Posts Tagged: "virus"

The Broad Institute files brief with CAFC answering U of California’s appeal in CRISPR-Cas9 patent interference

On Wednesday, October 25th, the Cambridge, MA-based medical research center The Broad Institute filed a brief with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in response to an appeal filed by the University of California stemming from patent interference proceedings playing out at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The Broad Institute’s filing is the latest salvo in a patent battle which has played out between developers of a gene editing technology, which could prove to be very important to the future of fighting disease in humans.

Patent issued on vaccine for one of the most common causes of bronchiolitis and pneumonia

Respiratory syncytial virus, commonly referred to simply as RSV, is a highly contagious viral disease and is one of the most common causes of bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Up to 2.5 million infections occur in the U.S. each year. It is also the leading cause of childhood hospitalization globally. Nearly all children are infected with the virus at least once by the age of two to three years, and many develop pulmonary disease and/or asthma that persists throughout adult life, making them susceptible to re-infection. RSV particularly dangerous for premature babies, children with preexisting health conditions and the elderly, and is responsible for 16,000 deaths each year in adults over 65.

A look at treatments for hepatitis C, America’s top infectious disease killer

The FDA has been pretty active this year in approving new tests and treatments designed to help identify and eliminate the hepatitis C virus in patients. Swiss healthcare developer Roche (VTX:ROG) received FDA approval this March for a new quantitative RNA test which can help physicians see exactly what level of HCV exists in a patient’s blood instead of simply confirming an active infection. Earlier this year, in late January, the FDA granted approval to Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) for a once-daily single tablet treatment branded as Zepatier. Zepatier is another combination drug therapy which incorporates elbasvir and grazoprevir, both HCV RNA inhibitors, and is designed to treat patients having one of two strains of HCV, including the most common strain. A 12-week regimen of the treatment costs $54,600.

Are Genetically Modified Mosquitos the Answer to Ending Zika?

Health and government officials around the world are scrambling to find a way to prevent or cure the growing spread of the Zika virus. Could the introduction of genetically modified mosquitos help to reduce the spread of the virus, or does it sound like this will just cause more problems than it solves? What could possibly go wrong with the introduction of genetically modified mosquitoes into the environment?

VRC01 and broadly neutralizing antibodies are increasing options for HIV/AIDS treatments

Proteins like VRC01 are referred to as broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), a type of broad spectrum antibody which is effective in treating against infections of viruses with high mutation rates, such as HIV as well as influenza. It’s thought that VRC01 and other bNAbs useful in treating HIV-infected patients is capable of identifying the envelope spike of a single HIV viral agent to inhibit or neutralize its effects… Gene editing tools may also be part of the solution that rids HIV/AIDS from the human race for good. The discovery of clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) has given scientists hope that they’ll be able to efficiently edit genomes with a high degree of precision and flexibility.