Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

St. Jude hosts Sibling Star Day event for brothers and sisters of cancer patients

When a child is battling cancer or other serious illness, the entire family is affected, including siblings. Recognizing the important role brothers and sisters play in the healing process, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital recently hosted Sibling Star Day, an event dedicated to celebrating the brothers and sisters of St. Jude patients.

6 Aug 2011

Idera second quarter net loss increases to $6.3 million

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011. Idera is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-Like receptors (TLRs).

5 Aug 2011

Triple threat of catching three varieties of flu in one season

Each year, 200,000 Americans are hospitalized due to flu-related complications. That number can rise or fall - often dramatically - based on the effectiveness of the selected flu vaccine, said Dr. Jorge Parada, director of infection prevention and control at Loyola University Health System.

5 Aug 2011

BioCryst second quarter total revenues decrease to $3.7 million

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2011.

4 Aug 2011

Gold nanoparticles for rapid, accurate diagnosis of flu

Arriving at a rapid and accurate diagnosis is critical during flu outbreaks, but until now, physicians and public health officials have had to choose between a highly accurate yet time-consuming test or a rapid but error-prone test.

4 Aug 2011

Avaxia receives BARDA contract to develop new radiation mitigation drug

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotech company developing oral antibody drugs that act locally within the gastrointestinal tract, announced today it was awarded a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), for the research and development of an oral antibody therapy to mitigate the gastrointestinal damage that follows radiation exposure that might occur after a nuclear incident.

4 Aug 2011

NIH, NanoBio sign licensing agreement to develop vaccine against RSV infections

NanoBio Corporation today announced a licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that represents a significant step forward in developing the first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

4 Aug 2011

NanoViricides to apply 'lead optimization technology' to anti-HIV candidate

NanoViricides, Inc. recently reported on its completed animal study that compared its lead anti-HIV candidate HIVCide™, to a HAART (highly active anti retroviral therapy) triple drug cocktail. The cocktail used therein is based on an anti-HIV therapeutic protocol in current practice. The Company has received numerous inquiries for simplified explanation of the results.

3 Aug 2011

BARDA awards contracts for development of drugs for radiation injury to the GI tract

The first two contracts for advanced development of drugs to treat gastrointestinal (GI) tract injuries associated with acute radiation syndrome were awarded today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

2 Aug 2011

Antibody discovery leads researchers one step closer to universal influenza A vaccine

"The first human antibody that can knock out all influenza A viruses has been shown effective in lab mice, an exciting step forward in the hunt for a universal vaccine, researchers said Friday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Aug 2011

Universal flu vaccine based on “super antibody” coming soon

Researchers have finally found the first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus. The results of the experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment” for flu as well.

31 Jul 2011

Caltech researchers find simple engineering technique to ward off HIV

If one is good, two can sometimes be better. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have certainly found this to be the case when it comes to a small HIV-fighting protein.

30 Jul 2011

FDA issues 90-day extension for Pfizer's Prevnar 13 sBLA to treat pneumonia in adults

Pfizer Inc today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a 90-day extension to the action date for the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for use of Prevnar 13, in adults aged 50 and older.

30 Jul 2011

UK MRC, Humabs discover first neutralizing antibody that targets all influenza A subtypes

A paper published today in the scientific research journal Science, describes a novel, proprietary monoclonal antibody (FI6) discovered in a collaboration between Humabs BioMed SA, the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the UK Medical Research Council.

29 Jul 2011

Oral chicken interferon-alpha may significantly reduce influenza infection

Avian influenza virus is a threat to the commercial chicken industry and, with its recent rapid spread across China, has also shown the ability for transmission from chickens to humans and other mammals.

29 Jul 2011

New protein 3D model could inhibit cancer development

Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have developed a new structural model of a protein, which makes it possible to develop more effective drugs to target diseases such as cancer, heart disease and influenza.

29 Jul 2011

Universal flu vaccine with super antibodies in near future

Researchers are close to developing a “super antibody” against flu that could be used as a universal treatment and pave the way for the development of a universal vaccine against the disease that affects billions of people every year.

29 Jul 2011

Social media may improve public health system's ability to prepare, recover from disasters

Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare may be an important key to improving the public health system's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, according to a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspective" article from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to be published this week.

28 Jul 2011

Follow-up dose recommended to defend children against pandemic virus outbreaks

Researchers from Australia determined that pediatric liver transplant patients who received a single-dose of the H1N1 vaccine were not adequately protected against the virus compared to healthy children.

27 Jul 2011

Majority of parents unaware of medical research participation opportunities for children

One in nine adults have participated in medical research. In contrast, only one in 20 children have done so. Those are the findings of a poll earlier this year by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. The poll asked adults and parents about their views on medical research and past participation for themselves and their children.

26 Jul 2011