Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Early life exposure to mold may increase risk of asthma in infants

Infants who live in "moldy" homes are three times more likely to develop asthma by age 7—an age that children can be accurately diagnosed with the condition.

2 Aug 2011

RSS honors UNC researcher with 2011 Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award

Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH, director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has received the 2011 Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award from the Rural Sociological Society.

2 Aug 2011

Universal flu vaccine based on “super antibody” coming soon

Researchers have finally found the first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus. The results of the experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment” for flu as well.

31 Jul 2011

Skin cancer vaccine on the way: Cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer

In a major medical breakthrough, cancer expert Prof Ian Frazer is on the verge of developing a vaccine against skin cancer within a year. The former ‘Australian of the Year’ and creator of the world's first cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has developed a world-first strategy to combat the insidious disease that affects two out of three Australians.

31 Jul 2011

ORENCIA SC formulation receives FDA approval for treatment of adults with RA

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA (abatacept) for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

30 Jul 2011

WSU professor receives NIH grant for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease research

Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine and genetics and of immunology and microbiology in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University, was awarded $1.7 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to explore how molecular elements in the body regulate the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

29 Jul 2011

Sigma-Tau, Soligenix expand partnership to develop and commercialize orBec in Europe

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announces the expansion and amendment of its North American licensing partnership with Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the development and commercialization of orBec into the European territory.

29 Jul 2011

Universal flu vaccine with super antibodies in near future

Researchers are close to developing a “super antibody” against flu that could be used as a universal treatment and pave the way for the development of a universal vaccine against the disease that affects billions of people every year.

29 Jul 2011

Celgene reports second quarter total revenue of $1.18 billion

Celgene Corporation announced non-GAAP net income of $417 million, or non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.89, for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2010 was $323 million, or non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.69.

28 Jul 2011

SMRT DNA sequencing technology reveals genetic profile of German E. coli bacteria

An international team of scientists has successfully employed single molecule, real-time DNA sequencing technology from Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. to provide valuable insights into the pathogenicity and evolutionary origins of the highly virulent bacterium responsible for the German E. coli outbreak.

28 Jul 2011

UM researchers unravel genomic code of German E. coli bacteria

A team led by University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Sciences researchers has unraveled the genomic code of the E. coli bacteria that caused the ongoing deadly outbreak in Germany that began in May 2011.

28 Jul 2011

UNICEF in new African vaccine drive

UNICEF (UN Children's Fund), has launched a massive vaccination campaign across the Horn of Africa to protect 2.5 million children against diseases like measles, which can be deadly for malnourished children. This drive would include a strategy to vaccinate every child in Somalia (under the age of 15) against measles.

27 Jul 2011

New preclinical data from Baxter's BAX 499 hemophilia study presented at ISTH

Baxter International Inc. announced today that new data from a series of studies on BAX 499, an investigational compound for potential subcutaneous hemophilia therapy, were presented this week during the 23rd annual congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) in Kyoto, Japan.

From Baxter International Inc. 27 Jul 2011

Kadmon, Dyax enter license agreement for antibody phage display libraries

Dyax Corp. and Kadmon Corporation, LLC announced today that Dyax has granted Kadmon a non-exclusive license to Dyax's proprietary "gold-standard" antibody phage display libraries for the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies.

26 Jul 2011

Biogen Idec reports revenue of $1.2 billion for second quarter 2011

Biogen Idec Inc., a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced its second quarter 2011 results.

26 Jul 2011

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, Biogen Idec announce data of rFVIIIFc Phase 1/2a trial for hemophilia A

Biogen Idec and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum today announced Phase 1/2a trial data showing that the companies' long-lasting fully-recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) was well tolerated and demonstrated an approximately 1.7-fold increase in half-life compared with Advate, a commercially-available factor VIII product, in 16 previously-treated patients with severe hemophilia A.

26 Jul 2011

Symposium papers highlight role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease

Recent years have seen major advances in understanding of the health effects of oxidative stress—including its potential to cause injury to the cardiovascular system. A series of expert updates on the role of oxidative stress in heart failure, atherosclerosis, and other cardiovascular diseases appears in a special symposium in the August issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

26 Jul 2011

UC San Diego receives NHLBI 'Program of Excellence in Glycosciences' grant

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have received a major 7-year, $18 million grant to begin translating emerging discoveries in the field of glycosciences into new discoveries and therapies related to heart, lung and blood diseases.

26 Jul 2011

CRI announces new changes to cancer research funding programs

Cancer Research Institute, Inc. (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 1953 to advance the science of tumor immunology and foster the discovery of new cancer immunotherapies, announced today new changes and additions to its research funding programs.

26 Jul 2011

Chicken pox vaccine reduced related deaths by 88%

The team of researchers found that although in 2006 a second dose was added to the vaccination roster, the decrease in deaths occurred largely during the time when just one shot was recommended. While chickenpox-related deaths are now relatively rare, the new two-dose regimen may eliminate them altogether, they said. The double dose will further reduce sick days and medical care associated with chickenpox and its complications, the study authors said.

25 Jul 2011