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Findings of poor quality malaria drugs in Africa add to artemisinin-resistance worries

A study released on Monday found that between 26 percent and 44 percent of artemisinin-based malaria drugs sold in Madagascar, Senegal and Uganda "failed quality testing" because of impurities or insufficient amounts of active ingredient, the Associated Press reports.

10 Feb 2010

NIAID awards Tulane University over $15M to develop Lassa fever vaccine and treatment

The National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a five-year contract totaling $15,254,919 to Tulane University for its ongoing efforts to treat and prevent Lassa fever, an often deadly viral disease that threatens hundreds of thousands of people annually in West Africa and is classified as a potential bioterrorism threat.

10 Feb 2010

IgM/IgG ratio is useful in diagnosing primary biliary cirrhosis

Previous studies have shown that assessment of immunoglobulin subclasses in plasma cells by immunohistochemistry (IHC) may be useful in the histopathologic evaluation of autoimmune liver diseases. However, further studies are necessary in order to validate the diagnostic utility of IgM and IgG immunohistochemistry in this specific scenario.

10 Feb 2010

Health officials encourage caution, despite H1N1 case decline

As the number of new H1N1 (swine flu) infections worldwide drops, U.S. health officials on Friday cautioned the virus continues to circulate and can still be deadly, Reuters reports. According to the WHO, H1N1 remains the dominant strain worldwide, but there are reports of the recent emergence of the seasonal flu in Africa and China, according to the news agency.

10 Feb 2010

CQ examines concerns over Obama's FY2011 global health budget

Congressional Quarterly examines concerns among health advocates and international development experts about what President Obama's FY 2011 budget request might mean to U.S. commitments to particular diseases abroad, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

9 Feb 2010

CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien to host Latino Commission on AIDS’s annual benefit gala

Soledad O’Brien, CNN’s celebrated anchor and special correspondent, will host the Latino Commission on AIDS’s annual benefit gala – Cielo Latino – to be held Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at Cipriani Wall Street, Guillermo Chacon, president of the Commission, announced today.

9 Feb 2010

Risk of missed doses underestimated, effective guidance programmes needed

Many patients with chronic conditions do not take as much of their medication as they should. As a result, the effectiveness of the treatment is often suboptimal, and it also becomes more expensive. Until now, the extent to which the guidance of patients could be improved to promote the correct use of medication had been unclear.

9 Feb 2010

Thymosin β4 exhibits potential as new therapeutic agent for liver failure due to chronic HBV infection

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that researchers have correlated Tβ4 levels with the clinical course of patients with hepatitis B virus-related liver failure. It was reported that serum thymosin β4 levels were significantly lower in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection and that the magnitude of the reduction of thymosin β4 was closely related to the severity of the hepatic injury and to patient death. Since patients with higher Tβ4 levels survived the disease, changes in Tβ4 values could reflect outcome in some liver failure patients.

9 Feb 2010

USPTO awards NexBio patent covering sialidase pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treating influenza

NexBio, Inc. today announced the issuance by the United States Patent and Trademark Office of United States Patent No. 7,645,448 entitled "Class of Therapeutic Protein Based Molecules". This patent covers NexBio's sialidase pharmaceutical compositions, including its lead compound DAS181 (Fludase®), and methods of treating or preventing viral infection by influenza and parainfluenza with such compositions.

9 Feb 2010

Debiopharm Group signs exclusive licence agreement with Novartis for alisporivir

Debiopharm Group, a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs, today announced the signature of an exclusive licence agreement with Novartis for the development, manufacture and commercialisation of Debio 025 (alisporivir), a selective, first-in-class cyclophilin (Cyp) inhibitor with a potent anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) effect. The product is currently in phase 2b clinical development for the treatment of hepatitis C. Debiopharm granted Novartis worldwide commercialisation rights to Debio 025 except for Japan.

9 Feb 2010

NIH awards over $15M for Tulane University's collaborative effort to combat VHF

Corgenix Medical Corporation, a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, and Tulane University, today announced a major extension of the collaborative effort to combat viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), an effort that will generate an additional $800,000 in contract revenue for Corgenix over the life of the contract.

