Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

AVAC calls for economic and political support for CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial's critical follow-up studies

AVAC today issues a call to action to donors, policy-makers, researchers and advocates to ensure that critical follow-up studies to the landmark CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial receive the economic and political support needed to move forward as quickly as possible. The call comes as a group of microbicide and public health experts have agreed upon a plan for further studies, which are expected to cost $100 million over three years, of which only $58 million has been committed.

4 Sep 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics updates accomplishments in Letter to Shareholders

As the summer comes to a close, I wanted to update you on the Company's accomplishments this year, which set the stage for an exciting fall. The first eight months of the year have been very successful, with the Company attaining many of its goals, despite a very difficult economic environment, which has created challenges for many small biotechnology companies. Today, IMUC is in its best financial position ever and well positioned to validate the success it achieved in a Phase I trial for ICT-107, its dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine product candidate.

3 Sep 2010

Celldex Therapeutics regains worldwide rights to commercialize rindopepimut therapeutic cancer vaccine

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. announced today it will regain full worldwide rights to develop and commercialize rindopepimut (CDX-110), effective November 1, 2010.

3 Sep 2010

Regional Director of WHO Africa warns of impact global financial situation will have on health systems, MDGs

Regional Director of WHO for Africa Luis Sambo discussed during the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO how the global economic situation could impact funding for health programs in Africa and the ability for countries to reach U.N. Millennium Development Goal targets, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

3 Sep 2010

Research on immune system can develop new therapy for inflammation, tumors

In two closely related studies, two teams of Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered the underlying mechanisms that activate a type of immune cell in the skin and other organs. The findings may lead to the development of new therapies to treat inflammation, wounds, asthma, and malignant tumors.

3 Sep 2010

BARDA awards contract to develop treatment for ionizing radiation exposure

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) today awarded a $153 million contract to Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc. of San Carlos, Calif., to continue developing a new way to treat an illness caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation which can damage the body's cells - the type of radiation that would come from a nuclear blast.

3 Sep 2010

Researchers identify two proteins in cellular response to mechanical stimulation

Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction.

3 Sep 2010

Egg recall raises questions about FDA

The recent salmonella outbreak/egg recall is raising questions about whether the FDA is fulfilling its regulatory role, PBS' NewsHour reports. "For the past few years, it's been one food safety scare after another. There was E. coli-laced spinach, salmonella-tainted peppers. ... There have also been problems with drugs. The ingredients in a contaminated blood thinner came from China.

3 Sep 2010

Cedric – the Tasmanian devil - dies of facial tumors

Cedric, a captive born Tasmanian devil climbed to fame in 2007 when it was shown that he was genetically resistant to facial tumors. Initially he and his half-brother Clinky were given a vaccine of sorts containing dead tumor cells and later “challenged” with live tumor cells by the University of Tasmania researchers in 2007. Clinky developed the cancer, but Cedric did not - starting hopes that he had an immunity that could help scientists develop a vaccine.

2 Sep 2010

iBio and CMB enter development and marketing collaboration with GE Healthcare

iBio, Inc., its development collaborator, Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB), and GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, today announced their entry into an agreement to jointly develop and globally market manufacturing solutions for biopharmaceuticals and vaccines based upon their respective proprietary technologies.

2 Sep 2010

Emergent BioSolutions signs contract with NIAID to develop third generation anthrax vaccine candidate

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that it has signed a contract valued at up to $28.7 million with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an institute within the National Institutes of Health, for advanced development of the company's third generation anthrax vaccine candidate.

2 Sep 2010

Researchers clear hurdle on path toward gene-therapy treatment for disease

One of the most difficult aspects of working at the nanoscale is actually seeing the object being worked on. Biological structures like viruses, which are smaller than the wavelength of light, are invisible to standard optical microscopes and difficult to capture in their native form with other imaging techniques.

2 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 2, 2010

Today's headlines include reports about a new study examining the impact of the health overhaul on the small business workforce.

2 Sep 2010

First Phase I/II clinical trial to test MK-0752 in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

Cancer Research UK's Drug Development Office has launched a clinical trial* to test an experimental drug in patients with advanced (Stage IV) pancreatic cancer - one of the most difficult cancers to treat.

2 Sep 2010

HIV-infected children who receive HAART require revaccination: Researchers

HIV-infected children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy may require revaccination to maintain immunity against preventable diseases. There remains no standard or official recommendation on revaccination of children receiving HAART, an effective intervention in reducing morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children.

2 Sep 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, Diosynth sign long-term commercial manufacturing agreement

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced today that it has entered into a long-term commercial manufacturing agreement with Diosynth RTP, Inc. for the manufacture of Drug Substance integral to the production of NicVAX, Nabi's innovative and proprietary investigational vaccine for the treatment of nicotine addiction and prevention of smoking relapse.

2 Sep 2010

Unitract Tuberculin syringe clears FDA 510k market clearance

Unilife Corporation, today announced that its Unitract Tuberculin (TB) Syringe has received 510(k) market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

2 Sep 2010

Abbott RealTime HBV assay receives marketing approval from FDA

Abbott announced today it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the Abbott RealTime HBV assay for measuring viral load or the amount of hepatitis B virus in a patient's blood. It is the first and only approved test capable of automating HBV viral load testing from sample extraction to final results.

2 Sep 2010

Neutralizing key toxin associated with Staph aureus bacteria reduces severity of skin and soft-tissue damage

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health and University of Chicago have found a promising treatment method that in laboratory mice reduces the severity of skin and soft-tissue damage caused by USA300, the leading cause of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States.

2 Sep 2010

Researchers find new fusion protein for E.coli bacterium vaccine development

South Dakota State University research is exploring a "fusion strategy" for making improved vaccines to protect pigs and humans against some strains of E. coli.

2 Sep 2010