Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Novel H1N1 influenza raises parents' awareness and concern about seasonal influenza

Novel H1N1 influenza has raised parents' awareness and concern about seasonal influenza, increasing the likelihood that they will get their children vaccinated compared to past years, according to a recent national survey commissioned by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

20 Oct 2009

Jennerex' JX-594 granted European Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Jennerex, Inc. (San Francisco, CA and Ottawa, Ontario), a clinical stage biotherapeutics company developing a proprietary breakthrough product class of targeted oncolytic virus therapeutics, today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Jennerex's product JX-594 for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. JX-594 is expected to enter a Phase 3 pivotal trial in the second half of 2010.

20 Oct 2009

California's community hospitals launch public education and media campaign on H1N1

As preparations for the H1N1 flu season kick into high gear, California's community hospitals have launched a statewide public education and media campaign.

19 Oct 2009

WHO recommends antivirals for patients with symptoms of both H1N1, pneumonia

The WHO concluded a three-day meeting on H1N1 (swine flu) in Washington, D.C., on Friday, where health experts issued recommendations that patients with symptoms of H1N1 and pneumonia be treated quickly with antivirals, even before the results of H1N1 tests are complete, the San Francisco Chronicle blog, "ChronRX" reports (Allday, 10/16).

19 Oct 2009

Experts: Treat swine flu quickly, even without verification

The World Health Organization concluded a three-day meeting on H1N1 (swine flu) in Washington, D.C., on Friday, where health experts issued recommendations that patients with symptoms of H1N1 and pneumonia be treated quickly with antivirals, even before the results of H1N1 tests are complete, the San Francisco Chronicle blog, "ChronRX" reports (Allday, 10/16).

19 Oct 2009

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' Cervarix for prevention of cervical cancer

The FDA today approved Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 years through 25 years.

19 Oct 2009

Schering-Plough to present data on boceprevir at the AASLD 2009 Annual Meeting

Schering-Plough announced that data on boceprevir, an investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, will be reported in an oral presentation at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Annual Meeting in Boston, Oct. 30-Nov. 3.

19 Oct 2009

Vaccinations and preventative hygiene routines can help protect families from H1N1

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37 states in the U.S. now report widespread influenza activity - and nearly all influenza cases reported to the health authority are 2009 H1N1, also known as swine flu. However, with the release of a 2009 H1N1 vaccine this week, parents have a new preventative tool to help keep their families safe from illness.

19 Oct 2009

Viriom picks ChemDiv's Russian subsidiary for development of innovative HIV compounds

ChemDiv, Inc. of San Diego has proudly announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Chemical Diversity Research Institute (CDRI ) of Moscow, Russia, has been chosen by Viriom Ltd. ( Viriom) of Moscow, Russia as a service partner in developing innovative HIV compounds. The program includes pre-clinical and clinical studies, which are expected to begin in 2010.

19 Oct 2009

Chinese SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' SPR System

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets advanced in-vitro diagnostic products, today announced that the Company has received approval for its SPR- based analysis system (the "SPR System") from the State Food and Drug Administration of China (the "SFDA").

19 Oct 2009

Talecris Biotherapeutics' PROLASTIN-C receives FDA approval

Talecris Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: TLCR) today received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PROLASTIN®-C (Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor [Human]), a more concentrated version of PROLASTIN® produced using advances in manufacturing technology.

19 Oct 2009

Majority of girls and young women well aware of HPV vaccine's benefits and limitations

Contrary to concerns that the human papillomavirus vaccine might promote promiscuity, a national survey of girls and young women found that the majority of respondents did not believe the HPV vaccine protected them against other sexually transmitted infections.

19 Oct 2009

Pork consumption is safe, says USDA scientists

"USDA has confirmed that hogs at the Minnesota State Fair may have screened positive for the novel H1N1 virus. USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories expects to have confirmatory results within the next few days. This event is not unexpected given that much like humans, hogs can contract influenza viruses.

19 Oct 2009

Focus Diagnostics' 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test granted FDA emergency use authorization

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued a second emergency use authorization (EUA) to Focus Diagnostics, the infectious disease diagnostics business of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, for its 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test. With the EUA, Focus Diagnostics is the only company in the U.S. to offer test kits for detecting the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus that the FDA has authorized for emergency use by CLIA high-complexity labs, which include certain hospital and regional labs.

19 Oct 2009

Research study on cowpox virus

In the annals of medicine, Edward Jenner's 1796 vaccination of a young boy against smallpox, using fluid from cowpox blisters, remains a landmark case. In a new study, Kathryn Sykes, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and her colleagues have taken a fresh look at cowpox.

19 Oct 2009

Rituxan's sBLA receives a Complete Response from the FDA

Genentech, Inc. a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, and Biogen Idec announced today that the companies received a Complete Response from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Rituxan (rituximab) plus methotrexate (MTX) in patients with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who no longer respond to treatment with a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), including MTX.

19 Oct 2009

Inaccurate body temperature readings can harm the entire health care system

As we head into a flu season where the 2009 H1N1 swine flu is expected to cause increased sickness, hospitalization and deaths across the U.S., something as simple as inaccurate body temperature measurements may lead to social and economic turmoil – and may cause many more deaths.

19 Oct 2009

Novel HIV drug to be studied in cell cultures and patients

A $6 million, five-year federal grant to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute will enable researchers to investigate a novel approach in treating HIV infection---a unique class of drugs focused on developing therapies for psychological and neurological effects in AIDS.

19 Oct 2009

Mothers receiving HAART less likely to transmit HIV virus to their newborns through breastfeeding

Mothers receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat HIV-1 infection are less likely than untreated mothers to transmit the virus to their newborns through breastfeeding, according to a new study.

19 Oct 2009

International human migration needs to be factored into infectious disease policy

When people travel, bacteria and other infectious agents travel with them. As about a billion people cross international borders each year, many more billions of the bugs come along for the ride.

19 Oct 2009

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Novel H1N1 influenza raises parents' awareness and concern about seasonal influenza

Jennerex' JX-594 granted European Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

California's community hospitals launch public education and media campaign on H1N1

WHO recommends antivirals for patients with symptoms of both H1N1, pneumonia

Experts: Treat swine flu quickly, even without verification

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' Cervarix for prevention of cervical cancer

Schering-Plough to present data on boceprevir at the AASLD 2009 Annual Meeting

Vaccinations and preventative hygiene routines can help protect families from H1N1

Viriom picks ChemDiv's Russian subsidiary for development of innovative HIV compounds

Chinese SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' SPR System

Talecris Biotherapeutics' PROLASTIN-C receives FDA approval

Majority of girls and young women well aware of HPV vaccine's benefits and limitations

Pork consumption is safe, says USDA scientists

Focus Diagnostics' 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test granted FDA emergency use authorization

Research study on cowpox virus

Rituxan's sBLA receives a Complete Response from the FDA

Inaccurate body temperature readings can harm the entire health care system

Novel HIV drug to be studied in cell cultures and patients

Mothers receiving HAART less likely to transmit HIV virus to their newborns through breastfeeding

International human migration needs to be factored into infectious disease policy

Innovation in neuroscience drug discovery - eBook eBook

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation