Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

NACI updates, strengthens statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada

This week, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization updated and strengthened its statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada. Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in children under the age of three. The NACI statement now includes Grade A recommendations (good evidence to recommend immunization) for healthy and preterm infants.

21 Jul 2010

La Jolla Institute forms partnership to investigate potential new therapy for sickle cell disease

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have joined forces with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Washington University in St. Louis to investigate a potential new therapy for sickle cell disease, a severe and chronic illness affecting more than 70,000 Americans and several million people worldwide.

21 Jul 2010

LSDF announces awards for four Washington research teams

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) today announced $600,000 in awards to four Washington state-based research teams to support commercial development of health-related technologies. The funded projects will concentrate on improving the success rate of lumbar punctures (spinal taps) in children; developing a safer and more effective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent; enhancing a DNA sequencing technology to profile T cells within the immune system; and developing a device to detect early stages of tooth decay.

21 Jul 2010

Men with asthma or eczema at lower risk of developing cancer

Men who had a history of asthma or eczema generally had a lower risk of developing cancer, according to a study carried out by researchers at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, the Research Centre of the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, and McGill University. The findings, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, show that male eczema sufferers had a lower risk of lung cancer while those with a history of asthma had a similar effect in relation to stomach cancer.

21 Jul 2010

Seattle Genetics, Agensys commence ASG-5ME ADC phase I clinical trial for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Agensys, Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., today announced that they have initiated a phase I clinical trial of ASG-5ME for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. ASG-5ME is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is being co-developed by both companies for the treatment of solid tumors.

20 Jul 2010

Researchers identify a substance that protects farm children from allergies, allergic asthma

Researchers from Bochum have isolated the substance in cowshed dust that possibly protects farm children from developing allergies and allergic asthma, namely the plant sugar molecule arabinogalactan. If high concentrations thereof are inhaled during the first year of life it inhibits the immune system from excessive defense reactions.

20 Jul 2010

Researchers discover new gene regulation, DNA behavior of breast cancer cells

Cancer researchers have discovered a previously unknown type of gene regulation and DNA behavior in breast cancer cells that may lead to better insight about environmental exposure to estrogen-like compounds. A new study, published in the journal Genome Research by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James), provides the first evidence that cells can regulate many genes at once by looping their DNA, contributing to cancer when it goes awry. In this study, the gene regulation was discovered in breast cancer cells as a response to the hormone estrogen and resulted in the silencing of 14 genes at one time.

20 Jul 2010

Corgenix, ELITech establish broad strategic alliance

Corgenix Medical Corporation, a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, and the ELITech Group, a Paris, France-based, privately held group of companies and worldwide manufacturer and distributor of in-vitro diagnostic equipment and reagents, today announced a broad strategic alliance.

19 Jul 2010

Encorium CRO acquires Progenitor

Encorium Group, Inc., a full service multinational clinical research organization (CRO) conducting studies in over 30 countries for many of the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, today announced that it has acquired Progenitor Holdings AG, a corporation organized in Switzerland and its wholly-owned subsidiaries organized in Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, India and Hong Kong for cash and stock valued at EURO 1.7 million, plus earn-out consideration of cash and stock with a value of up to EURO 1.5 million.

19 Jul 2010

Study evaluates immunization benefits of dissolving microneedles

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could allow persons without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines - while providing improved immunization against diseases such as influenza.

19 Jul 2010

New mechanism that drives development of B-lymphocytes in bone marrow discovered

Scientists from the Department of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Biology III, Faculty of Biology and the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, BIOSS have discovered a new mechanism that drives the development of B-lymphocytes in our bone marrow. B-lymphocytes are an important part of our immune system. Upon their activation they produce the antibodies protecting us from infections.

17 Jul 2010

Resveratrol concentration impacts cancer risk mitigation: Study

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Thomas Wang, who specializes in cancer prevention research, has reported evidence that for some dietary compounds, length of exposure over time may be key to whether or not ingestion leads to a beneficial, or detrimental, effect.Scientists do not know exactly why one person develops cancer and another does not. But they do know that certain nutrients might increase or decrease cancer risk. There are "layers" of factors involved in the development of cancer, and Wang is studying the layers involving peoples' diet complexity and gene expression.

