Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

McKesson Asia Pacific to be sold to Medibank Private

McKesson Corporation, the world's leading healthcare services company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its McKesson Asia Pacific business to Medibank Private Ltd., the largest private health services and insurer in Australia. The acquisition is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2010, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory review in Australia.

9 Apr 2010

Opinions: Preparing for next flu outbreak; Elections in Zimbabwe; U.S. response to Haiti

Now that concerns about swine flu have eased, "[o]ur fear is that the public and officials will get blase about the next flu outbreak," according to a New York Times editorial. "Efforts to rush vaccine into production did not go well. This dry run should lead health officials to push the vaccine makers even harder to adopt new technologies that can turn out vaccine more quickly.

9 Apr 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals' TLR antagonists exert anti atherogenic effects in preclinical model of atherosclerosis

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented data from a preclinical study evaluating the mechanism of action of a Toll-like Receptor (TLR) antagonist in a preclinical model of atherosclerosis. The presentation entitled "A novel antagonist of TLR7 and TLR9 exerts anti atherogenic effects in ApoE-/- mouse model of atherosclerosis" (abstract P259) was made by Idera scientists at the American Heart Association conference "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 2010 Scientific Sessions" being held April 8-10 in San Francisco, CA.

9 Apr 2010

Reliable immune monitoring tool for assessment of cancer vaccine-induced CD4+ T-cell response

A team of tumor immunologists in France and Switzerland has established an improved, reliable immune monitoring tool that allows for more accurate measurement of the number, subtype, and activity of cancer antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in cancer patients treated with therapeutic cancer vaccines. The new technology may significantly aid tumor immunologists around the world who are working to improve the effectiveness of this emerging and highly promising class of immune system-based cancer therapies.

8 Apr 2010

Enrollment completes for Inovio Biomedical's dose escalation phase I trial of cervical cancer vaccine

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that the company has completed enrollment of all subjects for its therapeutic cervical cancer vaccine (VGX-3100) phase I trial. VGX-3100 is a DNA vaccine targeting the E6 and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, and is delivered via in vivo electroporation.

8 Apr 2010

Single vaccine for anthrax and plague: iBio confirms grant of rights

iBio, Inc. confirmed today the grant of rights to use iBio's proprietary technology, the iBioLaunch™ platform, in support of a $5.3 million government-funded project for the development of a single vaccine to protect against both anthrax and plague. The project will be managed by Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB) pursuant to the long-term agreement between iBio and CMB for advancement of the iBio technology.

8 Apr 2010

Secretary of Health announces five health research grants to improve health of Pennsylvanians

Secretary of Health Everette James today announced five health research grants totaling approximately $20 million will be awarded from Pennsylvania's share of the national tobacco settlement for 2009-2010.

8 Apr 2010

Brazil healthcare market to reach $129.9 billion in 2012

On the road to global economic recovery, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are setting up a new scene. Brazil, in particular, is the 9th economy in the world and is expected to reach the 8th position by 2012. New opportunities set a promising healthcare market perspective with a strong potential for further growth.

7 Apr 2010

StockPreacher.com: GenVec's revenues for 2009 decline by 8%

StockPreacher.com announces an investment report featuring GenVec Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

7 Apr 2010

Major social science study to accompany Bovine TB BVDP

A major social science study to accompany the Government's Bovine TB Badger Vaccine Deployment Project, to be launched this summer [2010], will be led by a researcher from the University of the West of England, with colleagues from the Countryside and Community Research Institute, in collaboration with Exeter and Cardiff Universities, Drew Associates Limited, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the Food and Environment Research Agency.

7 Apr 2010

Gerresheimer AG sets up new sales office in Moscow

Gerresheimer AG has set up a sales office in Moscow. The new representation centre will intensify the Group's business in pharmaceutical primary packaging and drug-delivery systems. "This is a strategically important step to further develop the fast-growing pharma & healthcare markets of Russia and neighboring regions," says Gerresheimer CEO Dr. Axel Herberg.

7 Apr 2010

Antigens of both influenza B virus strains can improve influenza vaccines

Vaccines likely would work better in protecting children from flu if they included both strains of influenza B instead of just one, Saint Louis University research has found.

7 Apr 2010

Jantibody Therapeutics, Pfenex collaborate in production of HSP-avidin fusion proteins

Boston BioCom LLC today announced the successful completion of a collaborative research agreement between its Jantibody Therapeutics LLC subsidiary and Pfenex Inc., resulting in the rapid production of a HSP-avidin fusion protein for the Jantibodies self-assembling vaccines platform.

7 Apr 2010

Has the NHS procured too many swine flu shots?

Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has nearly 34 million unused swine flu vaccines at present due to a drop in the number of cases and these vaccinations. A total 44 million shots were procured. 3.8 million of these unused shots will be sent to Africa via the World Health Organization to help them. Of the rest, 10.6m is already with GPs who will be ready to act if more people entitled to the jab come forward. But the remaining 23.6m will be held in reserve.

7 Apr 2010

Does a seasonal flu shot raise the risk of swine flu?

Four new studies by Canadian researchers have come up with the result that the traditional seasonal flu vaccine that has been used for some time now is related to an increased risk of infection with pandemic H1N1 swine flu.

7 Apr 2010

Crucell, GSK sign agreement to develop 'second generation malaria vaccine'

Crucell, the Dutch biotechnology company, "said on Tuesday it had agreed with Britain's GlaxoSmithKline to jointly develop a malaria vaccine candidate, without disclosing financial details," Reuters reports (Gray-Block, 4/6).

7 Apr 2010

Nationwide Phase III clinical trial of OncoVEX for advanced melanoma

Rush University Medical Center is leading a nationwide Phase III clinical trial to determine whether a promising vaccine for advanced melanoma can effectively treat the deadly skin cancer.

7 Apr 2010

Ontario invests millions of dollars in universal flu vaccine campaign

The millions of dollars invested by the province of Ontario in its universal flu vaccine campaign saves lives and is a sensible investment, according to an economic analysis by a researcher at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network.

7 Apr 2010

Astrogenetix narrows in on MRSA virulence onboard space shuttle Discovery

Astronauts on board Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-131) activated an experiment this morning as part of the ninth scientific payload for Astrogenetix, an Austin, Texas-based commercial biotech company. Astrogenetix is conducting the International Space Station National Laboratory Pathfinder Vaccine (NLP-V) missions to take advantage of the unique conditions of microgravity to uncover changes in bacteria that can be targeted to create new vaccines and therapeutics.

6 Apr 2010

Sinovac Biotech's fourth-quarter sales increase 194%

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading China-based vaccine manufacturer, announced today its unaudited financial results for the three-month and preliminary twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2009.

6 Apr 2010