Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

SAFC Pharma augments assay development capabilities

SAFC Pharma, a business segment of SAFC, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich group, today announced that it has commenced operations at its 7,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art laboratory complex in Carlsbad, CA.

29 Jan 2009

The immune system's hidden talents

Half of the immune system has a hidden talent, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered.

27 Jan 2009

Waging war on tropical diseases may be key to U.S. foreign policy

Stating that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) not only promote poverty but also destabilize communities, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Sabin Vaccine Institute President Peter Hotez call upon the public-health and foreign-policy communities to embrace medical diplomacy and NTD control as a means to combat terrorism in an article published January 27 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

27 Jan 2009

Scientist decodes the language of memory cells

When an infection attacks, the body's immune system sounds the alert, kills the invading germs and remembers the pathogen to protect against contracting the same type of infection again.

23 Jan 2009

Implants mimic infection to rally immune system against tumors

Bioengineers at Harvard University have shown that small plastic disks impregnated with tumor-specific antigens and implanted under the skin can reprogram the mammalian immune system to attack tumors.

23 Jan 2009

Virotherapy treatment kills prostate cancer cells

A new study appearing in The Prostate has found that certain measles virus vaccine strain derivatives, including a strain known as MV-CEA, may prove to be an effective treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

21 Jan 2009

Biotech venture seeks West Nile virus treatment from antibodies in geese

Rich Glynn, a straight-talking entrepreneur from South Dakota, doesn't mince words when explaining why a partnership between his fledgling goose operation and the University of North Dakota is a match made in heaven.

21 Jan 2009

All countries should offer universal infant immunization for hepatitis B

All countries should offer universal infant immunization for hepatitis B, write Dr. Christopher Mackie from McMaster University and coauthors in a public health analysis in CMAJ.

19 Jan 2009

Gene technology to fight Clostridium difficile

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are leading a major European study to unravel the genetic code of one of the most lethal strains of hospital acquired infections.

19 Jan 2009

New approach to treat advanced melanoma

Skin cancer patient Debra Gardocki receives an injection from oncologist Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala as part of a study exploring a new approach to treat advanced melanoma -- an often fatal form of cancer for which there are limited effective treatment options.

19 Jan 2009

Most support Alzheimer's research based on family consent

By the time they have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, many patients' decision-making ability is so impaired that they cannot give informed consent to participate in research studies.

15 Jan 2009

Advaxis wins European patent case involving Lovaxin-C vaccine

The European Patent Court in Munich, Germany has ruled in favor of Advaxis Incorporated and reversed a patent challenge made by Anza Therapeutics, Inc., formerly Cerus Corp.

15 Jan 2009

Pediatric vaccine propels sharp drop in meningitis cases

A pediatric vaccine with University of Rochester roots has proven to be highly successful at reducing cases of bacterial meningitis across all age groups.That is the conclusion of a seven-year study, the results of which appeared today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Jan 2009

Influenza vaccine helps 50-64 year olds stay at work

Workers age 50-64 who received influenza vaccine lost substantially fewer days of work and worked fewer days while ill, according to a new study in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases , now available online.

14 Jan 2009

Wyeth and Santaris Pharma to collaborate on RNA-based medicines

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, and Santaris Pharma have announced that the companies have entered into a worldwide strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize new medicines based on Santaris Pharma's proprietary Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) drug platform, which allows specific targeting and regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) as a means to affect gene expression mediated by the targeted RNAs.

12 Jan 2009

Bristol-Myers Squibb and ZymoGenetics to collaborate on hepatitis C compound

Bristol-Myers Squibb and ZymoGenetics, Inc. have announced a global collaboration for PEG-Interferon lambda, a novel type 3 interferon currently in Phase Ib development for the treatment of Hepatitis C, and its related development program.

12 Jan 2009

Bavarian Nordic's patent infringement suit against Oxford BioMedica

Bavarian Nordic owns several United States patents relating to an attenuated strain of the company's core technology, MVA-BN(R), which is the basis for its smallpox vaccine, IMVAMUNE(R).

12 Jan 2009

Australian discovers gene for deadly Kawasaki disease

An Australian researcher has identified genes which could make some children more susceptible to the deadly Kawasaki disease - an inflammatory condition in young children that can damage blood vessels.

12 Jan 2009

Novel low-cost immunotherapy for cancer cells

Molecules of sugar sitting on the surface of cancer cells are keys to the development of a new vaccine aimed at both treating and stopping the spread of certain types of cancers called carcinomas, which include prostate, breast, ovarian and lung, among others.

8 Jan 2009

New nasal spray vaccine shown to be effective against botulism

A preclinical study found a new nasal spray vaccine to provide complete protection against a major botulism toxin, according to a study published today in the Nature journal Gene Therapy .

8 Jan 2009