Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Preliminary data of BIBW 2992 in head and neck cancer, NSCLC to be presented at ASCO 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim will announce preliminary data in the areas of head and neck cancer and non-small cell lung cancer for one of the company's investigational compounds, BIBW 2992. These data will be presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

21 May 2010

Live malaria parasites in the skin shut down immune responses and block vaccine function: Study

Why one after another new malaria vaccine tests well in the laboratory but fails in field trials has frustrated legions of malaria researchers, and has been the main stumbling block to malaria eradication. Now, a research team from Germany has unraveled that puzzle and shown that the problem is all about the skin and how it controls the immune system. The implications are profound.

20 May 2010

Research shows improved treatment of severe epilepsy reduces overall cost of the condition

Improved treatment of severe epilepsy could reduce the overall cost of the condition, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomic Outcomes Research at the Hilton Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia.

20 May 2010

Quest PharmaTech net consolidated loss for 2010 increases to $517,799

Quest PharmaTech Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products for the treatment of cancer, today announced financial and operational results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010.

20 May 2010

ImaginAb, GSK CIC conclude two research collaboration agreements

ImaginAb, Inc. and the GSK Clinical Imaging Centre (part of the GlaxoSmithKline Group of Companies) have concluded two research collaboration agreements around a clinical therapeutic antibody asset currently under development by GSK in the field of oncology.

20 May 2010

Natural molecule in body counters progression of osteoarthritis: Scientists

An international team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute in California and the National Research Institute for Child Health and Development in Japan has discovered that a natural molecule in the body counters the progression of osteoarthritis. The findings could one day lead to new therapies for some common diseases of aging.

19 May 2010

People with asthma or COPD at risk from oil-dispersing chemicals

Oil washing ashore and the chemicals used in the clean up may pose a health risk for those who have respiratory diseases according to an environmental allergy-asthma expert.

19 May 2010

Experts accelerate discovery and development of new TB drugs: Lancet article

According to a paper published today in the Lancet, there is unprecedented progress in the development of the global tuberculosis drug pipeline with 10 drug candidates currently in clinical development. The paper was written by a team of renowned international experts led by Zhenkun Ma, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for the TB Alliance, a not-for-profit organization accelerating the discovery and development of new TB drugs.

19 May 2010

TPP raises £9.6M to develop early-stage pre-clinical drug candidates

TPP Global Development, an innovative drug development company, announced today it has raised £9.6m which will be used to execute the Company's strategy to develop early-stage pre-clinical drug candidates.

19 May 2010

PET scanning provides great insight into immune response

A commonly used probe for Positron Emission Tomography scanning and a new probe developed by researchers at UCLA reveal different functions in diverse cells of the immune system, providing a non-invasive and much clearer picture of an immune response in action.

19 May 2010

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center launches REGID

A new nationwide registry will allow researchers to conduct larger, more effective studies of often misdiagnosed disorders that affect thousands of children in the United States.

19 May 2010

FDA accepts for filing Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals' cysteamine hydrochloride ophthalmic solution NDA

Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the filing of the company's new drug application (NDA) for its cysteamine hydrochloride ophthalmic solution, an investigational therapy for the treatment of corneal cystine crystals in patients with cystinosis. The FDA also granted the NDA Priority Review status, a designation given to drugs that may provide major advances or a treatment where no adequate therapy exists.

18 May 2010

Australian doctors identify new disease and devise its cure

A team of Australian doctors have identified a new disease and its cure. In their report published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases the doctors from The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) report a case of a young NSW woman ill for almost a decade with repeated hospitalizations. She is now said to be suffering from a diseases that disabled the signaling processes of her immune system. The diseases is not named yet. Dr Maher Gandhi, head of QIMR's Immunohemotology Laboratory believes there are more cases of this disease. He said this Monday, “I haven't got a name for it other than T-cell signaling defect of which I assume there are quite a few different types… There are no recorded cases of this in the literature. Katie is unique ... I think we're at the tip of the iceberg here.”

17 May 2010

High fat diet linked to exacerbation of asthma

In a new study researchers have found a connection between exacerbation of bronchial asthma and high calorie burgers and fries. Diet and lifestyle have been linked to asthma for some time now but this is the first real evidence. With the advent of unhealthy diets the incidence and prevalence of asthma is on the rise. In 2007, about 34.1 million Americans had asthma, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. From 1980 through 1994, the prevalence of asthma increased by 75 percent.

17 May 2010

Scientists find clues to how our brains work

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have found a specific chemical compound secreted by many predators that makes mice behave fearfully. The research helps scientists better understand animal behavior, and may eventually lead to new insights into how sensory information is processed in human brains.

17 May 2010

Astellas Pharma, OSI Pharmaceuticals sign definitive merger agreement

Astellas Pharma Inc., a global pharmaceutical company, and OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company primarily focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of molecular targeted therapies addressing medical needs in oncology, diabetes and obesity, today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Astellas will acquire OSI.

17 May 2010