The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus used a new strategy to cross from birds into humans, a warning that it has more than one trick up its sleeve to jump the species barrier. In a report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, researchers show that the H1N1 virus adopted a new mutation in one of its genes distinct from the mutations found in previous flu viruses.

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In indigenous swine flu vaccine is far from ready but India has given the green signal to two foreign pharmaceutical giants to begin human trials of their vaccine in the country. According to the health ministry, India has already placed orders for more than one million doses of swine flu vaccines from GSK and Novartis. But before that is administered, the government wants to ensure that the vaccines are absolutely safe.

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Vical Incorporated has announced that the company addressed an international gathering of pandemic influenza vaccine experts and potential commercial partners to encourage broader use of the company’s DNA vaccine technology and Vaxfectin(R) adjuvant. DNA vaccines can be developed and produced very quickly using scaleable manufacturing processes which are not dependent upon chicken eggs or other cell culture methods.

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Roche Holding AG’s antiviral drug Tamiflu may not prevent complications from influenza in healthy adults, according to a review by an independent research group that reversed its previous findings that the medicine warded off pneumonia and other deadly conditions linked to the disease. The pill has been the mainstay of treatment for pandemic swine flu, which has killed nearly 9,000 people since it emerged in April, according to the World Health Organization.

Gen-Probe Incorporated has announced that Prodesse’s ProFlu-ST(TM) assay, a molecular test that detects the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus and differentiates it from two common seasonal strains, has received its CE Mark, enabling it to be commercialized in the European Union. The ProFlu-ST assay uses real-time RT-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to detect and identify the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, the seasonal influenza A/H1 virus, and the seasonal influenza A/H3 virus.

Scientists at University of California, Davis, have found that earlier exposure to the seasonal flu viruses provide people with some level of immunity to the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. In their study, the researchers identified a group of immunologically important sites on the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus that are also present in other influenza viruses that have been circulating for years. The study has been published in the journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Daiichi Sankyo Co’s new influenza drug CS-8958 has been successful in the late stage clinical studies. The company is planning to filing for government approval in Japan by March. The new drug has demonstrated better efficacy and safety in its phase-3 studies as compared with Roche’s Tamiflu, one of the most widely prescribed influenza drugs. CS-8958 also produced better results than Tamiflu in pediatric studies without any serious safety problems, Daiichi Sankyo said. Daiichi Sankyo expects CS-8958 to be also effective for treating swine flu.

Novartis Vaccines has started shipping the first of 30 million doses of its Fluvirin® seasonal influenza vaccine to the US. The shipping has started weeks ahead of schedule. The vaccine indicated for patients aged four years and over will be used to help meet the anticipated increase in demand for the seasonal vaccine as a result of the current global (A) H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

MedImmune has licensed the use of its proprietary reverse genetics technology by a Hungary-based manufacturing and research firm, Omnivest, to develop new vaccine strains for the production of non-live vaccines for influenza in humans. The technology enables generation of viruses such as influenza from segments of DNA. It requires the manufacturers to work only with segments of genome of the virus and not directly with highly infectious strains. Before this, MedImmune has licensed the technology to CSL Limited (Australia), sanofi pasteur, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and BIKEN (Japan).

Novavax Inc. declared that its candidate for the vaccine against pandemic influenza virus-like particle (VLP)  has shown favorable results for the second stage of the Phase I/IIa of the human clinical trial. The vaccine candidate, which does not include an adjuvant, induced robust neutralizing antibody titers across all three doses tested. Avian influenza, the disease that the vaccine will prevent, emerged in humans in 2005 in Indonesia. 81% of  the 135 documented human cases have been fatal. The safety report for the trial is pending, but no adverse case has been reported.