Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Four companies receive NIAID contracts to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics

Four companies are to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics-antibiotics, antivirals and an antitoxin-to prevent or treat diseases caused by multiple types of bacteria or viruses, under contracts awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

14 Oct 2011

USAID award supports study of SILCS diaphragm plus tenofovir gel on HIV, HSV

USAID awarded CONRAD a five year project with a $2 million ceiling to focus on testing the safety and effectiveness of the SILCS diaphragm, the one-size-fits-most contraceptive barrier, combined with tenofovir gel -- the only topical product proven to prevent the acquisition of HIV and Herpes Simplex Virus.

14 Oct 2011

Merck announces results from ISENTRESS Phase III combination study on HIV-1

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced results of new exploratory pre-specified analyses from the ongoing STARTMRK Phase III study of its integrase inhibitor ISENTRESS (raltegravir) Tablets in combination therapy compared to efavirenz in combination therapy in previously untreated adult HIV-1-infected patients.

14 Oct 2011

Positive data from Anadys' setrobuvir Phase IIb combination study on genotype 1 HCV

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today released interim antiviral response and safety data from an ongoing Phase IIb study of setrobuvir in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (P/R) in genotype 1 hepatitis C patients.

14 Oct 2011

Insight into how powerful anti-HIV antibody grabs hold of the virus

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the surprising details of how a powerful anti-HIV antibody grabs hold of the virus. The findings, published in Science Express on October 13, 2011, highlight a major vulnerability of HIV and suggest a new target for vaccine development.

14 Oct 2011

Dual drug sneaks across the blood-brain barrier to fight HIV

In an advance toward eliminating pockets of infection in the brain that help make HIV disease incurable, scientists report the development of new substances that first plug the biological vacuum cleaner that prevents anti-HIV drugs from reaching the brain and then revert to an active drug to treat HIV.

14 Oct 2011

InnaVirVax announces Phase I/IIa clinical trial authorization for its VAC-3S HIV vaccine

InnaVirVax, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of therapeutic and diagnostic solutions in pathologies associated with immune dysregulation, declared today that it has obtained authorization from the French drug agency (AFSSAPS) to start a Phase I/IIa clinical study of its therapeutic vaccine VAC-3S for the treatment of HIV infections. This authorization intervenes only two years and half after the launching of InnaVirVax’s activities.

14 Oct 2011

New insights into how adenovirus triggers an immune response

A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study could lead to improved gene therapies for conditions such as heart disease and cancer as well as more effective vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.

13 Oct 2011

U of U researchers receive NIH grant to uncover viral cause of MS

A team of investigators from the University of Utah has received a two-year, $275,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund novel research that may help to uncover a viral cause for the most acute and severe form of multiple sclerosis.

13 Oct 2011

Roche launches LightCycler Nano real-time PCR system in the U.S.

Roche announced today the U.S. launch of the latest addition to the company's real-time PCR portfolio of LightCycler instruments for use in research, the LightCycler Nano real-time PCR system.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 13 Oct 2011

Breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics

A breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics could open the way to new treatments and the development of a vaccine for this sexually transmitted disease.

13 Oct 2011

New robust technique holds promise for identifying trace mutant DNA sequences

Molecular DNA testing methods offer clinicians powerful tools that serve to confirm or identify disease diagnoses. High sensitivity and high specificity, however, are frequently a challenge to achieve with these methods. In a study scheduled for publication in the November issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, researchers describe a new, robust technique that holds promise for identifying trace mutant DNA sequences in an overwhelming population of unmutated DNA.

12 Oct 2011

PROLOR receives U.S. patent allowance for CTP-modified interferons

PROLOR Biotech, Inc. today announced that it received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for a patent application covering PROLOR's CTP-modified interferons.

12 Oct 2011

AzTE, Roche sign license agreement to develop revolutionary DNA sequencing system

Roche and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE) announced today an agreement to license several technologies developed by Dr. Stuart Lindsay at the Biodesign Institute- at Arizona State University and Dr. Colin Nuckolls of the Columbia University Nanoscience Center for the development of a revolutionary DNA sequencing system.

12 Oct 2011

Vertex announces availability of INCIVEK to treat hepatitis C in Canada

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets are now available in Canada for people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C with compensated liver disease, including cirrhosis.

11 Oct 2011

Roche NimbleGen launches pre-capture multiplex target enrichment protocol

With the decreasing cost and increasing throughput of sequencing, researchers require a high-performance, cost-effective sample preparation pipeline for targeted sequencing. To enable researchers to more readily match targeted sequencing sample preparation throughput to the ever increasing throughput of next-generation sequencing, Roche NimbleGen announces the imminent launch of a pre-capture multiplex target enrichment protocol.

11 Oct 2011

Scripps Research receives NIH grant to determine how HCV induces liver cancer

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $2.2 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine how the hepatitis C virus (HCV) induces liver cancer.

11 Oct 2011

Roche's gantenerumab removes amyloid plaques from the brain of patients with AD

Roche today announced the publication of a study demonstrating that its monoclonal antibody gantenerumab removes amyloid plaques from the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The study "Mechanism of amyloid removal in patients with Alzheimer disease treated with gantenerumab" is published today in the October issue of Archives in Neurology.

11 Oct 2011

Positive results from Biotron's BIT225 Phase 2a trial on HCV

Australian drug development company Biotron Limited has released headline results from its landmark Phase 2a trial of its lead drug candidate, BIT225 in Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients.

11 Oct 2011

Coridon demonstrates 100% protection using DNA HSV-2 vaccine

DNA vaccine development company Coridon Pty Ltd. today announced that it had successfully completed pre-clinical efficacy testing of its prototype Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) vaccine, with outstanding results. The company will now look to progress the program into clinical studies.

10 Oct 2011