Bioterrorism Week articles from October 2003

Bioterrorism Week archives from October 2003

Select agents and toxins interim final regulations released.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Implications of the select agents and toxins interim final regulations to the small animal facility have been reported. "The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of...

FDA encourages new applications for drugs to treat internal contamination.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As part of its continuing efforts to provide the American public access to treatments in the event of a terrorist attack, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had determined...

Modes of protection against infection shared by smallpox vaccine viruses.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers report shared modes of protection against poxvirus infection by attenuated and conventional smallpox vaccine viruses. "The concern about bioterrorism with smallpox has raised the...

Study evaluates "rabbit fever" as part of biodefense research plan.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Since September 11, rabbits have taken on a whole new meaning for biodefense researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia, who are trying to unravel the science behind rabbit fever, also known as...

NIAID grant to awarded to develop phenotype microarray technology.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biolog, Inc., announced that it has received a multi-year grant of $2.28 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This grant will fund additional development...

California outfits state's hospitals with shelter equipment.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- TVI Corporation (TVIN) announced that the State of California is outfitting all of its key hospitals with both TVI Decontamination Systems and with TVI's new Rapidly Deployable Surge Capacity Shelters....

Biodefense grant to aid continued development of the GeneCode System.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EraGen Biosciences, a genetic diagnostics and drug discovery company, announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health...

Acquisition offers company methods to fight bioterrorism.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nutra Pharma Corp. (NPHC) has signed a letter of intent to acquire 100% of the capital stock of Infectech Inc. (IFEC) in a cash and stock transaction, providing Nutra Pharma with patented technologies...

$85 Million awarded for research on human immunity and biodefense.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A better understanding of the human immune response to potential agents of bioterror and rapid development of countermeasures such as vaccines and therapies are among the objectives of a new program...

Licensing deal signed with Gilead Sciences for smallpox drug.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chimerix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company developing orally available, targeted medicines from bioactive molecules, announced that it has licensed rights from Gilead Sciences, Inc., (GILD) to...

SBIR grant awarded to develop anti-smallpox therapeutics.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aphios Corporation has been awarded a phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant for the "Development of Novel Anti-Smallpox Therapeutics from Marine Microorganisms," from the National...

New generation of cell culture assay for smallpox vaccine potency developed.
October 6, 2003... 2003 OCT 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have developed a new generation of cell culture assay for smallpox vaccine potency. According to a study from France, "The potency of smallpox vaccines produced in the 1970s was tested...

Lethal factor from Bacillus anthracis assayed.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have identified a lethal factor from Bacillus anthracis. According to recent research from South Korea, "Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax. The major virulence factors...

Model predicts optimal antibiotic prophylaxis duration during anthrax outbreak.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel model predicts the optimal duration of antibiotic prophylaxis during an anthrax outbreak. "A critical consideration in effective and measured public health responses to an outbreak of...

Salmonella uses molecular "staples" to change structure of infected cells.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Salmonella, a well-known food-borne bacterium, uses protein "staples" to restructure the shape of the gut cells it invades, forcing these cells to flow around the bacteria and engulf them, researchers...

Pathology of inhalation anthrax in cynomoigus monkeys detailed.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have described the pathology of inhalation anthrax in cynomoigus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) in a recent issue of the journal Laboratory Investigation. "Anthrax is considered a...

Article on bioterrorism discusses broad-spectrum vaccines.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (CLSP) scientist Kunwar Shailubhai, executive VP and head R&D, contributed an article on bioterrorism to the journal Investigational Drugs featuring research conducted...

Biotech company closes private placement; receives grant for ricin vaccine.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- DOR BioPharma, Inc., (DOR) announced that it has received overwhelming approval from stockholders to close on the private placement previously announced in July. This will allow the funds, held in...

NIH grant to fund Texas center for immunology and biodefense.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Baylor Research Institute (BRI) announced that it has received a $14.6 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), one of the U.S. National Institutes of...

