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Gilead commences first of two tenofovir alafenamide Phase 3 trials in HIV

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced the initiation of the first of two Phase 3 clinical trials (Study 104) evaluating a single tablet regimen containing tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve adults.

28 Jan 2013

FDA approves Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease in older children, adolescents

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the expansion of the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for use in older children and adolescents aged 6 years through 17 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by the 13 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes contained in the vaccine.

28 Jan 2013

High vaccine prices ignored by ‘Decade of Vaccines’ blueprint

Governments meeting at the World Health Organization’s Executive Board (WHO EB) this week must seize the opportunity to improve serious shortcomings in the document that will drive the global community’s vaccines response in the next few years. If they fail to do so, key reasons why children continue to be missed by immunisation programmes will be left unaddressed.

25 Jan 2013

Pediatric rotavirus vaccination indirectly protects unvaccinated adults

Pediatric rotavirus vaccination also indirectly protects unvaccinated adults from the highly contagious cause of severe diarrhea and vomiting, suggests a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

25 Jan 2013

Voluntary moratorium on H5N1 research ends; fate of U.S.-funded research unknown

"Almost a year after they announced it, leading influenza researchers are ending a voluntary moratorium on certain types of controversial experiments involving the H5N1 avian influenza virus."

25 Jan 2013

Study into H1N1 pandemic suggests at least 1 in 5 were infected

At least one in five people in countries for which data are available were infected with influenza during the first year of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a new study.

25 Jan 2013

Strain of polio from Pakistan found in Egyptian sewers; vaccination drives planned

"Pakistani health officials Monday called for infants leaving the country to be issued polio vaccinations at airports after virus samples linked to a southern Pakistani city were discovered in Egypt,"

25 Jan 2013

Targeting key HIV protein could stop HIV infection from progressing to AIDS

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may have found an "Achilles heel" in a key HIV protein. In findings published online today in Chemistry and Biology, they showed that targeting this vulnerable spot could stop the virus from replicating, potentially thwarting HIV infection from progressing to full-blown AIDS.

25 Jan 2013

CDC recognizes Mayo Clinic as Regional TB Training and Medical Consultation Center

Mayo Clinic has been designated a Regional Tuberculosis Training and Medical Consultation Center by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As such, it will be responsible for developing new and enhanced training and technical support for medical and public health professionals in an 11-state area.

25 Jan 2013

Findings could help explain prevalence of urinary tract infections in post-menopausal women

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, show that reservoirs of uropathogenic E. coli within the bladder exist in higher numbers post-menopause than pre-menopause in a mouse model, a finding that could help explain the greater prevalence of urinary tract infections in post-menopausal women.

25 Jan 2013

Study highlights the need for more targeted antibiotic therapy in cancer patients

What cancerous conditions lead to what kinds of bacterial infections? If doctors knew, they could predict which patients would likely benefit from pre-treatment with certain kinds of antibiotics.

25 Jan 2013

New handheld device performs rapid HIV tests

Samuel K. Sia, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has taken his innovative lab-on-a-chip and developed a way to not only check a patient's HIV status anywhere in the world with just a finger prick, but also synchronize the results automatically and instantaneously with central health-care records-10 times faster, the researchers say, than the benchtop ELISA, a broadly used diagnostic technique.

25 Jan 2013

New hope for lupus patients

A clinical trial with 149 patients suffering from the very disabling autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus, has shown the effectiveness of a synthetic peptide developed by a team of researchers led by CNRS biologist Slyviane Muller at the Institut de Biologie Moleculaire (IBMC) in Strasbourg, France.

25 Jan 2013

Bloodstream infections in newborns reduce significantly

Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in newborns were reduced by 58 percent in less than a year in hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) participating in an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety program.

25 Jan 2013

Researchers to develop new diagnostic tools and treatments for people with rare diseases

A multi-million Euro initiative is bringing together researchers from across the world to develop new diagnostic tools and new treatments for people with rare diseases and to connect research data in this area on a global scale.

25 Jan 2013

Researchers initiate first gene therapy clinical trial for Fabry disease

Researchers in Calgary have launched the first gene therapy clinical trial in the world for Fabry disease, a rare inherited enzyme deficiency that can shorten the lifespan of people who have it by as much as 40 years.

24 Jan 2013

'Big Push' campaign revived at World Economic summit

"Last September the Huffington Post, together with the Global Fund [to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria], launched 'The Big Push' campaign, seeking to build on the great progress that has been made in recent years fighting AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria."

24 Jan 2013

Reports examine progress in global NTD response

Writing in the ONE Blog, Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, highlights two reports released last week that examine global efforts against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) one year after the London Declaration, as well as a report by the Hudson Institute, also released last week, which "highlight[s] the crucial links between NTDs and broader economic and societal consequences."

24 Jan 2013

Madagascar faces challenges in vaccinating children

"In Madagascar, pneumonia is responsible for 21 percent of deaths among children under five years old -- making it the leading cause of death for this age group," but "[t]he recent introduction of a vaccine to protect against pneumococcal disease, the leading cause of severe childhood pneumonia, is attempting to reduce the thousands of child deaths that occur every year in" the country, IRIN reports.

24 Jan 2013

Experts meet to discuss U.S., global TB drug shortages

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports on a meeting held last week "to discuss the problem of U.S. and global tuberculosis [TB] drug shortages."

24 Jan 2013