Vaccine Research
While Biovest already plans to market its personalized cancer vaccine BioVaxID for two forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the company has been granted 7 years of exclusivity to treat the rare Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia after gaining FDA approval for the vaccine. Biovest plans to apply for approval next year. Report
Needham, MA-based Celldex Therapeutics has received orphan drug status in the EU for its glioblastoma vaccine, rindopepimut. The company plans to start enrolling patients for its Phase III trial of the vaccine in the EU and in the U.S. this quarter. Celldex release
Hawaii Biotech has licensed the tick-borne encephalitis and malaria virus vaccine technology it originally developed from Merck. Merck purchased the products back in 2010. Release
Vaccine Market
The Massachusetts Biologics Laboratory has laid off 49 of its 250 workers after demand slumped for tetanus-diptheria vaccine. Health officials have recommended a tetanus-diptheria-pertussis vaccine instead, after multiple high-profile whooping cough outbreaks in the past couple of years. News
TapImmune and Aeras have entered a research collaboration focusing on using Aeras' tuberculosis vaccine vectors with TapImmune's TAP technology. Release
And Finally... After the National Biodefense Science Board OKed the pursuit of pediatric anthrax vaccine testing, the Public Citizen protested the recommendation, calling it fear-mongering. "Administering a vaccine for the first time to large numbers of children younger than 18 years of age poses an unknown risk in the midst of the public-health response to a wide-scale anthrax attack," the group said in their draft report. More