17 Jul 2010

Studying retrovirus assembly can help new drug development for infection control

How a retrovirus, like HIV, reproduces and assembles new viruses is different than previously thought, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Understanding the steps a virus takes for assembly could allow development of a way to prevent the spread of retroviral diseases. The team studied a chicken virus called Rous sarcoma virus that causes cancer in chickens and is similar to HIV.

16 Jul 2010

New findings on macrophage activation can facilitate development of early diagnosis tools

Immune system cells called macrophages spring into action to surround and destroy threats such as viruses or cancer cells. But sometimes the would-be protective response leads to persistent inflammation, which, in turn, can cause disease.Scientists don't know exactly how macrophages cross the line from being good cops to bad cops, but researchers at the University of Florida recently unearthed several clues about the mechanisms involved. Through the lens of two inflammation-related diseases, HIV and rheumatoid arthritis, they identified changes in specific proteins linked to the action of macrophages, white blood cells that are key to the body's natural defenses.

16 Jul 2010

ALLOZYNE signs worldwide licensing agreement with The Scripps Research Institute

ALLOZYNE Inc. announced today the signing of a worldwide licensing agreement with The Scripps Research Institute. The agreement gives ALLOZYNE rights to a unique and powerful chemical reaction, developed by Nobel Laureate K. Barry Sharpless of Scripps Research, known as "Click chemistry." The novelty of this reaction comes from its ability to introduce two different molecular components and have them "click" together stably and irreversibly.

15 Jul 2010

Activities of TAT fully consolidated into Geron

Geron Corporation today announced that the activities of TA Therapeutics, its joint venture with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are being fully consolidated into Geron.

15 Jul 2010

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Today, the National Institutes of Health announce that the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), established in 2005, will be funded for five more years. CoFAR will continue to foster new approaches to prevent and treat food allergies and also expand in scope to include research on the genetic causes underlying food allergy and studies of food allergy-associated eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs).

15 Jul 2010

UC San Diego and CTRI receive $37.2M NCRR Clinical and Translational Science Award

The University of California, San Diego Health Sciences and its expanding Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI) have received a five-year, $37.2 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health.

15 Jul 2010

Scientists awarded $2.3M grant to develop new treatments for drug addiction

A pair of scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $2.3 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to conduct research relevant to developing new treatments for drug addiction.

15 Jul 2010

Aduro BioTech announces issuance of two important patents

Aduro BioTech, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, announced today the issuance of two important patents, the formation of a distinguished scientific advisory board, the addition of key members to its Board of Directors, and the reporting of preliminary top line long-term survival data from a Phase 1 clinical trial with 2 year follow-up.

15 Jul 2010

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

NACI updates, strengthens statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada

La Jolla Institute forms partnership to investigate potential new therapy for sickle cell disease

LSDF announces awards for four Washington research teams

Men with asthma or eczema at lower risk of developing cancer

Seattle Genetics, Agensys commence ASG-5ME ADC phase I clinical trial for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Researchers identify a substance that protects farm children from allergies, allergic asthma

Researchers discover new gene regulation, DNA behavior of breast cancer cells

Corgenix, ELITech establish broad strategic alliance

Encorium CRO acquires Progenitor

Study evaluates immunization benefits of dissolving microneedles

New mechanism that drives development of B-lymphocytes in bone marrow discovered

Resveratrol concentration impacts cancer risk mitigation: Study

Studying retrovirus assembly can help new drug development for infection control

New findings on macrophage activation can facilitate development of early diagnosis tools

ALLOZYNE signs worldwide licensing agreement with The Scripps Research Institute

Activities of TAT fully consolidated into Geron

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

UC San Diego and CTRI receive $37.2M NCRR Clinical and Translational Science Award

Scientists awarded $2.3M grant to develop new treatments for drug addiction

Aduro BioTech announces issuance of two important patents

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