Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

IDC secures $32 million in Series B financing

Immune Design Corp. (IDC), a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing novel vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious disease and cancer, announced today that it has secured $32 million in Series B financing. The round was led by ProQuest Investments and was joined by current investors: The Column Group, Versant Ventures, and Alta Partners. The Series B financing brings the total amount of equity capital raised by IDC to $50 million since its inception in 2008.

26 Jul 2010

Einstein scientists awarded $4.1M to test microbicide Carraguard against HPV

The National Cancer Institute has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University $4.1 million to test the microbicide Carraguard- against the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. The research will evaluate the efficacy of Carraguard- - a clear gel made from the seaweed derivative carrageenan - in preventing new HPV infections in women.

26 Jul 2010

New model of inflammatory bowel disease explores interactions of cells in immune system

Scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have constructed a mathematical and computational model of inflammatory bowel disease that allows researchers to simulate the cellular and molecular changes underlying chronic inflammation in humans. The model allows scientists to explore different interactions of cells in the immune system, check how these cells are linked to inflammation in the colon, and identify intervention points to perhaps stop the disease in its tracks.

23 Jul 2010

Health bodies to discuss steps to further reduce mother to child HIV transmission

Transmission of HIV to children before or at birth has dropped dramatically around the country in the last decade since the advent of powerful new therapies. That certainly is true for Florida, where each year, fewer than 10 babies are born with the disease despite the fact that more than 600 HIV-positive women each year, on average, give birth.

23 Jul 2010

National Jewish Health receives $31M NIH contract to study skin infections associated with atopic dermatitis

The National Institute of Allergy and Infections Disease has awarded a five-year $31 million contract to National Jewish Health, which is leading a consortium of academic medical centers seeking to better understand skin infections associated with atopic dermatitis. The researchers will focus on antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and widespread viral infections of the skin, both of which are more prevalent among atopic dermatitis patients.

23 Jul 2010

Scientists uncover new mechanism that reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease

In a joint study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University have uncovered a novel mechanism that dramatically increases insulin sensitivity and reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

22 Jul 2010

Researchers block stress responses in cancer surgery patients

Cancer surgery wreaks havoc on a body's immune system and stress hormones exacerbate the problem. As a result, about half of those who undergo surgery for tumor removal experience a recurrence of cancer in the same region or other parts of the body.

22 Jul 2010

Gladstone Institutes, H. Lundbeck collaborate to identify therapeutic candidates for neurological diseases

The Gladstone Institutes and the international pharmaceutical company H. Lundbeck A/S have announced a collaborative research agreement to study and identify therapeutic candidates for neurological diseases. The agreement funds research at the Gladstone Center for Translational Research led by Gladstone investigator Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, and establishes the new Lundbeck Center for Neurovascular and Immuno-imaging at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease.

22 Jul 2010

Abbott second-quarter global sales increase 17.8% to $8.8 billion

Abbott today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

21 Jul 2010

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

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

IDC secures $32 million in Series B financing

Einstein scientists awarded $4.1M to test microbicide Carraguard against HPV

New model of inflammatory bowel disease explores interactions of cells in immune system

Health bodies to discuss steps to further reduce mother to child HIV transmission

National Jewish Health receives $31M NIH contract to study skin infections associated with atopic dermatitis

Scientists uncover new mechanism that reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease

Researchers block stress responses in cancer surgery patients

Gladstone Institutes, H. Lundbeck collaborate to identify therapeutic candidates for neurological diseases

Abbott second-quarter global sales increase 17.8% to $8.8 billion

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

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