LEIDEN, Netherlands — Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell announced March 8 that Jerald C. Sadoff was appointed chief medical officer will be a member of its management committee.

Vitamin D

LONDON — Vitamin D is vital in activating human defenses and low levels suffered by around half the world's population may mean their immune systems' killer T cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said March 7.

As an international crowd of athletes and supporters gathered en masse in Vancouver, some scientists used the Olympics as their virtual test tube to find out how to prevent the outbreak of diseases spread by air travel.

CHICAGO — One in four U.S. parents believes some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, but even many of those worried about vaccine risks think their children should be vaccinated, The Associated Press reported March 1.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health unveiled an initiative designed to accelerate the process from scientific breakthrough to the availability of new, innovative medical therapies for patients.

Politecnico di Milano

LONDON — Italian scientists said Feb. 19 that they had found evidence of how viruses helped change the course of human evolution and said their discovery could help in the design of better drugs and vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnering with the Indian Health Service to launch a campaign informing American Indian and Alaska Native parents about the importance of a preteen medical check-up and preteen vaccines.

Adult Immunization

According to a national report, millions of adult Americans are vulnerable to diseases that can be forestalled by vaccines, CIDRAP News reported Feb. 4.

SARS

LONDON — A study that looked at how people behave during pandemics has identified key demographic and psychological factors that may predict protective behaviors.

Manufacturer Bharat Biotech on Feb. 3 delivered its billionth vaccine dose and announced plans to invest Rs. 250 crore in two years to carry forward clinical trials in different disciplines, the India Gazette announced Feb.

When it comes to vaccines, everyone now wants to get in on the action.

NEW DELHI — Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ plans to manufacture H1N1 flu vaccines has hit a roadblock as the drug regulator has expressed concerns over the technology to be used.

Bill Gates

DAVOS, Switzerland — Bill and Melinda Gates announced plans Jan. 29 to invest $10 billion in the fight against a number of illnesses including AIDS and said the record donation could save nearly nine million lives.

Traditional vaccines can be ineffective and expensive. Now, an interdisciplinary team of Cornell researchers has devised a new way to make vaccines that promises to prevent diseases much more cheaply, the university announced Jan. 25.

National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

PATH signed an agreement with the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the NIAID in Bethesda, Md., to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial of the double mutant heat-labile toxin (dmLT) vaccine/adjuvant.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released updated guides for relief workers and others traveling to Haiti in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that decimated the country.

H1N1

An Iowa legislator said she wants state health officials to disclose more details about people who die in epidemics, in part to raise more awareness than ad campaigns can.

SYDNEY — Australians face the risk of catching diseases not seen in wide circulation for decades as childhood vaccination rates slip into serious decline, AAP reported Jan. 21.

More American children are fully immunized against common childhood illnesses, and disparities in vaccine coverage among socioeconomic groups are shrinking, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bob Graham and Jim Talent

This commentary was written by Bob Graham and Jim Talent ?and published in The Washington Post on Jan. 4.

The Center for Disease Control has reported only four cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending December 26.

Dr. Julie Gerberding

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Merck & Co. Inc. announced that a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been named president of Merck Vaccines, effective Jan.

The Center for Disease Control has reported only nine cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending December 19.

National Institutes of Health

While vaccines help prevent many diseases in the United States, the nation lacks immunization protection against several serious illnesses, according a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

Helicobacter

Human trials are soon to begin on an Australian-pioneered technique that could revolutionize the way we vaccinate — by replacing the syringe with the spoon, the Australian Associated Press reported Dec. 8.

United Arab Emirates

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A new electronic system for reporting infectious diseases in the capital has been launched by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, The National reported Dec. 6.

Daisy Mafubelu

New data, released by the GAVI Alliance this week, shows that by the end of 2009 more than 4 million premature deaths caused by pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B will be prevented through GAVI support.

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci wrote this commentary, posted Nov. 17, for msnbc.com. He is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md.

Staph Leavenworth Bakali

Genocea Biosciences, a vaccine discovery and development company, announced Nov. 16 that it was named one of BusinessWeek’s “World’s Most Intriguing Startups” for 2009.

Kansas University has been awarded a five-year, $6.85 million research contract with the goal of boosting the effectiveness and safety of vaccines that treat infectious diseases.

Fuad El-Hibri

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing facility from MdBio Foundation and the land on which the facility stands from the city of Baltimore.

Dr. Michael Gale Jr.

SEATTLE— Kineta Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a $6.8 million subcontract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop novel vaccine adjuvants (agents that help boost the immune system).

VIENNA — Austrian biotech company Intercell scrapped its full-year profit target after third-quarter revenue for its Ixiaro vaccine against Japanese encephalitis fell short of expectations.

Anthony S. Fauci

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded approximately $208 million to two programs that support research to better understand the human immune response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Bill and Melinda Gates

WASHINGTON — In a joint speech to policymakers Oct. 27, Bill and Melinda Gates made the case that U.S. initiatives to fight AIDS, malaria and other diseases in poor countries are “America’s best investment for saving lives.”

Jim Talent

The United States is failing to address its most urgent threat — biological proliferation and terrorism — concluded a report issued Oct. 21 by the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that it has secured two grants totaling more than $4.5 million from the NIAID to fund the continued development of the company’s recombinant botulinum (rBOT) and next-generation anthrax vaccine (NGAV) candidates.

James Jackson

ROCKVILLE, Md. —Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced March 3, 2008, that W. James Jackson has been appointed chief scientific officer, effective immediately.

LANSING, Mich. — Emergent BioSolutions announced the dedication of a $75 million vaccine production facility for its BioDefense Operations in a ceremony July 21, 2006, at its campus here.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions announced positive results from a Phase II clinical study evaluating a simplified dosing regimen for the company’s next-generation single-dose oral typhoid vaccine.

Fuad El-Hibri

GAITHERSBURG, Md., and LONDON —Emergent BioSolutions and the British-based Health Protection Agency on Jan. 14, 2005, announced a two-year collaboration for the development of vaccines to prevent botulism.