Development
2009

Researcher Develops Inhalable Measles Vaccine
Voice of America
August 31, 2009
"Most vaccines are given as a liquid shot using a needle and syringe, but this method can lead to infection if needles are reused or not disposed of safely. Bob Sievers is a chemistry professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and the head of a small chemical company called Aktiv-Dry. With a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Sievers is developing a dry powder form of the measles vaccine that would be inhaled, instead of injected..."

HIV Is Found to Be Fast
News and Observer (NC)
July 7, 2009
"Human immunodeficiency virus, once considered a slow if stealthy invader, actually works incredibly fast at disarming key immune fighters in the body, scientists at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill reported Monday. What's more, HIV strikes an army of immune cells that scientists previously believed were less vulnerable early on. The findings, reported in the online journal PloS Medicine, provide a better understanding of how to develop a vaccine to protect against the virus that cause AIDS. It newly infects an estimated 56,300 people a year in the United States..."
Wayne Marasco: A Shot at a Universal Flu Vaccine
US News and World Report
June 30, 2009
“Wayne Marasco is no doubt the only Harvard medical researcher who abandoned a successful construction firm, Waymar Roofing and Siding, to become an immunologist. The man with the unorthodox history recently made a striking discovery: a human antibody that attacks a newfound vulnerability in flu viruses. His finding could be the key to a single, perennial vaccine against all forms of influenza, including swine flu. Vaccines work by training the body's immune system to recognize distinctive molecules on the surface of a virus. The body then makes antibodies that grab those molecules and disable the virus. But flu viruses constantly change the shape of their surface molecules. So the vaccine that 143 million Americans get annually has to be matched each year to the mutating virus. That process takes months, making it hard to quickly cook up a vaccine for a new bug. After SARS, Marasco started searching for antibodies to the H5N1 bird flu virus. By 2007, he had found an antibody that stuck to all four circulating bird flu strains, the 1918 pandemic flu, and representatives of 8,000 other flu strains..."

US Invests in Advanced Flu Vaccine Method
Washington Post
June 24, 2009
"The U.S. government is investing in a new technique for making flu vaccines that it hopes will help the nation respond quickly to outbreaks such as the H1N1 swine flu virus. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday her department had awarded a $35 million contract to privately held Protein Sciences Corp Inc of Meriden, Connecticut, to use its new gene-based techniques to develop a vaccine and test it in clinical trials. If testing goes well, the contract could be expanded over five years for a total of nearly $150 million..."

A Long Search for a Universal Flu Vaccine
New York Times
May 19, 2009
"Scientists and vaccine manufacturers are working on a universal flu vaccine, with a goal of providing at least several years of protection against seasonal and pandemic flu strains. A universal vaccine would eliminate the need for scientists to guess which strains will be dominant during the upcoming flu season, and it would make vaccination more affordable for countries with limited funds for immunization campaigns. However, some experts believe a universal flu vaccine would be a supplement to the seasonal flu vaccine, rather than a replacement. Proteins on the outside of the flu virus that come in contact with antibodies do not vary as much as those on the inside, but researchers working on a universal flu vaccine are targeting the M2 protein that sticks out of the virus..."

Novel Technique Developed at CHOP May Lead to HIV Vaccine
Philadelphia Inquirer
May 18, 2009
"Researchers, led by Philip Johnson of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, are hopeful that they can create a vaccine to protect against HIV. The researchers injected a genetically altered "carrier" virus that does not cause disease into the muscles of monkeys to create antibodies while bypassing the immune system. The vaccine generated proteins that block Simian Immunodeficiency Virus, and while the virus closely resembles HIV, researchers say it is uncertain whether the same technique will work in humans. Still, Johnson will discuss early-stage human testing with the Food and Drug Administration. The study was published in the May 19 online edition of Nature Medicine..."
Swine Flu Vaccine May Be Months Away, Experts Say
New York Times
April 29, 2009
"Federal officials said it would take until January, or late November at the earliest, to make enough vaccine to protect all Americans from a possible epidemic of swine flu. And beyond the United States and a few other countries that also make vaccines, some experts said it could take years to produce enough swine flu vaccine to satisfy global demand. Although production is much faster than would have been possible even a few years ago, it still may not be in time to avert death and illness if the virus starts spreading widely and becomes more virulent, some experts said. In this country, the biggest problem is that despite years of effort, the country is still relying on half-century-old technology to make the flu vaccines..."
Vaccine Makers Await Critical Swine Flu Samples; Swine Flu Won't Be in Seasonal Flu Vaccines
April 29, 2009
"As the World Health Organization (WHO) today acknowledged the spreading swine influenza virus by moving the pandemic threat awareness level up one notch to 5, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) worked to get drug companies the materials they need to create a vaccine. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it is unlikely that any new swine flu vaccine would be included in the batches of seasonal influenza vaccines already in production for the typical August vaccine ship date..."
