Vaccine Market
> Canadian scientists are recommending that parents get rotavirus vaccine shots for their babies to ward off a disease that triggers severe diarrhea and vomiting. Cost-effectiveness studies are underway to determine if the country should launch a government-funded universal vaccine program. Report
> The widespread use of chicken pox vaccine in Texas has cut back on the number of cases in the state. Report
> More than 2,500 patients may have received ineffective vaccinations in the UK. A routine check determined that the vaccine had been stored at the wrong temperature. Report
Vaccine Research
> Nabi Pharmaceuticals, which has been advancing a vaccine to help people stop smoking, has announced that it is undergoing a strategic review that may lead to the sale or merger of the company. Report
> Medicago announced that low doses of the company's H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine provided 100 percent protection in mice against a lethal challenge of live H5N1 viruses. In addition, this preclinical study demonstrated that Medicago's vaccine has the ability to recognize and kill an H5N1 strain that is different from the one used to design the vaccine. Release
> Researchers in Mexico have been exploring the development of transgenic plants that produce an HIV protein. Report
> A new study suggests that scientists can boost the body's resistance and fend off successive viral infections by taking components of the virus and indirectly activating specific populations of killer T cells--the body's virus-killing cells. The virus components are introduced through a process known as "cross priming," where virus molecules are engulfed by immune cells to activate killer T cells. Release