Vaccine Weekly articles from March 2002

Vaccine Weekly archives from March 2002

Potential vaccine boosts hope for pollen relief.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Melbourne scientists have developed a potential vaccine for hay fever and other pollen related allergies. The breakthrough could provide a lifeline to the 25% of the world's...

Study examines hepatitis A, B, and C in South African healthcare workers.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Preemployment screening as well as vaccination, training and standardized postexposure policies could help reduce the risk of occupational exposure to viral...

Cytotoxic T-cell activity crucial for persistently uninfected women.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity protects women who remain uninfected with HIV despite extensive exposure, a finding that may be useful for vaccine development,...

Multiantigen vaccine with recombinant gp160 effective in newly infected patients.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers say that a multiantigen HIV vaccine, administered with recombinant gp160, can improve antiviral immune responses in acutely infected patients. ...

Culprit molecules nabbed in poultry disease.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The molecular keys to the serious poultry disease, known as Gumboro disease, have been discovered for the first time by scientists of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and the...

U.S. sees dramatic decline in chickenpox incidence.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The introduction of the varicella vaccine in the U.S. in 1995 has resulted in a marked decline in varicella incidence, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,...

Berna Biotech teams with IAVI, Gallo lab, Uganda for test.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Swiss vaccine manufacturer Berna Biotech, Ltd., has joined a cross-national team to test a new vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS designed specifically for use in developing countries. Berna...

Epimmune provides HIV vaccine program update.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epimmune Inc., (EPMN) provided an update on the status of its initial HIV vaccine candidate including clinical trial plans. The company stated that, as additional time is necessary to complete all...

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals announces start of human trial of novel HIV vaccine.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) announces the start of the first trial in humans of its recombinant, adjuvanted candidate HIV vaccine - NefTat and gp 120 formulated with the proprietary...

North Carolina trying to lure medicinal tobacco research company.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- North Carolina is trying to lure a biotech company from Virginia that develops genetically modified tobacco for medicine, a move officials said could increase demand for the leaf. Economic...

Pentagon's vaccination program in limbo.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Though long-awaited supplies of anthrax vaccine are now available, the Pentagon is not committing itself to restarting its troubled program for America's 2.4 million men and women in uniform. ...

Regulatory affairs, QA personnel hired.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) announced the hiring of two professionals with distinguished track records to help the company submit its AIDS vaccine for regulatory approval if the vaccine, AIDSVAX, proves...

Bush seeks antibioterror funds.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly $6 billion will be spent during the new budget year to prepare for bioterrorist attacks, "a new American vulnerability laid bare," if Congress goes along with President Bush's proposals. ...

Bush's budget doubles Homeland funds.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- President Bush wants to nearly double spending on homeland security by pouring unprecedented amounts of money into fighting bioterrorism, tightening border controls, improving airline security and...

GlaxoSmithKline starts human clinical trial of HIV vaccine.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) has started the first trial in humans of its recombinant, adjuvanted candidate HIV vaccine - NefTat and gp 120 formulated with the proprietary adjuvant...

WHO report outlines plan for new health spending, points to way out of poverty to health.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scaling Up the Response to Infectious Diseases: A Way out of Poverty, a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, UNAIDS, the World Bank, UNESCO and UNFPA, was launched at the World...

Smallpox vaccinations may pose health risk for people with HIV.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent news and government reports have raised the possibility that the smallpox virus, which was virtually eradicated as a public health threat more than 25 years ago, could in the future be used as a...

Vaccination safety controversy reaches British Parliament.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A controversy over the safety of vaccinations for childhood diseases grew as new cases of measles in England and Wales were reported February 6, 2002, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted the...

Cancer vaccine receives FDA fast track designation.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antigenics Inc. (AGEN) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company's personalized cancer vaccine, Oncophage (HSPPC-96), fast track designation for the treatment of...

More kids in U.S. get federal insurance.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Children are increasingly likely to have health insurance as states continue signing them up for a government insurance program for children of the working poor, the government reports. Hispanics,...

Russia gets help on weapons control.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... 2002 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A foundation led by Ted Turner and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn will spend $6 million helping Russia reduce threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Included in the funding will be $1.3...

Malaria vaccine based on parasite protein effective in animals.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A vaccine based on a protein found on the surface of malaria-causing parasites protects animals from the disease, researchers in the United States and Japan...

Idiotype-pulsed dendritic cell vaccination effective.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Dendritic cells (DCs) engineered to carry B-cell, lymphoma-specific antigens can help patients fight off malignancy, researchers in the United States say. ...

Pneumococcal vaccine boosters less effective for HIV patients.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Booster doses of a commonly used vaccine against pneumococcal infections are markedly less effective in patients infected with HIV, researchers in the United...

Mecca pilgrims a priority for meningococcal vaccination.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Muslims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj are a high priority for enhanced meningococcal vaccination this year. Thirty-three cases and nine fatalities were reported in England and...

Vaccine reduces bloodstream infections by nearly 60%.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A single injection of a first-of-its-kind experimental vaccine, Nabi StaphVAX (Staphylococcus aureus polysaccharide conjugate vaccine), reduced bloodstream infections caused by the often drug-resistant...

BCG vaccine elevates protective cytokine release.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The venerable and widely used Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) tuberculosis vaccination raises protective cytokine output from immune cells,...

GenVec, Inc., signs $10 million contract with NIAID.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenVec, Inc., (GNVC) has signed a contract with the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) under...

New vaccines will take awhile.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Americans will probably have to depend on current anthrax vaccines if there's another such biological attack this year, a leading researcher says. Second-generation vaccines are in the works but not...

