vaccines

A study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine shows the results of a phase 1 trial of a new broad-spectrum influenza vaccine. Prepared in the form of nanoparticles containing the H1 hemagglutinin stem-a region that is often conserved in different subtypes of the virus-the vaccine was generally well tolerated by participants, who showed only mild side effects such as tenderness and headaches. The prototype generated an antibody response to group 1 influenza viruses in all age groups.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has licensed Hipra's vaccine - currently called Bimervax - against SARS-CoV-2 as a booster in people aged 16 years and older who have previously been vaccinated with mRNA vaccines. The EMA began the ongoing evaluation of the vaccine, which was expected to be approved in the middle of last year, on 29 March 2022.

News of cancer vaccines proliferate in the media, yet only one such vaccine has been approved - against metastatic prostate cancer - and is no longer in use. However, only one as such has been approved - against metastatic prostate cancer - and it is no longer in use. Are the attention and hopes justified? What do they consist of and how are they similar to traditional ones? Are they preventive or therapeutic? Can they be universal or will they be extremely personalised? How much will they cost? This is what we know today.

Researchers have analysed the efficacy of the meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB, Bexsero) in more than 1,500 children under five years of age in Spain. The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that full vaccination was effective in preventing invasive meningococcal disease of both serogroup B and other serogroups in this child population. The vaccine, which had been sold privately in Spain since 2015, had already been included by several autonomous communities in their vaccination schedules. Last December, the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) approved its inclusion in the vaccination schedule for the whole of Spain.

The US companies Moderna and Merck (MSD outside the US and Canada) have announced this week the results of their phase 2b trials of their skin cancer therapy. The results were shared in a press release stating that the risk of recurrence or death is reduced by 44%.

An experimental malaria vaccine has shown protection for at least six months, according to a clinical trial in 112 adults in Burkina Faso. The results are published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

A study published in the journal Science reports preclinical results of a new vaccine model that is intended to work against all types of influenza. The prototype, which uses mRNA-based technology, includes antigens from all 20 known influenza subtypes.

A study has found a link between caesarean delivery and changes in the microbiome, as well as a reduced response to pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines in children. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.

A study published in the BMJ looks at the risk of thromboembolic events associated with different covid-19 vaccines, both adenovirus- and mRNA-based. Its results are based on data collected from more than 10 million adults in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US who received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine from December 2020 to mid-2021.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended granting marketing authorisation for the tetravalent dengue vaccine (live, attenuated) Takeda. The vaccine is intended to prevent disease caused by dengue virus serotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 in people aged four years and older. Although an approved vaccine already exists, according to the EMA, this quadrivalent vaccine shows increased protection in children and people over 45 years of age.