Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Encouraging results from Alexion's eculizumab Phase 2 study on generalized myasthenia gravis

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Company's study of eculizumab in a small group of 14 patients with severe and refractory generalized myasthenia gravis, an ultra-rare and debilitating form of generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), showed a strong disease improvement signal.

15 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Shredding Bachmann's vaccine argument; 'super' or 'stupor' committee; Bennet on outmoded drug safety rules

Vaccines were the biggest losers in Monday's GOP presidential candidate's debate, specifically those that are intended to prevent cervical cancer. The main route of HPV infection is sex. That's why you need to vaccinate girls before they become sexually active. The vaccines are exceedingly safe, studies show. There have been very few reports of serious problems from them, none proven. It is simply a lie to say they can cause retardation.

15 Sep 2011

First effective blood-stage vaccine against malaria

Scientists have identified the first effective blood-stage malaria vaccine, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study from University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa, and other partners.

15 Sep 2011

Researchers discover several chemical compounds against human prion diseases

In a new study NYU School of Medicine researchers report that they have found several chemical compounds, including an antidepressant, that have powerful effects against brain-destroying prion infections in mice, opening the door to potential treatments for human prion diseases.

15 Sep 2011

Roundup: Major Mass. health system, insurer near reimbursement deal; HHS funds Planned Parenthood in N.H.; 10 Iowa towns to get healthy

Partners HealthCare System Inc. is close to reaching an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts that could provide relief to tens of thousands of insurance customers by slowing the rate of their premium increases, potentially by nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

15 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 14, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including lots of talk about the 'super committee' and about the new census numbers regarding the uninsured as well as the second-day analysis regarding some of the controversial comments made during Monday night's GOP presidential primary debate.

14 Sep 2011

Candidates in Monday's GOP debate clash on health reform, Medicare, vaccines

One of the questions emerging in this primary contest is whether entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security will continue to be a political "third rail," or if public concerns about government spending have overcome this conventional wisdom.

14 Sep 2011

'Achilles' heels' within HCV virus

Hopes for an effective vaccine and treatment against the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus (HCV) have received a major boost following the discovery of two 'Achilles' heels' within the virus.

14 Sep 2011

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation for Accentia's Revimmune to prevent GVHD

Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and its majority-owned subsidiary, Biovest International, Inc., today jointly announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Revimmune, the Company's proprietary system-of-care based on high-dose administration of Cytoxan, for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following bone marrow transplant.

14 Sep 2011

Opinion pieces, editorial address ongoing hunger crisis in Horn of Africa

Several news sources have published opinion pieces regarding the ongoing famine in Somalia and hunger situation in the Horn of Africa.

14 Sep 2011

Inovio achieves best-in-class immune responses in PENNVAX-B HIV vaccine Phase I study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of synthetic immunogens against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has achieved best-in-class immune responses in a Phase I clinical study of PENNVAX-B, its product for the prevention of the HIV sub-type prevalent in the US and Europe.

14 Sep 2011

Merck issues statement on GARDASIL human papillomavirus vaccine

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, issued the following statement on GARDASIL, Merck's vaccine to protect against certain diseases caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18.

14 Sep 2011

IUDs may protect from cervical cancer

According to the results of an international study, coil contraceptive devices might protect women against developing cervical cancer even though they don't stop the infection that commonly leads to the disease.

14 Sep 2011

“Contagion” movie entirely plausible

Hollywood's latest thriller “Contagion” seems to have captured the public’s interest with strong sales at the box office. In the movie tens of millions of people are wiped out by the rapid spread of a killer airborne disease. It's a scenario real-life experts say is entirely plausible.

14 Sep 2011

Walgreens, MDA team up to offer free seasonal flu shots

Nobody likes to get stuck with a needle. But influenza - the flu - is particularly hazardous for those with neuromuscular disease, which is why the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and Walgreens have teamed up once again to offer free seasonal flu shots now underway for people who have muscular dystrophy and related diseases.

14 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

Sometimes they challenged Perry from the left (on Social Security and Medicare) and sometimes from the right (on immigration, taxes and mandatory vaccines), but it all came back to the same thing: The frontrunner was befuddled – seemingly stunned that his rivals would question his right to the Republican presidential nomination.

14 Sep 2011

Real-life health risks of outbreak portrayed in the movie 'Contagion'

Two opinion pieces published Monday examine the real-life health risks of an outbreak portrayed in "Contagion," a movie that opened this weekend in which a mysterious airborne virus kills thousands of people.

14 Sep 2011

Consumer concern about food safety declines

Consumer concern about food safety has declined over the past year even as the number of people experiencing serious food-borne illnesses nearly doubled, according to the Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

14 Sep 2011

Positive data from NovaDigm's NDV-3 vaccine program to be presented at ICAAC conference

NovaDigm Therapeutics, a company developing innovative vaccines for fungal and bacterial infections, today announced that the Company will present positive data for its NDV-3 vaccine program at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), taking place September 17-20, 2011 in Chicago, IL.

13 Sep 2011

Cancer prevention tips for men at every stage of life

Men who maintain a healthy body throughout life are often better able to fight off diseases like cancer. That's why experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have created a guide with cancer prevention tips to help men at every stage of life.

13 Sep 2011