Antibody News and Research

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An antibody is a blood protein that is produced in response to and counteracts an antigen. Antibodies are produced in response to disease and help the body fight against the particular disease. In this way, antibodies help the body develop an immunity to disease.

Axel Ullrich receives the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research

Johnson & Johnson today honored the career achievements of Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., with the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. Dr. Ullrich received this award for his scientific discoveries that led to innovative new drugs including Herceptin((R)) (trastuzumab)*, a personalized medicine therapy, which was the first to target a specific type of breast cancer.

8 Sep 2009

COPD patients to have better protection against pneumonia with new vaccine

A new vaccine against pneumonia may offer better protection from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients than the currently accepted vaccine, according to recent research that will be published in the September 15 issue of the American Journal of the Respiratory and Critical Care Journal, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.

8 Sep 2009

Large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma now treatable

Cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma have more than tripled in the last thirty years according to the latest Cancer Research UK figures published today.

8 Sep 2009

Iterative in situ click chemistry creates antibody-like protein-capture agents

Chemists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and The Scripps Research Institute (SRI) have developed an innovative technique to create cheap but highly stable chemicals that have the potential to take the place of the antibodies used in many standard medical diagnostic tests. James R. Heath, Ph.D., principal investigator of the Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center at Caltech, one of eight Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, and K. Barry Sharpless, Ph.D., SRI, and their colleagues describe the new technique in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

7 Sep 2009

Aptamer nanoflares for molecular detection in living cells

By combining a gold nanoparticle with a unique family of nucleic acids, researchers at Northwestern University have created a new type of intracellular reporting system that with a flash of light reveals the presence and quantity of a wide variety of biologically important molecules. These so-called nanoflares could provide cancer biologists with a highly sensitive method of tracking complex biochemical processes in real time without interfering with those processes.

7 Sep 2009

Rapid detection and profiling of cancer cells in fine-needle aspirates

Using a new type of paramagnetic nanoparticle and a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system built into a microfluidic device, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School has created an assay system capable of detecting as few as two cancer cells in 1 microliter of biological fluid. In addition, the new assay requires little sample processing and produces results in less than 15 minutes.

7 Sep 2009

Reversible cell-specific drug delivery with aptamer-functionalized liposomes

For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug also must spare healthy cells, and ideally its effects will be reversible to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects. Investigators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that they have assembled a new cancer drug delivery system that, in cell culture, achieves all of the above.

7 Sep 2009

Spectrum's ZEVALIN expanded label receives FDA approval for treating non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM:SPPI), a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a focus in oncology, today announced ZEVALIN® (ibritumomab tiuxetan), a CD20-directed radiotherapeutic antibody, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an expanded label for the treatment of patients with previously untreated follicular non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), who achieve a partial or complete response to first-line chemotherapy.

5 Sep 2009

Discovery of two antibodies could move AIDS vaccine development forward

Scientists from Scripps Research Institute on Thursday announced they have discovered and isolated two antibodies "with the ability to neutralize [or block the action of] many strains of the AIDS virus, a discovery that might help create a long-sought vaccine against the deadly disease," Bloomberg reports.

5 Sep 2009

New protein fragments identified for anthrax vaccine development

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified two small protein fragments that could be developed into an anthrax vaccine that may cause fewer side effects than the current vaccine.

4 Sep 2009

Novel SLE Responder Index as the primary endpoint in two Phase 3 clinical trials

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. today announced publication by the journal Arthritis Care & Research of an article describing the development and use of a novel evidence-based systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) Responder Index selected as the primary endpoint of two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials of BENLYSTA (belimumab) in serologically active patients with SLE.

4 Sep 2009

rPA anthrax vaccine and its Valortim anthrax anti-toxin program data presented

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today that data from the Company's third generation recombinant protective antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine program and its Valortim((R)) anthrax anti-toxin program were presented at the Bacillus - ACT 2009 meeting, August 30 - September 3, 2009, organized by the American Society for Microbiology.

4 Sep 2009

Clinical trial of Novartis MF59 swine-flu vaccine elicits a strong immune response

Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose.

4 Sep 2009

Systematic method for improving the stability of antibodies

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a systematic method to improve the stability of antibodies. The technique could lead to better biosensors, disease therapeutics and diagnostic reagents and non-laboratory applications, including environmental remediation.

4 Sep 2009

Two new antibodies for targeting HIV virus discovered

Researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), at The Scripps Research Institute, and at the biotechnology companies Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences have discovered two powerful new antibodies to HIV that reveal what may be an Achilles heel on the virus. They published their work in Science this week.

3 Sep 2009

Germany’s BMBF awards NOXXON grant for developing Spiegelmer NOX-A12

NOXXON Pharma AG (NOXXON), clinical-stage developer of L-RNA based scaffolds (Spiegelmers®) that bind their targets conceptually similar to antibodies, announced today that the company was awarded a research grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the ministry’s small and medium enterprise innovation initiative (“KMU-Innovativ”).

3 Sep 2009

First-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2010 ended July 31, 2009. Total revenues for the first quarter of FY 2010 increased 345% to $6,750,000, compared to $1,517,000 for the comparable prior year quarter. This increase was primarily generated from increased government contract revenue and from increased sales by Avid Bioservices, the company's wholly owned contract manufacturing subsidiary.

3 Sep 2009

Study assesses protective capabilities of DNA vaccines against SIV

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that data generated from a pre-clinical collaborative study by National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Inovio scientists were published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper entitled: “DNA vaccination in rhesus macaques induces potent immune responses and decreases acute and chronic viremia after SIVmac251 challenge.”

3 Sep 2009

First swine-flu vaccine trials reveal strong immune response

Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose.

3 Sep 2009

New Marketing Authorization Application for Rhucin submitted to the EMEA by Pharming

Biotech company Pharming Group NV ("Pharming" or "the Company") (NYSE Euronext: PHARM) today announced that it has submitted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Rhucin for the treatment of acute attacks of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

3 Sep 2009