Interferon News and Research

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Researchers discover genetic mechanism for resistance to immunotherapy drugs

An urgent question for cancer scientists is why immunotherapy achieves dramatic results in some cases but doesn't help most patients.

5 Jan 2018

Ottawa researchers use viruses to target and destroy HIV

While Ottawa researchers are known for their work on cancer-fighting viruses, one team is applying these viruses to a new target: HIV.

19 Dec 2017

Study suggests new treatment option for most lethal form of breast cancer

The most lethal form of breast cancer could have a new treatment option, according to new research out of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

18 Dec 2017

Immune-boosting drug combination may hold promise for treating ovarian cancer

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers demonstrated that mice with ovarian cancer that received drugs to reactivate dormant genes along with other drugs that activate the immune system had a greater reduction of tumor burden and significantly longer survival than those that received any of the drugs alone.

5 Dec 2017

Altering genetic mutation could enhance FluMist vaccine’s protective effect

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered a genetic mutation in the FluMist intranasal flu vaccine that has the potential to be altered to enhance the vaccine's protective effect.

30 Nov 2017

Blood test could provide low-cost alternative to MRI for monitoring disease activity in MS

A blood test to monitor a nerve protein in the blood of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may help predict whether disease activity is flaring up, according to a study published in the November 29, 2017, online issue of Neurology Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

30 Nov 2017

Study uncovers key mechanism by which tumors develop resistance to radiation therapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has uncovered a key mechanism by which tumors develop resistance to radiation therapy and shown how such resistance might be overcome with drugs that are currently under development.

23 Nov 2017

OBD presents results of immunotherapy studies at FNIH Biomarker Consortium Cancer Steering Committee’s annual meeting

Oxford BioDynamics Plc, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of epigenetic biomarkers based on regulatory genome architecture, for use within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, presented its latest results at the annual meeting of the Foundation for National Institute for Health Biomarker Consortium Cancer Steering Committee, held in Washington, DC on 6-7 November 2017.

22 Nov 2017

Drug used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus

A new collaborative study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and UC San Diego School of Medicine has found that a medication used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus.

17 Nov 2017

Ozanimod effective against multiple sclerosis, enters New Drug Approval process with FDA

Celgene Corporation recently announced results from two phase 3 trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of the drug ozanimod.

10 Nov 2017

Scientists uncover previously unknown mechanism to combat influenza A virus

Just as flu season swings into full gear, researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Texas at Austin have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which the human immune system tries to battle the influenza A virus.

8 Nov 2017

FDA approves first targeted cancer treatment based on basket study

The US Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has approved the drug vemurafenib for the treatment of patients with BRAF V600-mutant Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD).

7 Nov 2017

Immune system plays surprising role in the aftermath of heart attacks, study finds

A study led by Kevin King, a bioengineer and physician at the University of California San Diego, has found that the immune system plays a surprising role in the aftermath of heart attacks. The research could lead to new therapeutic strategies for heart disease.

7 Nov 2017

Canadian and Israeli researchers join forces for new research program

The Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program is a seven-year, CA$35 million partnership between the Azrieli Foundation, Canada's International Development Research Centre, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Israel Science Foundation that draws on the scientific strengths of Canadian and Israeli researchers in the broad field of biomedicine.

30 Oct 2017

Novartis PARADIGMS study shows safety and efficacy of new treatment in pediatric MS patients

Novartis today announced full results from the positive Phase III PARADIGMS study, investigating the safety and efficacy of Gilenya (fingolimod) vs. interferon beta-1a, in children and adolescents (ages 10 to 17) with multiple sclerosis (MS).

30 Oct 2017

Direct‐acting antiviral therapy linked to 71% reduction in liver cancer risk

A new study presented this week at The Liver Meeting - held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases - found that eradication of the hepatitis C virus induced by direct‐acting antiviral medications is associated with a 71 percent reduction in the risk of liver cancer.

20 Oct 2017

Hepatitis C drug’s lower cost paves way for Medicaid, prisons to expand treatment

Valerie Green is still waiting to be cured. The Delaware resident was diagnosed with hepatitis C more than two years ago, but she doesn't qualify yet for the Medicaid program's criteria for treatment with a new class of highly effective but pricey drugs. The recent approval of a less expensive drug that generally cures hepatitis C in just eight weeks may make it easier for more insurers and correctional facilities to expand treatment.

3 Oct 2017

FDA grants approval for new biosimilar to treat multiple types of cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb) as a biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Mvasi is the first biosimilar approved in the U.S. for the treatment of cancer.

14 Sep 2017

Combination therapy found to be effective adjuvant treatment option in melanoma patients

Combination targeted adjuvant therapy with dabrafenib and trametinib doubles relapse-free survival in patients with stage III BRAF-mutant melanoma, according to late-breaking results from the COMBI-AD trial presented today at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Sep 2017

STING signaling pathway induces apoptosis in T cells

EPFL scientists show that the STING signaling pathway, which helps coordinate the innate immune system, causes cell death in T cells of the adaptive immune system. This “killing” effect includes cancerous T cells, and has implications for treating T cell-derived cancers.

5 Sep 2017