Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

UK MRC, Humabs discover first neutralizing antibody that targets all influenza A subtypes

A paper published today in the scientific research journal Science, describes a novel, proprietary monoclonal antibody (FI6) discovered in a collaboration between Humabs BioMed SA, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the UK Medical Research Council.

29 Jul 2011

Male circumcision may reduce HPV-associated penile precancerous lesions

A University of North Carolina-led international study shows that among Kenyan men, circumcision is associated with a lower prevalence of human papillomavirus-associated precancerous lesions of the penis.

29 Jul 2011

Tips to make family vacations less hazardous for kids and parents

Family vacations live in infamy. Sometimes it's for the lasting memories of family bonding and new wonders experienced together, and sometimes for the horrors of just trying to get to a destination.

29 Jul 2011

Sigma-Tau, Soligenix expand partnership to develop and commercialize orBec in Europe

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announces the expansion and amendment of its North American licensing partnership with Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the development and commercialization of orBec into the European territory.

29 Jul 2011

Sorrento receives NIAID Phase I STTR grant to develop vaccines against C. difficile infection

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

29 Jul 2011

Universal flu vaccine with super antibodies in near future

Researchers are close to developing a “super antibody” against flu that could be used as a universal treatment and pave the way for the development of a universal vaccine against the disease that affects billions of people every year.

29 Jul 2011

USAID releases new issue of Frontlines

The June/July issue of USAID's Frontlines focuses on climate change, including an article on how Kenyan farmers are adapting to environmental changes. The issue also includes articles on how the search for an HIV vaccine has boosted African research and on the introduction of the GeneXpert tuberculosis test in Central Asia.

28 Jul 2011

CIA's use of vaccine program to hunt Bin Laden hurt U.S. health diplomacy

The incoming C.I.A. director, David Petraeus, ought to impose clear restrictions and prohibitions on medically oriented spy tactics so that the integrity and humanitarian purpose of U.S. health aid are affirmed and that current and future health aid operations will not be misused," Jack Chow, a former U.S. global AIDS ambassador and assistant director-general of the WHO, writes in a New York Times opinion piece responding to reports that the U.S. used a vaccination campaign in Pakistan to help locate and kill Osama bin Laden.

28 Jul 2011

Control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases can help treat HIV/AIDS

There is a growing body of evidence revealing the connection between neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and HIV/AIDS, prompting experts to call for greater integration of national NTD treatment programs with HIV/AIDS initiatives.

28 Jul 2011

Efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, NTDs should be integrated

"The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) produce a devastating level of chronic disability in sub-Saharan Africa, with some estimates suggesting that the NTD disease burden exceeds tuberculosis and is one-half that of malaria," Julie Noblick and Richard Skolnick of George Washington University and Peter Hotez of the Sabin Vaccine Institute write in a PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases editorial.

28 Jul 2011

UNICEF in new African vaccine drive

UNICEF (UN Children's Fund), has launched a massive vaccination campaign across the Horn of Africa to protect 2.5 million children against diseases like measles, which can be deadly for malnourished children. This drive would include a strategy to vaccinate every child in Somalia (under the age of 15) against measles.

27 Jul 2011

World leaders should either scale up commitment to polio eradication significantly or abandon goal

"There are few ideas as powerful as the eradication of a human disease. But the euphoria around the world's single success to date - that of smallpox - has led to ever more costly efforts to do the same for polio. World leaders need either to radically step up their commitment or have the courage to abandon the goal explicitly," a Financial Times editorial states

27 Jul 2011

Follow-up dose recommended to defend children against pandemic virus outbreaks

Researchers from Australia determined that pediatric liver transplant patients who received a single-dose of the H1N1 vaccine were not adequately protected against the virus compared to healthy children.

27 Jul 2011

Majority of parents unaware of medical research participation opportunities for children

One in nine adults have participated in medical research. In contrast, only one in 20 children have done so. Those are the findings of a poll earlier this year by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. The poll asked adults and parents about their views on medical research and past participation for themselves and their children.

26 Jul 2011

GCMS, PBS Biotech sign distribution agreement for single-use bioreactors in Korea

PBS Biotech, Inc., a developer of state of the art single-use bioreactors for the fast growing biotechnology market, announced today it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement in Korea with Green Cross Medical Sciences Corp. (GCMS), a division of Green Cross Corporation, one of Korea's largest pharmaceutical firms.

26 Jul 2011

PharmaNet to assist BrainStorm in obtaining FDA approval for ALS human clinical trials

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., an innovative developer of adult stem cell technologies and CNS therapeutics, announced today that it has signed an agreement with PharmaNet LLC, an inVentiv Health Company, to assist in the development of the protocol and IND file for submission to the FDA for approval of BrainStorm's ALS human clinical trials in the United States.

26 Jul 2011

CNBG, Aeras sign MOU to develop TB vaccines in China and around the world

Aeras and the China National Biotech Group (CNBG) today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the organizations to pursue opportunities to jointly develop tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in China and potentially other parts of the world.

26 Jul 2011

CRI announces new changes to cancer research funding programs

Cancer Research Institute, Inc. (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 1953 to advance the science of tumor immunology and foster the discovery of new cancer immunotherapies, announced today new changes and additions to its research funding programs.

26 Jul 2011

Adaptimmune announces opening of pilot clinical trial in synovial sarcoma

Adaptimmune announced today that it has opened a Pilot, open-label clinical trial in synovial sarcoma at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, Maryland, testing its enhanced T cell receptor T cell therapy. A second site is planned to open later this year at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

25 Jul 2011

Chicken pox vaccine reduced related deaths by 88%

The team of researchers found that although in 2006 a second dose was added to the vaccination roster, the decrease in deaths occurred largely during the time when just one shot was recommended. While chickenpox-related deaths are now relatively rare, the new two-dose regimen may eliminate them altogether, they said. The double dose will further reduce sick days and medical care associated with chickenpox and its complications, the study authors said.

25 Jul 2011