US Wants Ingredient in Swine Flu Vaccine by May
Seattle Times
April 28, 2009
"U.S. scientists hope to have a key ingredient for a swine flu vaccine ready in early May, but are finding that the novel virus grows slowly in eggs — the chief way flu vaccines are made. Even if all goes well, it still will take a few months before any shots are available for the first required safety testing, in volunteers. 'We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful,' Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press. Using samples of the new swine flu, taken from people who fell ill in Mexico and the U.S., scientists are engineering a strain that could trigger the immune system without causing illness. 'We're about a third of the way' to that goal, Dr. Ruben Donis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an interview Tuesday..."
Swine Flu Vaccine Would Take Months to Develop, Distribute
USA TODAY
April 27, 2009
"As new swine flu cases continue to mount, the question of developing a vaccine is a growing concern. World Health Organization officials say we are more prepared for a potential flu pandemic than we were five years ago. Yet, if the decision is made to create one for this flu strain, it will still likely take months before it's available..."
As Vaccine Development Kicks Off, Caution Urged
NPR
April 27, 2009
"The last time the nation raced to contain an outbreak of swine flu, the result was a controversial - and ultimately flawed - national immunization program. That 1976 outbreak, which began with the death of a military recruit at Fort Dix, N.J., was believed to have been the first major incidence of swine flu in humans since the 1918-19 pandemic. Known as the "Spanish" flu, the 1918 strain killed more than 50 million people..."
TB Vaccine Enters New Trial Stage
BBC News
April 24, 2009
An experimental tuberculosis vaccine will be given to nearly 2,784 infants in South Africa as part of the next stage of trials for the first new TB vaccine in 80 years. Researchers at Oxford University say the effectiveness of MVA85A will be tested, following trials in 2007 which showed the vaccine was safe. The experimental vaccine is designed to stimulate T-cells to produce a stronger response to the current BCG jab. Researchers say the vaccine could be available by 2016 if the tests are successful.
No Needles in a Nano Universe
Brisbane Times (Australia)
April 23, 2009
"Australian scientists are developing a vaccine "nanopatch" that delivers immunization against diseases without the use of needles. These patches could be sent to remote areas that do not have refrigeration or disposable syringes used in traditional vaccines. The patches consist of a centimeter-square silicon device, with thousands of very sharp, microscopic spikes. These spikes are coated with dried vaccine and penetrate the skin less than a hair's thickness below the surface, causing no pain and delivering the vaccine close to the immune cells, called dendritic cells..."
Stanford Study of Malaria Vaccine Needs Participants
CNBC.com
April 16, 2009
"Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine need additional participants to complete the first study of a new vaccine against malaria. The phase-1 clinical trial, which is under way at both Stanford and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., aims to test the safety of and immune response to different doses of the vaccine in a total of 72 healthy adults. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results from this study will allow a second trial to begin in Africa this year.' This a chance for those who know that malaria causes millions of deaths every year to step forward and help in the search for preventive vaccine,' said Cornelia Dekker, MD, medical director of the Stanford-Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Vaccine Program..."
Vaccine Developed For E. Coli Diarrheal Diseases That Kill Millions Of Children
Science Daily
April 15, 2009
"A Michigan State University researcher has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli that kills 2 million to 3 million children each year in the developing world. Enterotoxigenic E. Coli, which is responsible for 60 percent to 70 percent of all E. coli diarrheal disease, also causes health problems for U.S. troops serving overseas and is responsible for what is commonly called traveler’s diarrhea..."
US Regulator Approves Rapid Test for Bird Flu
Reuters
April 8, 2009
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved a fast test for H5N1 bird flu that can show in less than an hour if people are infected. The test, made by Sunnyvale, California-based Arbor Vita Corporation, should greatly speed up diagnosis and treatment of people infected with avian influenza, the FDA said. Most current tests take hours..."
New TB Vaccine Is Safe, Highly Immunogenic in Patients With Latent Infection
Medscape
April 7, 2009
"A new vaccine, abbreviated MVA85A, is safe and immunogenic in patients with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI), according to a report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine for April 15th. There have been concerns about administering TB vaccines to patients with LTBI out of fear that it may cause re-activation of the infection and full-blown disease. Thus, these findings are important in showing that the new vaccine can, in fact, be safely given to LTBI patients..."
