influenza A subtype H5N1 infection

Presentation will demonstrate safety and immunogenicity, provide an update on NIH-funded bird flu trial, and highlight the technology’s potential in pandemic preparednessANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueWillow Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering the future of intranasal vaccines, today announced that the company will present its significant progress in advancing intranasal vaccine candidates at the World Vaccine Congress - Europe on October 29, 2024, at 3:40 pm GMT in Theatre 2 at Fira de Barcelona Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain. In the presentation titled “NanoVax™ Intranasal Adjuvant Clinical Development Update: Safety and Immunogenicity,” Chad Costley, MD, MBA, President and CEO at BlueWillow, will offer details on the expanded scope of data that will be included in the results from the company’s current H5N1 (“bird flu”) clinical trial. The trial has been completed and publication is anticipated soon. The presentation will also explore the platform’s potential to broadly reshape the landscape of intranasal vaccines, particularly targeting influenza (pandemic and seasonal), tuberculosis, covid, RSV, sexually transmitted diseases, and peanut allergy. “With the Covid-19 pandemic and the current threat of H5N1 influenza, also known as bird flu, we recognize the importance of developing next-generation vaccines that not only protect people from symptomatic disease but also prevent contagiousness. Vaccines delivered via nasal spray show promising potential to achieve both goals while also increasing the public’s willingness to be vaccinated,” said Dr. Costley. “BlueWillow’s NanoVax™ adjuvant and antigen delivery platform is well-positioned to enable the paradigm-shift required to address urgent public health needs. I look forward to sharing our progress at the World Vaccine Congress - Europe this coming week.” With established human safety and immunogenicity evidence, BlueWillow’s proprietary platform addresses the need for next-generation vaccines to elicit superior mucosal immunity. The NanoVax® platform (“W805EC”) is compatible with a broad array of viral, bacterial and food antigens. It elicits the three-pronged mucosal, cellular and systemic immune response needed for robust protection against both symptomatic disease and transmission. The World Vaccine Congress Europe is the largest and most established European meeting on vaccine R&D. The congress will host representatives from numerous government agencies, non-profit organizations, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and world-renowned academic researchers. All will gather to discuss the latest advancements in vaccine development. For more information about BlueWillow Biologics and its intranasal platform technology, please visit www.BlueWillow.com. About BlueWillow Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, BlueWillow Biologics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering the future of intranasal vaccines to transform the prevention and treatment landscape for pandemic preparedness, infectious disease, and food allergy. By eliciting comprehensive immune responses, BlueWillow’s technology offers robust protection against a broad range of health threats, preventing symptomatic disease and transmission. Steered by physician-scientists who have proven success building life science ventures, leadership combines an expertise in vaccine development, chemical engineering, intranasal adjuvant and antigen delivery, and an experienced management team that has built numerous successful biotechnology ventures. Visit www.BlueWillow.com. Media ContactKristin Rose Jutras TellMed Strategies908.947.0500 x719kristin.jutras@tmstrat.com

CAMBRIDGE, England, Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DIOSynVax, a pioneering clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in revolutionary broadly protective vaccines, showcased its latest data on a broadly reactive bird-flu vaccine. This research offers significant hope for a vaccine that may safeguard against both current and future bird-flu infections. Bird flu, known as H5 influenza, has recently been detected in animal clusters, raising concerns about potential human-to-human transmission and the threat of a new pandemic. At the Options XII conference for Advancements in Influenza Control in Brisbane, Professor Jonathan Heeney, Chief Scientific Officer of DIOSynVax and a leading Infectious Disease expert at Cambridge University, presented compelling new data demonstrating strong neutralizing antibodies against a wide range of bird flu viruses Utilizing its proprietary "Digital Immune Optimized Synthetic Vaccine" (DIOSynVax) platform, the company has developed a single candidate vaccine designed to provide a broad protective net of neutralizing immune responses across the spectrum of very diverse H5 subtype of Influenza viruses, many of which could cause the next human pandemic. Professor Heeney remarked, "Our innovative approach, leverages advanced computational technologies with rigorous animal testing, has shown our ability to generate strong neutralizing antibodies effective against very different groups of H5 bird flu viruses (called clades) that have caused human infections around the world. This means countries will need only one DIOSynVax vaccine to combat them all, instead of current technologies based on selected strains of one particular clade that may not protect against the variety of H5 virus that ultimately causes the next pandemic in humans." Dr. Ronald Moss, CEO of DIOSynVax, added, "We have broadly protective vaccine candidates that are now ready for clinical trials that address the key problem of variability that both seasonal current influenza and bird-flu vaccines. Given the recent concern about potential human-to-human transmission of bird-flu, and not knowing what H5 virus strain that could be, is a powerful advantage that our unique vaccine platform offers. DIOSynVax vaccines provide powerful advantage for the prevention of another Influenza pandemic." For media inquiries or more information, please contact: [email protected] About H5N1 H5N1, or bird flu, continues to circulate widely among migrating wild birds, infecting domestic birds and livestock, with documented human infections occurring. Notably some human infections have occurred without direct contact with infected animals. Public health experts underscore the risk posed by H5N1 or it's re-assorted versions H5N2, H5N6, H5N8, that acquire mutations that can enhance its transmissibility between humans. "A possible cluster of bird-flu infections in Missouri has grown to include eight people, in what may be the first examples of person-to-person transmission in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday." () About DIOSynVax DIOSynVax is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing universal vaccines through advanced computational biology technologies. Their mission is to create innovative solutions that provide broad protection against a wide range of infectious diseases, including emerging pandemics. SOURCE DIOSYNVAX LTD. WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

