Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Gilead submits Quad NDA to FDA for treatment of HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing approval of the "Quad", a complete single-tablet regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults.

28 Oct 2011

Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize fixed-dose combination for HIV

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced a licensing agreement for Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize a fixed-dose combination containing Bristol-Myers Squibb's protease inhibitor REYATAZ (atazanavir sulfate) and Gilead's cobicistat, a pharmacoenhancing or "boosting" agent that increases blood levels of certain HIV medicines to potentially allow for one pill once daily dosing.

27 Oct 2011

UNICEF issues statement clarifying reports of polio cases in Madagascar

UNICEF released a statement on Tuesday correcting an October 21 report by its office in Madagascar "expressing concern over a resurgence of polio in Madagascar after a routine health survey identified vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) in several healthy children." According to the statement, "there was no re-emergence of polio in Madagascar," and "the last wild poliovirus case in Madagascar was detected in 1997."

27 Oct 2011

Elan's third quarter total revenue increases 17% to $328.5 million

Elan Corporation, plc today reported its third quarter and first nine months 2011 financial results.

27 Oct 2011

Gardasil vaccine safe and effective against anal cancer

A large, international clinical trial led by doctors at the University of California, San Francisco indicates that a vaccine to prevent anal cancer is safe and effective, according to a study reported in the Oct. 27, 2011 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Oct 2011

Routine HPV vaccine for boys advised by health advisory panel

A government advisory panel on Tuesday decided that the vaccine against cervical cancer causing virus – HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) should also be given to boys, in part to help prevent the cancer-causing virus through sex. The HPV virus has been recommended for girls aged 9 to 26 since 2006.

26 Oct 2011

Effectiveness of present flu vaccines may not be satisfactory: Study

According to a report published online October 25 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases there are gaps in the evidence for the effectiveness of licensed influenza vaccines in the United States. Individuals who are at risk for medical complications or people who are aged 65 years or older are especially affected by the gaps, the researchers write.

26 Oct 2011

Anti-HIV vaginal gel could also reduce genital herpes by half: Study

The study appears this week in the journal Cell Host & Microbe that tested the gel on women in South Africa (where the risk of HIV and herpes is great) found that the anti-HIV/AIDS drug tenofovir reduced herpes infections by 51% and HIV infections by 39%.

24 Oct 2011

Your medical privacy – Another Obamacare casualty

It was a sad day recently when a married menopausal woman learned that her recent Pap test was positive for human papilloma virus (HPV). “How could this happen?” she asked. “I have not had relations with anyone but my husband since we married 30 years ago.”

24 Oct 2011

Tenofovir gel confirmed to be effective against herpes in lab experiment, study shows

Data from lab experiments published online by the journal Cell Host and Microbes last week show that the gel form of the antiretroviral tenofovir, which is being investigated as an HIV prevention method, works to inhibit the reproduction of herpes virus in tonsil and cervical tissue, the New York Times reports.

24 Oct 2011

Vertex initiates INCIVEK combination Phase 3b study for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 3b study called CONCISE that will evaluate the potential for treatment with INCIVEK (telaprevir) combination therapy to be shortened to 12 weeks in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who have the 'CC' variation near the IL28B gene.

24 Oct 2011

NeCEN centre for electron microscopy to open in Leiden

NeCEN, a new high quality centre for electron microscopy, opens its doors in Leiden on October 27th. NeCEN has two of the most advanced cryo-transmission electron microscopes worldwide.

24 Oct 2011

Pivotal pediatric clinical study comparing Q/LAIV to FluMist meets primary endpoint

The pivotal pediatric clinical study compared Q/LAIV to two trivalent formulations of MedImmune's licensed seasonal influenza vaccine, FluMist (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal) and met its primary endpoint.

22 Oct 2011

Old age not synonymous with impairment and disability

Exceptional cognitive and physical function in old age leaves a tell-tale immunologic fingerprint, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Likewise, older adults who have mild impairments bear a distinct immunologic pattern, too, according to findings published today in the Public Library of Science: One.

22 Oct 2011

Sewage provides perfect ecosystem for studying diversity of uncharacterized viral populations

Raw sewage provides a perfect ecosystem for studying the diversity of viral populations that remain uncharacterized. This is one of the principal conclusions of a study published in the journal mBio by a team comprising experts from the UB's Laboratory of Water and Food Viral Pollution, Washington University and the University of Pittsburgh, under the direction of James Pipas.

22 Oct 2011

Janssen announces FDA label update approval for PREZISTA HIV tablets

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a label update for PREZISTA (darunavir) tablets to include 192-week data from the ARTEMIS study.

22 Oct 2011

Additional data from Sanofi's quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine study

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today the results of a new study evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of an investigational quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV) among adults 65 years of age and older.

22 Oct 2011

Romark announces results from NT-300 Phase 2B-3 trial on influenza

Romark Laboratories announced that results of a large Phase 2B-3 US clinical trial of its new flu drug, NT-300 (nitazoxanide), will be presented as an oral late-breaking communication at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) being held in Boston, October 20-23, 2011.

22 Oct 2011

Common risk factors for hepatocellular cancer

Among known risk factors for hepatocellular cancer, smoking, obesity, and heavy alcohol consumption, along with chronic hepatitis B and C infection, contribute to a large share of the disease burden in Europe, according to a cohort study published online October 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

22 Oct 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim announces new data from hepatitis C virus portfolio

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that new data from its hepatitis C virus (HCV) portfolio will be presented in scientific sessions at The Liver Meeting 2011, the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), taking place November 4 - November 8 in San Francisco, CA.

22 Oct 2011