January 28, 2013.
CDC Travelers' Health: Update on Cholera in Haiti
Monday, January 28, 2013
GSK and Biological E. announce joint venture to develop combination vaccine for India and other developing countries
GSK News Release:
GSK and Biological E. announce joint venture to develop combination vaccine for India and other developing countries
Issued: Monday 28 January 2013, London UK and Mumbai/Hyderabad, India
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Biological E Limited (Biological E.), a leading Indian vaccines company, today announced an agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture (JV) for the early stage research and development of a six-in-one combination paediatric vaccine to help protect children in India and other developing countries from polio and other infectious diseases. The partnership reinforces the commitment of both companies to support the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global polio eradication programme.
If approved, the vaccine, which would combine GSK’s injectable polio vaccine (IPV) and Biological E’s pentavalent vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (whole cell pertussis), hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type b, could be the first of its kind. The vaccine would enable fewer injections for children thereby improving compliance in immunisation schedules. The fully liquid formulation of the vaccine also means it would be ready to use with no additional ingredients or materials required, freeing up space at local storage facilities.
The JV will bear the development costs for the candidate vaccine, which is expected to enter phase 1 development in the next two years. A small initial cash investment will be made by both companies to cover start-up costs for the JV and subsequent development costs will be split equally.
Christophe Weber, President of GSK Vaccines said “We are delighted to be working with Biological E., an established company in the global vaccine market. This agreement is fully aligned to GSK’s vision of providing high quality vaccines to those in need and by leveraging Biological E’s strengths, this particular vaccine has the potential to be play a significant role in the fight against polio.”
Vijay Kumar Datla, Chairman Biological E. said “We are excited to be working with GSK, and this relationship is a validation of the investments we have made in vaccine technology and quality. We expect to leverage this partnership to accelerate the development of the hexavalent vaccine and make IPV accessible for developing countries in the post eradication phase for polio. We hope to continue playing our part in support of the public health community.”
Completion of the transaction is expected in 2013, subject to several conditions including regulatory approval of the JV.
GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com.
Biological E is a privately held company established in 1953. Biological E. Limited (Bio E) is a globally focused biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative vaccines and biologics that respond to health care needs worldwide. The company’s product development efforts are driven by an internationally experienced management team and the company has several strategic partnerships with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and research institutes around the world.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
"Superbugs" becoming harder to fight - YouTube
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can kill patients, especially those too weak to fight back. One expert believes that unless we combat these new organisms we are close to returning to pre-antibiotic era mortality rates. Serena Altschul reports.
Video (7:33).
"Superbugs" becoming harder to fight - YouTube
Video (7:33).
"Superbugs" becoming harder to fight - YouTube
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Bill Gates close to completely eradicating polio - YouTube
In the meeting rooms in Davos, Switzerland, the world's most prominent philanthropist is keeping up his campaign to help the poorest children of the world. Anthony Mason reports on Bill Gates' top priority of eradicating polio and how he's almost beaten it. (1:49)
Bill Gates close to completely eradicating polio - YouTube
Bill Gates close to completely eradicating polio - YouTube
Did Shakespeare Have Syphilis? - YouTube
Jeffrey Brown talks to Dr. John J. Ross, author of "Shakespeare's Tremor and Orwell's Cough: The Medical Lives of Famous Writers." (7:33)
Did Shakespeare Have Syphilis? - YouTube
Did Shakespeare Have Syphilis? - YouTube
Friday, January 25, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
CDC Releases Latest Flu Data
CNBC's Bertha Coombs reports the latest flu data shows signs the outbreak may be getting closer to a peak.
Video from CNBC (2:08).
CDC Releases Latest Flu Data
Video from CNBC (2:08).
CDC Releases Latest Flu Data
Statement from Assistant Secretary Nicole Lurie on FDA approval of new influenza vaccine manufactured with novel technology
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2013 |
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343 |
Statement from Assistant Secretary Nicole Lurie on FDA approval of new influenza vaccine manufactured with novel technology
Our nation has reached a landmark in influenza vaccine history with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a new seasonal flu vaccine, called Flublok, made with novel technology. This method uses recombinant DNA and a modified baculovirus (a virus that infects insects) to produce a safe and effective human flu vaccine. The approval yesterday of the new vaccine produced with this modern technology stands as one of the most significant improvements in flu vaccine technology in the past 50 years. I am honored that such a remarkable advancement came through a public-private partnership between ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and Protein Sciences Corporation.
