Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

U.S. healthcare practitioners can resume use of Rotarix, says FDA

GlaxoSmithKline announced that the Food and Drug Administration has determined that U.S. healthcare practitioners can resume the use of Rotarix (Rotavirus Vaccine, Live, Oral), effective immediately. This action supersedes the FDA's recommendation from March 22, 2010 and reflects the agency's assessment that the presence of porcine circovirus type 1 in the vaccine poses no safety risk.

15 May 2010

Data from RGN-259 study published in Archives of Ophthalmology

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the publication of the first human data from a case study of patients evaluated with its ophthalmic product candidate RGN-259. The data have been published in the May 2010 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, an American Medical Association peer-reviewed journal.

14 May 2010

Scientists to discuss opportunities and challenges for combating HIV, TB

As alarms sound about a weakening international commitment to global AIDS, scientists will gather in Washington, DC to report on potentially transformative new tools in the battle against this deadly epidemic. US policy is moving backwards at a time when the science is more promising than ever.

14 May 2010

NanoViricides signs research and development agreement with Dr. Ken S. Rosenthal's laboratory

NanoViricides, Inc., reports that it has signed a research and development agreement with Dr. Ken S. Rosenthal's laboratory at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

14 May 2010

Study examines impact of tobacco smoke carcinogen on mice

Although tobacco use is widely understood to be one of the leading causes of oral cancer, research on the prevention of tobacco-related oral cancer in experimental animals has traditionally been limited to examining the impact of synthetic carcinogens manufactured especially for cancer research, rather than on observing the effects of carcinogens that occur in tobacco smoke.

14 May 2010

Inhibitex reports net loss of $4.8M for first-quarter 2010

Inhibitex, Inc. today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. The Company also announced that it has initiated a Phase I single ascending dose trial of INX-189, its lead HCV nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, in healthy volunteers under an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

14 May 2010

Rotavirus vaccination associated with decline in U.S. hospitalization rates for acute gastroenteritis: Study

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus, a leading cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration among babies and young children, was associated with a dramatic decline in U.S. hospitalization rates for acute gastroenteritis.

14 May 2010

DMC recommends Celsion to continue enrollment in ThermoDox clinical study for primary liver cancer

Celsion Corporation announced today that after reviewing data from 294 patients including data from 12 Japanese patients enrolled in the pivotal Phase III ThermoDox® clinical study (HEAT Study) for primary liver cancer, the Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) has recommended that Celsion continue to enroll patients in the trial.

14 May 2010

Mild-mannered organelles can detect virus invasion signals: Researchers

Within cells, an ancient antiviral duo can deliver a one-two knockout to thwart invading viruses, report researchers who have just unmasked the cellular sidekick that throws the first punch. The findings mean scientists must rethink the design of antiviral immunity and how the body fends off viruses of all types, including influenza and HIV.

14 May 2010

Report of 2009 H1N1 influenza VLP vaccine published online

Novavax, Inc. announces the first report of a vaccine protecting ferrets against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus has been published in the journal Vaccine May 12, 2010 online issue.

14 May 2010

UGA researchers discover SERS method to identify rotavirus strains, genotypes

Using nanotechnology and a patented signal enhancing technique developed at the University of Georgia, UGA researchers have discovered a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective method to detect and identify a number of rotavirus strains and genotypes in less than one minute with greater than 96 percent accuracy.

14 May 2010

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