MONDAY, Sept. 30, 2024 -- In what could be the first cases of bird flu spreading between humans in the United States, a group of potential H5N1 infections in Missouri has now grown to eight. Antibody tests to confirm any H5N1 infection are still pending. After a patient with bird flu was hospitalized last month, state and federal health officials first determined the patient may have infected one household member and two hospital workers. However, "Missouri has since identified four additional health care workers who later developed mild respiratory symptoms," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a health alert issued Friday. "One of these workers was in the higher risk category and provided a blood specimen for H5 antibody testing," the agency added. "Three of these workers are among 94 workers who were exposed to the hospitalized case of avian influenza A[H5] after droplet precautions were instituted [i.e., lower risk exposure]; blood specimens for those who became symptomatic have been collected for H5 antibody testing at CDC." If cases of bird flu among these health care workers are confirmed with antibody testing, it could mean the virus may be starting to spread among humans. Worldwide, most cases have come from close contact with infected birds. “We should be very concerned at this point,” Dr. James Lawler , co-director of the University of Nebraska’s Global Center for Health Security, told the New York Times . “Nobody should be hitting the panic button yet, but we should really be devoting a lot of resources into figuring out what’s going on.” If bird flu infection is confirmed among these patient contacts, “it means the virus is inching closer and closer to what would be a real pandemic virus,” Lawler added. “That is when Pandora’s box is open.” There have been 13 other confirmed cases of human bird flu confirmed in this country since an outbreak in dairy cattle first surfaced in March. However, all of those cases were linked to infected dairy cows or poultry. Meanwhile, Missouri has not reported any infected herds, and the hospitalized patient had no known contact with cows or birds. The Missouri patient, who had underlying medical conditions, was first hospitalized in August and tested positive for the bird flu virus. The person has since recovered, the CDC said in a statement on the case. Earlier this month, CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah stated on a media call that none of the patient’s close contacts showed signs or symptoms of illness, calling the case a possible “one-off.” To try to determine whether bird flu is spreading between humans, the CDC has drawn blood samples from the Missouri patient and the household contact, to test for antibodies that could point to an H5N1 infection. Still, test results could take several weeks, the agency noted. Dr. Matthew Binnicker , director of the clinical virology laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, said the Missouri patient and the household contact may have been infected by the same source, or one might have transmitted it to the other. Both of those scenarios point to potential human-to-human spread. “I’m really hoping that they ultimately find out that there was some likely animal exposure, because the alternative is a little bit scary,” Binnicker told NBC News . But Dr. William Schaffner , an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., said if the virus has transmitted from person to person, it doesn’t necessarily mean it has become more transmissible among humans. “Bird flu infections can be transmitted in a very limited fashion to people who have very close contact with the original patient,” Schaffner told NBC News. “That doesn’t mean that virus has picked up the genetic capacity to spread readily.” Still, all the previous bird flu infections were among people who worked around cows and poultry, so the Missouri case raises concerns about human transmission of the virus. Bird flu has now been detected in over 200 dairy herds in 14 states ; it has also been found in commercial and backyard flocks and in wild birds. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.