Since its inception in 2006, BARDA has worked steadily with private industry to advance influenza vaccine technology and develop flu vaccines with these modern technologies that are FDA approved, ultimately providing more domestic pandemic vaccine capacity. As part of these national pandemic preparedness efforts, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supported early stage development of this vaccine and in 2009, when the vaccine reached an advanced development stage, BARDA began a partnership with Protein Sciences Corporation to reach the results we are seeing today: a new flu vaccine made with modern technology.
Demand for influenza vaccine can increase with little warning in a pandemic and in years when the flu is especially widespread. The method used to manufacture Flublok may help meet the increased demand for flu vaccine quickly because it has the potential for faster start-up of the manufacturing process than traditional egg-based vaccine methods. The process is nimble enough to be used for seasonal as well as potentially for pandemic flu vaccine because the technology does not depend on an egg supply or on the availability of modified influenza virus for production like traditional egg-based vaccine manufacturing does.
This new way of making flu vaccine is an example of the Obama administration partnering with industry to move innovative technology forward to the market. Our goal in ASPR is to drive innovative development of effective and cost-efficient vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and medical equipment to protect public health during emergencies. Many of these innovations also hold potential day-to-day uses, as is often the case with seasonal and pandemic flu technology.
BARDA also worked with its partners to achieve FDA approval for the first flu vaccine manufactured using a cell-based technology and, through a public-private partnership, opened the first cell-based flu vaccine manufacturing plant in the United States. This past year, BARDA engaged private partners around the country in a new way through three Centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing that will support pandemic as well as biodefense readiness.
This HHS record of progress shows the power of public-private partnership. By working together – industry, non-government organizations and all levels of government – we can help save lives, improve public health preparedness and potentially increase health security for our nation. FDA approval of Flublok is an important step toward that goal.
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Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Flu Outbreak 2013
This flu season is striking early, but is it really an epidemic? Tevi Troy, Romney Health Care Policy adviser, weighs in.
Video from CNBC (3:14).
Flu Outbreak 2013
Video from CNBC (3:14).
Flu Outbreak 2013
Flu Reaches Epidemic Proportions in US
CNBC's Bertha Coombs reports on the economic impact of the widespread outbreak of flu. Also, Dominic Ruocco, The Doctors' Office Walk-in Clinic co-owner, explains how hospitals and clinics are handling the rush of patients.
Video from CNBC (3:47).
Flu Reaches Epidemic Proportions in US
Video from CNBC (3:47).
Flu Reaches Epidemic Proportions in US
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Flu Reaches Epidemic Level in U.S.
BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti and editor in chief Ben Smith describe how social sharing has changed the way the news is reported and received, and how viral best-of lists and goofy cat pictures may support the future of journalism.
Video from CNBC (5:09).
Flu Reaches Epidemic Level in U.S.
Video from CNBC (5:09).
Flu Reaches Epidemic Level in U.S.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Boston Declares Flu An Emergency
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner experienced brake problems today, with CNBC's Larry Kudlow; and Boston's Mayor is declaring this year's flu season and public health emergency, with Alysha Palumbo, NECN.
Video from CNBC (2:08).
Boston Declares Flu An Emergency
Video from CNBC (2:08).
Boston Declares Flu An Emergency
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Fear of the Flu
Google tracks searches for flu-related terms, and overall flu searches are up 200 percent from the 3-year average, reports CNBC's Bertha Coombs.
Video from CNBC (2:05).
Fear of the Flu
Video from CNBC (2:05).
Fear of the Flu
Monday, January 7, 2013
Sanofi Gears Up for Flu Season
Maria Bartiromo looks at how companies are gearing up for this year's early flu season with Sanofi's CEO.
Video from CNBC (2:05).
Sanofi Gears Up for Flu Season
Video from CNBC (2:05).
Sanofi Gears Up for Flu Season
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Massachusetts Plans Stricter Control of Compounding Pharmacies
The following is an excerpt from an article in:
The New York Times
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Massachusetts Plans Stricter Control of Compounding Pharmacies
By ABBY GOODNOUGH and DENISE GRADY
BOSTON — New laws to strengthen state control of compounding pharmacies were proposed on Friday by Gov. Deval Patrick, in hopes of preventing another public health disaster like the current outbreak of meningitis caused by a contaminated drug made in Massachusetts.
The laws will be among the strongest in the country, said Kevin Outterson, a law professor at Boston University and a member of the expert panel that advised the state on how to curb abuses by companies like the New England Compounding Center, the Framingham pharmacy that made the tainted drug responsible for the nationwide meningitis outbreak.
The legislation would establish strict licensing requirements for compounding sterile drugs; let the state assess fines against pharmacies that break its rules; protect whistle-blowers who work in compounding pharmacies; and reorganize the state pharmacy board to include more members who are independent of the industry and fewer who are part of it.
