Some positives out of Negatives in the Indian context
So many things land up in my inbox. I dont know how this landed up, but it was very interesting to read through.
There are two news items - one is about the HIV cases coming down and another is about Bill & Melinda foundation supporting the prevention of HIV cases by donating a huge amount to a bio tech company
Here you go:
New item 1:
New HIV cases down by half in 10 years
By Sanchita Sharma, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 24 November 2010
INDIA'S DONE WELL BECAUSE HIGH-PREVA- LENCE STATES HAVE CUT DOWN NEW INFECTIONS DRAMATICALLY
New HIV infection that causes AIDS has halved in India over the past decade, reported the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Global Report released on Tuesday.
The UNAIDS report uses newly-generated data that factors in the change in methodology that led India to slashing its HIV estimates from 5.7 million in 2005 to 2.5 million in 2006. “With 2.6 million new infections worldwide in 2009, the report records the reversal of the AIDS epidemic for the first time since it peaked with 3.1 million new infections in 1999-2000,“ said Charles Gilks, UNAIDS country coordinator, India.
“The report has used the same methodology to go back and recalculate country estimates for the past decade. New data from 183 countries shows that infection has fallen by 20% in the last 10 years, AIDS-related deaths are down by 20% in the last five years, and the total number of people living with HIV has stabilised,“ said Gilks.
“India's done well because high-prevalence states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have cut down new infection dramatically, and Nagaland and Manipur are showing progress,“ said K Chandramouli, secretary and director general, National AIDS Control Organisation. India is among 11 countries that report more than 75% condom use for high-risk sex.
New infections have fallen steadily since 2002, prevalence among adults falling from 45 to 31 per thousand. However, 2009 showed a marginal increase in India over 2008, going up to 23.95 lakh from 22.7 lakh.
News Item No. 2:
NanoBio gets $6 mn grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop intranasal vaccine for RSV
Source: Pharmabiz.com, 02 December, 2010; Ann Arbor, Michigan
NanoBio Corporation announced that it has received a $6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of a safe and effective intranasal vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
RSV is a highly contagious viral disease and is one of the most common causes of bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is the number one cause of childhood hospitalization both in the United States and around the world. Nearly all children are infected with the virus at least once by the age of 2-3 years. The disease is particularly dangerous for premature babies, children with other health conditions and the elderly. Many children develop persistent pulmonary disease and/or asthma that persist throughout adult life making them susceptible to re-infection as adults. Currently, there are no approved vaccines for RSV.
“An RSV vaccine is a tremendous unmet need today,” said Ali I. Fattom, PhD, NanoBio’s Senior Vice President of Vaccine Research & Development. “Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa and new research suggests that RSV infection is the most common cause of viral pneumonia in parts of Africa. Our intranasal vaccine technology is unique in that it safely elicits very robust disease protection, limits the need for refrigerating vaccines and is administered without the use of needles. Each of these advantages is critical to efforts to improve health in the developing world.”
NanoBio’s lead vaccine candidate is NB-1008, a seasonal influenza vaccine administered via a nasal dropper. In a recently completed Phase 1 clinical study, NB-1008 was safe, well tolerated and elicited both mucosal and systemic immune responses following a single intranasal vaccination in a study of 199 healthy adults. Other NanoBio intranasal vaccines have elicited robust immune responses in animals vaccinated against pandemic influenza, hepatitis B, HIV, pneumococcal, anthrax, smallpox and other diseases.
The company’s platform technology has demonstrated numerous advantages over traditional vaccines, including the ability to generate robust mucosal and systemic immunity; antigen-sparing qualities; cross-protection against non-vaccinated strains; ability to adjuvant multiple antigen types without inducing inflammation; thermally stabilizing the vaccine; and removing the need for needles.
“We believe our program holds tremendous promise for addressing a number of global health challenges,” said James R. Baker, Jr., MD, NanoBio’s Founder & CEO. “In various studies, our technology has shown a unique ability to elicit robust mucosal, systemic and cellular Th1 immunity following nasal vaccination. These advantages could prove essential in the development of an RSV vaccine, as well as other new mucosal vaccines for widespread respiratory and sexually transmitted diseases.”
Baker also commented, “Our partnership with the foundation provides a unique opportunity to develop selected vaccine targets that will address significant health needs globally. With the support of the foundation, NanoBio would continue research efforts and retain the rights to market the agreed-upon vaccines in the developed world, while the foundation would have access to the vaccines for the developing world.”
NanoBio Corporation is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing dermatological products, anti-infective treatments and intranasal vaccines derived from its patented NanoStat technology platform.
