Disease

More H1N1 Vaccine Arrives in State; Influenza Activity in New York Now Considered Widespread

October 16, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that as of October 15, New York State’s Medicaid program will provide reimbursement to Medicaid enrolled pharmacies for the administration of seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccines by certified pharmacists to Medicaid fee-for-service enrollees 18 years and older.

Medicaid managed care and Family Health Plus enrollees will be able to access immunization services through their health plans. The Governor also reported that influenza activity in New York State is now considered widespread, with more than 50 percent of counties reporting influenza activity.    » read more »

Results confirm immune response and tolerability

16 October 2009, London, UK -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today announced results from a second clinical trial of its pandemic (H1N1) adjuvanted vaccine, which demonstrate that one dose of the vaccine can provide a strong immune response which exceeds criteria as defined by international licensing authorities using the lowest dose of antigen available in pandemic vaccines. The data from GSK’s H1N1 trials announced to date demonstrate the vaccine is generally well tolerated. The vaccine in this trial contains 3.75 µg of H1N1 antigen, which is the EMEA approved final formulation.    » read more »

16 October 2009, London UK -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved CERVARIX® [Human papillomavirus bivalent (types 16 and 18) vaccine, recombinant] for the prevention of cervical pre-cancers and cervical cancer associated with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 for use in girls and young women (aged 10-25).    » read more »

According to public health officials, low income countries carry more than 90% of the global disease burden and have less than 10% of funds from public and private sources to deal with them[1]

Basel, October 19, 2009 - Leading Dengue and TB scientists from the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) are meeting today at a symposium at NEHCRI (Novartis - Eijkman Institute - Hasanuddin University Clinical Research Initiative) in Makassar, Indonesia, to discuss the initiative's clinical research updates. NEHCRI is a unique collaboration comprised of a specialized network of institutes that are focused on drug discovery, capacity building and training local Indonesian scientists.    » read more »

As of 11 October 2009, worldwide there have been more than 399232 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 and over 4735 deaths reported to WHO.

As many countries have stopped counting individual cases, particularly of milder illness, the case count is significantly lower than the actually number of cases that have occurred. WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and member states and through monitoring of multiple sources of data.    » read more »

15 October 2009 -- A French research team reports a new gene therapy approach tested in macaque monkeys that shows promise for treating Parkinson’s disease by restoring dopamine in the brain and preventing the jerky, involuntary movements that accompany long-term treatment of the disease.

The research is reported in the 14 October issue of Science Translational Medicine, the new journal from AAAS and Science that’s designed to help speed basic research-advances into clinics and hospitals worldwide.    » read more »

More Licensed Medical Professionals Able to Give H1N1 Flu Shot

October 14, 2009 -- SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today signed a public health emergency proclamation in a proactive effort to ensure there are enough certified and licensed health care professionals able to administer the H1N1 flu vaccine.

This gubernatorial proclamation allows the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to permit additional certified and licensed health care professionals to administer the H1N1 vaccine.    » read more »

Washington, Oct 14 -- In observance of the seventh annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) on October 15, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) called for greater unity throughout our communities in confronting the HIV epidemic and the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Jon Tester, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today released the following statement in response to the Veterans’ Administration’s decision to allow Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange to file for service-connected disability benefits and medical care if they are now suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, B-cell (“hairy cell”) leukemia or ischemic heart disease:

“I thank the Secretary for making this important decision. It’s another significant step in the right direction. And it gives many folks who served honorably during the Vietnam War overdue recognition that their service and sacrifice is honored and appreciated by all of us.    » read more »

PITTSBURGH, PA and CHALFONT ST. GILES, UK, 12 October, 2009 -- In an effort to bolster U.S. biosecurity, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), today announced a collaboration aimed at the construction of an advanced development and production facility for the manufacture of vaccines and therapeutics to counter a range of biological threats.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that the first shipments of the new H1N1 influenza vaccine have started to arrive in New York State.

“Some counties in New York received their first doses of the H1N1 vaccine yesterday,” Governor Paterson said. “More counties are receiving vaccine this week, and we expect to receive larger quantities of the H1N1 vaccine over the coming weeks. Eventually, there should be enough vaccine for every New Yorker who wants it.”    » read more »

Interim data from European studies confirm that one dose of Panenza® or Humenza® pandemic influenza vaccines induces robust seroprotective antibody response in children and adults

Lyon, France – October 8, 2009 - Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today that a single dose of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccines, Panenza® (15 mcg dose, non-adjuvanted) or Humenza® (3.8 mcg dose, adjuvanted), administered to children (3 years of age and older) and adults induces a robust immune response, according to results from clinical trials conducted in Europe.    » read more »

27 million doses shipped to US market by Novartis - providing more seasonal flu vaccine earlier than in any previous year

Basel, October 6, 2009 - Novartis announced today that the company has completed its entire shipment of seasonal influenza vaccine to the United States for the 2009/2010 season. As previously anticipated, the company delivered 27 million doses of Fluvirin® influenza virus vaccine, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Novartis completed this season's shipment earlier than in previous years, in anticipation of demand for earlier vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccine created by the current global A(H1N1) influenza pandemic.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced today that the FDA provided a complete response letter regarding the company's supplemental New Drug Application for Clolar® (clofarabine) in previously untreated older adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and at least one unfavorable baseline prognostic factor. The agency recommended a randomized, controlled clinical study be conducted for label expansion of Clolar in this indication.    » read more »

Announces California Received First Shipment of H1N1 Vaccine

10/05/2009 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued Executive Order S-22-09 (EO) to support and facilitate California’s aggressive approach to addressing the spread of the H1N1 flu virus also known as the swine flu.

The Governor’s EO ensures the state has the flexibility to respond to a potential flu crisis by renewing the ability for departments to cut through contracting red tape to obtain goods and services to fight the spread of the H1N1 virus. With the EO, the state will be able to acquire services faster such as medical staff for state facilities and transportation of H1N1 vaccine and goods such as hand sanitizer and paper masks.    » read more »