Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Scripps biologist describes major advancement in flu vaccine research

Every fall, millions of people roll up their sleeves to get a flu shot. Up to 20 percent of the population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While seasonal vaccines provide some protection, they are not always effective because the strains of influenza virus in the vaccine may not be well matched to the flu viruses circulating that year. So researchers are searching for a way to develop a more universal vaccine that would be effective against any variety of influenza.

5 Jan 2016

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

Minor variants of flu strains, which are not typically targeted in vaccines, carry a bigger viral punch than previously realized, a team of scientists has found. Its research, which examined samples from the 2009 flu pandemic in Hong Kong, shows that these minor strains are transmitted along with the major strains and can replicate and elude immunizations.

5 Jan 2016

CFDA issues new drug certificate and production license for Sinovac's EV71 vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that the China Food and Drug Administration issued the new drug certificate and production license for its Enterovirus 71 ("EV71") vaccine.

4 Jan 2016

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) that published online today in the journal eLife.

24 Dec 2015

Study on how immune systems of astronauts respond to seasonal flu vaccine

Every year, as influenza season - and flu shot season--rolls around, medical experts weigh in on just how effective it will be against that year's particular strain. What if that equation could take into account a person's own immune response?

24 Dec 2015

Zurampic (lesinurad) approved to treat high levels of hyperuricemia associated with gout

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zurampic (lesinurad) to treat high levels of uric acid in the blood (hyperuricemia) associated with gout, when used in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI), a type of drug approved to reduce the production of uric acid in the body.

22 Dec 2015

CSL submits rIX-FP new drug application to Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency

Global biotherapeutics leader CSL Behring announced today that the company has submitted its new drug application to Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency for its investigational fusion protein linking recombinant coagulation factor IX with recombinant albumin (rIX-FP).

22 Dec 2015

BiondVax's patent application for universal flu vaccine accepted in Israel

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. which is developing the Universal Flu Vaccine, announced today that its patent application in Israel on the Multimeric Multi-Epitope Polypeptide Influenza Vaccines (a universal flu vaccine), was accepted.

21 Dec 2015

Flu vaccine: the facts. An interview with Dr Lisa Maragakis

There are different formulations of the flu vaccine but in general they all do the same thing, which is to stimulate our body's immune system to recognize and fight against the influenza virus.

21 Dec 2015

Luminex's NxTAG Respiratory Pathogen Panel obtains FDA clearance

Luminex Corporation today announced that it has received FDA clearance for its NxTAG Respiratory Pathogen Panel that detects 20 clinically relevant viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens, including the atypical bacteria Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumonia.

20 Dec 2015

Findings show promising evidence for creating broad-spectrum antiviral

UW researchers working in collaboration with Kineta Inc. and the University of Texas at Galveston have shown that making a drug-like molecule to turn on innate immunity can induce genes to control infection in several -known viruses.

18 Dec 2015

Molecular signatures can predict flu vaccine responses in young and old

What factors inhibit strong responses to seasonal flu vaccines in the elderly? Why do anti-flu antibodies last longer after vaccination in some people? Answers are emerging from an Emory University-based systems biology analysis of blood samples from more than 400 volunteers who received seasonal flu vaccines. Bali Pulendran, PhD, led a team of researchers who tracked patterns of gene expression, known as molecular signatures, of strong immune responses in volunteers' blood across five consecutive seasons from 2007 to 2011.

16 Dec 2015

SLU researcher discovered world's first dengue vaccine

A vaccine to prevent dengue fever discovered by a Saint Louis University researcher in 1997 and now licensed worldwide by Sanofi Pasteur has been approved for use in Mexico. Dengvaxia is the world's first vaccine approved to prevent dengue fever, which is a virus spread by mosquitoes primarily in tropical and sub-tropical areas.

15 Dec 2015

NIAID scientists successfully test prime-boost H7N9 influenza vaccine concept in clinical trial

In clinical trials, several candidate H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccines made from inactivated viruses have been shown to be safe and to generate an immune response. However, scientists believe for practical use, these potential vaccines would require multiple doses or the addition of adjuvants, which enhance the immune response.

12 Dec 2015

Sinovac gets approval to begin clinical trials on Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine candidate

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that the Company has obtained approval to begin human clinical trials on its Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine (or "sIPV") candidate.

10 Dec 2015

Study reveals molecular function of protein essential for replication of H5N1 flu virus

An international collaboration of scientists from the CEA, CNRS, University Joseph Fourier, the EMBL and the ILL has revealed the molecular function of a protein essential for replication of H5N1 influenza virus.

10 Dec 2015

More than half of U.S. hospitals don't require flu shots for staff, new study finds

Within weeks, flu will start spreading across North America, sickening millions of people. It will hit people with health problems and weak immune systems hardest, and may kill tens of thousands of them.

10 Dec 2015

Simple approach to predict viral evolution may improve vaccine efficacy

New results from a study performed at the University of Helsinki suggest that genomic information from circulating influenza viruses can help in producing more efficient seasonal vaccines. The researchers were able to develop a simple approach for reliable real-time tracking and prediction of viral evolution based on whole-genome sequences of influenza viruses.

8 Dec 2015

Paracetamol provides no benefits in fighting influenza virus

Some doctors may recommend that patients with the flu take acetaminophen, or paracetemol, to relieve their symptoms; however, a new randomized clinical trial found no benefits to the over-the-counter medication in terms of fighting the influenza virus or reducing patients' temperature or other symptoms.

8 Dec 2015

NEK7 enzyme acts as on-off switch in innate immune system

UT Southwestern Medical Center and California researchers today provide the first report that an enzyme previously known solely for its role in cell division also acts as an on-off switch in the innate immune system -- the body's first defense against infection.

8 Dec 2015

Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Scripps biologist describes major advancement in flu vaccine research

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

CFDA issues new drug certificate and production license for Sinovac's EV71 vaccine

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Study on how immune systems of astronauts respond to seasonal flu vaccine

Zurampic (lesinurad) approved to treat high levels of hyperuricemia associated with gout

CSL submits rIX-FP new drug application to Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency

BiondVax's patent application for universal flu vaccine accepted in Israel

Flu vaccine: the facts. An interview with Dr Lisa Maragakis

Luminex's NxTAG Respiratory Pathogen Panel obtains FDA clearance

Findings show promising evidence for creating broad-spectrum antiviral

Molecular signatures can predict flu vaccine responses in young and old

SLU researcher discovered world's first dengue vaccine

NIAID scientists successfully test prime-boost H7N9 influenza vaccine concept in clinical trial

Sinovac gets approval to begin clinical trials on Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine candidate

Study reveals molecular function of protein essential for replication of H5N1 flu virus

More than half of U.S. hospitals don't require flu shots for staff, new study finds

Simple approach to predict viral evolution may improve vaccine efficacy

Paracetamol provides no benefits in fighting influenza virus

NEK7 enzyme acts as on-off switch in innate immune system

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

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