Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Combination of antiviral drugs outperforms single-drug therapy in children with hepatitis C

Children with hepatitis C fare decidedly better with a supercharged combination of two antiviral drugs than with the usual and standard single-drug regimen, according to research led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children Center.

11 Nov 2010

Researchers find text messages to HIV patients improve adherence, health outcomes in Kenya trial

Using mobile-phone text messages to remind HIV patients to take their dose of life-saving medications can give a major boost to drug adherence, according to an innovative trial in Kenya unveiled on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Nov 2010

Vertex to enroll additional treatment arm in telaprevir/VX-222 Phase 2 clinical trial for HCV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced plans to enroll an additional treatment arm as part of its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating 12-week regimens of Vertex's lead investigational hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, telaprevir, in combination with its lead investigational HCV polymerase inhibitor, VX-222.

10 Nov 2010

HPV vaccination rates falter

According to the latest research lesser numbers of teenage girls and young women are getting infected by the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) – a virus linked to cervical cancer. Research also shows that most who start the vaccination regimen against the virus fail to take all three doses.

10 Nov 2010

Contraceptive, antiviral gel using bee venom wins 2010 Gates Foundation grant

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

10 Nov 2010

World Lung Foundation report highlights prevalence of acute respiratory infections worldwide

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) - such as influenza, pneumonia and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - cause 4.25 million deaths each year often among young children in developing countries, according to the Acute Respiratory Infections Atlas, which was released on Tuesday by the World Lung Foundation, Reuters reports (11/9).

10 Nov 2010

New York Times examines HIV prevention products undergoing clinical trials

The New York Times examines several products being studied in clinical trials that researchers hope will one day prevent sexual transmission of HIV. The newspaper describes the ongoing trials of a vaginal microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir which was found to reduce the risk of HIV infection in women by 39 percent, writing, "[o]ther clinical trials will report their results in 2011 and 2012 and, if all goes well, researchers hope to have a product or two ready to enter the market by 2013."

10 Nov 2010

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

Saints Medical Center is pleased to announce that Richard H. Ma, M.D, chair of its hospitalist department, has received a patent for a lightweight plastic cover for stethoscopes that will dramatically reduce hospital-acquired infections.

9 Nov 2010

Innovative method for in-cell gene manipulation

A cross-disciplinary Small Medicine and Advanced Research Translation (SMART) team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, has announced a breakthrough in the precision in-cell gene scission at pre-designed sequence sites using Artificial Targeting Light Activated Nano Scissors (ATLANS) and a custom build photonic device.

9 Nov 2010

Researchers examine burden of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in China

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the burden of HIV and sexually transmitted disease among male clients of the commercial sex industry in China's Sichuan province

9 Nov 2010

ORVACS launches ERAMUNE 01 Phase II study to decrease HIV viral reservoirs

ORVACS has launched a Phase II study designed to test the hypotheses that combination therapy with potent antiviral agents and immunomodulator can lead to a decrease in the HIV viral reservoirs and, ultimately, to eradication of the virus. The study is currently being conducted at clinical sites in France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

9 Nov 2010

SIMPONI injection improves inflammation, structural damage in RA patients

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyses from two Phase 3 clinical trials showed that once every four week subcutaneous injections of SIMPONI (golimumab) 50 mg plus methotrexate resulted in statistically significant improvements in markers of inflammation and structural damage in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with placebo plus methotrexate.

9 Nov 2010

Anti-TNF therapy increases risk of varicella zoster virus infections

Anti tumor necrosis factor therapy increases the risk of developing varicella zoster virus infections, including shingles and chicken pox, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

9 Nov 2010

Research reveals EBV virus infected cell manipulates cancer-producing cells

A new discovery by UNC scientists describes how cells infected by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) produce small vesicles or sacs called exosomes, changing their cellular "cargo" of proteins and RNA. This altered exosome enters cells and can change the growth of recipient cells from benign to cancer-producing.

9 Nov 2010

Calypte receives $244,479 tax credit under QTDP program

Calypte Biomedical Corporation, the developer, manufacturer and marketer of the Aware HIV-1/2 OMT (oral fluid) HIV test, announced today that it has been awarded a tax credit of $244,479 under U.S. Government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program.

8 Nov 2010

NUVO announces positive results from WF10 Phase 2 clinical trial for severe allergic rhinitis

Nuvo Research Inc. a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of drug products that are delivered into and through the skin using its topical and transdermal drug delivery technologies and on the development of its immune modulating drug candidate WF10, today announced that its European Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating WF10 as a treatment for severe allergic rhinitis met its primary endpoint.

8 Nov 2010

Progenics third quarter net loss increases to $17.1 million

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its results of operations for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010.

8 Nov 2010

Officials discuss HIV/AIDS in Caribbean during PANCAP meeting

"Despite the gains associated with antiretroviral treatments (ART) over the last decade, HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death among young and middle-aged adults in the Caribbean, warns a new U.N. report" that was released during the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) that concluded on Tuesday, Inter Press Service reports (Richards, 11/3).

8 Nov 2010

Scientists identify genes that enable some immune systems to halt HIV; finding could spur drug, vaccine development

Tiny variants in a protein that alerts the body to infection could explain how one in 300 HIV-infected people are able to resist the onset of AIDS for years without needing any treatment, researchers said Thursday in a study published online in the journal Science, Agence France-Presse reports

8 Nov 2010

GeoVax receives $244,500 grant under QTDP program for HIV/AIDS vaccine development

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to developing vaccines that prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced that it has been awarded a grant of $244,500 related to its HIV/AIDS vaccine development activities under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project program.

8 Nov 2010