Appellate Court Tosses Out 1,200 Shingles Vaccine Injury Lawsuits Against Merck
The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed approximately 1,200 lawsuits filed against Merck & Co. over its shingles vaccine, Zostavax. The Appellate Court upheld a U.S. District Court ruling that threw out the lawsuits for failing to abide by a court order requiring them to provide clinical test results.1 Zostavax, the first shingles vaccine […]
Novel Breast Cancer Vaccine Technology Receives Japanese Patent
Anixa Biosciences, Inc. of San Jose, California announced on July 17, 2024, that its collaborator, the Cleveland Clinic, has received a “Decision to Grant” notice from the Japan Patent Office (JPO) for the patent application titled “Vaccine Adjuvants and Formulations” for its novel breast cancer vaccine technology. The company is two decades into developing a […]
Guillain-Barré Syndrome ‘More Common Than Expected’ in Early RSV Vaccine Trial
Reports of the nervous system disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) were “more common than expected” in the older adult population who received the new vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The data, reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), matched trial data reported earlier this year.1 GBS is a “polio-like” inflammatory autoimmune […]
U.S. Stockpiles Two Bird Flu Vaccines
U.S. government health officials announced earlier this month that two bird flu vaccines are being stockpiled and will be available for shipment within weeks. They said that the bird flu stockpiling is part of their emergency preparations in the event the H5N1 virus, which now primarily infects wild birds, chickens and sometimes cows and other […]
Bird Flu Outbreaks & the WHO/IHR Pandemic Treaty Push
Even as U.S. health agencies and the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) are being heavily criticized for their botched response to the COVID-19 pandemic,1 2 3 WHO officials are ramping up pressure on all nations to sign a WHO pandemic treaty and amendments to the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR), which will give them […]
Novel mRNA Lyme Shots Could Be Released in 2025
Two novel messenger RNA (mRNA) shots for Lyme disease currently in late-stage clinical trials could hit the market as early as 2025, Moderna announced earlier this year. Also in the race to develop the first-ever mRNA product to prevent Lyme disease are Pfizer and Austria-based Valneva, which entered into a collaborative agreement in April 2020 […]