TaqMan assay helps differentiate active pulmonary TB from LTBI

One of the roadblocks to the eradication of tuberculosis (TB) is the difficulty in identifying patients with latent TB infections (LTBI). Neither the tuberculin skin test (TST) nor interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are capable of distinguishing active from latent infection or predicting the chance of reactivation.

7 Jan 2015

Johnson & Johnson begins Phase 1 trial of preventive Ebola vaccine program

Johnson & Johnson today announced the start of a Phase 1, first-in-human clinical trial of a preventive Ebola vaccine in development at its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies.

6 Jan 2015

Study confirms safety of two measles-containing vaccines

A 12-year study of two measles-containing vaccines, published today in Pediatrics, found that seven main adverse outcomes were unlikely after either vaccine.

5 Jan 2015

Researchers use whole genome sequencing to track evolution of chicken flu virus

An international research team has shown how changes in a flu virus that has plagued Chinese poultry farms for decades helped create the novel avian H7N9 influenza A virus that has sickened more than 375 people since 2013. The research appears in the current online early edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

30 Dec 2014

Protein Sciences earns Frost & Sullivan 2013 Global New Product Innovation Award

Based on its recent analysis of the influenza vaccines market, Frost & Sullivan recognises Protein Sciences with the 2013 Global New Product Innovation Award. Flublok is the world's first recombinant protein vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza disease to gain U.S. FDA approval.

29 Dec 2014

Soligenix closes previously announced registered public offering

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing products that address unmet medical needs in the areas of inflammation, oncology and biodefense, announced today that on December 24, 2014 it closed its previously announced registered public offering.

25 Dec 2014

First successful vaccination of deer against chronic wasting disease

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere say that a vaccination they have developed to fight a brain-based, wasting syndrome among deer and other animals may hold promise on two additional fronts: Protecting U.S. livestock from contracting the disease, and preventing similar brain infections in humans.

23 Dec 2014