Antigen News and Research

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Vaccine to cope with viral diversity in HIV

The ability of HIV-1 to develop high levels of genetic diversity and acquire mutations to escape immune pressures contributes to our difficulties in producing a vaccine.

30 Apr 2007

Genetic risk for early death in rheumatoid arthritis

A chronic autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is marked by inflammation that takes a progressive toll on not only the joints, but also various organs and the whole body.

30 Apr 2007

EPCA-2 testing more accurate way to identify cancer in the prostate

New studies of a blood protein recently identified at Johns Hopkins, early prostate cancer antigen-2 (EPCA-2), may change the way men are screened for prostate cancer - a disease that kills tens of thousands of men every year.

27 Apr 2007

Rational development of adjuvants for use in vaccination

A recent study published in Immunology Letters, the official journal of the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS), describes strategies for selective priming of B cells using various adjuvants.

25 Apr 2007

Viventia Biotech announces results of Proxinium antibody in combinaton with chemotherapy and radiation

Viventia Biotech has announced results of in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies conducted to evaluate the potential for combining its phase III anti-cancer antibody therapeutic, Proxinium, with first-line standard of care therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head & neck (SCCHN).

19 Apr 2007

Rotavirus can spread beyond the intestine into blood

A new study in PLoS Medicine has shown that children who have rotavirus, a very common cause of diarrhea in children, and who have antigens (protein fragments from the surface of the virus) in their blood, also have infectious virus in their blood.

18 Apr 2007

Early stage pancreatic cancer expresses antigen targeted by Immunomedics' PAM4 antibody

Immunomedics has reported in an oral presentation at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) that the antigen targeted by the humanized PAM4 antibody is expressed in early stage pancreatic cancer specimens, a stage before the tumor becomes invasive.

18 Apr 2007

Cell Genesys reports data from clinical trials of GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer

Evaluation of antibody responses in patients with advanced prostate cancer from these studies shows that the GVAX cell-based immunotherapy induces antibody responses to a broad array of prostate cancer- associated antigens, including some not previously known to be associated with prostate cancer.

18 Apr 2007

Taking a jab at cancer by stimulating the immune system

As the first FDA-approved cancer vaccine, designed to protect against human papillomavirus, has moved from scientific discussion to social debate, other vaccine studies are continuing to make progress.

18 Apr 2007

Brain tumor vaccine shows promise

A vaccine for treating a recurrent cancer of the central nervous system that occurs primarily in the brain has shown promise in preliminary data from a clinical trial at the University of California, San Francisco.

17 Apr 2007

Expression Genetics completes phase I trial of lead drug candidate, EGEN-001

Expression Genetics, Inc., has announced the completion of a Phase I clinical study evaluating the Company's lead drug candidate, EGEN-001.

17 Apr 2007

New tumor antigen found with new cloning technique

In recent years, researchers have worked to develop a number of vaccines to help the immune system fight tumors.

16 Apr 2007

Macaque genome analysis will improve scientists' ability to identify human genes involved in diseases

Cornell experts in computational biology and bioinformatics have made key contributions to the analysis of the genome of the rhesus macaque, better known as the rhesus monkey.

15 Apr 2007

Coley Pharmaceutical licenses VaxImmune to Merck

Coley Pharmaceutical Group has announced that Merck & Co has licensed Coley's VaxImmune vaccine adjuvant for incorporation into vaccines being developed by Merck for certain infectious diseases and Alzheimer's disease.

15 Apr 2007

PSA doubling time and indicator of recurrent prostate cancer

A detectable level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the first indicator of recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy.

10 Apr 2007

Combination Lyme disease vaccine proteins patented

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University have received U.S. Patent Number 7,179,448 for developing chimeric, or "combination," proteins that may advance the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests for Lyme disease.

9 Apr 2007

Researchers assess the accuracy of using PSA to predict prostate cancer outcome

The amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a man's bloodstream at the time of his prostate cancer diagnosis or its rate of change over the course of the disease does not adequately predict lethal prostate cancer, according to a study in the April 4 Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

4 Apr 2007

Regular health exams increase likelihood that older adults will get recommended cancer screenings

If you're 50 or older, seeing your doctor every year or two for a checkup may be a good defense against cancer, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis, the University of Washington, and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.

2 Apr 2007

Body uses a 'dual key' system to secure immune system

"Dual key" activation, in which two people must act in concert to launch a weapon, is often installed to safeguard highly destructive arms.

2 Apr 2007

Biopsy may underestimate prostate cancer in overweight men

Obese and overweight men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer by biopsy are more likely than healthy weight men to actually have a more aggressive case of the disease than the biopsy results would indicate, according to a study led by a Duke University Medical Center researcher.

2 Apr 2007