Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

New silicon chips help identify patients with lupus

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Intel Corp. have collaborated to synthesize and study a grid-like array of short pieces of a disease-associated protein on silicon chips normally used in computer microprocessors.

21 Aug 2012

WHO calls for emergency stockpile of cholera vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the establishment of a global stockpile of the cholera vaccine to respond to outbreaks like the one that has gripped Haiti since an earthquake hit the country in 2010, NPR's "Shots" reports.

21 Aug 2012

BioDiem and French partner VIVALIS a step forward in developing vaccines for diseases and related cancers

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) announced today successful results from two programs of work carried out by French partner VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext: VLS), confirming the ability of BioDiem’s Live Attenuated Influenza Virus (LAIV) to grow in VIVALIS’ proprietary EB66® cell line.

20 Aug 2012

Ohio's three Clinical and Translational Science Award institutions establish IRB agreement

The three Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions in Ohio — Case Western Reserve University, University of Cincinnati and The Ohio State University — and their partnering institutions have established a statewide collaborative agreement allowing a single organization's Institutional Review Board (IRB) to assume IRB responsibilities on behalf of multiple institutions when conducting multicenter studies.

18 Aug 2012

New book on malaria tells story of Plasmodium falciparum Genome Project

Few infectious diseases can rival malaria's ability to kill and cripple. Each year the disease causes hundreds of millions of people to be sickened and more than a million - mostly African children under the age of five - die.

18 Aug 2012

FibeBiotics aims to prove benefits of polysaccharides in clinical trials

Staying healthy requires constantly stimulating the immune system. Ingesting non-digestible fibres such as polysaccharides is thought to help. Yet companies including such ingredients in their food products cannot claim that they boost the immune system. At least, not until they have been scientifically tested and proven in clinical trials. Only then, would the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) allow such health claims.

18 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Calif. health exchange off to good start; Fay Vincent on access problems for disabled; How 'upcoding' increases health costs

The California Health Benefits Exchange, established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to offer subsidized private coverage to most of the uninsured, represents an excellent opportunity to improve the quality and cost of healthcare in this state.

18 Aug 2012

In face of global economic recession, developing world needs low-tech health innovations

"The developing world needs support for low-tech health innovations that do not compromise on effectiveness," journalist Priya Shetty writes in this SciDev.Net opinion piece, adding that, against the backdrop of global economic recession and shrinking research and development (R&D) budgets in many developing countries, "a new movement of 'frugal science' is taking hold, in which researchers are hunting for the most cost-effective health technologies for developing countries."

17 Aug 2012

Peptide combinations might offer more effective cancer therapy

Two studies suggest that two peptide agents used either together or individually with a low-dose of a standard chemotherapy drug might offer more effective cancer therapy than current standard single-drug treatments.

17 Aug 2012

Study helps explain how large DNA viruses undergo rapid evolution

Scientists have discovered that poxviruses, which are responsible for smallpox and other diseases, can adapt to defeat different host antiviral defenses by quickly and temporarily producing multiple copies of a gene that helps the viruses to counter host immunity.

17 Aug 2012

Universal health coverage achieved by Mexico in less than a decade

Mexico has achieved universal health coverage in less than ten years, with more than 50 million previously uninsured Mexicans enrolling on a public medical insurance scheme since 2004.

16 Aug 2012

Scientists researching Ebola virus say vaccine 'unlikely' due to funding restraints

"Scientists researching the lethal Ebola virus have told [BBC News] that a commercial vaccine to prevent the onset of infection may never be developed," the news service reports.

16 Aug 2012

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