new bird

ALSO NOTED: Isotechnika reports psoriasis success; Romark enrolls hep C patients; and much more...

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> Isotechnika's ISA247 has demonstrated significant efficacy against psoriasis. Report

> Romark Laboratories has begun enrolling patients in a U.S. clinical trial to evaluate nitazoxanide for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Preliminary data from the study is expected in the second half of 2008. Release

> It was inevitable: All the chit-chat about drug safety and the FDA's shortcomings had to result in legislation. Rep. John Dingell's House Energy and Commerce Committee released a "discussion draft" yesterday, planning to convene hearings over the next few weeks and draw up the real bill after that. Report

> Pfizer shares hit a 10-year low yesterday. And who can blame investors who sold, considering the Eeyore tone Wall Street analysts took after the drugmaker announced its falling sales and earnings? Report

> Call it the backlash against the backlash. In the wake of the recent Vytorin and Vioxx marketing scandals, drugmakers are banding together to prevent a Congressional crackdown on their power to promote. Report

And Finally… Researchers at Purdue say they're on to a new bird flu vaccine that offers broader protection over a longer period of time. Article

ALSO NOTED: Takeda, Abbott split TAP; Alseres raises funds; investigators close in on another case of drug counterfeiting;and m

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:50 -0400

> As expected, Takeda is paying Abbott $1.5 billion to disband a joint venture launched 30 years ago. In the deal to break up TAP, Abbott will keep the cancer drug Lupron and 300 sales people. Takeda will keep Prevacid and two experimental therapies along with 5,000 staffers. Release

> Alseres Pharmaceuticals has raised $5 million. Release

> Nereus Pharmaceuticals says that enrollment has begun in a Phase Ib study evaluating the vascular disrupting agent NPI-2358 in combination with standard chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Release

> A Vietnamese company is beginning a human trial of a new bird flu vaccine. Report

> Hong Kong officials were quick to make sure that the recent deaths of several children in an influenza epidemic had no link to bird flu. And the city has moved aggressively to stop the spread of the flu as well as the fear it has inspired. Report

> A professor at the University of Toronto is warning that researchers may find it increasingly difficult to enlist volunteers for new trials exploring the safety and efficacy of experimental AIDS vaccines. Volunteers opted out of Merck's international STEP program because they feared that they would test positive for HIV because of the antibodies produced by the vaccine. Report

And Finally...The fevered search to find the cause to the fatal reactions to heparin is closing in fast around another case of drug counterfeiting in China. Article

Sanofi launches trial of revolutionary flu vaccine

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Sanofi-Aventis has launched a mid-stage study of a new seasonal flu vaccine that hopes to advance a completely new method to make vaccines. The vaccine is made from cell cultures as opposed to the traditional egg-based approach. This experimental vaccine uses a cell line--PER.C6--licensed from Crucell. Sanofi-Aventis' closely-watched development program is expected to short circuit the slow, crude manufacturing process now in place and help revolutionize the whole vaccine business.

"This project is part of a contract awarded in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) aimed at accelerating the development of a new cell culture-based influenza vaccine," Sanofi-Aventis said in a statement.

- take a look at the release from Sanofi
- read the report from In-PharmaTechnologist.com

Related Articles:
Sanofi vaccine effective against new bird flu strains. Report
Sanofi's avian flu drug gets mixed results. Report
Sanofi underscores pipeline advances, setbacks. Report
What's Warren Buffett buying now? Report

China pushes drug development as R&D soars

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 06:59:56 -0400

China has already made tremendous inroads as a manufacturing center for the world. But now it's making enormous investments in R&D to propel the country into the top ranks of world innovators. China has already passed Japan for R&D spending, notes an article by the BBC. And it's turning to companies like Sinovac to develop new drugs. Sinovac is pushing a new bird flu therapy. China's R&D budget is growing at a rate of 20 percent a year, making it likely that a lot more Sinovacs will be created in the years ahead.

- check out the BBC report on China's R&D strategy

Related Articles:
China drug czar executed for corruption. Report
China to overhaul drug safety regulations. Report
Bridge Pharma sees growth in China drug studies. Report
China's future in the biotech industry. Editorial

FDA experts give thumbs up to Pentacel

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:01:35 -0500

An expert panel for the FDA has concluded that Pentacel, a five-in-one vaccine made by Sanofi-Pasteur, is safe and effective. The injection is designed to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and bacterial infection caused by Haemophilus influenzae Type B. The group did recommend follow-up studies in the event that the FDA formally approves the jab. The vaccine could replace seven of the 23 injections received by children.

- see this release on Pentacel
- here's the AP report for more information

Related Article:
Sanofi vaccine effective against new bird flu strains. Report

Bird flu outbreaks spread across Asia

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:01:36 -0500

Indonesia is preparing more hospitals to take victims of a new bird flu outbreak, as one facility reports that its small isolation ward has been filled. At least one family cluster has been affected as officials report the deaths of at least four people in that country in just the past week. Japan, meanwhile, is reporting that it has confirmed the presence of the lethal H5N1 version of bird flu in poultry, its first outbreak in three years. And reports of bird flu in poultry in Vietnam and Thailand have also surfaced. In many ways, the current spate of new cases fits into a well-established winter pattern in the Northern Hemisphere. As cold weather spreads, more victims surface, renewing fears that the virus could mutate into a new form that could trigger a human pandemic. Health officials, though, say that this year, government agencies appear to be responding much more quickly, in order to contain any outbreaks that occur. The fear of a pandemic has also prompted major efforts to develop new vaccines to protect populations. But that effort is still in a very early stage.

