Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

NIH approves $6.6 million in funding for Phase 2a adult eradication study of Argos' AGS-004

Argos Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of fully personalized immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases based on the Arcelis technology platform, today announced that the NIH Division of AIDS (DAIDS) has approved $6.6 million in funding for an investigator-initiated Phase 2a adult eradication study of AGS-004, the company’s investigational fully personalized immunotherapy for HIV.

2 Apr 2015

Low doses of imatinib drug can push immune system to combat bacterial infections

Low doses of the anti-cancer drug imatinib can spur the bone marrow to produce more innate immune cells to fight against bacterial infections, Emory researchers have found.

1 Apr 2015

World-first human clinical trials for Hendra virus to begin this month

An antibody manufactured at The University of Queensland will be used in world-first human Hendra virus clinical trials starting this month.

1 Apr 2015

Worthington introduces new line of Animal/Xeno-Free products for biomedical research at EB 2015

Worthington announced today the introduction of several new grades of Collagenase, recombinant Nucleases DNase I and RNases A, T1 & T2 and Neutral Protease (Dispase). All certified Animal/Xeno-Free (AF) to minimize potential BSE/TSE (prion) and mammalian virus contamination risks associated with bovine and other animal-sourced enzymes for primary and stem cell isolation, bioprocessing and other biopharm related applications.

1 Apr 2015

FGF21 protein can boost regenerative effects of human PPARα

Researchers at UC Davis have illuminated an important distinction between mice and humans: how human livers heal. The difference centers on a protein called PPARα, which activates liver regeneration. Normally, mouse PPARα is far more active and efficient than the human form, allowing mice to quickly regenerate damaged livers.

1 Apr 2015

New HCV therapies cost-effective in specific groups of HCV-infected patients

A study led by Boston Medical Center researchers demonstrates that while new therapies to treat Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) are highly effective, they are cost-effective and provide the greatest value in specific groups of HCV-infected patients.

31 Mar 2015

Antibodies from dromedary camels may prove therapeutic for MERS patients

Antibodies from dromedary camels protected uninfected mice from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and helped infected mice expunge the disease, according to a study published online March 18th in the Journal of Virology, a journal published by the American Society for Microbiology.

31 Mar 2015

New approach allows researchers to trap and watch highly motile cells

Optical imaging of highly motile cells or cells in suspension, such as bacterial systems, yeast cells, and immune cells, is a challenging task, in many cases it is just not possible. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), for example, can spread very efficiently from an infected T cell to an uninfected T cell through direct cell-cell contact.

31 Mar 2015

Ebola epidemic reveals critical weaknesses in global public health system

In the year since the World Health Organization (WHO) was first notified of an outbreak of what proved to be Ebola virus disease in the west African country of Guinea, more than 24,000 cases have been reported and over 10,000 individuals have died - primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

30 Mar 2015

Effective therapy enables immune system recovery in majority of children

Most children with HIV who have low levels of a key immune cell eventually recover levels of this cell after they begin treatment, according to a new study conducted by researchers at UCLA and other institutions in the U.S. and Brazil.

30 Mar 2015

RSV infection rate on the rise among young children

Children with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common virus that infects the lungs and breathing passageways, has been on the rise across the nation for the last several years. Though it may only produce minor cold symptoms in adults, it can lead to serious illness in young children and those with compromised immune systems.

30 Mar 2015

Rare genetic mutation explains why flu can kill in rare cases

Nobody likes getting the flu, but for some people, fluids and rest aren't enough. A small number of children who catch the influenza virus fall so ill they end up in the hospital — perhaps needing ventilators to breathe — even while their family and friends recover easily. New research by Rockefeller University scientists, published March 26 in Science, helps explain why: a rare genetic mutation.

30 Mar 2015

Two experimental Ebola vaccines appear to be safe in PREVAIL clinical trial in Liberia

Two experimental Ebola vaccines appear to be safe based on evaluation in more than 600 people in Liberia who participated in the first stage of the Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccines in Liberia (PREVAIL) Phase 2/3 clinical trial, according to interim findings from an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board review.

30 Mar 2015

NYUCD receives NIH grant to develop POC test to detect HIV antibodies and viral RNA

New York University College of Dentistry has received a sub-award in the amount of $335,000 from a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institutes of Health to complete the development of a fully automated self-confirming assay that can simultaneously detect HIV/AIDS antibodies and viral RNA from the AIDS virus in a single specimen.

29 Mar 2015

Promising clinical trial results for ebola vaccines

Interim findings from a clinical trial (PREVAIL) in which two experimental Ebola vaccines were given to more than 600 people in Liberia indicate that the vaccines are safe for use in humans. Based on these positive results, the vaccines may continue into the next stage of clinical evaluation; a phase 3 trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

27 Mar 2015

New Ebola vaccine shows promise in first phase 1 clinical trial

Results from the first phase 1 trial of an Ebola vaccine based on the current (2014) strain of the virus are today published in The Lancet. Until now, all tested Ebola virus vaccines have been based on the virus strain from the Zaire outbreak in 1976. The results suggest that the new vaccine is safe, and provokes an immune response in recipients, although further long-term testing will be needed to establish whether it can protect against the Ebola virus.

27 Mar 2015

Guinean Government initiates first efficacy trial of Ebola vaccine in Basse-Guinée

The Guinean Government with the World Health Organization initiated the very first efficacy trial of an Ebola vaccine this week in an affected community of the Basse-Guinée, one of the areas where most Ebola cases are found in the country.

27 Mar 2015

Study: HBV exposure increases immune system maturation of infants

A Singapore led study has shown that Hepatitis B Virus Infection (HBV) exposure increases the immune system maturation of infants, which may give a better survival advantage to counteract bacterial infection during early life. These findings radically modify the way that HBV vertical infection of neonates (mother-to-child) is portrayed, and present a paradigm shift in the approach to treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B.

26 Mar 2015

Regulus' RG-012 receives orphan medicinal product designation in EU for treatment of Alport syndrome

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, announced today that the European Commission has granted orphan medicinal product designation for RG-012, a single stranded, chemically modified oligonucleotide that binds to and inhibits the function of microRNA-21 ("miR-21") for the treatment of Alport syndrome, a life-threatening genetic kidney disease with no approved therapy.

25 Mar 2015

Personalized gene therapy to fight against cancer

The fight to treat cancer and eradicate tumors will likely benefit from a new set of treatments if early development phases continue to show promise, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research publisher stated that gene therapies that are able to deliver genetic material to a specific cell population or tumor that will result in the destruction of the tumor.

25 Mar 2015