Vaccines

The results from a Phase 1 trial into the safety of a landmark chlamydia vaccine have just been published demonstrating promising signs the treatment is safe, and potentially effective in preventing the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the world.

A nano-vaccine is showing promising results in treating skin cancer in mouse models. The vaccine encases two new cancer drugs inside a nanoparticle, with initial experiments revealing it can stimulate the immune system to kill melanoma, and act as a preventative vaccine.

CAR-T cell therapy involves reprogramming T-cells to hunt down cancer, which has been effective against blood cancers but not so much against solid tumors. Now, scientists at MIT have found a way to supercharge the technique with a vaccine booster.

In an effort to make vaccines​ more available to people in difficult to reach areas, a team of scientists at McMaster University has developed an inexpensive, sugary gel that can preserve heat-fragile antiviral vaccines for over eight weeks at temperatures up to 40° C (104° F).

A collaboration between physicists and immunologists has provided new insights into ways to optimize the efficacy of oral vaccines. The research is working towards an oral hepatitis B vaccine that is safer, cheaper and more easily administered than the current injectable alternative.

​Caused by a fungus known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans, white-nose syndrome is currently killing bats across North America at an alarming rate. There may be hope, however, as a potential vaccine has recently been shown to be effective at warding off the disease.

Positive early results from the first phase of human testing for a unique colorectal cancer vaccine are proving promising. A newly published study outlining the Phase I trial results suggests the vaccine is safe, and stimulates immune activation, paving the way for larger human trials.

The world’s first malaria vaccine is beginning a wide roll out commencing in Malawi before being introduced into Ghana and Kenya over the following weeks. This initial pilot program is aimed at children up to two years of age, with over one million expected to be immunized over the next three years.

Preliminary measles surveillance data released by the WHO has revealed a stark surge in global cases over the first three months of 2019. The data indicates measles cases are 300 percent higher than at the same time in 2018, with major outbreaks currently occurring in a dozen different countries.

​Scientists at New York's Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have made an exciting breakthrough in the realm of cancer treatment, describing a new way of supercharging the body's immune system so that it can take the upper hand and destroy tumor cells around the body.

A new study has further dispelled the myth of a link between the MMR vaccine and the onset of autism. Following over half a million children for more than a decade, the research found the MMR vaccine does not trigger autism, even in children with high specific autism risk factors.

​Although it's important to get vaccines to people in developing nations and elsewhere, it's also crucial that those medications subsequently be administered in a safe and sterile manner. A new microneedle patch could help, as it incorporates bacteria-killing silver.