Category Archives: Immunology

Immunology

University of Iowa professor has studied coronavirus – KCRG

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP/ABC News) - There's now a second-confirmed case of coronavirus in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the patient is in isolation at a Chicago hospital. They've only identified her as a woman in her sixties who flew from Wuhan to Chicago on Jan. 13.

The woman was not ill while traveling and health authorities don't think she spread the virus during that time. They say she's had limited contact with others since returning to Chicago.

So far, health officials say sixty-three people from 22 states are under investigation for the virus.

A man in his 30s in the Seattle area was confirmed to have coronavirus earlier in the week.

"It's certainly a confirmation of something we worried about," Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa who has done research on SARS and MERS, told ABC News of the human-to-human transmission cases.

Perlman told ABC News while it made sense that the outbreak started in a Chinese fish market, if there was no person-to-person transmission, it should have ended quickly, once the market was closed and fumigated.

Perlman cautioned that experts don't yet have a good read on how severe the virus is.

"It's a concerning development, but we don't know the level of contagiousness or the number of cases," he said to ABC News.

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University of Iowa professor has studied coronavirus - KCRG

Immunology

Ervaxx and Cardiff University Enter Collaboration to Develop Novel T-cell and T-cell Receptor-based Immunotherapeutics Targeting Dark Antigens – Yahoo…

Collaboration also focuses on exciting research published earlier this week in Nature Immunology identifying MR1 as a target for novel anti-cancer immunotherapies

LONDON, Jan. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Ervaxx, a biotechnology company pioneering the use of Dark Antigens to developT-cell receptor (TCR)-based immunotherapies and off-the-shelf cancer vaccines, has entered a licensing and research collaboration with a leading T-cell immunology group at Cardiff University (Cardiff, UK).

The new collaboration will support a multi-year research program with Prof. Andrew Sewell's T-cell modulation group at Cardiff University focusing on the discovery and characterization of T-cells and TCRs reactive to cancer-specific antigens and ligands, including Ervaxx' proprietary Dark Antigens. Ervaxx will fund the program.

The collaboration will also advance exciting new research published earlier this week by the Cardiff University team in Nature Immunology1, where they identified a T cell clone that recognized and killed multiple different types of human cancer, while remaining inert to non-cancerous cells. The T cell clone targets MR1, an MHC class 1-related protein, via an unidentified cancer-specific ligand. These exciting findings, validated in a preclinical model, open the prospect of immunotherapies with broad utility across patients with diverse cancers. This approach into previously unexplored cell surface epitopes complements and extends Ervaxx's exploration of novel cancer-specific antigens.

Under the agreement, Ervaxx gains an exclusive license to relevant Cardiff University patents claiming T cells and TCRs reactive to cancer-specific antigens. The Company has the right to advance resulting candidate T-cell/TCR-based immunotherapeutics and cancer vaccines through development and commercialization. Cardiff University is eligible to receive milestone payments on any candidates that advance from the discovery collaboration into clinical development and royalty payments on sales of any products that reach the market.

Prof. Andrew Sewell, Head of the T-cell modulation group, Cardiff University, commented:

"Ervaxx's Dark Antigens, which are derived from the 98% of the genome that does not encode known proteins, constitute a promising and yet untapped source of targets for immunotherapies. This collaboration will use our world-class expertise in T-cell biology to identify T cells and TCRs reactive to those targets and pave the way for a new wave of treatments in cancer, and potentially other areas. This includes our most recent discovery, published in Nature Immunology, of a T-cell clone that targets MR1 to recognize and kill cancer cells, irrespective of cancer or human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type, offering opportunities for pan-cancer, pan-population cancer immunotherapies."

