Immune System News and Research

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First Canadian therapeutic HIV vaccine trial

Clinicians from the McGill University Health Centre and the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) are participating in the first Canadian therapeutic HIV vaccine trial. Funded by a number of public and private institutions, including the Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (CANVAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, this project will begin in April.

30 Mar 2004

Newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma linked to monkey virus DNA

Examination of tumors in patients with newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma found that half of them show evidence of a monkey virus DNA that may have originated from contaminated polio vaccines.

30 Mar 2004

First North American sales of Raycell X-ray blood irradiator

The Indiana Blood Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, and SMDC Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota have both chosen to purchase MDS Nordion's Raycell(TM) blood irradiator as a means of eliminating delays in receiving irradiated blood and blood products from external suppliers and improving the service they provide to physicians and patients.

30 Mar 2004

Trial of new drug that may halt progression of Type I Diabetes

The results of a long-term clinical trial on a new drug designed to inhibit the progression of type I diabetes was announced at the International Diabetes Society meeting in Cambridge, England, March 29. The findings of the 18-month long clinical trial confirm the drug's efficacy in improving a diabetic's ability to produce insulin.

30 Mar 2004

Researchers tap modified plant viruses to ward off cervical cancer-causing infections

New vaccinations to prevent infections that lead to cervical cancer and targeted therapeutics aimed at breast cancer were examples of research highlights presented by scientists today at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Scientists described advances that feed into the drug development 'pipeline,' and show strong promise for controlling existing tumors or addressing the pathogen that causes tumors.

29 Mar 2004

Novel vaccine technology to suppress the growth of certain tumors

MedImmune, Inc. and Cerus Corporation have announced preclinical results demonstrating the effectiveness of a novel therapeutic vaccine technology in suppressing the growth of certain tumors.

From Baxter International Inc. 29 Mar 2004

Immunomodulator induces long-term anti-tumor activity

EntreMed, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic candidates primarily for the treatment of cancer, today reported that three months following administration with ENMD 0996, preclinical animal models showed inhibition of metastases. Data presented demonstrated that ENMD 0996 specifically blocks the activity of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), a naturally-occurring protein that stimulates angiogenesis, but had no effect on other angiogenesis stimulators.

29 Mar 2004

Renowned researchers, scientists share advances in prevention, diagnosis, therapy

Leading researchers are gathering today for the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the premier multidisciplinary assembly, which features the latest developments in basic, prevention, translational and clinical cancer research. The meeting occurs from March 27 – 31, 2004 at the Orlando Convention Center, Fla.

27 Mar 2004

Cryptosporidium parvum parasite could help to develope new therapies for the disease

Cryptosporidium parvum, an insidious, one-celled, waterborne parasite that lodges in the intestines of infected people and animals and for which there is currently no effective treatment, is missing key structures normally found in similar parasites, say researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health. The results of their genome sequencing project, could help scientists home in on new drug targets that may lead to therapies for the disease.

26 Mar 2004

New Research Information on Tumor Necrosis Therapy

Researchers for Peregrine Pharmaceuticals presented today at the Strategic Research Institute’s Clinical-Stage Product Partnering Summit in La Jolla, CA a summary of clinical experience with Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT). The TNT technology is being developed in the U.S. and Europe by Peregrine under the trade name Cotara™. Over 200 patients have been treated with TNT world-wide and a TNT product has been approved to treat grade III or IV advanced lung cancer in the People’s Republic of China. A Cotara registration study for brain cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a Phase I colorectal cancer study is on-going at Stanford University Medical Center.

25 Mar 2004

Breakthrough studies that could lead to a new means of combating malaria

EMBL scientists have identified four mosquito proteins that affect the ability of the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) to survive and develop in the malaria-carrier mosquito (Anopheles). This breakthrough could be used to block the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans.

25 Mar 2004

£5m for HIV/AIDS trial involving HIV patients in London, Moscow, South Africa and Australia

A joint Oxford University/Imperial College research programme into HIV/AIDS has received £5 million support from the Wellcome Trust to carry out a drug trial involving HIV patients in London, Moscow, South Africa and Australia.

24 Mar 2004

First US Tests of Bird-Flu Vaccine in Humans

Doctors are beginning the first test in the United States of a vaccine designed to protect people against one form of bird flu should an outbreak of the virus occur in humans. While the vaccine under study is not designed to protect against the precise bird-flu virus causing the current outbreak in poultry and in people, scientists will learn whether it protects against another strain of the virus that infects birds and people.

24 Mar 2004

EU gives 32 million Euro for vaccines to stop tuberculosis

The European Commission today launched the largest-ever collaborative tuberculosis (TB) initiative for World TB-day, March 24. Fifty-two research teams from academia and industry from 15 European and African countries are joining forces with the European Commission to help eradicate TB. Globally, TB kills 2 million people a year, with one-third of the world's population currently infected with the bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). While most cases and deaths occur in developing countries, resistant Mtb strains are mainly found among the poorest people in developed countries, as incomplete treatment increases drug resistance. The European Union is confronting the re-emerging threat of TB by investing €32 million in two overlapping research projects. This cash will be used in an accelerated effort to develop new, effective vaccines to fight TB.

23 Mar 2004

Stem cell research that could help diabetics

University of Florida adult stem cell experts have restored normal blood sugar levels in diabetic mice for three months by chemically coaxing bone marrow cells to produce insulin, a hormone normally made in the pancreas.

22 Mar 2004

Research suggests protein released from lungs could initiate labour

A protein released from the lungs of a developing mouse fetus initiates a cascade of chemical events leading to the mother's initiation of labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

22 Mar 2004

Scientists identify genetic changes during infection by tuberculosis

Researchers at the Center for Biomedical Inventions at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have identified the genetic changes that Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, undergoes during infection of a living host.

22 Mar 2004

Forward step in treatment of Allergic Rhinitis

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the presentation of clinical data for R112, the company’s lead candidate for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, during a poster session at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) in San Francisco, CA. The phase I/II single dose trial demonstrated that R112 was well tolerated and showed favorable biological effects.

22 Mar 2004

New research may help prevent anthrax, bubonic plague and typhoid fever

The mechanism used by the bacteria that cause anthrax, bubonic plague and typhoid fever to avoid detection and destruction by the body’s normal immune response, leading to life-threatening bacterial infections, has been identified by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

22 Mar 2004

Pharmexa vaccine is designed to induce antibody responses against the HER-2 protein

Pharmexa presents data from the HER-2 Protein AutoVac™ breast cancer trial at a Conference in Hamburg Summary: Pharmexa is presenting data from the first clinical trial in USA with the HER-2 Protein AutoVac™ vaccine at the 4th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) in Hamburg, Germany.

22 Mar 2004