Research grant awarded to study natural and bioterrorism salmonella.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Perlegen Sciences, Inc. has received an award from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to use its high-throughput oligonucleotide microarray technology to sequence the genomes of numerous strains of...

Francisella tularensis causes proinflammatory changes in cells.
October 13, 2003... 2003 OCT 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Francisella tularensis selectively induces proinflammatory changes in endothelial cells. "Naturally acquired infections with Francisella tularensis, the bacterial agent of tularemia, occur...

Public perceptions of information about anthrax attacks analyzed.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An analysis of national survey data on public perceptions of information sources concerning bioterrorism before and after anthrax attacks has been published in a recent issue of the Journal of Health...

Duration of antiviral immunity after smallpox vaccination investigated.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have investigated the duration of antiviral immunity after smallpox vaccination. According to published research from the United States, "Although naturally occurring smallpox was...

Science panel: Americans misinformed about dangers.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- On the second anniversary of the use of anthrax as a bioweapon in the U.S., physicians and scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) alerted government officials -...

Government reports "tremendous progress" in research.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biomedical researchers in government, academia, and industry have made tremendous progress working collaboratively toward developing countermeasures for bioterrorism, according to a report issued on...

Communication monitoring shapes CDCP risk communication efforts.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Communication monitoring is shaping the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) emergency risk communication efforts in the United States. According to a study from the United States,...

Antibodies demonstrate efficacy against anthrax spore challenge.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVN) said its Xenerex technology has generated multiple antibodies that demonstrate high potency against anthrax toxins in vitro and in vivo and against anthrax spores in vivo....

Antidotes to bioterror agent slow to arrive.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Consider it an anthrax bloodhound, a drug that can swoop into the body, latch onto deadly toxins spewed by anthrax bacteria and get rid of them. Two years after the anthrax-by-mail attacks,...

CDCP responses to media during the anthrax attacks of 2001 evaluated.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have published an evaluation of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) responses to media during the anthrax attacks of 2001 in a recent issue of the Journal of Health...

Researchers identify botox receptor.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As doctors tout the toxin found in Botox for its ability to iron out wrinkles, calm muscle spasms, and treat migraine headaches, defense agencies condemn it as a weapon that could wipe out large...

New third quarter contracts signed for DNA fingerprint analysis.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc., (CBTE), a life sciences contract research organization and biotechnology company, announced that it has signed new contracts for the third quarter 2003 valued at $2...

NIAID funds construction of biosafety laboratories.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, has announced funding for the construction of two National Biocontainment Laboratories...

Activity of ABthrax described at ICAAC.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human Genome Sciences, Inc., (HGSI) described results of preclinical studies at the 43rd annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Chicago, Illinois, that...

TIGR and NIAID sign $65 million microbial sequencing contract.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) has signed a 5-year, $65 million contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of...

New drug approved for cesium or thallium contamination.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a New Drug Application for Radiogardase, also known as Prussian blue, to treat people exposed to radiation contamination, due to harmful levels...

Project aims to make inoculations safe by "leashing" current vaccine virus.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Smallpox is one of humanity's oldest horrors and is still one of our greatest menaces, but, paradoxically, it is fear itself that keeps us from protecting ourselves against it. We live in fear of...

Study of earlier vaccination during outbreak reveals no link to heart problems.
October 20, 2003... 2003 OCT 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A review of death records by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) shows no evidence that smallpox vaccine causes an increase in cardiac-related deaths, according to the...

Year-long follow-up finds no further postal workers affected.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the rates and causes of death among the United States Postal Service employees during the 12 months following the...

Study evaluates effectiveness of ED computers in identifying outbreaks.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A computerized patient information system in Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Hospital's emergency department (ED) may prove effective in helping detect unusual clusters of contagious...

Taking aim at bioterrorism: Professor gets HHS funding.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Selected to play a vital role in confronting the threat of bioterrorism, University of Houston (UH) professor Steven Blanke has a particular target in mind: anthrax. Blanke, an associate professor...