Kevin Pojasek, CEO of Ervaxx, said:

"We are excited to announce this collaboration with Prof. Sewell's world-class research group. We have great hope that through the combination of this expertise with our Dark Antigens and application of our EDAPT platform, we will be able to identify further targets to expand our portfolio of TCR-based therapies and cancer vaccines. We are also thrilled to contribute to the development of the group's exciting new MR1 research, which shows early but enormous potential for the treatment of cancers. This partnership, which follows those with the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, reinforces our ambition to collaborate with leading academic institutions and be at the cutting edge of the T-cell immunology field to drive the development of novel off-the-shelf cancer therapies."

Prof. Andrew Sewell is a member of Ervaxx' Scientific Advisory Board.

About Ervaxx

Ervaxx is pioneering the use of Dark Antigens to deliver targeted immunotherapies for treating and preventing cancer. Ervaxx Dark Antigens derive from vast untapped expanses of genetic 'dark matter' beyond the normal coding regions of the genome, which are generally silenced in normal tissue but can become selectively activated in cancer.

Ervaxx' powerful, proprietary EDAPT platform has been developed to discover and validate Dark Antigens providing an in-depth assessment of candidate antigens on primary tumor cells along with their immunogenic potential. The EDAPT platform has identified proprietary antigens that map to multiple solid tumor types and generate robust, antigen-specific T-cell responses. Ervaxx is advancing a pipeline of T cell receptor (TCR)-based therapies, off-the-shelf cancer vaccines and other immunotherapies leveraging these insights into the role of Dark Antigens in cancer.

Story continues

Ervaxx was co-founded by SV Health Investors and is based on pioneering research at the Francis Crick Institute (London, UK). The company has offices in London, UK and a laboratory in the Bioescalator Building at Oxford University, UK. Ervaxx also has a strategic partnership with a global pharmaceutical company.

For more information visit: http://www.ervaxx.com

Ervaxx, Dark Antigen and EDAPT are trademarks of Ervaxx Limited

About the T-cell Modulation Group, Cardiff University

Cardiff University T-cell modulation group, within the Division of Infection and Immunity, consists of 16 researchers with a diverse skill and knowledge base that covers all areas of T-cell biology including T-cell genetics, molecular biology, protein chemistry, crystallography, and cell biology. The overall goal of the T-cell modulation group is to understand the genetic, biochemical and cellular mechanisms that govern T-cell responses to human disease. Our research outputs are extremely wide ranging and include basic studies which are aimed at understanding how the T-cell immune response is regulated, through to translational studies which are aimed at developing tools, diagnostics and treatments for human diseases such as cancer, HIV, EBV, tuberculosis and many more.

For More Information

Ervaxx LimitedKevin Pojasek, CEOTel: +44-(0)-186-561-8828Email: info@ervaxx.com

Citigate Dewe RogersonMark Swallow, Frazer Hall, Nathaniel DahanTel: +44-(0)-20-7638-9571Email: ervaxx@citigatedewerogerson.com

1Crowther, M.D., Dolton, G., Legut, M. et al. Genome-wide CRISPRCas9 screening reveals ubiquitous T cell cancer targeting via the monomorphic MHC class I-related protein MR1. Nat Immunol (2020) doi:10.1038/s41590-019-0578-8

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SOURCE Ervaxx

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Immunology

Dr. Dori Borjesson named dean of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine – WSU News

Dr. Dori Borjesson

PULLMAN, Wash. Dr. Dori Borjesson, chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, has been selected as the new dean of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine.

Borjesson was chosen following a nationwide search to replace Dr. Bryan Slinker, who had announced plans to retire before being tapped to serve as interim provost. She will assume her new responsibilities leading WSUs cutting-edge veterinary, biosciences and global health departments on July 20.

The strength of Washington State Universitys research and its potential to impact communities locally and across the globe impressed me during the interview process, as did its dynamic clinical programs and the Washington-Idaho-Montana-Utah Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine, Borjesson said.

Im looking forward to building on Dr. Slinkers tremendous tenure of leadership, she continued. The enthusiasm for WSU among the community is impressive, and I look forward to building on that momentum.

