Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Data from MK-5172 Phase II study for treatment of HCV genotype 1 infection to be presented at EASL meeting

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the presentation of the latest interim data from a Phase II, multi-center, randomized, dose-ranging clinical trial evaluating the safety and antiviral activity of MK-5172, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection.

24 Apr 2013

Home-based health education about diseases most effective, finds study

In the first study of its kind, lay health workers increased screening rates for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and knowledge about the disease among a group of Asian Americans, known as the Hmong, UC Davis researchers have found.

24 Apr 2013

New data on Enanta's lead HCV protease inhibitor to be presented at International Liver Congress

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a research and development-focused biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs in the infectious disease field, announced today that new Phase 2b data related to ABT-450, Enanta's lead HCV protease inhibitor identified in its ongoing collaboration with AbbVie, as well as new preclinical data on Enanta's proprietary cyclophilin inhibitor, EDP-546, will be presented at the International Liver Congress, which is the 48th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver taking place in Amsterdam April 24-28, 2013.

23 Apr 2013

Animal models of Huntington's disease allow better insights into disease's genetics

Scientific progress in Huntington's disease (HD) relies upon the availability of appropriate animal models that enable insights into the disease's genetics and/or pathophysiology.

23 Apr 2013

World must be better prepared for potential pandemics

"In China an influenza virus never before seen in people had, as The Economist went to press, infected at least 82 and killed 17. Meanwhile a new type of coronavirus, the family that brought severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is festering in the Middle East," an editorial in the magazine states.

23 Apr 2013

Gilead Sciences to present results from four Phase 3 clinical trials at International Liver Congress 2013

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that detailed results from four Phase 3 clinical trials (NEUTRINO, FISSION, POSITRON and FUSION) evaluating sofosbuvir, the company's investigational once-daily nucleotide NS5B inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection, will be presented this week in oral sessions at the 48th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

23 Apr 2013

GeneCapture developing new device with one-hour pathogen testing capabilities

A company hatched as a partnership between The University of Alabama in Huntsville and chemical engineering professor Dr. Krishnan Chittur is in the design phase for a device that can provide physicians one-hour pathogen testing capabilities.

23 Apr 2013

Highly active ART does not appear to impair heart function, study suggests

Long-term use of highly active antiretroviral therapies does not appear to be associated with impaired heart function in children and adolescents in a study that sought to determine the cardiac effects of prolonged exposure to HAART on children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

23 Apr 2013

Number of H7N9 cases surpasses 100; U.S. CDC warns physicians to be vigilant

"The number of bird flu cases in China jumped Sunday to 102, including 20 deaths, the World Health Organization announced," CNN reports, noting 70 patients remain hospitalized with the new H7N9 avian flu strain and the "WHO said there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission" (Gray/Armstrong, 4/22).

23 Apr 2013

Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb to evaluate daclatasvir and MK-5172 for treatment of HCV infection

Merck today announced it has entered into a non-exclusive agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb to conduct a Phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a once-daily oral combination regimen consisting of Bristol-Myers Squibb's investigational NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir and Merck's investigational NS3/4A protease inhibitor MK-5172 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection, genotype 1.

23 Apr 2013

DNAzymes, gold nanoparticles and disease detection: an interview with Dr Chan and Kyryl Zagorovsky, University of Toronto

Gold nanoparticles are tiny spherical particles made out of gold atoms with sizes on nanometre scale. This is around 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of human hair.

23 Apr 2013

Health experts in China working to identify source, transmission routes of H7N9 flu virus

"Fifteen global and Chinese health experts are on a mission in Beijing and Shanghai to learn more about the H7N9 bird flu virus that has killed 17 people and sickened 70 others, said Dr. Michael O'Leary, head of WHO's office in China," the Associated Press reports (Wong, 4/19).

20 Apr 2013

Editorials address China's response to emergence of H7N9 bird flu strain

"The H7N9 strain contains gene sequences that make it relatively effective, for a bird virus, at infecting humans and other mammals," Bloomberg writes.

20 Apr 2013

Circumcision lowers bacterial load, possibly allowing for HIV infection risk reduction, researchers say

"Circumcision reduces a man's risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and now researchers have found a possible explanation: the procedure reduces the quantity and diversity of bacteria at the head of the penis," the New York Times' "Well" blog reports (Bakalar, 4/18).

20 Apr 2013

Research shows respiratory syncytial virus can be transferred during pregnancy to unborn baby

The most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), can be transferred during pregnancy to an unborn baby, according to Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital research published online this week in the journal PLOS ONE.

19 Apr 2013

BGU, FCCC receive NIH grant to study role of microRNAs in maintaining measles virus persistence

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev announces that Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia have received a two-year National Institutes of Health research grant to observe "the role of host encoded microRNAs in the maintenance of the measles virus persistent state."

19 Apr 2013

Nature reports on efforts to vaccinate Nigeria's nomadic communities against polio

"A 25-year, $10 billion global effort has taken the number of polio cases from hundreds of thousands per year to just hundreds, but it is now struggling to stamp the virus out of its final strongholds in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, where transmission has never been interrupted," Nature reports.

19 Apr 2013

International research team casting wide net in search for H7N9 source, transmission routes

"Another case of bird flu has been reported in China, taking the total infection count to 83 people, as health authorities inside and outside the country try to determine how to stop its spread," CNN reports.

19 Apr 2013

Women with HIV who breastfeed exclusively longer than 4 months have lower risk of transmitting virus to infants, study shows

"The amount of HIV in an infected mother's breast milk spikes when weaning begins, according to a study published [Wednesday] in Science Translational Medicine," Nature reports.

19 Apr 2013

SynCon universal H1N1 influenza vaccine generates protective antibody levels in phase 1 study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that its SynCon universal H1N1 influenza vaccine generated protective antibody levels comparable to a current FDA-approved seasonal influenza vaccine against a currently circulating influenza strain.

19 Apr 2013

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Data from MK-5172 Phase II study for treatment of HCV genotype 1 infection to be presented at EASL meeting

Home-based health education about diseases most effective, finds study

New data on Enanta's lead HCV protease inhibitor to be presented at International Liver Congress

Animal models of Huntington's disease allow better insights into disease's genetics

World must be better prepared for potential pandemics

Gilead Sciences to present results from four Phase 3 clinical trials at International Liver Congress 2013

GeneCapture developing new device with one-hour pathogen testing capabilities

Highly active ART does not appear to impair heart function, study suggests

Number of H7N9 cases surpasses 100; U.S. CDC warns physicians to be vigilant

Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb to evaluate daclatasvir and MK-5172 for treatment of HCV infection

DNAzymes, gold nanoparticles and disease detection: an interview with Dr Chan and Kyryl Zagorovsky, University of Toronto

Health experts in China working to identify source, transmission routes of H7N9 flu virus

Editorials address China's response to emergence of H7N9 bird flu strain

Circumcision lowers bacterial load, possibly allowing for HIV infection risk reduction, researchers say

Research shows respiratory syncytial virus can be transferred during pregnancy to unborn baby

BGU, FCCC receive NIH grant to study role of microRNAs in maintaining measles virus persistence

Nature reports on efforts to vaccinate Nigeria's nomadic communities against polio

International research team casting wide net in search for H7N9 source, transmission routes

Women with HIV who breastfeed exclusively longer than 4 months have lower risk of transmitting virus to infants, study shows

SynCon universal H1N1 influenza vaccine generates protective antibody levels in phase 1 study

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