Automated, laboratory-based system to detect disease outbreak developed.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An automated, laboratory-based system using the Internet for disease outbreak detection has been developed in the Netherlands. "Rapid detection of outbreaks is recognized as crucial for effective...

$8.4M NIH biodefense grants to be used for development of vaccines.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dynavax Technologies announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, has awarded the company three biodefense grants...

DNA identification kit launched.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Exegetics, Inc., announced the release of the Print ID Kit and PrintID card, the "first of its kind" DNA sampling kit. The kit, designed to be easy to use, non-invasive, and highly accurate,...

$3.5M grant from U.S. government used for drug to treat anthrax exposure.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., has received an additional $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense for the further development of its drug to remove anthrax toxin from the bloodstream. "The...

Biopharm company awarded $80.3M contract for anthrax vaccine candidate.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) has been awarded an $80.3 million contract from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for the advanced development of its anthrax vaccine...

Biotech firm named finalist in U.S. Army competition for contract.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epoch Biosciences, Inc., (EBIO), a provider of proprietary products that accelerate genomic analysis, announced that it has received formal notification from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense...

Army study finds no illness link in biowarfare test subjects.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An Army study of 358 men who voluntarily participated in biological warfare experiments found no cause for heightened rates of asthma and headaches that some reported decades later, the subjects...

Nanotechnology company consolidates marketing efforts.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Global Nanospace, Inc., (USGA) issued the following corporate update detailing recent business and product developments of significance: Over the course of the past 12 months the company has...

Two NIH biodefense grants to be used for vaccine development.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AlphaVax, Inc., has been awarded two U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) biodefense grants to develop new vaccines, using the company's proprietary technology, against two groups of...

Tufts wins $25 million NIH contract.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine has received a $25-million, 7-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to...

Nutra Pharma Corp. to acquire diagnostic-kit company.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nutra Pharma Corp. (NPHC) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire up to 100% of the common stock of Infectech Corp. (IFEC) by exchange of one share of Nutra Pharma common stock...

Laboratory electronic reporting inadequate for bioterrorist attack.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Current electronic laboratory reporting systems would likely be inadequate in the event of a bioterror attack. "While newly available electronic transmission methods can increase timeliness and...

Mitchell Kronenberg, PhD, named president of allergy institute.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology announced that Mitchell Kronenberg, PhD, has assumed the duties of president. He also retains the responsibilities of scientific director, a...

Epidemiologic, clinical, and preventive aspects of smallpox outlined.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Investigators have published epidemiologic, clinical, and preventive information on smallpox relevant to health care personnel in a recent issue of the journal Salud Publica de Mexico. According...

First big success seen in smallpox treatment research project.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first stage in finding a treatment for smallpox, a potential threat as a potent weapon of bioterror, is complete. Professor Graham Richards, chairman of chemistry at the University of Oxford,...

Grant will be used to develop vaccine against smallpox.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cel-Sci, Corp., (CVM) has been awarded a phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), U.S. National Institutes of...

Researchers examine models for outbreak severity prediction.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mathematical models of smallpox transmission and control can help researchers assess the potential threat posed by an outbreak. In a new study, Neil M. Ferguson and colleagues review the use of models...

Life in a fearful global climate affects the health of many Americans.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although Americans are understandably more concerned about terrorism today than they were before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the number of people affected is alarming, says America's...

Smallpox Research Grid delivers research results to U.S. Defense Department.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- United Devices, IBM, and Accelrys, along with several technology and research partners, delivered the results of the Smallpox Research Grid project to representatives from the United States Department...

Defense appropriations bill dedicates $3M to anthrax/plague vaccine.
October 27, 2003... 2003 OCT 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Avant Immunotherapeutics, Inc., (AVAN) announced that the Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2004 passed by Congress recently commits $3.0 million for the Defense Department's continued...