In addition to her role as a department chair and full professor at UC Davis, Borjesson works as a clinical pathologist and is actively engaged in clinical service and laboratory test development. She served as the inaugural director of the Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures from 2015 to 2019 and continues to direct the Clinical Regenerative Medicine Laboratory.

Dr. Borjesson brings an important combination of strengths and experience to make her the right leader for the college, Slinker said. Shes a long-serving, highly regarded, and very effective academic leader, and an excellent clinician/scientist, at an aspirational peer institution. This background, combined with her intellectual rigor, openness, and compassion make her a great fit to lead the college in its next phase of growth and development as one of the nations top veterinary colleges.

Borjesson said shes thrilled to meet with WSU students, staff and faculty, as well as meeting with college and university stakeholders in the near future.

Being from the Pacific Northwest, this feels like a homecoming, said Borjesson, who was raised in Portland, Ore. Increasing engagement and outreach across the state is a top priority for me upon taking up this new role. In addition to engagement and strategic planning, Im also eager to face some of the critical issues facing members of the veterinary profession, including student debt and enhancing the well-being of our faculty, students and staff.

Among her more notable research contributions is using large animal models of disease to study cell therapy for inflammatory diseases.

Borjesson holds two patents in the area of mesenchymal stem cells and immunomodulation and has contributed to more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and in 2014 received the Zoetis Research Excellence Award. Alongside her own work, she has mentored more than three dozen veterinary residents and graduate students.

She and her colleague Dr. Aijun Wangs work with stem cells was highlighted in an extensive piece in the Los Angeles Times in 2018 about UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

Borjesson received her undergraduate education from the Colorado College in 1988, her Master in Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from UC Davis in 1995. She completed a residency at UC Davis in clinical pathology in 1999, followed by her PhD in comparative pathology at the Center for Comparative Medicine at UC Davis in 2002.

After completing her PhD, Borjesson accepted an assistant professorship at the University of Minnesota, where she worked for four years before returning to UC Davis as an associate professor in 2006. She became a full professor in 2012. She has led the Integrative Pathobiology Graduate Group at UC Davis and is actively engaged in veterinary and graduate student curriculum development, teaching and mentoring.

Established in 1899, the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine is proud of its distinguished past as one of the oldest veterinary colleges in the United States. It is equally proud of its contemporary leadership nationally in offering programs for student wellness, its Teaching Academy, which leads its commitment to advancing the state of the art in both health professions and STEM education, and its research and graduate education programs. The breadth of research to discover foundational knowledge and to conduct research targeted to improve animal and human health both domestically and around the world places it in the top 10% of veterinary colleges in receipt of competitive federal research funding.

Phil Weiler, vicepresident for marketing and communications, 5093351221, phil.weiler@wsu.edu

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Dr. Dori Borjesson named dean of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine - WSU News

Immunology

How Worried Should You Be About the New Coronavirus? – Slate

Travelers in Beijing taking a warranted precaution with face masks.

Nicolas Asfouri/Getty Images

The new coronavirus has infected over 900 people and killed 26. The recently-sequenced virus has spread from its point of origin, China, to Europe and the U.S., where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now confirmed two cases. Almost all of the cases are still concentrated in China, where prevention efforts have shut down Shanghai Disneyland, part of the Great Wall of China, and several McDonalds. The New York Times calls it a rapidly expanding outbreak which has fueled fears of a global pandemic. So how worried should you be? Weve sifted through the news and spoken with to two researchers who have studied similar kinds of viruses to find out.

Is it time to panic?

No. The important thing to remember is that while there are a lot of cases, a lot of them are not severe says Tracey Goldstein, a professor in the department of pathology, immunology and microbiology at the University of California, Davis. Im not worried right now about my personal risk. If youre going to be coming in contact with a lot of people, its prudent to wash your hands. But thats mostly because were in the middle of flu season.

