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Foreign Policy examines HIV epidemic in Swaziland

Foreign Policy examines the HIV epidemic in Swaziland, where nearly one-fifth of residents are infected. Because of the country's high per capita infection rate, one might expect HIV to slap you in the face. But there are no buildings collapsed by an HIV earthquake, no towns flooded by an HIV tsunami.

14 Jul 2011

Pre-exposure prophylaxis reduces risk of HIV infection

In a result that will fundamentally change approaches to HIV prevention in Africa, an international study has demonstrated that individuals at high risk for HIV infection who took a daily tablet containing an HIV medication - either the antiretroviral medication tenofovir or tenofovir in combination with emtricitabine - experienced significantly fewer HIV infections than those who received a placebo pill.

14 Jul 2011

Arabidopsis thaliana helps scientists to solve puzzles in human health

A tiny plant called Arabidopsis thaliana just helped scientists unearth new clues about the daily cycles of many organisms, including humans. This is the latest in a long line of research, much of it supported by the National Institutes of Health, that uses plants to solve puzzles in human health.

14 Jul 2011

PharmAthene demonstrates 36 month stability of rPA anthrax vaccine program candidate

PharmAthene, Inc. announced today that it has achieved an important program milestone in its recombinant protective antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine program and demonstrated 36 month stability of its rPA drug product candidate previously produced at Avecia Biologics Laboratories in the United Kingdom. The stability data were prepared utilizing a variety of analytical methods and a well characterized mouse challenge potency assay.

14 Jul 2011

Melbourne bat-bourne virus warning

A Melbourne discovery of a flying fox carrying the deadly Lyssavirus has prompted a warning from health authorities about handling the animals. A resident of East Kew discovered the infected flying fox this week. It is the 10th case of the virus being discovered in flying foxes in Victoria since 1996. The virus has been found in four species within Australia, including the Grey-headed flying fox which is prevalent in Melbourne.

13 Jul 2011

Daily pill ‘combo’ prevents HIV transmission: New African study

According two studies in Africa, taking a daily pill containing either one or two anti-HIV drugs can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as three-quarters among heterosexual couples. This is an encouraging finding that could help focus on AIDS prevention. The results were so compelling that the larger study was halted early and the drugs given to all the participants, researchers said Wednesday.

13 Jul 2011

Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations increases investments in bold innovative ideas

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that twelve grantees have advanced to the next level of Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE), an initiative that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges. The grantees will receive additional funding to continue Phase II of their research over a two-year period.

13 Jul 2011

AIDS activists and advocates to protest against Gilead's drug pricing at San Francisco federal building

A small group of committed AIDS activists and advocates spearheaded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will protest the Bay Area's own Gilead Sciences over its pricing and policies on its HIV/AIDS medications.

13 Jul 2011

IAS, NIDA announce recipients of third annual joint research fellowships

The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the recipients of their third annual joint research fellowships. Recipients of the prestigious awards will receive US$75,000 each to advance scientific understanding of the linkages between drug use and HIV while fostering multinational research.

13 Jul 2011

Malaria parasite uses antibody camouflage to hide

Scientists from Rigshospitalet - Copenhagen University Hospital - and the University of Copenhagen have discovered malaria parasites use a type of antibody camouflage to hide from the immune system in the placentas of pregnant women, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a University of Copenhagen press release states.

13 Jul 2011

NIH grants $70M over five years to help search for HIV cure

NIH announced on Monday it will provide $70 million over five years to three collaborations searching for an HIV/AIDS cure, making it "the largest single investment yet … into finding a way to rid the virus from the body or at least reduce levels to the point that infected people can stop taking anti-HIV drugs - which many researchers until recently viewed as a hopeless quest," ScienceInsider reports.

13 Jul 2011

AHF applauds Gilead for licensing AIDS drugs to Medicines Patent Pool

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today lauded Gilead Sciences for being the first major AIDS drug company to share some drug patents with a new international Medicines Patent Pool, a move that will help ensure access to newer AIDS treatments in developing countries.

13 Jul 2011

Gilead becomes first company to license drugs to Medicines Patent Pool

"In the first agreement between a pharmaceutical company and the new international Medicines Patent Pool, Gilead Sciences announced Tuesday that it would license four of its AIDS and hepatitis B drugs to the pool," the New York Times reports.

13 Jul 2011

Donors should continue to provide AIDS funding to China, UNAIDS head says

Cutting AIDS funding to China will "be a big mistake for a donor and particularly, for anyone who's invested in China today, ... for the simple reason that this funding is a catalytic fund," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

13 Jul 2011

New innovative device can eliminate malaria

Grand Challenges Canada announces a grant today to support further development of a new innovative device to attract and kill mosquitoes that can transmit malaria.

13 Jul 2011

Biologists discover new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection

Purdue University biologists identified a new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection, which could provide a target for new antibiotics.

13 Jul 2011

BRICS health ministers agree to improve access to low-cost medicines

Health ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in Beijing "on Monday vowed to improve access to low-cost and high-quality medicine - and called on developed nations to shoulder responsibility in helping the poor," Agence France-Presse reports.

13 Jul 2011

Study reveals link between HPV infection and SCC in organ transplant recipients

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals an association between the human papillomavirus (betaPV) infection and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in organ transplant recipients.

13 Jul 2011

Sexually transmitted diseases more common in women age 40

A Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert is calling for all sexually active American women age 40 and older to get tested for the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis after new study evidence found that the sexually transmitted disease (STD) is more than twice as common in this age group than previously thought.

12 Jul 2011

USPTO issues notice of allowance to MDI's PCR-based technology platform

Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a company developing Detect-Ready assays designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, today announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent application titled "Methods, Compositions and Kits for Detection and Analysis of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria."

12 Jul 2011