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Microbix renegotiates key terms of Hunan influenza vaccine joint venture

Microbix Biosystems Inc., a biotechnology company commercializing novel technologies for influenza vaccine manufacturing and biological products announced today that it is renegotiating key terms of the original joint venture agreement with their Joint Venture partner Hunan Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

28 Jun 2011

India close to eradicating polio

"Scientists, health workers and community outreach officials in India believe they're finally on the cusp of a major milestone, the defeat of polio throughout the country," the Los Angeles Times reports.

28 Jun 2011

RL Solutions, 3M to offer new software for minimizing risk of healthcare-acquired infections

3M Infection Prevention and RL Solutions today announced a joint feasibility program to provide healthcare facilities data on the rate of infection in real-time and the costs associated with those infections.

28 Jun 2011

More than 18,000 cholera cases recorded in Haitian capital since start of May, WHO says

More than 18,000 cases of cholera have been recorded in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since the beginning of May, an increase that may be related to "the beginning of the rainy season and the flooding that hit the capital," according to Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesperson, Agence France-Presse reports.

28 Jun 2011

Bdellovibrio safe and effective for treating Salmonella infection

Scientists have tested a predatory bacterium - Bdellovibrio - against Salmonella in the guts of live chickens. They found that it significantly reduced the numbers of Salmonella bacteria and, importantly, showed that Bdellovibrio are safe when ingested.

28 Jun 2011

HIV drug linked to accelerated and early aging

New research published this Sunday reveals that a class of generic AIDS drugs often used to treat HIV in Africa and other poor regions can cause premature aging and lead to age-related illnesses such as heart disease and dementia.

27 Jun 2011

Brazil stepping up efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

"Long heralded as a model for the global response to HIV/AIDS, Brazil is intensifying its actions, at home and abroad, in the face of potential setbacks including an arising need for new treatment regimens, the resultant increase in drug prices and the debate over intellectual property rights," Inter Press Service reports.

27 Jun 2011

Researchers identify new component of plague causing bacterium that can be used as a vaccine

Researchers from the Smiley lab at the Trudeau Institute have now identified a single component of the plague causing bacterium that can be used as a vaccine. This single "subunit" could potentially be used to create a safer form of a T cell-stimulating plague vaccine. The new data is featured in the July issue of The Journal of Immunology.

27 Jun 2011

ASP unveils innovative healthcare environmental infection prevention technology

Sterilization Products (ASP) announced today the launch of an innovative infection prevention technology – GLOSAIR Healthcare Environmental Decontamination – that provides effective, safe and thorough disinfection of hospital rooms and operating suites to reduce the risk of patient contact with infection-causing pathogens.

27 Jun 2011

Researchers identify how sooty mangabeys survive SIV infection

Sooty mangabeys, a type of African monkey, have intrigued scientists for years because they can survive infection by SIV, a relative of HIV, and not succumb to AIDS.

27 Jun 2011

New 3D herpes infection model brings hope

Herpes infections on the lips, in the eyes or on the nose are painful, long-lasting and unpleasant. A new 3D herpes infection model brings hope: active ingredients and new treatments can be reliably tested with this model. Animal tests could soon be a thing of the past.

27 Jun 2011

Biota reports preliminary data from CS-8958 Phase III trial against influenza

Dr Seizaburo Kashiwagi presented the preliminary data from an influenza Phase III prophylaxis study conducted during the 2009/2010 pandemic flu season in Japan.

27 Jun 2011

SOGC launches first Facebook game about healthy sexuality for Canadians

Today, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada is launching its first Facebook game - Sex Quest - to help Canadians learn about healthy sexuality, contraception and STIs.

27 Jun 2011

Video monitors on public buses to help raise HIV testing awareness among African Americans

A University of Pennsylvania study will determine if public transit can convey more than people going from point A to point B. Video displays on public buses in Los Angeles will be used to help determine the efficacy of an innovative soap opera-like video program designed to increase HIV testing among low-income African Americans 14 to 24 years of age.

27 Jun 2011

Some HIV drugs can cause premature ageing

A class of anti-retroviral drugs commonly used to treat HIV, particularly in Africa and low income countries, can cause premature ageing, according to research published today in the journal Nature Genetics. The study shows that the drugs damage DNA in the patient's mitochondria - the 'batteries' which power their cells.

27 Jun 2011

Michelle Obama's message of leadership for 'HIV-free future'

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby writes about First Lady Michelle Obama's trip to Africa and her focus on "youth leadership, education, health and wellness," including HIV/AIDS, in this Office of National AIDS Policy blog post.

24 Jun 2011

FDA approves second anti-HIV drug from Rutgers-Janssen collaboration

Two decades after Rutgers scientists began working with Paul Janssen, a legendary drug developer and founder of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica, to create new and potent drugs to fight AIDS, the FDA has approved the second anti-HIV drug that came from this collaboration.

24 Jun 2011

Evolutionary-management strategies to limit spread of drug-resistant diseases

In the war between drugs and drug-resistant diseases, is the current strategy for medicating patients giving many drug-resistant diseases a big competitive advantage?, asks a research paper that will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

24 Jun 2011

Sexually transmitted infection and reinfection rates 'unacceptably high' among adult film performers

Rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea infection among adult film performers in Los Angeles County are "unacceptably high," according to a paper in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

24 Jun 2011

Congo's cholera outbreak spreads to crowded capital city

Three cases of cholera have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital of Kinshasa, "home to at least 9 million people, many of whom live in cramped, unsanitary conditions," Reuters reports.

24 Jun 2011