Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Pharmasset prices underwritten public offering of common stock

Pharmasset, Inc. announced today the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 3,200,000 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $29.00 per share. Pharmasset expects to receive net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses, of approximately $87.9 million.

14 May 2010

HIV disease tends to progress at faster rate in infected individuals who consume more alcoholic drinks

HIV disease tends to progress at a faster rate in infected individuals who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day, according to an important new paper in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

14 May 2010

Chimerix commences first-in-human study of CMX157 for HIV

Chimerix, Inc., a biotechnology company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, announced the commencement of a first-in-human study of CMX157, a novel lipid conjugate of the nucleotide tenofovir with in vitro activity against both tenofovir-sensitive and tenofovir-resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). CMX157 has the potential to increase efficacy and decrease toxicity as compared to tenofovir, and may enable the creation of new 'one pill, once-a-day', fixed-dose combination regimens for the treatment of HIV infection.

14 May 2010

Gene-Eden may be effective in reducing Hepatitis C viral load in people infected with virus: Review

A new review on the Amazon website suggests that the natural antiviral supplement Gene-Eden may be effective in reducing the Hepatitis C viral load in people infected with the virus.

13 May 2010

Increased IR associated with HCC development in chronic HCV-infected patients

Recent studies have demonstrated that type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Insulin resistance (IR), which correlates inversely with circulating adiponectin concentration, is a consistent finding in patients with type 2 DM.

13 May 2010

Celera to present on AIDS pandemic, AZT drugs at Computational Molecular Biology Symposium

In 1985 there was little hope for people with AIDS. Newspapers and television screens were filled with ghastly pictures of emaciated figures dying from a disease that had no cure.

13 May 2010

Tracking genes in infant's intestine helps compare early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies

Is breast milk so different from infant formula? The ability to track which genes are operating in an infant's intestine has allowed University of Illinois scientists to compare the early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies. They say the difference is very real.

13 May 2010

Seaside purchases NanoViricides' Series B Convertible Preferred Stock for gross proceeds of $5M

NanoViricides, Inc., announced today that it has raised $5,000,000, drawing down on its previously announced universal registered shelf "Form S-3" offering. The registered shelf offering became effective on April 29, 2010.

12 May 2010

Key mechanisms for delivery of LNP-encapsulated siRNAs to the liver

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the publication of pre-clinical research in the journal Molecular Therapy revealing key mechanisms related to the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).

12 May 2010

MicroStockProfit.com releases investment report featuring Hemispherx Biopharma

MicroStockProfit.com announces an investment report featuring biopharmaceutical company Hemispherx Biopharma Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analysis, and industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

12 May 2010

Oncos Therapeutics completes € 4 million investment from HealthCap

Oncos Therapeutics, a biotech company developing new cancer therapeutics based on its next generation oncolytic viruses, completed a € 4 million ($ 5.5 million) investment from HealthCap. With committed capital exceeding € 800 million, HealthCap is one of the largest specialized providers of venture capital within life sciences in Europe.

12 May 2010

Vaccination of infants with Rotarix reduces rate of rotavirus infection: Researchers

Vaccination of infants with Rotarix or RotaTeq significantly reduces the rate of severe rotavirus diarrhoea, hospitalizations, medical attention due to rotavirus and severe diarrhoea from all causes. The vaccines are not associated with increased numbers of serious adverse events.

12 May 2010

ProBioGen signs contract with Virdante Biopharmaceuticals

ProBioGen AG, a technology and service provider for the development and production of biopharmaceutical drug substances today announced signing a contract with Virdante Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a US-based biopharmaceutical development company.

12 May 2010

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grant

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announced today that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Jason Rasgon, PhD, an assistant professor with the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, and his research to develop an evolution-proof pesticide for eliminating mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans.

12 May 2010

Preliminary data from Achillion Pharmaceuticals' Phase 1b clinical trial of ACH-1625 reported

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported additional preliminary data from its Phase 1b clinical trial of ACH-1625, which demonstrated that both the third and fourth patient cohorts receiving treatment with ACH-1625 achieved meaningful reductions in HCV RNA after five-day monotherapy, with continued safety and tolerability in patients with hepatitis C.

12 May 2010

Progenics Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $18.6M in first-quarter 2010

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.

11 May 2010

Experts try to fix problem of millions who don't adhere to prescriptions

The Boston Globe: "It is a common conundrum in doctor's offices, clinics, and hospitals across the nation: patients who do not take their medication as directed. It's true for people with high cholesterol, low calcium, diabetes, and asthma. It's even true for patients with the AIDS virus and those who have received life-saving replacement organs."

11 May 2010

New findings could help develop vaccines against respiratory infections

Inducing cellular immunity as a means to protect against influenza virus is the focus of several laboratories at the Trudeau Institute. Researchers here have recently identified two important signaling components required by the immune system that might allow us to pre-position our own virus-fighting T cells to the lungs, the site of initial infection.

11 May 2010

PositiveID reports $673,000 revenue for first-quarter 2010

PositiveID Corporation announced that it has reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, its first full quarter of operations since its acquisition of Steel Vault Corporation in November 2009 and the resulting name change to PositiveID. The Company reported revenues of $673,000 for the first quarter of 2010, compared to revenues of $8,000 for the first quarter of 2009.

10 May 2010

CVS calls on FDA to suspend use of contaminated rotavirus vaccines

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a panel of experts to review recent findings that rotavirus vaccines given to infants in the U.S., Rotateq, produced by Merck Pharmaceuticals and Rotarix produced by GlaxoSmithKline, are contaminated with DNA from pig viruses PCV1 and PCV2. On March 22nd the FDA Commissioner asked doctors to suspend use of the Rotarix vaccine due to the contamination. Upon additional testing, Rotateq was also found to be contaminated.

10 May 2010