Encephalitis News and Research

Latest Encephalitis News and Research

Scientists identify potential new treatment for Nipah and Hendra viruses

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have identified a potential new treatment for the Nipah and Hendra viruses, two lethal and emerging viruses for which there is currently no treatment or vaccine available. The approach could also lead to new therapies for measles, mumps and the flu. The new research appears in today's edition of the prestigious journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens.

29 Oct 2010

Inviragen commences Phase 1 clinical trial of DENVax dengue vaccine in Colombia

Inviragen, a company developing vaccines to protect against infectious diseases worldwide, and the Program for the Study and Control of Tropical Diseases (PECET), jointly announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of DENVax™ in Colombia. DENVax is an investigational vaccine designed to provide protection against all four dengue virus serotypes. The trial will measure the safety of DENVax as well as the immune responses induced by the vaccine in healthy adults in Rionegro, Colombia.

25 Oct 2010

Beijing CDC selects Sinovac as first priority supplier of seasonal influenza vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that it has been selected by the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Beijing CDC) as one of the five manufacturers to supply seasonal influenza vaccine to the citizens of Beijing.

25 Oct 2010

Sinovac Biotech receives Drug Registration Certificate for seasonal influenza vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that Sinovac Biotech (Hong Kong) Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary company in Hong Kong, has received the Certificate of Drug/Product Registration from the Hong Kong Department of Health for its seasonal influenza vaccine Anflu.

25 Oct 2010

Akonni receives NIJ grant to develop HCID system for SNP identification

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and plans to market sophisticated genetic testing devices for diagnosing complex infectious and human diseases, today announced receipt of a nearly $500,000 Phase III Grant from the National Institutes of Justice (NIJ).

13 Oct 2010

Inviragen, PharmaJet awarded NIAID contract to develop needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine

Inviragen and PharmaJet announced the award of a five year, $15.5 million dollar contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to advance the development of a needle-free, easy to administer dengue vaccine. The award will fund preclinical studies, regulatory filings, manufacturing and clinical testing of Inviragen's tetravalent dengue vaccine, DENVax delivered with PharmaJet's convenient needle-free injection device.

8 Oct 2010

Researchers examine new genes to control mosquito-borne diseases

An Iowa State University researcher searched for new genes that are turned on during infection in a type of mosquito that is not only a pest, but transmits disease-causing pathogens.

4 Oct 2010

Tamir's compounds perform better than Ganciclovir for Cytomegalovirus disease: Study

Tamir Biotechnology, Inc. announced today that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported test results confirming two of our lead compounds outperformed market leader Roche's drug Ganciclovir in cell culture and plaque reduction assay (the gold standard) for Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. Additionally, antiviral activity was also apparent against other human herpesviruses, namely, HSV-1 (cold sores), HSV-2 (genital herpes), and Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) (chicken-pox and shingles).

29 Sep 2010

NIH grants Akonni $3M for development of multi-drug resistant/extensively drug-resistant genotyping test

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and plans to market sophisticated genetic testing devices for complex infectious and human diseases, today announced receipt of a nearly $3 million Challenge Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a new program made possible under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

29 Sep 2010

H1N1 influenza increases neurological complications in children: Study

A recent study by researchers at the University of Utah determined that the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) caused a higher rate of neurological complications in children than the seasonal flu. The most common complications observed were seizures and encephalopathy.

20 Sep 2010

RAB-1 monoclonal antibody study shows positive result for rabies

With the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year, a new cost-effective rabies therapy developed by MassBiologics at the University of Massachusetts and the Serum Institute of India took an important step forward with positive results from a Phase 1 study. The recently completed study showed that a new monoclonal antibody (RAB-1) resulted in protective antibody levels in the serum of treated subjects equal to the current standard of treatment, which is often not available in the areas of the world hit hardest by rabies.

15 Sep 2010

Department of Health reports 2010's first human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania

The Department of Health today reported this year's first human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania. The individual is a 69-year-old man from Philadelphia County.

26 Aug 2010

Improvement in mumps vaccine administration needed to prevent future outbreaks

Although immunity to mumps is high in the United States, mumps vaccine coverage must be maintained and improved to prevent future outbreaks, according to a new study, now available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/655394), in the September 1, 2010 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

25 Aug 2010

Rush University Medical Center tests new drug therapy for West Nile fever

Neurological and infectious disease experts at Rush University Medical Center are testing a new drug therapy for the treatment of individuals with West Nile fever or suspected central nervous system infection due to the West Nile virus. Rush is the only site in the Midwest enrolling patients into the $50 million dollar, NIH-funded, Phase II clinical trial called PARADIGM.

18 Aug 2010

Intercell reports significant increase in second quarter revenue

Today, Intercell AG announced its financial results for Q2 and H1 2010.IXIARO/JESPECT sales increased significantly from EUR 2.4m in Q2 2009 to EUR 5.2m in Q2 2010 Continued focus on growing marketing and sales of product in traveler and military markets

17 Aug 2010

NanoViricides' anti-Herpes drug candidates demonstrate significant efficacy in cell culture studies

NanoViricides, Inc., reports that its anti-Herpes drug candidates demonstrated significant efficacy in the recently completed cell culture studies. The studies were performed in the laboratory of Dr. Ken Rosenthal at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

16 Aug 2010

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

Childhood immunizations keep our children safe from a number of serious diseases. This is a good time of year to make sure your child is up-to-date on all of his/her immunizations. Continue reading to find out which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for children 6 and under.

16 Aug 2010

Sinovac Biotech second-quarter 2010 sales increase 131% to $10.3 million

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading China-based vaccine manufacturer, announced today its unaudited financial results for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2010.

16 Aug 2010

Tamir Biotechnology's three compounds effective show potential for yellow fever

Tamir Biotechnology, Inc.(formerly Alfacell Corporation) announced today that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) confirmed that testing of three of our company's compounds showed in vitro results rarely seen before by the U.S. government for yellow fever.

11 Aug 2010

Akonni Biosystems receives patent for TruTip Extraction Kits

Akonni Biosystems, a developer of low-cost, multiplex molecular diagnostic testing systems, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent on July 20, 2010 for its method for rapidly purifying nucleic acids. U.S. Patent No. 7,759,112 entitled, "Apparatus, system, and method for purifying nucleic acids" protects the Company's use of its pioneering nucleic acid binding matrix when inserted into a pipette tip, tubing or cartridge for nucleic acid purification. The patent is owned by Akonni Biosystems.

6 Aug 2010