Vaccine Research
Biovest and Ordway Research Institute of Albany, NY have signed a research collaboration agreement which will focus on Biovest's efficiency of manufacturing vaccines and virus-like particles. The research will use Biovest's proprietary hollow fiber bioreactor systems, and the companies hope the findings will lead to further partnerships with the Department of Defense and other agencies. Biovest release
Vaccine Market
The CDC has suggested a new, shortened schedule for prophylactic rabies vaccinations, using four dosages of the vaccine instead of the original five. The new schedule has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. Story
Bavarian Nordic has taken the next step towards marketing Imvamune in Canada; the company filed a marketing authorization application for the smallpox vaccine, which will be considered in the next year. Report
Although current Texas legislation states all college students living on campus must have up-to-date meningitis vaccinations, a new state senate bill may ramp up the mandate. It would order that all first-time college students be vaccinate within five years of enrollment, regardless of living situation. Article
The Department of Health and Human Services has created a new website, Vaccines.gov, to educate the public on the importance of vaccination, vaccine availability and travel health tips. HHS plans on creating a Spanish version of the site and provide insight from other federal departments. HHS release
Montreal-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Prevtec has secured the rights to exclusively market Prevtec microbia's Coliprotec vaccine in Brazil. The vaccine prevents post-weaning diarrhea in pigs, and Brazil is the third largest pork producer in the world. Prevtec release