Alec Loftus, a spokesman for the state’s Office of Health and Human Services, said that Mr. Patrick expected the new legislation to be passed quickly.
Daniel Carpenter, a professor of government at Harvard, said the proposed laws seemed sound and comprehensive. But he warned that if other states did not take similar steps, compounding pharmacies engaging in shoddy practices would just move to places with the weakest laws and the least oversight.
The New York Times
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Massachusetts Plans Stricter Control of Compounding Pharmacies
By ABBY GOODNOUGH and DENISE GRADY
BOSTON — New laws to strengthen state control of compounding pharmacies were proposed on Friday by Gov. Deval Patrick, in hopes of preventing another public health disaster like the current outbreak of meningitis caused by a contaminated drug made in Massachusetts.
The laws will be among the strongest in the country, said Kevin Outterson, a law professor at Boston University and a member of the expert panel that advised the state on how to curb abuses by companies like the New England Compounding Center, the Framingham pharmacy that made the tainted drug responsible for the nationwide meningitis outbreak.
The legislation would establish strict licensing requirements for compounding sterile drugs; let the state assess fines against pharmacies that break its rules; protect whistle-blowers who work in compounding pharmacies; and reorganize the state pharmacy board to include more members who are independent of the industry and fewer who are part of it.
Alec Loftus, a spokesman for the state’s Office of Health and Human Services, said that Mr. Patrick expected the new legislation to be passed quickly.
Daniel Carpenter, a professor of government at Harvard, said the proposed laws seemed sound and comprehensive. But he warned that if other states did not take similar steps, compounding pharmacies engaging in shoddy practices would just move to places with the weakest laws and the least oversight.
For more, visit www.nytimes.com.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Flu Cases Spike
Zynga's up nearly 9 percent as it reduces reliance on Amazon's web services and prepares to launch new games. CNBC's Julia Boorstin has the latest on social media stocks.
Video from CNBC (4:09).
Flu Cases Spike
Video from CNBC (4:09).
Flu Cases Spike
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Chinese Groups Slowly Carve Out Space in Work Against H.I.V./AIDS
The following is an excerpt from an article in:
The New York Times
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Chinese Groups Slowly Carve Out Space in Work Against H.I.V./AIDS
By DAN LEVIN
GUANGZHOU, China — As he waited to give blood for an H.I.V. test one recent afternoon, Le, a 25-year-old marketing professional, explained why he was there. “I was aware of the consequences” of not using a condom, he said, “but somehow I didn’t know how to say no.”
Le, a gay man who would give only his first name, was being tested at the Lingnan Health Center, an organization run largely by gay volunteers, whose walls are adorned with red AIDS ribbons and a smiling condom mascot. In the past, Le went to hospitals to be tested, he said, but the stigma of being a gay man in China made the experience particularly harrowing.
“I’d always be concerned about what the doctors would think of me,” Le said. “Here we’re all in the same community, so there’s less to worry about.”
Le is one of thousands of gay men in this bustling city of 13 million people who are benefiting from a pioneering experiment that supporters hope will revolutionize the way the Communist Party deals with nongovernment groups trying to stop the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Encouraged by the new slate of leaders who came to power in November, civil society activists hope the model taking shape here in the prosperous southern province of Guangdong, which has long served as a petri dish for economic reform, will be replicated nationally, not just in the fight against disease but also on issues like poverty, mental health and the environment.
While China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has allowed community organizations across the country to participate in disease testing programs since 2008, in practice those efforts remain patchy. But in November, just before World AIDS Day the following month, the grass-roots movement received a high-profile endorsement from the incoming prime minister, Li Keqiang.
At a meeting with advocates for AIDS patients, Mr. Li, a large red ribbon pinned to his jacket, promised more government support and shook hands with H.I.V.-positive people. The image resounded in a society where those infected are routinely turned away from hospitals and hounded from their jobs. “Civil society plays an indispensable role in the national battle against H.I.V./AIDS,” he said, according to the state news media.
Activists remain wary, however, noting that the government has made similar promises in the past. And despite the high-level support and a policy in Guangdong allowing grass-roots groups to register directly with the government — instead of being forced to find an official sponsor, as in much of the country — many organizations say they still are stymied by dizzying bureaucratic hurdles or rejected for missing unannounced deadlines.
The New York Times
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Chinese Groups Slowly Carve Out Space in Work Against H.I.V./AIDS
By DAN LEVIN
GUANGZHOU, China — As he waited to give blood for an H.I.V. test one recent afternoon, Le, a 25-year-old marketing professional, explained why he was there. “I was aware of the consequences” of not using a condom, he said, “but somehow I didn’t know how to say no.”