But there are still concerns, right?

I think that our first concern can rightly be the people in China, says Columbia epidemiologist Simon Anthony. Both because of the virus, and because of the vigorous response, which is a hassle even if warrented: China has shut down outbound travel from Wuhan, where the virus originated. Wuhan resident Yasin Gaardo has been posting videos to Twitter, of police blocking a road, and of a supermarket running out of vegetables. Public transportation is locked up90 percent of Wuhan people are staying inside, he told CNN. I can say Im worried but Im not in panic mode right now. Perhaps as you should be.

The alarming part might be the speed at which the virus is spreading. The rapid pace is part of why it keeps making newsits an important global health story, even if most individuals are not personally at riskand the constant news fuels the feeling of panic. Im certainly more concerned now than I was a week ago, said Anthony, noting that the respiratory nature of the virus makes it relatively easy to spread from human to human. Theres also, he said, the fact that it brings back memories from SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

What kind of memories from SARS?

SARS also spreads via the air, through coughing, and traveled around the globe causing panic. And though SARS was more severe, both are coronaviruses. A coronavirus is a kind of virus with a spiky crown-like exterior that affects the respiratory tracts and guts in mammals. There are more than 3,000 species of coronavirus, but they are most commonly found in bats, as Goldstein and Anthony describe in a study in which they tested everything from humans to shrews. Just seven species (with the addition of this new virus) are known to affect humans. One of those is actually the cause of the common cold, to which the symptoms of coronavirus in many cases are similar, though complications of this new one can include pneumonia and sepsis. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), of which there was an outbreak in 2012, is another coronavirus. The new virus does not appear to be as deadly as MERS (34 percent mortality rate), or SARS (10 percent)its death rate is 4 percent.

Why doesnt the new coronavirus have a catchy name like MERS or SARS?

Technically speaking, its name is 2019-nCoV, short for 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Colloquially its going by a few things including Wuhan coronavirus. But as Helen Branswell points out in a piece for Stat News, the World Health Organization frowns on labeling diseases after a place or region. Its stigmatizing. It also doesnt really point out anything helpful about the virus.

Sure, but, why did it originate in Wuhan? Is that random?

Sort of! Theres quite a few things that need to align, says Goldstein, for a virus like this to make the jump to humans. Not only do humans need to come into contact with a bat (or snake), or other animal that the bat/snake has come into contact with, but the machinery of the particular species of virus needs to be able to infect humans. This coronavirus seems to have originated at market with animal meat.

OK, SARS, MERs, now this. Are these kinds of outbreaks becoming more frequent? And should we worry about that?

It does seem like theres been an uptick. There are two reasons for that, explains Goldstein. It might be that were just better at detecting and tracking the spread of viruses. But also, were moving around more; flying and interacting with more species, says Goldstein. The thing that definitely has changed is we are such a global world now.

Originally posted here:
How Worried Should You Be About the New Coronavirus? - Slate

Immunology

Study reveals new "crosstalk" between intestinal microbes and developing thymic cells – News-Medical.net

Newborns face unique immunological challenges immediately after birth. As they depart a relatively sterile fetal environment, they are abruptly exposed to a multitude of foreign antigens, the major burden of which is in the form of the microbiota newly colonizing the gastrointestinal tract.

These rapidly multiplying foreign invaders represent, by far, the biggest threat to the neonatal immune system, which has to recognize and classify these organisms as benign, commensal or pathogenic.

Research shows that effective "crosstalk" or communication between early microbes and mucosal immune cells is essential to the formation of healthy microbial communities and promotion of a well-functioning immune system.

The cells of the immune system that participate in mucosal immunity develop in an organ called the thymus located under the breastbone above the heart. Until now, it has been unclear if intestinal microbes influence the development of these cells in the thymus in early life.

Researchers at the Mucosal and Immunology Biology Research Center (MIBRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital now report that gut microbes regulate the development of specialized immune cells in the thymus that play a critical role in mucosal tolerance.