- here's the report on avian flu from ENS

Related Articles:
Vietnam steps up efforts to control bird flu. Report
New bird flu death adds to toll. Report
WHO calls for $10B in bird flu vaccine research. Report
The challenges of infectious disease. Report

HHS awards H5N1 contracts

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 19:01:38 -0500

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a total of $199.45 million to three vaccine makers in order to stockpile 5.3 million additional doses of H5N1 vaccine. The bulk of the money--$117.9 million--has been awarded to Sanofi Pasteur for 3.7 million doses of the drug. Novartis has received $40.95 million for 800,000 doses and GSK also garnered $40.6 million for 800,000 doses. "These newest vaccine purchases supplement the existing stockpile of 5.9 million doses of H5N1 vaccine and build on the department's plans to buy enough vaccine for 20 million people," HHS stated in a press release. At two 90-microgram doses per person, HHS says these purchases provide enough courses to vaccinate nearly 2.7 million people. Initial studies of these vaccines show that they may protect against the bird flu, but the HHS noted that further testing is underway to fully determine their effect.

- see the HHS press release

Related Articles:
Switzerland to stockpile GSK's bird flu vaccine. Report
Novartis wins $220M flu vaccine contract. Report
Sanofi vaccine effective against new bird flu strains. Report

New bird flu strain emerges in Asia

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:01:35 -0500

A new variation of the bird flu virus has emerged in Asia, possibly as a result of the massive vaccination programs that have been rolled out to stop the disease in bird populations. But health officials are emphasizing that this new bird flu strain--H5N1 Fujian-like--appears to hold no greater threats to humans than the two dominant strains that have already spread through the continent. "We don't know what is driving this," said the noted bird flu expert Dr. Robert Webster of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

- here's the AP report on bird flu

Bird flu vaccine effective in animal trial

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:01:34 -0400

Vical says its bird flu vaccine proved 100 percent effective in protecting ferrets from bird flu. Vical announced earlier that two doses of DNA vaccine was effective in protecting mice and ferrets. Vical's vaccine candidate is mixed with Vaxfectin adjuvant and viral proteins. Vical says it wants to begin human trials as soon as possible.

- here's the AP report on Vical

Related Articles:
Sanofi vaccine effective against new bird flu strains. Report
Switzerland to stockpile GSK's bird flu vaccine. Report
PowderMed touts data for new flu vaccine. Report
Low-dose bird flu vaccine effective in trial. Report

Vietnam steps up efforts to control bird flu

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:01:34 -0400

As part of its stepped-up efforts to control the spread of bird flu, Vietnamese authorities have created a network of 14 hospitals to identify and deal with any outbreaks among people. The country has mounted a round-the-clock surveillance effort and is stockpiling therapeutics to combat any new bird flu cases that arise. Up to 20 beds in each facility are being set aside for victims and infectious disease departments will become isolation areas in the event of new human cases. Vietnam is credited with developing one of the most aggressive campaigns to control bird flu, which authorities are concerned may mutate into a virus that is more easily spread among humans, sparking a global pandemic.

- here's the report on bird flu from

ALSO: Researchers say the H5N1 virus replicates so quickly that victims drown from the fluid in their lungs. The sudden onslaught of the disease can best be treated with a quick, hard-hitting therapeutic response as soon as the virus is detected. Report

PLUS: The UK's DermaSalve Sciences is marketing a hand gel it says can kill the H5N1 virus in 30 seconds. Report

Sinovac to mass produce bird flu vaccine

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 20:01:38 -0400

China's Sinovac Biotech says it plans to ramp up mass production of a new bird flu vaccine after its first clinical trial found no adverse reactions among the 120 participants in the study. Sinovac says it expects to produce 20 million doses of the vaccine annually within a few years. "These results indicate that we should expand our production capabilities to prepare for mass production of the vaccine against a possible bird flu pandemic," a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by Xinhua on Wednesday. The vaccine faces two more rounds of testing before it can be approved for marketing under existing Chinese regulations. A number of vaccine makers, though, have noted that the usual rules for producing a vaccine are likely to be discarded in the event a human pandemic breaks out.

- read a report on Sinovac's plans from The Independent

Researchers tout early results for bird flu vaccine

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Chinese health officials are touting preclinical data for a new bird flu vaccine. A 10 microgram dose of the vaccine, which includes four antigens, created a 78.3 percent response in antibodies needed to protect people from bird flu. Beijing Sinovac Biotech Co says it is readying a second round of tests, well on the way to completing the three rounds health officials rely on for drug approvals in China. About a dozen companies are working on flu vaccines.

- read the report on the vaccine from the People's Daily

PLUS: Federal officials at the CDC have unveiled a new avian flu test that cuts the time it takes to analyze bird flu cases from a week to less than a day. Called FluChip, it incorporates genetic material on a microchip. The new test allows for mass testing and much quicker response times in dealing with flu outbreaks among people and animals. Report

Researchers design effective bird flu vaccine

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:01:38 -0500

Researchers have developed a new bird flu vaccine that has been 100 percent effective in mice and chickens and can be produced in only 36 days. A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is working with the FDA to prepare for human trials, which may start in a matter of weeks. They worked with a human cold virus that was genetically engineered to remove genes that can cause respiratory infection.

- read this report from The Los Angeles Times for more

ALSO: China has lifted the last of its quarantines for limiting the spread of bird flu. Report