Researcher Healthy 21 days after Ebola Accident
Washington Post
April 2, 2009
"A researcher who may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus was declared healthy and released from isolation at a German hospital Thursday, having been spared the horrific symptoms of the disease. The woman had accidentally pricked her finger three weeks ago with a needle used to inject Ebola into mice. It was not known if the virus actually entered her bloodstream, but she was given an experimental vaccine just in case. The vaccine had never been tested on humans. Scientists don't know if the vaccine saved her or if she was simply lucky not to get the disease during an excruciating 21-day waiting period..."
Vaccine Approved for Japanese Encephalitis: Mosquito-borne virus strikes mostly in Asia
US News and Reports
March 31, 2009
"The Ixiaro vaccine to prevent Japanese encephalitis (JE) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the only sanctioned JE vaccine in the United States. The mosquito-transmitted virus is found mostly in Asia, where it affects up to 50,000 people each year and causes as many as 15,000 deaths, the FDA said in a news release. Though rarely seen in the United States, a few cases have been reported among people traveling to and from Asia..."
Experimental Vaccine Used in Ebola Exposure Case
USA Today
March 27, 2009
"It was a nightmare scenario: A scientist accidentally pricked her finger with a needle used to inject the deadly Ebola virus into lab mice. Within hours, members of a tightly bound, yet far-flung community of virologists, biologists and others were tensely gathered in a trans-Atlantic telephone conference trying to map out a way to save her life. Less than 24 hours later, an experimental vaccine never before tried on humans was on its way to Germany from a lab in Canada. And within 48 hours of the March 12 accident, the at-risk scientist, a 45-year-old woman whose identity has not been revealed, was injected with the vaccine..."
This Scientist's Passion: Ending the scourge of parasitic diseases
USA TODAY
March 23, 2009
"Even as a child, Peter Hotez held a grown-up's fascination for the tiny creatures living in the creek near his house. Inspired by Paul de Kruif's Microbe Hunters, a popular book on disease detectives, Hotez persuaded his parents to buy him a microscope. He spent hours watching little animals wriggle in a glowing circle of light, and, at an age when most kids were reading The Hardy Boys, he read about parasites. His two brothers were baffled by his obsession..."
New Delivery Method Takes the Pinch Out of Vaccines
Examiner.com
March 19, 2009
"A research team at Northwestern University has begun the pioneering work of creating better vaccines. And not only better, but also needle free. Their system uses probiotics, the natural and healthy bacteria found in dairy products like yogurt, to deliver the vaccine directly to the small intestines, where the heart of our immune system lies. Vaccines are a teaching tool for the body. With the injection (often a weaker form of the virus or bacteria that causes sicknesses) immune cells learn which foreign substances to destroy, and pass such information on to other cells. This way, the next time it encounters the virus, the immune system can launch a more rapid and robust response for it already knows to kill those invaders..."
Trial Vaccine May Protect Against Serious Viral Infection
HealthDay News
March 18, 2009
"Women who were given an experimental vaccine for a viral infection that can cause serious problems in babies, known as cytomegalovirus, reduced their risk of infection by 50 percent for as long as three and half years after vaccination, according to new research. 'In many ways, this was a surprising result,' said the lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Pass, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham..."
Sanofi "Micro" Flu Shot Wins European Approval
Reuters Health
February 26, 2009
"A new kind of "micro" vaccine against seasonal flu from Sanofi-Aventis has been cleared for sale by the European Commission, the French drugmaker said on Thursday. The green light had been expected following a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency in December. Sanofi's Intanza vaccine is the first intradermal microinjection flu shot and was developed in collaboration with Becton Dickinson. The shot is approved for use in adults 60 years of age and older, especially in those who run an increased risk of influenza-associated complications. Older people tend to become less responsive to vaccination and are expected to benefit particularly from a vaccine that provides direct access to the immune system through the dermal skin layer. Sanofi has tested the new shot in clinical trials involving more than 7,000 adult or elderly participants..."
Antibodies Offer a New Path for Fighting Flu
New York Times
February 23, 2009
"In a discovery that could radically change how the world fights influenza, researchers have engineered antibodies that protect against many strains of the virus, including even the 1918 Spanish flu and the H5N1 bird flu. The discovery, experts said, could lead to the development of a flu vaccine that would not have to be changed yearly. And the antibodies already developed can be injected as a treatment, going after the virus in ways that drugs like Tamiflu do not. Clinical trials to prove that the antibodies are safe in humans could begin within three years, a researcher estimated..."
New Child Vaccine Against Meningitis B May Be Available by 2011
The Times (UK)
February 11, 2009
"A new vaccine to protect children against meningitis B is likely to be approved within two years, researchers say. The meningococcus B vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company Novartis is the frontrunner in the race to provide immunisation against an infection that kills approximately 100 children in Britain each year. The jab, currently in the final stages of testing at the University of Oxford, is the first of its kind to be developed after the entire genome of a deadly bacteria was sequenced. Meningococcus B is the most common cause of meningitis in Britain. Although vaccines are available for pneumococcal meningitis and the "C" and "Hib" types, scientists have struggled to find an effective vaccine for meningococcus B, which is responsible for 80 per cent of confirmed infections — 1,070 cases last year..."
