In the clinical trials being conducted by Iomai Corp., patients were showed to be effectively protected from the bird flu disease by a single dose of the company’s vaccine, along with a skin patch. According to the company, 73% of the patients participating in the trial demonstrated sufficient immune response to the disease.

Researchers from Cytos Biotechnology AG and universities and research centers in Switzerland and Germany are working on a new vaccine for blood pressure. The vaccine works by mopping up angiotensin 2, which raises blood pressure by tightening blood vessels. The vaccine may reduce blood pressure in the morning, which is the danger period for blood pressure patients. Early morning attacks cannot be curbed by current medication, as people tend to take it after breakfast.

New data related to GlaxoSmithKline’s CERVARIX(R) demonstrates that the cervical cancer candidate vaccine provides significant protection for women against the four most common cancer-causing human papillomavirus types. The vaccine gives protection for nearly six and a half years, which is the longest duration of protection reported to date. During this period, the vaccine showed 100% efficacy in preventing precancerous lesions due to cancer-causing virus types 16 and 18 as well as provided substantial protection against infection caused by virus types 31 and 45.

Novartis has opened a new research institute in Siena, Italy. The Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health (NVGH) has a nonprofit mission of developing vaccines for diseases prevalent in developing countries. The institute aims at addressing the unmet vaccine needs of developing nations by researching new vaccines specifically for these countries.

The vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, Sanofi Pasteur, has filed the first centralized marketing authorization application with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the influenza vaccine delivered by an intradermal (ID) microinjection system. ID delivery is an improvement over intramuscular (IM) injection in terms of enhancing the immune response in the elderly. The vaccine uses BD Soluviaä, which is a microinjection system developed by Becton, Dickinson and Company.