Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

U.S. leading fight against NTDs

Bernard Pecoul, executive director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, and Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and editor-in-chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, write in this PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog post that the first-ever neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) meeting of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, which is taking place this weekend in Boston, "offers an opportunity for U.S. policy-makers...

8 Jul 2011

Scientists discover mechanism that enables developing cancer cells to sustain abnormal growth

Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered a basic mechanism that can enable developing cancer cells to sustain abnormal growth. The finding is expected to lead to the targeting of this mechanism with drugs and diagnostic techniques.

8 Jul 2011

Merck decides not to advance IMO-2055 development for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Idera Pharmaceuticals today provides an update on the clinical development of IMO-2055 (EMD 1201081), a TLR9 agonist for cancer treatment being developed by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, under its collaboration with Idera.

8 Jul 2011

Cash incentives for vaccination are ethical and economical

Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center, and Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the Center for Global Development, in this CGD "Global Health Policy" blog post present their reasons as to why cash transfers for vaccinations are economically and ethically sound.

8 Jul 2011

Pediatricians debunk pearls of medical wisdom

Don't Cross Your Eyes-They'll Get Stuck that Way!, a new book by myth-fighting Indiana University School of Medicine pediatricians Aaron Carroll, M.D., M.S., and Rachel Vreeman, M.D., M.S., debunks the pearls of medical wisdom that many people and even their physicians believe are true. Be prepared to revise your thinking; no, an apple a day won't keep the doctor away and no, warm milk won't help you sleep.

8 Jul 2011

New technique may help scientists probe mysteries of many different stem cells

Researchers at the Salk Institute have been able to genetically incorporate "unnatural" amino acids, such as those emitting green fluorescence, into neural stem cells, which then differentiate into brain neurons with the incandescent "tag" intact.

8 Jul 2011

Collaborative research discovers broadly acting antibody against influenza viruses

Annually changing flu vaccines with their hit-and-miss effectiveness may soon give way to a single, near-universal flu vaccine, according to a new report from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell. They describe an antibody that, in animal tests, can prevent or cure infections with a broad variety of influenza viruses, including seasonal and potentially pandemic strains.

8 Jul 2011

Novartis Afinitor Phase III trial on tuberous sclerosis meets primary endpoint

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today Phase III trial results that showed more than one-third of patients taking Afinitor tablets experienced a 50% or greater reduction in the size of their subependymal giant cell astrocytomas, non-cancerous brain tumors associated with tuberous sclerosis complex.

8 Jul 2011

Heartworm medication Ivermectin prevents malaria transmission in Africa

A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study published in the July edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

7 Jul 2011

Final Atlantis space trip may open new era of research into infectious diseases

On July 8, at approximately 11:26 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle Atlantis will streak skyward from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, for one last mission. While the STS-135 flight marks the end of the space shuttle's glory days, its final trip may open a new era of research into infectious diseases, thanks to space bound experiments conducted by Dr's. Cheryl Nickerson, and Roy Curtiss III, along with their colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

7 Jul 2011

Medicare coverage, pricey cancer drugs and the 'rationing' issue

As health care costs play an ever-increasing role in Washington's budget drama, Medicare officials announced last week they will continue to pay for two extremely expensive cancer treatments despite lingering questions about their effectiveness. At a cost of about $88,000 per year, the cancer-fighting Avastin will still be available to eligible senior citizens for breast cancer treatment.

7 Jul 2011

New tools can significantly reduce HIV/AIDS worldwide

We are entering a new era in HIV prevention. PEPFAR promoted a 'combination prevention' strategy from the beginning. But the tools were limited. Scientific advances could give individuals the ability to determine the prevention intervention that works best for them.

6 Jul 2011

AIDS vaccine may be far off, but path to it is getting clearer

In his latest Washington Post opinion piece, columnist Michael Gerson highlights scientific efforts to create an AIDS vaccine, noting the work of researchers at the Vaccine Research Center.

6 Jul 2011

Drug companies' desires to maintain status quo are 'lethal'

In the second of a two-part Al Jazeera opinion piece series "examining the methods by which multinational drug corporations inflate their expenses and justify their pricing strategies," Khadija Sharife, a journalist and visiting scholar at the Center for Civil Society, looks at U.S. tax laws, lax oversight of international clinical trials, the cost of research on new pharmaceutical compounds, and vaccine manufacturing.

6 Jul 2011

New study reaffirms safety of seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines

Back in spring 2009, the H1N1 influenza virus crossed the U.S. border and raised concerns that it might cause a full-scale epidemic in the fall. The Food and Drug Administration worked with other Health and Human Services agencies and vaccine manufacturers to quickly develop, license and distribute a vaccine to protect the public from this particularly virulent strain of the flu.

5 Jul 2011

Lancet seminar on tuberculosis

The current issue of the Lancet features a seminar on tuberculosis that "presents current perspectives on the scale of the epidemic, the pathogen and the host response, present and emerging methods for disease control, and the ongoing challenge of tuberculosis control in adults in the 21st century".

2 Jul 2011

European joint project to develop novel HCV vaccine based on nanotechnology

HCVAX is a European joint project that reaches out to develop a vaccine against hepatitis C based on nanotechnology. The German Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and its department "Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology" is now a part of the transnational consortium with researchers from Germany, France and Switzerland.

2 Jul 2011

Checklist to stay healthy and active in summer

The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, doing an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path -- this is the time for activity.

2 Jul 2011

STSI receives NIH grant to conduct heart-based research

Researchers looking to find a root cause for heart attacks and coronary artery disease will soon begin using a novel investigative approach that borders on science fiction as they work toward the holy grail of American medicine: preventing the nation's No. 1 killer.

2 Jul 2011

Medicare to cover 2 expensive cancer drugs

Medicare confirmed on Thursday that it would continue to pay for two expensive cancer drugs that had been at the center of debate — Avastin from Genentech for breast cancer and Provenge from Dendreon for prostate cancer.

2 Jul 2011