Seattle-Based PATH Develops a New Way to Protect Vaccines
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
January 21, 2009
"Hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses are wasted annually due to poor refrigeration, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a main challenge for health officials is that simply looking at a vaccine does not indicate whether it has been frozen or exposed to heat at some point during transport. Seattle-based PATH helped develop a heat-sensitive label for vaccines two decades ago, and the company now has developed a new way to keep vaccines from freezing. Published in the journal Vaccine, PATH vaccine technologies expert Debbie Kristensen and researchers at the University of Colorado-Denver report that glycerin, propylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol--common additives found in foods, soft drinks, and shampoos--can be added to vaccines to prevent freezing. Though the additives are inexpensive, researchers say more tests are necessary to see if they hinder vaccines' immunogenicity, or effectiveness..."
U.S. to Produce Cell-Based Flu Vaccine
UPI
January 15, 2009
"The U.S. government said it has awarded a $487 million contract to Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics for cell-based flu vaccines. Novartis will be the first U.S. facility to manufacture cell-based vaccines, which can be made faster and in greater quantities than traditional influenza vaccine. The Department of Health and Human Services said the new facility is expected to boost U.S. capacity for pandemic influenza vaccine by at least 25 percent..."
2008
Malaria Vaccine Is Given a Good Shot as Big-Money Donors Boost Research
Wall Street Journal
December 9, 2008
"The fight against malaria, one of the world's biggest killers, has just gotten a booster. An experimental vaccine has shown promise in two studies in African children, who account for the majority of the more than one million victims that malaria claims every year. Published online Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the studies affirm encouraging results from earlier trials of the vaccine, known only as 'RTS,S.'..."
Wyeth Submits European Marketing Authorization Application for its 13-Valent Vaccine for the Prevention of Pneumococcal Disease in Infants and Young Children
Fox Business News
December 4, 2008
"Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE:WYE), announced today that it has submitted a marketing authorization application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for approval to market its investigational 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) for infants and young children. Wyeth is seeking an indication for the prevention of pneumococcal disease (PD) caused by the 13 serotypes included in the investigational vaccine in infants and children from two months to five years of age. The review of the MAA will be coordinated by the EMEA for all 27 countries in the European Union, as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. PCV13 includes the 13 most prevalent pneumococcal serotypes associated with serious PD. Seven of these (4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F and 23F) are included in Prevenar* (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, adsorbed) - - the current global standard in PD prevention in infants and young children. The six additional serotypes (1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F and 19A) are associated with the greatest burden of remaining invasive disease. Both Prevenar (also known as PCV7) and PCV13 use CRM197 -- an immunological carrier protein with a 20-year history of use in pediatric vaccines..."
African Researchers Plan Malaria Vaccine Trial
Washington Post
November 10, 2008
"A medical trial involving 16,000 children across Africa will be a challenge to human, scientific and communications resources on the world's poorest continent, three researchers hoping to develop the first malaria vaccine said Monday. Malaria, caused by parasites and spread by mosquitoes, kills nearly 1 million people every year, most of them children in Africa. GSK is working with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which is an anti-malaria charity funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and clinics and research centers in Africa..."
Plans for Large-Scale AIDS Vaccine Trial Dropped
Associated Press
July 18, 2008
"Plans for a large-scale trial of a potential AIDS vaccine are being dropped in favor of a smaller, more focused study, the National Institutes of Health said Thursday..."
Glaxo Scientist's `Aha' Moment May Result in Malaria Vaccine
Bloomberg
July 2, 2008
"Drug researcher W. Ripley Ballou remembers the moment he realized that GlaxoSmithKline Plc's experimental malaria vaccine might save millions of lives..."
Experimental Meningitis Vaccine Shows Promise
USA Today
May 6, 2008
"An experimental meningitis vaccine appears to generate more potent immunity than the version now available in young people who suffer most from the disease, researchers reported Monday..."
AIDS Vaccine Testing at Crossroads
Washington Post
March 26, 2008
"The leaders of the federal government's effort to develop an AIDS vaccine said yesterday that more of their budget needs to be spent on basic lab research and less on testing the current crop of vaccines, none of which has proved useful in human trials..."
Home spacer Contact Us spacer About Us spacer Support IAC spacer Cite IAC spacer Link to IAC spacer Disclaimer spacer Privacy Policy
Immunization Action Coalition  •  1573 Selby Avenue  •  Saint Paul, MN 55104
tel 651-647-9009  •  fax 651-647-9131
email admin@immunize.org