The findings of their extensive research were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA this week. Nitya Jain, PhD, and colleagues focused their studies on a subset of immune cells that express the transcription factor PLZF.

These cells, collectively called innate and innate-like lymphocytes, typically function at the gut mucosal barrier interface and provide immune protection at mucosal sites.

To study the development of these immune cells in the context of gut microbes, researchers monocolonized germ-free mice with a model human commensal, Bacteroides fragilis, and demonstrated that this single species of bacteria could restore the development of PLZF+ innate and innate-like lymphocytes in the thymus of infant mice.

In further proof-of-concept studies, they showed that a mutant B. fragilis lacking expression of Polysaccharide A (PSA) was unable to do the same, suggesting that specific microbial antigens could regulate this early life developmental process.

A similar deficit in these cells was observed in mutant mice that lacked the expression of Toll like receptor 2, a receptor that recognizes bacteria and bacterial components, including B. fragilis PSA, to initiate host protective immune responses.

To understand how this microbial message was delivered to developing thymic cells, Jain's group used a novel mouse model to track the migration of cells from the colon to the thymus.

The photo-conversion strategy, developed with the help of MGH's Guillermo "Gary" Tearney's group at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, was highlighted in the Journal of Visualized Experiments in 2018.

Researchers showed that a class of antigen-presenting cells called plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are imprinted by intestinal microbes and migrate from the gut to the thymus in early life to regulate the development of thymic lymphocytes.

For the first time, Jain's group has revealed "a novel communication between intestinal microbes and developing cells in the thymus," says Jain. "It shapes the immune 'repertoire' in early life and affects how the host will respond to disease throughout the lifespan."

The unbalanced development of an infant's gut microbiome is thought to play a role in disease development later in life. Disturbing the microbiota in infancy by antibiotics or diet, for example, has been linked to increased risk of allergies, asthma and autoimmune disorders including celiac disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Jain's group demonstrates one mechanistic basis for this observation. They show that thymic PLZF+ cells did not develop efficiently in mice treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics in early life, but mice treated in later life were spared.

Jain says there "appeared to be an early-life time window when developing immune cells in the thymus were particularly susceptible to microbial influence."

Additionally, the study shows that microbe-induced altered development of thymic innate and innate-like cells in early life persists into adulthood and leads to increased susceptibility to experimental colitis.

Importantly, disease severity could be moderated by the transfer of PLZF+ cells from mice that developed with normal microbiota in early life, says Jain.

She adds, "This has significant implications for the design of strategies to treat autoimmune disorders such as IBD. Our studies point to a previously unexplored pathway that may be developed as an adoptive cell therapy for patients."

MIBRC Director Alessio Fasano, MD notes that growing evidence shows that early development of a healthy immune state requires an ideal symbiotic relationship between developing infants and their community of microorganisms.

How we 'choose' our ideal microbiome to teach our immune system to defend us rather than harm us is still a big question mark. Nitya and her group--for the first time--have shed light on the very early mechanisms that are in charge of establishing a healthy relationship between the human host and the microbiome."

Alessio Fasano, MD, Director,MIBRC

Source:

Journal reference:

Ennamorati, M. et al. (2020) Intestinal microbes influence development of thymic lymphocytes in early life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915047117.

Excerpt from:
Study reveals new "crosstalk" between intestinal microbes and developing thymic cells - News-Medical.net

Immunology

As Chinese celebrate Lunar New Years Eve and coronavirus continues to spread @umich experts available to discuss health, economy, engineering…

MEDIA CONTACT

Available for logged-in reporters only

Jan. 24, 2020

U-M has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and an ISDN/IP radio line for interviews.

