Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Boehringer Ingelheim announces results from afatinib clinical trials at 35th ESMO

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today results from two clinical trials for its investigational cancer compound afatinib* (BIBW 2992) presented at the 35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Milan, Italy.

11 Oct 2010

Financing HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment could cost $400B-$700B over 20 years

A new report published by the Results for Development Institute in the Lancet "has offered governments and donors a glimpse into the future of HIV epidemics - and what it will cost to prevent and treat them. Researchers warn of hard choices ahead and a need for some countries to take more responsibility for their national programmes," IRIN/PlusNews reports. Study authors present their "cheapest" and "ideal" scenarios for HIV/AIDS funding in the future, according to IRIN/PlusNews.

11 Oct 2010

BiondVax commences Multimeric-001 flu vaccine Phase IIa clinical study

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of global efforts towards the development of a Universal Influenza Vaccine, today announced that it has begun to immunize subjects in a Phase IIa clinical trial of the Multimeric-001 Universal Flu Vaccine candidate. The study will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the Multimeric-001 vaccine.

11 Oct 2010

Roche, DKFZ announce research collaboration to predict cervical cancer risk

Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. and the German Cancer Research Center announced today that they have entered into a research collaboration to enable more specific prediction of a woman's risk for developing cervical cancer.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 11 Oct 2010

'Achilles heel' for HCV infection

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) have found that an enzyme associated with the storage of fat in the liver is required for the infectious activity of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This discovery may offer a new strategy for treating the infection.

11 Oct 2010

HHS awards Sanofi Pasteur 3-year, $56.94M egg supply contract for pandemic vaccine preparedness

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, has been awarded a three-year contract for $56.94 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to maintain flocks to enable manufacturing pandemic influenza vaccine at full capacity on a year-round basis.

11 Oct 2010

Flu season looking 'typical,' CDC says

Flu activity in the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season is ending, has been 'typical,' the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. All three types of flu that normally circulate are present, although the H1N1 'swine flu' strain that caused last year's pandemic has replaced the seasonal H1N1 strain that circulated before 2009.

11 Oct 2010

“Black Death” of the Middle ages blamed on bacteria

Black Death or plague that killed an estimated one-third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages has been ascribed to a bacteria called Yersinia pestis by anthropologists.

10 Oct 2010

Knowledge about ecology of disease limits spread of infection

Common frog (Rana temporaria) populations across the UK are suffering dramatic population crashes due to infection from the emerging disease Ranavirus, reveals research published in the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) journal Animal Conservation.

8 Oct 2010

Biologists determine three-dimensional structure of molecule involved in HIV, cancer

In a technical tour de force, structural biologists funded by the National Institutes of Health have determined the three-dimensional structure of a molecule involved in HIV infection and in many forms of cancer. The high-resolution structure sheds light on how the molecule functions and could point to ways to control its activity, potentially locking out HIV and stalling cancer's spread.

8 Oct 2010

Spanish mothers more concerned about the safety of childhood vaccines

Researchers from the University of Alicante (UA) taking part in the European VACSATC project have studied mothers' and fathers' opinions on vaccinating their children in five countries. The results of the survey show that Spanish mothers are more resistant than those in other countries to the idea of paying for vaccines, while 20.9% expressed some concern about the safety of vaccines.

8 Oct 2010

Roche´s Cellavista System useful for automated mES colony imaging: Study

A recent study depicted the use of Roche´s Cellavista System to rapidly and effectively carry out a clonal analysis of embryonic stem colony self-renewal in an end-point assay. The Cellavista System proved to be useful for automated mES colony imaging, as well as characterization of colonies as differentiated and undifferentiated based on gating of morphological and intensity criteria. Little or no interference from the feeder cell layers was seen in the analysis of the images.

8 Oct 2010

NIAID announces three new contracts to fund research on dengue, anthrax vaccines

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced three new contracts to fund research on vaccines to protect against emerging infectious diseases and biological threats that could be used in a terror attack. Each project focuses on simple and efficient vaccine delivery approaches that could be deployed quickly. The total funding for the three contracts could reach $68 million, depending on the successful completion of defined project milestones.

8 Oct 2010

International scientific conference explores new approaches to prevent infectious diseases

Swine flu, cancer, bioterrorism and the latest trends in countermeasures to combat these life-threatening diseases and infections are among the topics to be discussed at the upcoming New Cells for New Vaccines V: Global Perspectives international scientific conference, on October 11-13 in Wilmington, Delaware, at the Hotel du Pont.

8 Oct 2010

Inviragen, PharmaJet awarded NIAID contract to develop needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine

Inviragen and PharmaJet announced the award of a five year, $15.5 million dollar contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to advance the development of a needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine. The award will fund preclinical studies, regulatory filings, manufacturing and clinical testing of Inviragen's tetravalent dengue vaccine, DENVax delivered with PharmaJet's convenient needle-free injection device.

8 Oct 2010

NIAID awards $6.25M to Profectus to optimize portfolio of genetic adjuvants

Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a technology based vaccine company devoted to the treatment and prevention of chronic viral diseases, today announced that it has received $6.25M in National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) grants and contracts.

8 Oct 2010

Study finds relationship between bacterial infections, acute asthma attacks in children

"We found a significant relationship between bacterial infections and acute asthma attacks - above and beyond the expected relationship between viral infections and attacks," says Hans Bisgaard, a professor of paediatrics at the DPAC.

8 Oct 2010

GeoVax receives US Patent for pGA series of plasmids

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, has been issued via an exclusive license from Emory University, a US Patent for its "DNA expression vectors and methods of use. Issued on September 14, 2010, the patent claims cover novel vectors and novel HIV vaccine inserts.

7 Oct 2010

Synthetic Genomics, JCVI announce formation of new company to develop next generation vaccines

The company Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) and the not-for-profit research organization, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) today announced the formation of a new company, Synthetic Genomics Vaccines Inc. (SGVI).

7 Oct 2010

New reference material to standardize gene therapy protocols in clinical trials

The introduction of a new, fully characterized viral vector for use as reference material to help standardize gene therapy protocols in research applications and human clinical trials is described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The article, which is published online ahead of print, is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/hum

7 Oct 2010

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Boehringer Ingelheim announces results from afatinib clinical trials at 35th ESMO

Financing HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment could cost $400B-$700B over 20 years

BiondVax commences Multimeric-001 flu vaccine Phase IIa clinical study

Roche, DKFZ announce research collaboration to predict cervical cancer risk

'Achilles heel' for HCV infection

HHS awards Sanofi Pasteur 3-year, $56.94M egg supply contract for pandemic vaccine preparedness

Flu season looking 'typical,' CDC says

“Black Death” of the Middle ages blamed on bacteria

Knowledge about ecology of disease limits spread of infection

Biologists determine three-dimensional structure of molecule involved in HIV, cancer

Spanish mothers more concerned about the safety of childhood vaccines

Roche´s Cellavista System useful for automated mES colony imaging: Study

NIAID announces three new contracts to fund research on dengue, anthrax vaccines

International scientific conference explores new approaches to prevent infectious diseases

Inviragen, PharmaJet awarded NIAID contract to develop needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine

NIAID awards $6.25M to Profectus to optimize portfolio of genetic adjuvants

Study finds relationship between bacterial infections, acute asthma attacks in children

GeoVax receives US Patent for pGA series of plasmids

Synthetic Genomics, JCVI announce formation of new company to develop next generation vaccines

New reference material to standardize gene therapy protocols in clinical trials

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