Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Bill Gates calls for renewed focus on reducing new HIV infections

Speaking to the 18th International AIDS Conference today, Bill Gates called on all countries to keep up the fight against HIV/AIDS, saying the world has an historic opportunity to "change the face of AIDS." Mr. Gates said current efforts to treat people with HIV are saving millions of lives, and urged a renewed focus on reducing annual new HIV infections up to 90% by 2031, the year that will mark 50 years of the AIDS epidemic.

20 Jul 2010

Ratio secures equity financing

Ratio, Inc. has secured equity financing from regional angel investors and angel networks. The groups participating in the round include Wisconsin Investment Partners, The Golden Angels Network, Stateline Angels, and Central Illinois Angels. The company is keeping the round of financing open for 120 days and actively pursuing further investment.

20 Jul 2010

AIDS 2010 studies, releases: Treating HIV-positive patients with ARVs drove down number of new HIV infections, study finds

"Treating HIV patients with cocktails of AIDS drugs helps to stop them spreading the infection further and more than halved the number of new HIV diagnoses in a study in Canada, scientists said on Sunday," Reuters reports.

20 Jul 2010

Plea for Federal legislation to ban mercury in vaccines, prevent autism

Two papers in this week's neuroscience journal Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis point to vaccines and heavy metals including mercury as causes of the alarming rise in autism. The Centers for Disease Control now estimate autism to affect one in 110 children, up 40% from just a few years ago.

20 Jul 2010

Geron commences enrollment in imetelstat Phase 2 clinical trial for NSCLC

Geron Corporation today announced enrollment of the first patient in a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial of its telomerase inhibitor drug, imetelstat (GRN163L), as maintenance therapy following platinum-based induction therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

19 Jul 2010

Encorium CRO acquires Progenitor

Encorium Group, Inc., a full service multinational clinical research organization (CRO) conducting studies in over 30 countries for many of the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, today announced that it has acquired Progenitor Holdings AG, a corporation organized in Switzerland and its wholly-owned subsidiaries organized in Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, India and Hong Kong for cash and stock valued at EURO 1.7 million, plus earn-out consideration of cash and stock with a value of up to EURO 1.5 million.

19 Jul 2010

Phase II data on Genetic Immunity's DermaVir vaccine to be presented at XVIII International AIDS Conference

Genetic Immunity, a US/Hungarian biopharmaceutical company developing nanomedicine-based immunotherapies for HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases, is releasing Phase II data on the Company's novel DermaVir therapeutic vaccine for HIV/AIDS during the XVIII International AIDS Conference this week in Vienna, Austria. DermaVir, the first dendritic cell-targeting topical HIV vaccine candidate, employs nanotechnology to induce multi-faceted and long-lived immune responses capable of eliminating HIV infected cells.

19 Jul 2010

FIT Biotech to present results of FIT-06 Phase II clinical trial at XVIII International AIDS 2010 Conference

FIT Biotech, a privately held biotechnology company developing novel, proprietary immunotherapies for HIV/AIDS and other viral diseases, announced results today from a Phase II clinical trial. The company's immunomodulator FIT-06 showed unprecedented long-term reductions in viral load (approximately 0.5 log) and statistically significant CD4 cell count increases in HIV-infected, previously untreated patients. The effect lasted longer than two years in the absence of any anti-retroviral therapy.

19 Jul 2010

Study evaluates immunization benefits of dissolving microneedles

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could allow persons without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines - while providing improved immunization against diseases such as influenza.

19 Jul 2010

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine appears to reduce pneumonia, serious complications in infants: Research

A pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduced in the U.S. 10 years ago appears to reduce pneumonia and serious associated complications, such as blood infections, in the vaccine's target range, children less than a year old, according to new research.

19 Jul 2010

Effective AIDS treatment but poor accessibility: Report from International AIDS conference 2010

At the 18th AIDS conference 2010 in Vienna, Julio Montaner — the President of the International AIDS Society and Chairman of the AIDS 2010 conference said this Sunday that the G-8 countries were not doing enough to ensure treatment of all people infected with HIV and AIDS. He said, “This is a very serious deficit… Let's rejoice in the fact that today we have treatments that work ... what we need is the political will to go the extra mile to deliver universal access.”

18 Jul 2010

BioRadar develops TransFMDV for Foot and Mouth Disease

BioRadar UK Ltd. predicted one year ago the current severe Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks after recording an increase of the Replikin Count (ref. 1) of the FMD Virus (FMDV) to its highest level in 52 years. Based on these findings, a new synthetic Replikins Trans-Strain FMD Vaccine, called TransFMDV(TM), has been developed and is now available. The announcement was made at the recent Biorbis Conference on Vaccine Production and Manufacturing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The conference was attended by major pharmaceutical company executives to examine how vaccine production could be accelerated in view of the problem last year of responding "too little, too late" to the H1N1 influenza pandemic.

17 Jul 2010

IAS announces winners of four scientific awards to be presented at AIDS 2010

The International AIDS Society (IAS) announced today the ten winners of four prestigious scientific awards, to be presented at plenary sessions during the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010). Presented by the IAS and partners, these awards recognize scientists involved in innovative HIV and AIDS research throughout the world. "The quality of work represented by the 2010 awardees is remarkable," said IAS President Julio Montaner. "The IAS hopes to draw the world's attention to these individuals and to their significant scientific accomplishments, as well as to the continued need for innovation in all of the major areas of HIV and AIDS research, represented by the six conference programme tracks."

17 Jul 2010

Study examines HIV-positive patients' death risk at CD4 counts above 350

"Having HIV appears to be associated with a greater risk of death, even when the immune system is relatively robust and patients have not started treatment," according to a study published Friday in the Lancet, MedPage Today reports (Smith, 7/15).

17 Jul 2010

Also in Global Health News: WHO reacts to Amnesty's N. Korea report; Universal flu vaccine; Malaria-resistant mosquitoes

The WHO is questioning the validity of the findings of a recent Amnesty International report which highlighted the dire needs of North Korea's health system, "contradict[ing] the rosier picture given by WHO chief Margaret Chan after her April trip there," the Associated Press reports. Although WHO spokesman Paul Garwood "insisted he wasn't criticizing Amnesty's work … he said Thursday's report was anecdotal, with stories dating back to 2001," which "[h]e contrasted … with WHO's science-based approach" (7/16).

17 Jul 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

As part of a series in advance of AIDS 2010, the "Science Speaks" blog features an interview with U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby "about his expectations for the conference, what was behind the Uganda problem with shortages of AIDS medicine, and whether The New York Times was right when it reported in May that the Ugandan drug shortfall was 'the first example … of how the war on AIDS is falling apart.'"

16 Jul 2010

Lyophilized rPA anthrax vaccine more immunogenic than liquid formulation: Study

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, today announced results from a New Zealand White Rabbit study showing that its lyophilized recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine was more immunogenic than a liquid formulation of rPA vaccine and produced a robust response with only 2 doses.

16 Jul 2010

Aeras, CHC collaborate in Cambodian tuberculosis prevalence study

The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation and the Cambodian Health Committee today announce the initiation of a study of tuberculosis prevalence in Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia, beginning this month. This is the first study conducted in partnership by the two non-profit research organizations and the first Aeras-sponsored study to be conducted in Cambodia.

16 Jul 2010

Hemispherx publishes report of Japanese government funded program to develop nasally delivered H5N1 vaccine

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced that it was publicizing the full technical (unedited) report in Japanese, prepared by Hideki Hasegawa, M.D. Ph.D., Director, Laboratory of Infectious Disease Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Disease (NIID, formerly Japan's National Institute of Health) and the certified English translation.

16 Jul 2010

Bill Gates emphasizes need for increased efficiency in HIV prevention, treatment programs

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "urged governments and health advocates Tuesday to 'get more out of every dollar' in the fight against AIDS, saying the global economic downturn has hit funding for the disease," Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Jul 2010