Bioterrorism Week articles from February 2004

Bioterrorism Week archives from February 2004

NIAID awards $12.95 million for biodefense contract.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NovaScreen Biosciences Corp. has been awarded a 5-year, $12.95 million contract by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health...

Contract awarded for enzyme-based active decontamination.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diversa Corporation (DVSA) announced that it has been awarded $2.28 million from the U.S. Department of Defense's Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) Initiatives Fund. Under the award, which will...

Subcontract given to develop anthrax vaccines using nanotechnology.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (BPA) announced that it has been awarded a subcontract valued at $658,207 for the development of anthrax vaccines for delivery via alternative routes of administration....

$1.1M contract awarded to study counter-bioterrorism vaccine.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Covalent Group, Inc., (CVGR) announced that it has signed a new contract with DynPort Vaccine Company, LLC, (DVC) for a phase I study in the development of a recombinant vaccine designed to provide...

MacAndrews & Forbes and TransTech Pharma complete $10,000,000 investment.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc., (SIGA), a biopharmaceuticals company developing products for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, including products for use against biological warfare...

Vaccine company gets broad patent coverage for its core technology platform.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., has received notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent Office covering its core technology platform. The company is focused on the development of a new generation of...

Veterans had fewer stress symptoms after 9-11.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study that has surprised researchers shows that combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder exhibited fewer symptoms following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Dr....

New products designed to offer protection against dirty bombs.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Radiation Shield Technologies, Inc., (RST) announced the unveiling of its new Demron product line, designed specifically for protection against dirty bombs. The line consists of radiation protective...

Inhibition of SARS coronavirus with Neugene antisense drugs reported.
February 2, 2004... 2004 FEB 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AVI BioPharma, Inc., (AVII) presented confirmatory positive results on the inhibition of the SARS coronavirus using its Neugene antisense drugs. Michael Buchmeier, PhD, of The Scripps Research...

Small-molecule inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor identified.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have identified several compounds that block the activity of a key anthrax protein called lethal factor (LF) - an important first step in developing therapeutics to counter the disease. ...

Artificial membranes can reveal biological weapons.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Today there is a great need for portable equipment that can quickly detect chemical and biological weapons such as nerve gases, viruses, bacteria, and toxins. The Swedish researcher Inga Gustafsson...

Contract signed with Pentagon to supply vaccine.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BioPort Corporation announced that the Lansing-based manufacturer of the world's only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed anthrax vaccine has entered into a 3-year contract to continue...

Alliance focuses on development of nanotechnology-based chemical sensors.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acacia Research Corporation (CBMX; ACTG) announced that its CombiMatrix Group and Cyrano Sciences will collaborate on the development of chemical sensors that merge CombiMatrix's microarray technology...

NIH research agreement signed to develop rapid vaccine production system.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) has entered into a 4-year, $5.7 million cooperative research agreement from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to apply new technology for rapid development of...

Public health spending drops as anti-terrorism funds soar.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While money flows from Washington, DC, to prepare the nation's health system to deal with the aftermath of terrorism, state spending for public health agencies is decreasing, an advocacy group says. ...

Smallpox vaccines to be delivered to CDC.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acambis plc (ACAM) announced an update on its smallpox vaccine program. At the time of its third quarter results announcement in November 2003, Acambis provided an update on the contract with the...

Plant-based vaccines to be developed by Dow.
February 9, 2004... 2004 FEB 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dow Chemical Co. announced a 4-year, $5.7 million research agreement with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to develop plant-based vaccines that it says will be cheaper and easier to produce than...

Anthrax vaccine candidate receives fast track designation.
February 16, 2004... 2004 FEB 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a Fast Track designation to the company's anthrax vaccine candidate, rPA102. The Fast Track designation...

Study shows low risk of vaccinia transfer after immunization.
February 16, 2004... 2004 FEB 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The threat of bioterrorism has led to the recommendation to vaccinate health care workers and other first responders, but some worry about the side effects of smallpox vaccination, which can harm...

Nebraska to receive $1 million to promote biosecurity in agriculture.
February 16, 2004... 2004 FEB 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A $1 million appropriation from Congress will be used to help promote biosecurity in agriculture, officials at the University of Nebraska Medical Center said January 26, 2004. Databases will be...

