Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Bivalent HPV vaccine has cross-protective effect, but could wane over time

The bivalent vaccine for human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 appears to be more efficacious against outcomes associated with nonvaccine types 31, 33, and 45 than its quadrivalent counterpart, show results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

5 Oct 2012

Emergent receives BARDA contract to advance development of novel rPA anthrax vaccine

Emergent BioSolutions announced today that, after completion of an inter-agency In Process Review, the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has exercised a contract option to further advance the development of PreviThrax (Recombinant Protective Antigen Anthrax Vaccine, Purified), the company's novel rPA anthrax vaccine candidate.

5 Oct 2012

Britons least likely to adopt protective behaviours against flu

A new international survey published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases has revealed that during the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, people in Britain lagged far behind other countries in adopting protective behaviours, such as increasing their practice of covering their mouth with a tissue when sneezing or coughing.

5 Oct 2012

Top-line data from Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 Phase 3 trial on pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. today announced top-line data assessing immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, absorbed]) in adults 18 to 49 years of age.

5 Oct 2012

Cellectis, Medicago complete first step in therapeutic protein research collaboration

Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus Like Particles, and Cellectis plant sciences, a US-based subsidiary of Cellectis Group, the specialist in genome engineering, today announced the successful completion of the first step in their research collaboration to improve therapeutic proteins produced in tobacco plants.

4 Oct 2012

HIV prevention, vaccine research progressing

In a guest post on the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog, Margaret McGlynn, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and William Snow, director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, discuss the recent AIDS Vaccine 2012 Conference that was held in Boston.

3 Oct 2012

Trauma surgeons identify reasons why young pedestrians are struck by motor vehicles

Trauma surgeons have identified two preventable reasons why young pedestrians are struck by motor vehicles—poor guardian supervision and distraction because of mobile device use.

3 Oct 2012

Mothers’ CD4 cells ‘remember’ their babies

A breakthrough in understanding a mother’s immune response during pregnancy suggests a new direction for treating autoimmune diseases.

2 Oct 2012

BHGI sponsors global summit on international breast health

For women with breast cancer in low- and middle-resource countries and other medically underserved areas around the world, the need for supportive care and the consideration of quality-of-life issues are often overlooked.

2 Oct 2012

October issue of WHO Bulletin available online

The October issue of the WHO Bulletin features an editorial on the stockpiling oral cholera vaccine, a public health news roundup, a research article on rotavirus mortality in India, and an article examining a "new entity for the negotiation of public procurement prices for patented medicines in Mexico," among others.

2 Oct 2012

Partnerships key to ending preventable child deaths

"I'm encouraged by the focus on children's health alongside other pressing global issues" at the U.N. General Assembly meeting last week, Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, adding, "These discussions come in the wake of UNICEF's latest report on declines in child mortality around the world."

2 Oct 2012

News outlets examine challenges to fighting polio in Pakistan, Nigeria

In Pakistan, one of only three nations worldwide where polio remains endemic, "rumors and conspiracy theories about the vaccine ... have helped the country maintain its unenviable status," recording 91 cases of the disease in 2011, Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Oct 2012

Inhibiting DUSP6 protein can restore immune cells’ responsiveness to a more youthful state

The older we get, the weaker our immune systems tend to become, leaving us vulnerable to infectious diseases and cancer and eroding our ability to benefit from vaccination. Now Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have found that blocking the action of a single protein whose levels in our immune cells creep steadily upward with age can restore those cells' response to a vaccine.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers track spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella in sub-Saharan Africa

A new study out today (Sunday 30 September) reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers identify how p110delta molecule controls the body's inflammatory responses

Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London have discovered how a key molecule controls the body's inflammatory responses. The molecule, known as p110delta, fine-tunes inflammation to avoid excessive reactions that can damage the organism.

1 Oct 2012

September issue of JNCCN publishes two prostate cancer articles

Julio M. Pow-Sang, M.D., chair of Moffitt Cancer Center's Department of Genitourinary Oncology, and colleagues have published two prostate cancer articles in the September issue of JNCCN - The Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The articles review and clarify recent updates made to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's (NCCN) guidelines for the screening and treatment of prostate cancer.

29 Sep 2012

FDA launches campaign to raise public awareness on prevalence of fraudulent Internet pharmacies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched a national campaign to raise public awareness about the prevalence of fraudulent Internet pharmacies, which can be dangerous to patient health, and to help consumers make safe purchases.

29 Sep 2012

Mount Sinai surgeon offers tips to prevent prostate cancer

World-renowned Mount Sinai robotic prostate surgeon, Dr. David Samadi, devotes much of his time to prostate cancer education domestically and internationally. "My SMART robotic prostate removal surgery saves lives, but what men really want to know is how to prevent prostate cancer in the first place," shares Dr. Samadi.

29 Sep 2012

Shingles becoming more common in Australia

The herpes zoster virus, which causes shingles, is becoming more common as the population ages. In Australia the number of cases has doubled between 2000 and 2010. Hospital emergency departments report a 2–6% increase in cases per year.

28 Sep 2012

Education key to ending AIDS

"When we talk about HIV prevention, we tend to frame it as a medical challenge and of course it is one," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

28 Sep 2012