Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

MMRGlobal, VZJ to launch consumer and professional health IT products

MMRGlobal, Inc. and VisiInc PLC have entered into an agreement to launch MMRGlobal's patented consumer and professional health IT products and services, including MMRPro for healthcare professionals and the MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record (PHR), on the Visi platform utilizing the Vistime product.

1 Jun 2011

UNICEF publishes vaccine costs in an effort to promote price competition

UNICEF for the first time on Friday published the prices it pays pharmaceutical companies for vaccines, "as the world's biggest buyer of lifesaving immunizations aims to spark price competition in the face of rising costs," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (5/28).

1 Jun 2011

Lymphoma vaccine extends disease-free survival by 14 months

A lymphoma vaccine uniquely tailored for each patient extends disease-free survival by 14 months, with signs of an even better response for patients with a specific biological marker, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported today in the online version of Journal of Clinical Oncology.

1 Jun 2011

NIH scientists discuss expanded HIV testing and new prevention tools

In the 30 years since the first reported cases of a mysterious illness now known as AIDS, researchers have made extraordinary advances in understanding, treating and preventing the disease.

1 Jun 2011

Scientists find increases in rain and temperature could signal deadly cholera outbreaks months before they strike

With recent deadly cholera outbreaks in Haiti and Cameroon providing the latest indication of a menacingly resurgent disease, scientists have discovered rain and temperature fluctuations in at-risk areas could predict epidemics months in advance, according to a new study published today in the June 2011 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

1 Jun 2011

AIDS epidemic turns 30

It is 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It was fatal then but has now become a treatable, if still incurable, chronic illness. AIDS therapy now has tools that prolong the lives of people infected with the virus and prevent others from acquiring it. They range from antiretroviral therapy (ART), to circumcision and campaigns to reduce promiscuity. On the horizon are gels and pills that protect against infection during intercourse. Even the outlook for an AIDS vaccine is no longer as bleak as it used to be.

31 May 2011

Scientists develop carbohydrate-based vaccine against C. difficile infection

There is now a promising vaccine candidate for combating the pathogen which causes one of the most common and dangerous hospital infections. An international team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam has developed a vaccine based on a carbohydrate against the Clostridium difficile bacterium, which is known to cause serious gastrointestinal diseases mainly in hospitals.

31 May 2011

Flu vaccines at the ready this season

Manufacturers of flu vaccines are nearly ready with the new supply of vaccinations for this upcoming flu season in the northern hemisphere. Two weeks ago, five vaccine manufacturers announced plans to make between 166 million and 173 million doses for the coming season. That's at least 6 million more than the maximum ever produced. However they add that many might not actually need the shots.

29 May 2011

Appointment of drug company to GAVI board draws criticism from NGOs

The appointment of Dutch pharmaceutical company Crucell, recently acquired by Johnson & Johnson, to the board of the GAVI Alliance is "sparking concerns over conflicts of interest and demands for tougher competition to reduce prices," the Financial Times reports.

27 May 2011

Emergent in active discussions with U.S. government for multi-year supply of BioThrax to the SNS

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. today announced that the U.S. government has indicated its intention to award Emergent a sole source contract (RFP-2011-N-13414) for the purchase of 44.75 million doses of BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) for inclusion in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) over a 5 year period.

27 May 2011

Nature special issue focuses on vaccines

The May 26 issue of Nature explores vaccines, which the journal says "are responsible for some of the world's greatest public health triumphs." Though new vaccines for deadly diseases have been developed in the past 10 years, and more are in development, "funding is tight, and unfounded doubts about the safety of vaccines persist." The issue features stories on polio, measles, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as issues surrounding vaccine rejection and hysteria about risk.

27 May 2011

Research provides new understanding of how heroin affects the brain

New research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health suggests that our understanding of how heroin affects the brain should be changed. A new report shows that heroin is metabolised to 6-MAM which then crosses the blood-brain barrier to cause the intoxicating effects that arise shortly after heroin administration.

27 May 2011

Nuron secures option, license deal to develop NU400 for Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Nuron Biotech Inc., a specialty biologics and vaccines company, today announced that it has secured an exclusive option and license agreement utilizing PolyTherics' site-specific TheraPEG PEGylation technology to develop NU400, a long-acting version of Nuron's proprietary recombinant human interferon beta-1b.

27 May 2011

Positive results from CEL-SCI's LEAPS H1N1-activated dendritic cells trial in mice

CEL-SCI Corporation today announced the positive results of efficacy studies in mice of L.E.A.P.S.TM H1N1 activated dendritic cells to treat the H1N1 virus.

27 May 2011

Longer looks: Stem cells, vaccinating against addictive drugs, the GOP's budget hatchet man

Krista and Tatiana are not like most other sets of twins. They are connected at their heads, where their skulls merge under a mass of shaggy brown bangs. The girls run and play and go down their backyard slide, but whatever they do, they do together, their heads forever inclined toward each other's, their neck muscles strong and sinuous from a never-ending workout. Twins joined at the head — the medical term is craniopagus — are extremely rare.

27 May 2011

Germany increases funding for GAVI Alliance to €30 million

Germany said on Wednesday it will contribute €30 million to the GAVI Alliance in 2012, up from €20 million in 2011, to support childhood immunisation in developing countries.

26 May 2011

Cattle plague – rinderpest, eradicated for good

As welcome news, world farm monitors on Wednesday declared a cattle-killing virus that has been a curse through the ages as eradicated. This is the first time an animal disease has been eradicated in human history. The global watchdog for farm-animal trade approved a report certifying that the last 14 countries of the world were free of rinderpest, also called cattle plague.

26 May 2011

Specific influenza immunization strategies for RA patients may be required for future flu pandemics

A Brazilian hospital-based study assessed responses to flu vaccines in 340 RA patients in regular follow-up compared to 234 healthy patients.

26 May 2011

Medicago, USAMRIID enter research collaboration for Ebola vaccine candidate

Medicago Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) for the development of a plant-based VLP vaccine candidate for the prevention of Ebola. Ebola is a very serious hemorrhagic fever virus for which no licensed treatment or vaccine exists.

26 May 2011

iBioLaunch Platform successfully expresses hookworm-derived molecule for potential vaccine

iBio, Inc. today announced that its proprietary iBioLaunch Platform successfully expressed the hookworm-derived molecule known as NaAPR1M-74, which will be evaluated as a potential vaccine candidate for human hookworm disease.

26 May 2011