Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Improving immune system to defend against HIV infection

Researchers have been stymied for years over the fact that people infected with the AIDS virus do indeed produce antibodies in response to the pathogen - antibodies that turn out to be ineffective in blocking infection.

19 Nov 2010

Alnylam presents data on RNAi technologies at MIT Center Summit

Alnylam Biotherapeutics, a division of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, presented new data at the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation's Biomanufacturing Summit from its platform efforts aimed at developing RNAi technologies for applications in biologics manufacturing.

19 Nov 2010

Despite progress in testing Americans for HIV, lack of federal/private insurance impedes expansion

With projections that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection rates are increasing in some populations, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop -- who charted the nation's policies on HIV/AIDS following the first deaths from AIDS in 1981 -- today issued a stern warning to the public health community: HIV/AIDS continues to be a major epidemic and requires a national mobilization to identify and provide immediate care for many Americans with HIV who remain undiagnosed -- an estimated 200,000 people.

18 Nov 2010

CDC data: Adults remain unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that adults remain largely unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses.

18 Nov 2010

Gen-Probe's APTIMA HPV assay effective for cervical cancer screening: FASE study

In a study published today in the International Journal of Cancer, Gen-Probe's APTIMA HPV Assay provided a better combination of sensitivity and specificity than HPV DNA- or cytology-based tests for cervical cancer screening.

18 Nov 2010

Medivir AB reports positive interim data on Phase 2b ASPIRE study for hepatitis C

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases announces today positive top-line 24-week interim data from the Phase 2b ASPIRE (C206) study of TMC435 in treatment-experienced hepatitis C patients.

18 Nov 2010

Scientists solve structure of key protein from Lassa virus

Scientists at Emory University and the University of St. Andrews have solved the structure of a key protein from Lassa virus, which is endemic to West Africa and can cause a deadly hemorrhagic fever.

18 Nov 2010

miR765 RNA may play a role in development of heart failure: Research

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found a potential genetic target for heart disease, which could lead to therapies to prevent the development of the nation's No. 1 killer in its initial stages.

18 Nov 2010

BioSante announces sale of oncolytic virus technology to Cold Genesys

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced it sold to Cold Genesys, Inc. exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize its oncolytic virus technology. The technology includes CG0070, a replication-competent adenovirus that has completed a Phase I clinical trial for treatment of superficial bladder cancer. In exchange for the technology, BioSante received a 19.9 percent ownership position in Cold Genesys and a $95,000 upfront cash payment and is eligible to receive future milestone and royalty payments.

18 Nov 2010

Viruses lead to discovery of security system in host cells

Viruses have led scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to the discovery of a security system in host cells.

18 Nov 2010

Nanotrope assay receives U.S. patent for diagnosing influenza and viral infections

Nanotrope, Inc. announced today that it has been issued United States patent #7,829,272 covering its ground-breaking diagnostic test for influenza and other viral infections.

17 Nov 2010

NT-proBNP guided heart failure care associated with reduced cardiovascular events

Roche and study investigators from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital announced today that in the PROTECT (Pro-BNP Outpatient Tailored Chronic HF Therapy) trial, a strategy of NT-proBNP guided heart failure care was independently associated with a significant reduction in total cardiovascular events, the primary composite endpoint of the study, which included worsening heart failure, heart failure hospitalization and cardiovascular related death

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 17 Nov 2010

Duke awarded $52.8M federal grant to oversee external quality assurance programs for HIV/AIDS labs

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has awarded Duke University Medical Center up to $52.8 million over the next seven years to support the development, implementation and oversight of external quality assurance programs that monitor laboratories involved in HIV/AIDS research and vaccine trials around the world.

17 Nov 2010

New mathematical method predicts dominant strain of influenza virus

Rice University scientists have found a way to predict rapidly whether a new strain of the influenza virus should be included in the annual seasonal flu vaccine. While it sometimes takes new flu strains up to three years to become dominant worldwide, the new method can predict whether they will become dominant as little as two weeks after the sequence first appears in the GenBank database, the National Institutes of Health's collection of all publicly available DNA sequences.

16 Nov 2010

New stem cell-infused patch improves heart function after myocardial infarction

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that applying a stem cell-infused patch together with overexpression of a specific cell instruction molecule promoted cell migration to damaged cardiac tissue following heart attack and resulted in improved function in animal models.

16 Nov 2010

NPR reports on dengue vaccine progress

NPR's Shots blog examines progress in the search for a vaccine to protect against the dengue virus. WHO estimates that 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of getting dengue, and most of them are in Asia and Latin America, the blog writes.

16 Nov 2010

Cyplasin selects Aurobindo Pharma to supply API component for Ribavirin drug

Cyplasin Biomedical is a product-oriented, specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing products for the multi-billion dollar hepatitis C virus (HCV) market. The Company is pleased to announce that it has selected Aurobindo Pharma located in Hyderabad , India to supply the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) component for its Ribavirin drug product called C-Virin.

15 Nov 2010

NanoViricides' optimized FluCide drug candidates reduce viral load in H1N1 influenza virus study

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that its optimized FluCide™ drug candidates achieved dramatic reduction in viral load within the lungs of animals infected with a lethal dose of H1N1 influenza virus.

15 Nov 2010

Temple University professionals focus on community viral load to combat HIV

World AIDS Day is December 1, but healthcare professionals at Temple University work year-round to combat HIV by focusing on reducing the community viral load, or the severity of HIV in a particular group. This approach has become widespread in the past two years, and it is still evolving and undergoing evaluation.

15 Nov 2010

New findings on HIV can help validate structure-based drug design approach

The development of new drugs to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS depends on understanding the basic biology of how the virus infects human cells. For 25 years, researchers supported primarily by NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) have been generating the structures of key viral proteins, revealing important insights into the virus's mechanisms and, more importantly, its Achilles' heels.

15 Nov 2010

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Improving immune system to defend against HIV infection

Alnylam presents data on RNAi technologies at MIT Center Summit

Despite progress in testing Americans for HIV, lack of federal/private insurance impedes expansion

CDC data: Adults remain unvaccinated against preventable infectious illnesses

Gen-Probe's APTIMA HPV assay effective for cervical cancer screening: FASE study

Medivir AB reports positive interim data on Phase 2b ASPIRE study for hepatitis C

Scientists solve structure of key protein from Lassa virus

miR765 RNA may play a role in development of heart failure: Research

BioSante announces sale of oncolytic virus technology to Cold Genesys

Viruses lead to discovery of security system in host cells

Nanotrope assay receives U.S. patent for diagnosing influenza and viral infections

NT-proBNP guided heart failure care associated with reduced cardiovascular events

Duke awarded $52.8M federal grant to oversee external quality assurance programs for HIV/AIDS labs

New mathematical method predicts dominant strain of influenza virus

New stem cell-infused patch improves heart function after myocardial infarction

NPR reports on dengue vaccine progress

Cyplasin selects Aurobindo Pharma to supply API component for Ribavirin drug

NanoViricides' optimized FluCide drug candidates reduce viral load in H1N1 influenza virus study

Temple University professionals focus on community viral load to combat HIV

New findings on HIV can help validate structure-based drug design approach

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep