Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

India launches new laboratory for HIV vaccine research in collaboration with IAVI

India on Monday "opened a $12 million, government-backed laboratory whose mission is to create a new vaccine against HIV," Science Insider reports.

16 Aug 2012

Medicago, IDRI receive FDA approval to commence Phase 1 H5N1 vaccine trial

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based non-profit research organization that is a leading developer of adjuvants used in vaccines combating infectious disease, and Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), announce that they have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for an H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate.

16 Aug 2012

Cedars-Sinai's ICT-107 doubles median survival of patients with malignant brain tumor

An experimental immune-based therapy more than doubled median survival of patients diagnosed with the most aggressive malignant brain tumor, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center researchers reported in Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, published online Aug. 3.

16 Aug 2012

Genocea commences GEN-003 Phase 1/2a study in moderate-to-severe HSV-2 infection

Genocea Biosciences announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1/2a clinical study with its lead candidate, GEN-003. GEN-003 is an investigational vaccine designed to stimulate T cell and B cell immune responses to potentially reduce the frequency and severity of clinical outbreaks associated with moderate-to-severe Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection.

16 Aug 2012

Recognizing the role of international partnerships in global health

"When you're dealing with a global public health crisis, having an international presence isn't just advisable -- it is imperative," Margaret McGlynn, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), writes in this post in USAID's "Impact" blog, adding, "That's why the [IAVI], in partnership with USAID, has worked diligently over the past several years to establish itself as a truly global non-profit partner."

15 Aug 2012

Universal HIV treatment, if achieved, would not mean eradication of AIDS

In this post in BMJ's "Yankee Doodling," Douglas Kamerow, chief scientist at RTI International and an associate editor for the journal, reflects on the possibility of achieving an AIDS-free generation "if somehow we succeeded in getting all HIV positive people in the world identified and under long term treatment."

15 Aug 2012

FDA requests Biovest to conduct second Phase III trial of BV301 for NHL

Biovest International, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it conducted a formal clinical guidance meeting with the U.S. FDA to determine the most expeditious U.S. registration pathway for BiovaxID, its personalized cancer vaccine for the consolidation treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

15 Aug 2012

CD4 T cells orchestrate inflammatory attack on the artery wall

Most people probably know that heart disease remains the nation's No. 1 killer. But what many may be surprised to learn is that cholesterol has a major accomplice in causing dangerous arterial plaque buildup that can trigger a heart attack. The culprit? Inflammatory cells produced by the immune system.

15 Aug 2012

Antisense therapy shows promise in treating toxoplasmosis

A targeted approach to treating toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease, shows early promise in test-tube and animal studies, where it prevented the parasites from making selected proteins. When tested in newly infected mice, it reduced the number of viable parasites by more than 90 percent, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

14 Aug 2012

Six manufacturers receive FDA approval to produce 2012-2013 flu vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved the 2012-2013 influenza (flu) vaccine formulation for all six manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute the vaccines in the United States.

14 Aug 2012

Researchers solve hepatitis C vaccine mystery

Researchers at the Burnet Institute have solved a hepatitis C vaccine mystery which, once developed could be the first ever preventative vaccine for the virus.

13 Aug 2012

World needs a business plan to end AIDS

In this post in Global Post's "Global Pulse" blog, Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, a leading HIV prevention advocacy organization, and Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, write that "the world needs a business plan to end AIDS."

13 Aug 2012

NIH awards ADi Phase II SBIR grant to scan Plasmodium falciparum proteome for protective antigens

Antigen Discovery, Inc. today announced that it has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation and Research award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. The three-year award, totaling approximately $ 2.5 million, is a continuation of a Phase I SBIR grant to scan the Plasmodium falciparum proteome for protective antigens.

13 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Democrats must get tough on entitlements; Fla. Gov. Scott says feds should stay out of state Medicaid decisions

Democrats nurtured entitlements, which provided a bedrock of security for Americans. But we never said no to entitlement expansion or benefit increases. We haven't supplied enough discipline, and they are out of control. Conversely, we've ignored the New Frontier investment programs, bragging about them but meting out only subsistence rations. They're now stunted and need higher rations. We have one more chance. The fiscal cliff was designed to force tough choices.

12 Aug 2012

PharmAthene receives clinical hold order from FDA for SparVax rPA anthrax vaccine program

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its SparVax rPA anthrax vaccine program has been placed on clinical hold.

12 Aug 2012

Breakthrough vaccine against deadly Nipah virus

A major breakthrough in the development of a highly effective vaccine against the deadly Nipah virus has been reported by a team of federal and university scientists. The results of their study, "A Hendra virus G glycoprotein subunit vaccine protects African green monkeys from Nipah virus challenge," will appear in Science Translational Medicine online.

10 Aug 2012

Accurate vaccination needed to protect children

This year the U.S. has seen the worst outbreak of whooping cough in more than 50 years. In fact, it has reached epidemic levels in many states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the numbers of cases reported is already twice as many as last year. With kids getting ready to head back-to-school, the numbers of children impacted or killed by this disease could continue to rise if children aren't accurately vaccinated.

10 Aug 2012

Data from IMUC’s ICT-107 Phase I trial on glioblastoma multiforme accepted for publication

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics announced today that clinical data from its Phase I trial of ICT-107 was accepted for publication, and is currently in the online edition of the prestigious medical journal Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy.

9 Aug 2012

Pathologist identifies HPV DNA fragments in post-mortem samples after Gardasil vaccination

According to Norma Erickson, President of SaneVax Inc., testimony provided for a coroner's inquest into the death of Jasmine Renata in New Zealand by Dr. Sin Hang Lee, a pathologist on the medical staff at Connecticut's Milford Hospital, revealed the discovery of HPV DNA fragments in post-mortem samples 6 months after Gardasil vaccination.

9 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Medicaid is key to health law success; OPM weighs changes to FEHB

The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that 30 million Americans still will be left without health insurance in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that largely upheld President Obama's healthcare plan. The part of the plan that was not upheld by the high court, however, contains the key to lowering that number.

8 Aug 2012