Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

U.S. to ask university officials how best to implement new DURC policy

"The U.S. government will soon be asking university officials to comment on how best to implement recently released dual use research rules at the university level," according to Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who spoke Monday at a workshop sponsored by the National Academies in Washington, ScienceInsider reports.

3 May 2012

Flu paper publication amidst threats of bioterrorism raises need for better rules of censorship

According to the editor of the scientific journal Nature, Dr Philip Campbell current procedures to assess and censor medical research potentially of use to terrorists need to be improved. He was speaking about the recent controversy regarding the bird flu virus H5N1 study. The study was initially stopped from publication fearing risk of bioterrorism. He was speaking to BBC News.

2 May 2012

Inovio's SynCon vaccine for cervical dysplasias and cancers granted U.S. patent

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted U.S. Patent No. 8,168,769, covering Inovio's SynCon vaccine for cervical dysplasias and cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

2 May 2012

Sanofi Pasteur announces new quadrivalent influenza vaccine Phase III pediatric data

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today new Phase III data for its investigational quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) in children 6 months through 8 years of age.

2 May 2012

FDA approves Protalix, Pfizer’s ELELYSO for treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease

Pfizer Inc. and Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. announced today that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ELELYSO (taliglucerase alfa) for injection, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for the long-term treatment of adults with a confirmed diagnosis of type 1 Gaucher disease.

2 May 2012

'Mandatory oversight' of potentially dangerous biological research will be necessary

"In the sobering annals of disaster prevention, genetic manipulation of the H5N1 influenza virus is looming as a seminal case," John Steinbruner, director of the Center for International Security Studies at the University of Maryland, writes in an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog," noting that two "laboratory experiments have rendered the highly virulent avian strain transmissible among ferrets, strongly suggesting that it would be transmissible among humans as well."

2 May 2012

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Elelyso to treat Type 1 Gaucher disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa) for long-term enzyme replacement therapy to treat a form of Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder.

2 May 2012

Some public health advocates disagree with Indian government's decision to roll out pentavalent vaccines, IPS reports

"Ignoring widespread concern over the safety, efficacy and cost of pentavalent vaccines" -- which provide protection against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) -- "India's central health ministry has, this month, approved inclusion of the prophylactic cocktail in the universal immunization program in seven of its provinces," Inter Press Service reports.

30 Apr 2012

Dutch government grants export license allowing publication of controversial H5N1 study

"The Dutch government has agreed to grant an export license to allow Ron Fouchier, a virologist at the Erasmus Medical University in Rotterdam, to publish his work on H5N1 avian influenza in Science," Nature's "News Blog" reports (Owens, 4/27). "

30 Apr 2012

Senate committee questions federal officials about dual-use research of concern procedures

"Spurred by events surrounding two controversial H5N1 transmission studies, a U.S. Senate committee [on Thursday] questioned federal officials whose agencies have a stake in dual-use research of concern (DURC) about the procedures they use to spot possible bioterror threats," CIDRAP News reports.

27 Apr 2012

U.S. government must be prepared to handle dual use research of concern

"This week, a Senate panel is investigating biological security in the wake of" controversial "potentially dangerous research" on H5N1 avian influenza, "with good reason," Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

26 Apr 2012

Text-message intervention may help boost flu vaccination rates in children

Text message reminders to parents about flu vaccinations may help boost the number of children vaccinated, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Full study findings are reported in the April 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

26 Apr 2012

Pig mucus effective at blocking viruses associated with cervical and oral cancer

Scientists are reporting that the mucus lining the stomachs of pigs could be a long-sought, abundant source of "mucins" being considered for use as broad-spectrum anti-viral agents to supplement baby formula and for use in personal hygiene and other consumer products to protect against a range of viral infections. Their study appears in ACS' journal Biomacromolecules.

26 Apr 2012

FDA issues complete response letter to Takeda’s NDAs for type 2 diabetes investigational therapies

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc. today announced that the company received a complete response letter from the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding New Drug Applications (NDAs) for alogliptin and fixed-dose combination (FDC) alogliptin and pioglitazone.

26 Apr 2012

Rep. Sensenbrenner sends second letter inquiring about U.S. government's review of controversial H5N1 studies

"A senior Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is asking more questions about how the U.S. government reviewed two controversial H5N1 avian influenza studies, and how it wrote a new policy for reviewing taxpayer-funded studies that might be used for good and evil," ScienceInsider reports.

25 Apr 2012

Bats may be a common source of many viral diseases

Where do viruses dangerous to humans come from, and how have they evolved? Scientists working with Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Head of the In-stitute for Virology at the Universit-tsklinikum Bonn, have made significant progress in answering this question. "We already knew from prior studies that bats and rodents play a role as carriers of paramyxoviruses," said Prof. Drosten.

25 Apr 2012

Immunosignatures can yield reliable and highly stable diagnostic results

Identifying diseases at an early, presymptomatic stage may offer the best chance for establishing proper treatment and improving patient outcomes. A new technique known as immunosignaturing harnesses the human immune system as an early warning sentry-one acutely sensitive to changes in the body that may be harbingers of illness.

24 Apr 2012

Text messaging increases flu vaccination coverage in low-income children

A text messaging intervention with education-related messages sent to parents increased influenza vaccination coverage compared with usual care in a traditionally hard-to-reach, low-income, urban, minority population of children and adolescents, although coverage overall remained low, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA.

24 Apr 2012

U.S. gives go-ahead on publication of H5N1 research; Dutch regulators continue to debate

The U.S. government on Friday formally accepted a recommendation from the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) "to publish two controversial studies of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, moving the pair of papers another step closer to publication," ScienceInsider reports.

24 Apr 2012

BAMC/SAMMC researcher develops microemulsion vaccine carrier

A researcher at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC)/San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) will present findings this week on a new potential vaccine carrier that he hopes will extend the shelf life of and aid in the stockpiling of critical vaccines.

23 Apr 2012

Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

U.S. to ask university officials how best to implement new DURC policy

Flu paper publication amidst threats of bioterrorism raises need for better rules of censorship

Inovio's SynCon vaccine for cervical dysplasias and cancers granted U.S. patent

Sanofi Pasteur announces new quadrivalent influenza vaccine Phase III pediatric data

FDA approves Protalix, Pfizer’s ELELYSO for treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease

'Mandatory oversight' of potentially dangerous biological research will be necessary

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Elelyso to treat Type 1 Gaucher disease

Some public health advocates disagree with Indian government's decision to roll out pentavalent vaccines, IPS reports

Dutch government grants export license allowing publication of controversial H5N1 study

Senate committee questions federal officials about dual-use research of concern procedures

U.S. government must be prepared to handle dual use research of concern

Text-message intervention may help boost flu vaccination rates in children

Pig mucus effective at blocking viruses associated with cervical and oral cancer

FDA issues complete response letter to Takeda’s NDAs for type 2 diabetes investigational therapies

Rep. Sensenbrenner sends second letter inquiring about U.S. government's review of controversial H5N1 studies

Bats may be a common source of many viral diseases

Immunosignatures can yield reliable and highly stable diagnostic results

Text messaging increases flu vaccination coverage in low-income children

U.S. gives go-ahead on publication of H5N1 research; Dutch regulators continue to debate

BAMC/SAMMC researcher develops microemulsion vaccine carrier

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Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

CellVoyant's AI-Powered Vision for the Future of Cell Therapy

Scalable, Smart, and Accessible: The Future of Lab Automation

Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures: A Conversation with WHO’s Dr. Allotey

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