Philadelphia"s Wistar Institute has been issued U.S. patent No. 7,527,798 for a synthetic vaccine technology with the potential to be developed into a universal flu vaccine that could eliminate annual flu shots and protect against pandemics. Wistar is seeking a corporate partner to license and develop the vaccine, which has been tested in animals and currently is in prototype form. The patent pertains to technology developed by Walter Gerhard, professor emeritus and former professor of immunology at Wistar, and Laszlo Otvos, formerly an associate professor of immunology at Wistar. The vaccine prototype contains an engineered peptide that mimics a viral coat protein called M2 that remains largely constant from year to year.
Two pharmacists, and one non-pharmacist, have been recognised by the Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in its 2009 awards for their outstanding contributions to the pharmacy profession. Ann Lewis, a Fellow of the Society and former Secretary and Registrar, was awarded the Charter Gold Medal by Council at its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 20 May. Fellow pharmacist Digby Emson, also a Fellow of the Society, was the recipient of the Charter Silver
Medal for his work in various areas of community pharmacy. He is Chairman of the Company Chemists" Association (CCA). Digby Emson"s daughter, Lorne Emson, accepted the Charter Silver Medal on his behalf. Member of Parliament, Dr Howard Stoate was presented with the Synergy Award for his exceptional achievement in furthering the profession through his representation on parliamentary pharmacy and health-related committees. 
Cancer Centers of North Carolina, an affiliate of US Oncology, Inc., continues to offer cutting-edge treatment options to its patients through the addition of High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy. This latest advance in brachytherapy allows physicians to deliver precise radiation treatment to a patient"s cancerous tumor and is rapidly becoming the treatment of choice for certain types of cancer. With HDR brachytherapy, radiation is delivered directly to the cancer target
through the use of catheters, needles or applicators inserted into a body cavity or directly into the tumor. A computer-controlled delivery system is used to optimize the dose distribution to the target. As a result of this precise delivery, the surrounding healthy tissue and critical organs are preferentially spared from high doses of radiation and side effects may be reduced. 
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) announced it has manufactured a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate against the H1N1 pandemic influenza virus under current good-manufacturing practices (cGMP) at its new vaccine manufacturing facility in Rockville, MD. This milestone was accomplished in only 11 weeks after receiving the gene sequence for the H1N1 strain from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The Company was able to reach this manufacturing goal by employing proprietary,
novel production technology which is not dependent on growing influenza virus in eggs. Chicken eggs are used to produce almost all of the world"s influenza vaccine supply. In addition, Novavax has produced essential reagents for measuring vaccine potency. The Company also has plans to produce additional batches of the pandemic H1N1 VLP vaccine to support human clinical studies and stands ready to assist with additional public health needs in the US as well as foreign countries. 
As the U.S. prepares for a resurgence of H1N1 influenza this fall, much can be learned from looking at a previous pandemic that had similar patterns. In an article published today in Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, researchers at the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) examined historical documents, published material, and newspaper coverage related to the 1957-58 influenza pandemic to compare the progress and severity of that outbreak
with the current one. The simple, practical actions taken in 1957 allowed the country to continue functioning with minimal disruption. Lead author Dr. D. A. Henderson had major responsibility for establishing the CDC influenza surveillance program during the early stages of the 1957 flu; data and analysis of events presented are based on his direct experiences as well as copies of surveillance reports that were published in 1957-58.