Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Announces Identification of a Novel Class of HCV Inhibitors

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing antiviral therapies, announced today the publication of research from the labs of Stanford scientist and Eiger Founder, Dr. Jeffrey Glenn, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues entitled,...

Sanofi touts dengue fever vaccine data

In a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Sanofi-Aventis reports that all 66 subjects enrolled in a trial of its dengue fever vaccine were protected from the disease after receiving three injections over 15 months. And many were protected in just two shots--even patients whose first injection was a placebo. Sanofi says the results "paved the way for ongoing and future large-scale efficacy trials of our...

Evolutionary surprise: Eight percent of human genetic material comes from a virus

About eight percent of human genetic material comes from a virus and not from our ancestors, according to a new study. The research shows that the genomes of humans and other mammals contain DNA derived from the insertion of bornaviruses, RNA viruses whose replication and transcription takes place in the...

Natural compound blocks hepatitis C infection

Researchers have identified two cellular proteins that are important factors in hepatitis C virus infection, a finding that may result in the approval of new and less toxic treatments for the disease, which can lead to liver cancer and...

Scientists discover a new family of giant virus

After Mimivirus, Mamavirus and the virophage, the group of giant viruses now has a new member called Marseillevirus. Discovered in an amoeba by the team led by Didier Raoult at the Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes research group (CNRS/Université Aix-Marseille 2), a description of this new virus was published this week on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...

Newly identified targets in treating inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract

Digestive-disease-associated mortality accounts for a major part of all deaths in Western societies and inflammatory diseases such as GI infections, viral hepatitis, GERD or cancers due to chronic inflammation have a tangible economic and social...

Positive interim results from Idera Pharmaceuticals’ IMO-2125 Phase 1 clinical trial for HCV

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive interim results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of IMO-2125 in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV). IMO-2125 is an agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9 that Idera designed to treat HCV by inducing endogenous interferon-alpha and other Th1-type cytokines and...

EMA’s CHMP issues positive opinion for Cangene’s Human Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin product

Cangene Corporation today reports that it has received a positive opinion from the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use ("CHMP") regarding the immunoprophylaxis indication of Cangene's ImmunoGam(TM) (Human Hepatitis B...

African AIDS vaccine conference addresses future trials in Africa, lower participation rates among women

During the Forum of the African AIDS Vaccine Program (AAVP) in Kampala, Uganda, on Wednesday, Alan Bernstein, the director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, discussed ongoing efforts to launch an experimental HIV vaccine trial - similar to the recent trial in Thailand - in Africa, the Daily Monitor...

NanoBio inks $54.5M development deal with GSK

Ann Arbor, MI-based NanoBio has inked a deal with GlaxoSmithKline for an experimental cold sore therapy poised to go into late-stage testing. NanoBio picks up a $14.5 million upfront payment and stands to earn up to $40 million in milestones and single digit royalties on any marketed therapy. "GSK's demonstrated leadership in developing and marketing consumer healthcare products, including the leading product for the treatment of herpes labialis, makes them the ideal partner for...