Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Idera third quarter net loss increases to $5.5 million

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. Idera is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

9 Nov 2011

First-ever phase 1 clinical trial of rectal HIV-prevention drug

A topically applied microbicide gel containing a potent anti-HIV drug has been found to significantly reduce infection when applied to rectal tissue that was subsequently exposed to HIV in the laboratory, according to a new study by the UCLA AIDS Institute.

9 Nov 2011

Interim data from Cytheris CYT107 Phase I/IIa combination study on HCV

Cytheris SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced that data from an interim analysis of its ECLIPSE 2 Phase I/IIa study indicate that treatment with four weeks of the Company's investigative immune-modulator, recombinant human Interleukin-7, added to peginterferon and ribavirin in genotype 1 and 4 treatment experienced patients defined as nonresponders to SOC, induces a broad immune response associated with HCV viral clearance in genotype 1 and 4 treatment experienced patients defined as nonresponders to SOC.

9 Nov 2011

Powerful monitoring tool to track spread of seasonal flu

A powerful monitoring tool that will allow researchers to track the spread of seasonal flu launches today. This year the UK Flusurvey will, for the first time, join a European network of online surveys, gathering information on how the illness spreads across the continent and enabling comparison between the different countries.

9 Nov 2011

Two decades since Magic Johnson’s HIV announcement

It is 20 years since basket ball legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, now 52 years-old, retired from the Lakers basketball team while announcing his diagnosis of HIV, a virus that causes AIDS.

8 Nov 2011

Children's Hospital project to investigate effectiveness of BET antagonists against HIV

Terri Finkel, M.D., Ph.D., chief of Rheumatology at Children's Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will pursue an innovative global health research project, titled "Use of a BET Antagonist to Control and Cure HIV Infection."

8 Nov 2011

Live virus used in polio vaccine can evolve and infect, warns TAU researcher

Health professionals and researchers across the globe believe they are on the verge of eradicating polio, a devastating virus which can lead to paralysis and death. Despite successful eradication in most countries, there are still four countries where the virus is considered endemic -- and many more in which the virus still lurks.

8 Nov 2011

Georgia Tech/CDC project focuses on microneedle patches for polio vaccination

Mark Prausnitz, Regents' professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will pursue an innovative global health research project focused on using microneedle patches for the low-cost administration of polio vaccine through the skin in collaboration with researchers Steve Oberste and Mark Pallansch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

8 Nov 2011

MBL-HCV1 can reduce viral load in liver transplant patients

A human monoclonal antibody developed by MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) given to patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection undergoing liver transplantation significantly suppressed the virus for at least a week after transplant and delayed the time to viral rebound.

8 Nov 2011

Economic burden of chronic hepatitis C-related liver disease

Health care costs for hepatitis C patients with end-stage liver disease are nearly 2.5 times higher than those in the early stages, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

8 Nov 2011

Beware mail order Chicken pox warn Doctors

Doctors have warned against a new trend that has emerged via social networking websites like Facebook - one that guides parents through a process of exposing their children to chicken pox, so that they can get the virus, early and avoid any need for vaccination.

7 Nov 2011

Encouraging results from SEEK's FLU-v Phase II study

SEEK, a leading UK privately-owned drug-discovery group, today announced encouraging results following the successful completion of its Universal Flu Vaccine Phase II challenge study.

7 Nov 2011

Tibotec to present results of TMC435 phase 2b study on HCV at AASLD 2011

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals (Tibotec), one of the Janssen (Janssen) Pharmaceutical Companies, today will present results of the final analysis of PILLAR, a phase 2b study of the investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/4A protease inhibitor TMC435 in treatment-naïve patients with chronic genotype 1 HCV, as part of a late-breaker oral presentation at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, USA.

7 Nov 2011

Study provides blueprint for design of new HIV drugs

Scientists have moved a step closer to understanding how one of our body's own proteins helps stop the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in its tracks.

7 Nov 2011

MRSA co-infection increases risk of flu-related mortality among children

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, many previously healthy children became critically ill, developing severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, sometimes fatal. The largest nationwide investigation to date of influenza in critically ill children, led by Children's Hospital Boston, found one key risk factor: Simultaneous infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the risk for flu-related mortality 8-fold among previously healthy children.

7 Nov 2011

Vertex announces positive interim data from INCIVEK Phase 2 combination trial on HIV, HCV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced positive interim results from an ongoing Phase 2 study designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin in people who are co-infected with chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus.

7 Nov 2011

Researchers discover two effective cancer killers

Researchers at the University of Southern California have identified two molecules that may be more effective cancer killers than are currently available on the market.

7 Nov 2011

New data from Santaris Pharma miravirsen Phase 2a trial on HCV

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, presents new data from the Phase 2a trial showing that miravirsen given as a four-week monotherapy treatment provided robust dose-dependent anti-viral activity with a mean reduction of 2 to 3 logs from baseline in HCV RNA (log10 IU/mL) that was maintained for more than four weeks beyond the end of therapy.

6 Nov 2011

Guardian profiles Anglo American CMO's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

The Guardian profiles Brian Brink, chief medical officer at Anglo American, South Africa's largest private-sector employer, and the company's efforts to treat and prevent HIV among its employees.

5 Nov 2011

HIV and AIDS do not discriminate

They don't discriminate. They can affect the young, older adults and pregnant women. They also strike rich and poor, male and female. People from all walks of life can become infected with HIV and AIDS. Knowing how to prevent them, how to live with them, and the strides made over the years to fight them are essential. This knowledge is one of the main goals of World AIDS Day, which is observed on December 1 each year.

5 Nov 2011