9 Feb 2010

FDA accepts Psyadon Pharmaceuticals' ecopipam IND for treatment of LND

Psyadon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to study ecopipam in patients with Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND). The first center at which the drug will be evaluated is Emory University under the direction of Dr. Hyder A. Jinnah, MD, PhD. The study is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of different doses of ecopipam in adults (group 1), adolescents (group 2) and children (group 3) with LND.

9 Feb 2010

Novavax announces new data from trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine study

Novavax, Inc. announced today new data from a clinical study that began in May of 2009 among healthy adults 18 to 49 years of age with Novavax's trivalent seasonal influenza Virus-like Particle (VLP) vaccine. The vaccine matched the influenza strains recommended for the 2008-2009 influenza season including H1N1 A/Brisbane/59/2007, H3N2 A/Brisbane/10/2007, and B/Florida/04/2006 strains.

9 Feb 2010

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have signed a license agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche group, and Roche, that grants the companies exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses. These viruses include the strains for the current seasonal and H1N1 influenzas. Genentech and Roche also have a non-exclusive right to manufacture, develop and market diagnostic tests for group 1 influenza.

9 Feb 2010

Phase 1 trial of Cerus' INTERCEPT red blood system meets primary endpoint

Cerus Corporation announced today that its Phase 1 trial of red blood cells treated with the INTERCEPT Blood System met its primary endpoint, with preliminary analysis demonstrating that greater than 75 percent of treated cells continued to circulate 24 hours following transfusion. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is a pathogen inactivation treatment the company is developing to protect against transmission of infectious diseases through red blood cell transfusions. An estimated 70 million units of red blood cells are transfused worldwide each year.

9 Feb 2010

GeoVax Labs provides updates on HIV-1 vaccine trials

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents, today provided an update on its vaccine trials progress.

9 Feb 2010

Study indicates women receiving antiretroviral therapy are more likely to become pregnant

In PLoS Medicine this week a study conducted in a multi-country HIV treatment program in sub-Saharan Africa has found that pregnancy rates increase in HIV-infected women after they start antiretroviral therapy (ART).

9 Feb 2010

Plant-produced antibodies can help prevent infection

The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well.

9 Feb 2010

Combination of blueberries and probiotics protects against intestinal disorders

It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis.

9 Feb 2010

HHS Secretary releases statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

On Sunday, February 7, the country will commemorate the tenth annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It’s a day that reminds us that HIV/AIDS is still a public health crisis in the US. And it’s a day when communities and organizations across the country come together to recognize the impact this disease has had on the African American community.

8 Feb 2010

Disease/Infection News

Findings of poor quality malaria drugs in Africa add to artemisinin-resistance worries

NIAID awards Tulane University over $15M to develop Lassa fever vaccine and treatment

IgM/IgG ratio is useful in diagnosing primary biliary cirrhosis

Health officials encourage caution, despite H1N1 case decline

CQ examines concerns over Obama's FY2011 global health budget

CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien to host Latino Commission on AIDS’s annual benefit gala

Risk of missed doses underestimated, effective guidance programmes needed

Thymosin β4 exhibits potential as new therapeutic agent for liver failure due to chronic HBV infection

USPTO awards NexBio patent covering sialidase pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treating influenza

Debiopharm Group signs exclusive licence agreement with Novartis for alisporivir

NIH awards over $15M for Tulane University's collaborative effort to combat VHF

FDA accepts Psyadon Pharmaceuticals' ecopipam IND for treatment of LND

Novavax announces new data from trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine study

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech

Phase 1 trial of Cerus' INTERCEPT red blood system meets primary endpoint

GeoVax Labs provides updates on HIV-1 vaccine trials

Study indicates women receiving antiretroviral therapy are more likely to become pregnant

Plant-produced antibodies can help prevent infection

Combination of blueberries and probiotics protects against intestinal disorders

HHS Secretary releases statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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