Research
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), in conjunction with the Southwest University in Chongqing, China and the University of Lueven in Belgium, recently developed a way to replicate the basic structure of the Zika virus without the genes that make the virus infectious.
The research... Read More »
According to a recent study by the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, a particular malaria parasite affecting children in Africa is evading rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), threatening malaria eradication efforts.
Most RDTs rely on the detection of histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2),... Read More »
According to a new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, approximately 25 percent of individuals in a Sierra Leone village were infected with Ebola virus disease but showed no symptoms, which suggests a broader transmission of the virus than originally thought.
The... Read More »
According to a recent clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the experimental Ebola virus disease (EVD) treatment ZMapp was found to be safe and well-tolerated amongst participants.
NIH said that while the treatment appeared to be effective for participants, the... Read More »
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) recently awarded $596,533 to Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CPI) to develop a partnership with the Texas Biomedical Research Institute to repurpose an antimalarial for use against the Ebola virus disease.
Since the beginning... Read More »
The George Washington University (GW) Center for Cyber and Homeland Security recently released a report that offers an assessment of the legal, policy and technological issues that involve private sector cybersecurity and active defense measures in response to cyber threats.
The report said a... Read More »
The U.S. government is funding the late-stage development of tests that would quickly determine how much radiation a person has absorbed in the event of a catastrophic nuclear explosion.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently launched the MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator to create solutions for humanitarian issues and natural disaster relief challenges.
The MD5 program was launched by a public-private partnership between the DoD, New York University, Columbia... Read More »
Soligenix, Inc. was recently invited to the annual Radiation Research Society meeting to present preliminary results from its gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI ARS) program.
Soligenix’s OrbeShield program is being evaluated as a potential medical countermeasure for both civilian... Read More »
A group of international vaccine experts recently shared a series of requirements for the development of a safe and effective Zika virus vaccine.
The research group features experts from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and... Read More »
Soligenix, Inc. was invited to the National Organization for Rare Disorders’ (NORD) Rare Diseases and Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit on Tuesday to present preliminary data on the Dusquetide and RiVax programs.
NORD’s Rare Diseases and Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit brings together... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) recently demonstrated its new augmented reality technology at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.
ECBC’s augmented reality technology utilizes a head-mounted display to enable users to see virtual images for use as a... Read More »
A Sandia National Laboratory research team recently used high-speed cameras, imaging techniques and advanced computer modeling to study fragmenting explosives.
The Sandia research team wanted to study how improvised explosive devices (IEDs) come apart in explosions in order to lessen the damage... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) recently said that continuing to improve interoperability among first responders and ensuring that they have access to the best equipment and technology are his top goals.
Payne, who serves as the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response recently entered into a $24.75 million contract with BioProtection Systems Corp. for the development of an Ebola vaccine.
The contract comes in the wake of a two-year long battle... Read More »
A team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other research institutions recently developed a DNA vaccine to combat the spread of Zika virus.
Research teams with the Kansas State University (KSU) Biosecurity Research Institute, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,... Read More »
An Upstate Medical University research team recently began utilizing a social-ecological systems (SES) approach to study mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika, chikungunya and dengue fever.
The SES approach builds upon new information as it becomes available to the multi-disciplinary research team... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., announced on Friday that it has signed a multi-year contract for the advanced development and delivery of NuThrax (vaccine adsorbed with CPG 7909 adjuvant), the company’s next-generation anthrax vaccine candidate.
The contract, signed with the Biomedical Advanced... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) approved a contract on Monday to develop an inactivated Zika virus vaccine candidate.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under the... Read More »
A team of researchers from the Kansas State University (KSU) Biosecurity Research Institute recently conducted a study with Culex species mosquitoes from across the country to find ways to stop the spread of Zika virus.
Findings from the study were published in the journal Vector-Borne and... Read More »
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., published additional data demonstrating the efficacy of AEOL 10150 as a medical countermeasure to sulfur mustard gas exposure on Monday.
The data showed that treatment with AEOL 10150 48 hours after exposure to sulfur mustard gas improved survival rates from 36... Read More »
New York’s proposed cyber security regulations for banks and insurance companies - the first such policy in the nation - would create some uniformity between state and federal rules, but the American Bankers Association (ABA) said that it is seeking clarification on certain provisions.
“We... Read More »
Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., published data on Thursday on more than 450 healthy adult subjects from five clinical trials used to support recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing approval of ANTHIM injection.
ANTHIM is used in adult and pediatric patients for the treatment of... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently released plans to hold a contest to develop new, innovative laboratory diagnostic tools that detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The contest, called the Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge, will award prizes totaling $20 million over... Read More »
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., recently released data confirming the efficacy of AEOL 10150 as a medical countermeasure against sulfur mustard gas inhalation.
Research for the study was conducted by Dr. Brian Day, vice chair of research at National Jewish Health, in collaboration with the U.S.... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) recently provided Takeda Vaccines, Inc., with a grant to develop a Zika virus vaccine.
The grant, worth $19.8 million, will be spaced out over the course of the next 18... Read More »
The U.S. government has become “somewhat complacent” in preparing for potential bioterrorist attacks and needs to implement a national biodefense strategy, Daniel Gerstein, a senior policy researcher at the nonpartisan RAND Corporation, recently told Homeland Preparedness News.
The anthrax... Read More »
A collaborative research effort by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and Florida State University recently revealed two classes of compounds already in use in the pharmaceutical industry that might prove useful in the fight against Zika virus.... Read More »
Researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently developed a novel system to grow norovirus in intestinal cells, which could bring about new therapeutic drugs and vaccines to combat the virus.
Intestinal cells are the natural site of norovirus... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Inc., a $5.9 million contract on Wednesday for the development of a Zika virus test for use in doctors’ offices.
Chembio is... Read More »
Johns Hopkins Medicine formally opened the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Zika Center on Tuesday, becoming the first known multidisciplinary Zika virus center in the world.
The center is composed of providers and related staff from departments and divisions at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) entered into a $2.6 million agreement on Monday with the DiaSorin Group to further the development of a Zika virus test that may help diagnose the virus more quickly.... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) released a study on Monday showing the successful treatment of monkeys infected with Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) several days after infection.
Scientists have known about SUDV and Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) since 1976, with EBOV being the... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the manufacture of BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) at the company’s large-scale Building 55 manufacturing facility in Lansing,... Read More »
ClinicalRM recently expanded access protocol with ZMapp, an investigational treatment for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Africa and the United States.
ZMapp combines three monoclonal antibodies developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc., and LeafBio, the commercialization arm of Mapp, to fight... Read More »