Oregon shortage causes health officials to drop two vaccines.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Shortages have forced Oregon health officials to drop for this year two immunizations previously required of school-age children. The vaccine for chicken pox and a tetanus-diphtheria booster for...

Suicide gene therapy shuts out existing tumors, prevents new ones.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Using suicide gene therapy, scientists in France have been able to treat metastatic tumors and prevent the formation of new ones in rodent models of colon...

Three towns competing to be site of vaccine production facility.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Jefferson County, Arkansas, government and civic leaders hope what's already here will persuade federal officials to put a planned vaccine production lab in the Pine Bluff area, bringing 300 to 500 new...

Molecular assays valuable in diagnosis and strain identification.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Terry Hartnett, senior medical writer - Scientists have not applied the same standards for diagnosing the cause of common viruses as they do for detecting the influenza virus, say U.S. government...

Cell Genesys collaboration yields $6 million payment from Japan Tobacco.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cell Genesys, Inc., (CEGE) has received a $6 million payment following the completion of a multicenter phase II clinical trial of GVAX lung cancer vaccine from the pharmaceutical division of Japan...

WHO: Vaccine fears could lead to unnecessary deaths.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Safety fears that have led some British parents to refuse to have their children vaccinated could lead to many unnecessary deaths if the concerns spread to developing countries, the United Nations...

Defense department awards grant for vaccine development.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Plexus Vaccine, Inc., has won a competitive Department of Defense grant. The award provides R&D funding that enables Plexus Vaccine to acquire proof of concept for vaccine development for the...

Many hospitalized seniors have virus before admission.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Terry Hartnett, senior medical writer - Nursing homes are a breeding ground for pneumonia, and many residents are hospitalized with a potentially deadly diagnosis that could easily have been...

Bronchiolitis increasing among younger children with flu.(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... 2002 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Terry Hartnett, senior medical writer - Nearly two-thirds of children who contact the type A influenza virus are also susceptible to a secondary strain that causes bronchiolitis, say researchers in...

Truncated cytoplasmic viral domains expose critical binding domains.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have shown that a novel HIV mutation may be useful in the search for an HIV vaccine. Terri G. Edwards and colleagues at...

Combination genetic therapy effective, feasible with SV40 vectors.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Genetic therapy for HIV targeting multiple viral functions may be an effective treatment modality, researchers in the United States argue. "Compared with...

Subjects in vaccine study contract encephalitis.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Twelve Alzheimer disease patients injected with an experimental vaccine are now suffering serious brain inflammation. The vaccine's manufacturer halted the experiment in January 2002 when it...

WHO urges vaccination for Northern Hemisphere.(World Health Organization )(influenza)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As the influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere reaches its peak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up its efforts to fight this potentially devastating disease. Influenza is one...

New protocol for administering vaccine could save lives, dollars.(pneumonia vaccine )(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Requiring hospital nurses to identify patients who would benefit from pneumonia vaccine and providing prepreprinted vaccination orders for doctors to sign can significantly reduce the physical and...

Former rival AIDS researchers conduct vaccine trials.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two former competitors have joined forces to raise money for research and trials of five potential AIDS vaccines. Drs. Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo announced February 13, 2002, that Montagnier...

Parents want government to offer separate injections for measles mumps, rubella: poll.(Brief Article)(Polling Data)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- One in five British parents would pay to give their children separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations rather than accept the free combined injection, according to a recent survey (See Vaccine...

Company reports fourth-quarter, year-end 2001 financial results.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maxygen, Inc., (MAXY) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2001. For the year ended December 31, 2001, Maxygen reported a pro forma net loss of $24.2...

CytRx s receives $1M milestone payment from Merck for TranzFect license.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CytRx Corp. (CYTR) announced that it has received a $1 million milestone payment due from Merck & Co., Inc., pursuant to Merck's license of CytRx's TranzFect technology. CytRx's TranzFect...

TranzFect technology enters phase I clinical trials.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CytRx Corp. (CYTR) announced that its TranzFect technology is incorporated in an experimental DNA-based HIV vaccine being developed by Merck & Co., Inc., (MRK) that has now entered phase I clinical...

Thousands received ineffective vaccine in Brazil, officials say.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As many as 60,000 Brazilians may have to get revaccinated against hepatitis A after the company that makes the vaccine said some doses weren't potent enough, a health official says. Merck & Co....

NCI starting large-scale HPV vaccine trials.(National Cancer Institute )(human papillomavirus)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - Large-scale efficacy trials are being initiated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a vaccine to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV). ...

Panel advises flu shots for babies.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A U.S. advisory panel decided to encourage flu shots for children ages 6-23 months - a group not previously on the recommended list for the vaccine. The government currently recommends the vaccine...

More cases reported in London, despite promotion of MMR.(United Kingdom)(measles, mumps and rubella vaccine)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nine new cases of measles have been confirmed in London, raising concerns that many parents are ignoring a government appeal to use the standard children's vaccine. The new cases, reported by...

Dilution could extend vaccine supply without compromising effectiveness.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In the event of a bioterror attack using smallpox, health authorities could stretch out the nation's limited vaccine supply simply by diluting the 15 million doses that are on hand, a government...

Kaiser Permanente research: Vaccine cuts infection risk in half.(Staphylococcus aureus infections)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2002... 1902 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a study led by Kaiser Permanente researchers Henry Shinefield, MD, and Steven Black, MD, published in the February 14, 2002 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, an investigational vaccine...