Le, a gay man who would give only his first name, was being tested at the Lingnan Health Center, an organization run largely by gay volunteers, whose walls are adorned with red AIDS ribbons and a smiling condom mascot. In the past, Le went to hospitals to be tested, he said, but the stigma of being a gay man in China made the experience particularly harrowing.
“I’d always be concerned about what the doctors would think of me,” Le said. “Here we’re all in the same community, so there’s less to worry about.”
Le is one of thousands of gay men in this bustling city of 13 million people who are benefiting from a pioneering experiment that supporters hope will revolutionize the way the Communist Party deals with nongovernment groups trying to stop the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Encouraged by the new slate of leaders who came to power in November, civil society activists hope the model taking shape here in the prosperous southern province of Guangdong, which has long served as a petri dish for economic reform, will be replicated nationally, not just in the fight against disease but also on issues like poverty, mental health and the environment.
While China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has allowed community organizations across the country to participate in disease testing programs since 2008, in practice those efforts remain patchy. But in November, just before World AIDS Day the following month, the grass-roots movement received a high-profile endorsement from the incoming prime minister, Li Keqiang.
At a meeting with advocates for AIDS patients, Mr. Li, a large red ribbon pinned to his jacket, promised more government support and shook hands with H.I.V.-positive people. The image resounded in a society where those infected are routinely turned away from hospitals and hounded from their jobs. “Civil society plays an indispensable role in the national battle against H.I.V./AIDS,” he said, according to the state news media.
Activists remain wary, however, noting that the government has made similar promises in the past. And despite the high-level support and a policy in Guangdong allowing grass-roots groups to register directly with the government — instead of being forced to find an official sponsor, as in much of the country — many organizations say they still are stymied by dizzying bureaucratic hurdles or rejected for missing unannounced deadlines.
For more, visit www.nytimes.com.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
F.D.A. Approves Sirturo, a New Tuberculosis Drug
The following is an excerpt from an article in:
The New York Times
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
F.D.A. Approves Sirturo, a New Tuberculosis Drug
By KATIE THOMAS
The Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday that it had approved a new treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that can be used as an alternative when other drugs fail.
The drug, to be called Sirturo, was discovered by scientists at Janssen, the pharmaceuticals unit of Johnson & Johnson, and is the first in a new class of drugs that aims to treat the drug-resistant strain of the disease.
Tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease that is transmitted through the air and usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body, including the brain and kidneys. It is considered one of the world’s most serious public health threats. Although rare in the United States, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a growing problem elsewhere in the world, especially in poorer countries. About 12 million people worldwide had tuberculosis in 2011, according to Johnson & Johnson, and about 630,000 had multidrug-resistant TB.
A study in September in The Lancet found that almost 44 percent of patients with tuberculosis in countries like Russia, Peru and Thailand showed resistance to at least one second-line drug, or a medicine used after another drug had already failed.
Treating drug-resistant tuberculosis can take years and can cost 200 times as much as treating the ordinary form of the disease
“This is quite a milestone in the story of therapy for TB,” Dr. Paul Stoffels, the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said in an interview. He said the approval was the first time in 40 years that the agency had approved a drug that attacked tuberculosis in a different way from the current treatments on the market. Sirturo works by inhibiting an enzyme needed by the tuberculosis bacteria to replicate and spread throughout the body.
The New York Times
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
F.D.A. Approves Sirturo, a New Tuberculosis Drug
By KATIE THOMAS
The Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday that it had approved a new treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that can be used as an alternative when other drugs fail.
The drug, to be called Sirturo, was discovered by scientists at Janssen, the pharmaceuticals unit of Johnson & Johnson, and is the first in a new class of drugs that aims to treat the drug-resistant strain of the disease.
Tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease that is transmitted through the air and usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body, including the brain and kidneys. It is considered one of the world’s most serious public health threats. Although rare in the United States, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a growing problem elsewhere in the world, especially in poorer countries. About 12 million people worldwide had tuberculosis in 2011, according to Johnson & Johnson, and about 630,000 had multidrug-resistant TB.
A study in September in The Lancet found that almost 44 percent of patients with tuberculosis in countries like Russia, Peru and Thailand showed resistance to at least one second-line drug, or a medicine used after another drug had already failed.
Treating drug-resistant tuberculosis can take years and can cost 200 times as much as treating the ordinary form of the disease
“This is quite a milestone in the story of therapy for TB,” Dr. Paul Stoffels, the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said in an interview. He said the approval was the first time in 40 years that the agency had approved a drug that attacked tuberculosis in a different way from the current treatments on the market. Sirturo works by inhibiting an enzyme needed by the tuberculosis bacteria to replicate and spread throughout the body.
For more, visit www.nytimes.com.
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