There are two news items - one is about the HIV cases coming down and another is about Bill & Melinda foundation supporting the prevention of HIV cases by donating a huge amount to a bio tech company
Here you go:
New item 1:
New HIV cases down by half in 10 years
By Sanchita Sharma, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 24 November 2010
INDIA'S DONE WELL BECAUSE HIGH-PREVA- LENCE STATES HAVE CUT DOWN NEW INFECTIONS DRAMATICALLY
New HIV infection that causes AIDS has halved in India over the past decade, reported the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Global Report released on Tuesday.
The UNAIDS report uses newly-generated data that factors in the change in methodology that led India to slashing its HIV estimates from 5.7 million in 2005 to 2.5 million in 2006. “With 2.6 million new infections worldwide in 2009, the report records the reversal of the AIDS epidemic for the first time since it peaked with 3.1 million new infections in 1999-2000,“ said Charles Gilks, UNAIDS country coordinator, India.
“The report has used the same methodology to go back and recalculate country estimates for the past decade. New data from 183 countries shows that infection has fallen by 20% in the last 10 years, AIDS-related deaths are down by 20% in the last five years, and the total number of people living with HIV has stabilised,“ said Gilks.
“India's done well because high-prevalence states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have cut down new infection dramatically, and Nagaland and Manipur are showing progress,“ said K Chandramouli, secretary and director general, National AIDS Control Organisation. India is among 11 countries that report more than 75% condom use for high-risk sex.
New infections have fallen steadily since 2002, prevalence among adults falling from 45 to 31 per thousand. However, 2009 showed a marginal increase in India over 2008, going up to 23.95 lakh from 22.7 lakh.
News Item No. 2:
NanoBio gets $6 mn grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop intranasal vaccine for RSV
Source: Pharmabiz.com, 02 December, 2010; Ann Arbor, Michigan
NanoBio Corporation announced that it has received a $6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of a safe and effective intranasal vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
RSV is a highly contagious viral disease and is one of the most common causes of bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is the number one cause of childhood hospitalization both in the United States and around the world. Nearly all children are infected with the virus at least once by the age of 2-3 years. The disease is particularly dangerous for premature babies, children with other health conditions and the elderly. Many children develop persistent pulmonary disease and/or asthma that persist throughout adult life making them susceptible to re-infection as adults. Currently, there are no approved vaccines for RSV.
“An RSV vaccine is a tremendous unmet need today,” said Ali I. Fattom, PhD, NanoBio’s Senior Vice President of Vaccine Research & Development. “Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood death in sub-Saharan Africa and new research suggests that RSV infection is the most common cause of viral pneumonia in parts of Africa. Our intranasal vaccine technology is unique in that it safely elicits very robust disease protection, limits the need for refrigerating vaccines and is administered without the use of needles. Each of these advantages is critical to efforts to improve health in the developing world.”
NanoBio’s lead vaccine candidate is NB-1008, a seasonal influenza vaccine administered via a nasal dropper. In a recently completed Phase 1 clinical study, NB-1008 was safe, well tolerated and elicited both mucosal and systemic immune responses following a single intranasal vaccination in a study of 199 healthy adults. Other NanoBio intranasal vaccines have elicited robust immune responses in animals vaccinated against pandemic influenza, hepatitis B, HIV, pneumococcal, anthrax, smallpox and other diseases.
The company’s platform technology has demonstrated numerous advantages over traditional vaccines, including the ability to generate robust mucosal and systemic immunity; antigen-sparing qualities; cross-protection against non-vaccinated strains; ability to adjuvant multiple antigen types without inducing inflammation; thermally stabilizing the vaccine; and removing the need for needles.
“We believe our program holds tremendous promise for addressing a number of global health challenges,” said James R. Baker, Jr., MD, NanoBio’s Founder & CEO. “In various studies, our technology has shown a unique ability to elicit robust mucosal, systemic and cellular Th1 immunity following nasal vaccination. These advantages could prove essential in the development of an RSV vaccine, as well as other new mucosal vaccines for widespread respiratory and sexually transmitted diseases.”
Baker also commented, “Our partnership with the foundation provides a unique opportunity to develop selected vaccine targets that will address significant health needs globally. With the support of the foundation, NanoBio would continue research efforts and retain the rights to market the agreed-upon vaccines in the developed world, while the foundation would have access to the vaccines for the developing world.”
NanoBio Corporation is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing dermatological products, anti-infective treatments and intranasal vaccines derived from its patented NanoStat technology platform.
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