Veterinarians volunteer for front line in preparing for disease outbreaks.
February 16, 2004... 2004 FEB 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Margo Kunz has thousands of dollars of sophisticated equipment in her office that she hopes will see little use. Kunz, who operates a veterinary clinic in this southwestern North Dakota town, is...

Disease in 50-year-old tissues detected by integrated diagnostics approach.
February 16, 2004... 2004 FEB 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A rare, preserved specimen of human tissue infected with variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, has given scientists the unique opportunity to test modern diagnostic capabilities for the...

Bacterial biofilms important to medicine and bioterrorism outlined.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers describe bacterial biofilms important to medicine and bioterrorism in a recent issue of Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy. "Biofilms are highly ordered microbial communities enmeshed...

DNA-based vaccines being developed to battle bioterrorism.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers are applying gene transfer technology to DNA-based vaccines and immune targeting related to bioterrorism. According to published research from the United States, "Gene transfer...

Weaknesses in the public health system could hinder coping with bioterrorist attacks.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several obstacles in the public health system of Arkansas were encountered during the 2001-2002 outbreak of pertussis (whooping cough), emphasizing a need for better testing procedures, organization...

Anthrax lethal toxin forces human endothelial cells to self-destruct.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Anthrax lethal toxin forces human endothelial cells to self-destruct. "Because of its ease of dispersal and high lethality, Bacillus anthracis is one of the most feared biowarfare agents. A better...

Multi-million dollar grant awarded for development of oral anthrax vaccine.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Maryland researchers have been given $8.3 million to develop and test an oral vaccine for anthrax and other potential bioterror agents. Researchers at the Center for Vaccine...

Researcher receives $2.1 million grant to develop treatment for anthrax.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researcher Ravi Kane has been awarded $2.1 million in U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to develop an antidote to counteract the potentially deadly...

Biothreat system launched uses GeneXpert technology.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cepheid (CPHD) announced that its GeneXpert technology is being used in a new biothreat detection system produced by Smiths Detection, an operating division of U.K.-based Smiths Group plc. The...

Study indicates Arkansas not poised to deal with bioterrorism.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Clues picked up during a whooping cough outbreak in 2001 and 2002 show that Arkansas and many other states would likely be vulnerable to a bioterrorist attack, according to a study published February...

Filtration device will treat infectious agents.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aethlon Medical, Inc., (AEMD) announced that it is developing pathogen filtration devices to treat infectious agents used in biological warfare and terrorism. The announcement was made during a...

Alliance to develop, manufacture anthrax antibody.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVN) and VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) have entered into a cross-license and research collaboration agreement for the development and manufacture of preclinical supplies of Avanir's...

New vaccines harvested from plants.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Producing vaccines and other pharmaceutical products from genetically modified plants has many advantages over traditional methods: shorter development times, lower costs, and less risk of...

Biosensors company gets more than $162,000 in grants from Maryland programs.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Innovative Biosensors, Inc., a privately held developer of rapid diagnostic technologies, announced that it has been awarded a matching grant from the Maryland Industrial Partnership (MIPS) program...

FDA's budget proposal for FY 2005 requests increase for food safety.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking an increase of $65 million for fiscal year (FY) 2005 to boost its food security activities as part of a new interdepartmental program for the...

NVE wins additional government biosensor funding.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NVE Corp. (NVEC) has been awarded approximately $450,000 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office for the next phase of development of advanced Bio-Magnetic...

Doctors would get police powers under homeland security bill.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Maryland General Assembly is considering a bill that would let physicians carry guns and make arrests as members of county homeland security teams. The bill, sponsored by two Frederick County...

Biotech announces appointment of COO.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ID Biomedical announced that it has appointed vaccine industry executive Mustapha (Staph) L. Bakali, as its new COO. Bakali was formerly the COO and member of the board of directors of British...

Foam likely would stop SARS virus quickly.
February 23, 2004... 2004 FEB 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories and Kansas State University have shown that chemical formulations previously developed at Sandia to...