EXPERTS ADVISORY

Coronavirus: U-M experts can discuss

Mary Gallagher, professor of political science and director of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, is an expert on Chinese politics, U.S.-China relations, labor and workers in China, and employment and labor law in China. She can discuss the political and economic implications of the travel lockdown on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

"The Chinese government response to the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis is like the 2003 SARS crisis, but sped up," she said. "This shows that the government realized its mistakes more quickly this time. What took months in 2003 took days in 2019.

"But still, for a resident of Wuhan or any large Chinese city, it must be confusing and infuriating that on the weekend the government reassured citizens that the virus did not spread between humans and was under control, and then, only four days later, to initiate an unprecedented lockdown of Wuhan and other cities on Thursday.

"It remains unclear if the early inaction was due to a lack of urgency, an inability to test people properly and quickly, or a desire to maintain a sense of stability before the Lunar New Year. Crises like this undermine people's confidence in the governments credibility and compassion."

Contact: 734-615-9154, metg@umich.edu

Herek Clack, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the College of Engineering, has studied airborne disease transmission and has developed a technologya nonthermal plasma reactorthat can remove and inactivate airborne pathogens by electrically charging them.

"We've tested it in our lab at the University of Michigan on a surrogate virus, proving that it's 99.9% effective at either removing or inactivating that virus," he said.

Clack can discuss the airplane environment, and the issues that surround contagions in the cabin air.

"All commercial aircraft have particulate filters in their cabin air treatment system. The problem is that viruses are much smaller than the smallest particles that typically can be captured on those filters. So, unless the virus is in, or on, a larger particle, it is unlikely that the virus by itself would be substantially removed as a result of being filtered by the typical passenger airplane filters."

Read a news release about his technology. Watch a video about his technology being tested for use in agricultural settings.

Contact: 734-763-6830, hclack@umich.edu

Aubree Gordon, associate professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, works on infectious disease epidemiology and global health, particularly the epidemiologic features and transmission of influenza and dengue fever. She is an investigator with the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance.

"While the full extent of human-to-human transmission is still not known, Chinese authorities have verified multiple generations of transmission, meaning that transmission is clearly occurring in the community," she said. "This is worrisome as the easier it is for this virus to be transmitted, the harder it will be to control the outbreak.

"Initial reports suggest the severity of illness caused by this virus may not be as severe as SARS in 2002-03, however it is still very early in the outbreak and the true extent of severity is not yet known. We do know that it's causing severe lower respiratory disease in more than 20% of detected cases to date. What we don't know is if there are many more mild cases that occurred at the same time and were not detected."

Audio clip

Contact: gordonal@umich.edu

Arnold Monto, the Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an internationally known expert on the transmission, prevention, mitigation and social response to outbreaks and pandemic planning including transmission modes. He has served as an adviser for the World Health Organization, consulted with the U.S. Department of Defense on communicable diseases, and visited Beijing during the SARS coronavirus episode in 2003.

Contact: 734-764-5453, asmonto@umich.edu

Howard Markel, the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the Medical School and director of its Center for the History of Medicine, has studied epidemics over history and the effectiveness of efforts to contain their spread. He can speak on issues related to quarantine and travel.

His collaborative study with the Global Migration and Quarantine division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 1918-19 influenza pandemic has played a major role in shaping the policies of the federal government, nations around the globe and the World Health Organization as they consider how to mitigate future pandemics. He is the author of "When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America Since 1900 and the Fears They Have Unleashed."

Video clip

Contact: Kara Gavin, 764-2220, kegavin@umich.edu

Emily Toth Martin, assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an infectious disease epidemiologist with a focus on virus epidemiology and the use of vaccines and therapies to prevent and treat infection. Her research includes optimizing the use of diagnostics for viral diseases.

"We know this virus is a coronavirus," she said. "Other coronaviruses have caused very serious infections, like during the SARS outbreak, but some cause mild symptoms like the common cold. It's too soon to know how efficiently this virus is spreading between humans, or whether it is likely to die out on its own. There is a lot yet to learn about this virus, so public health officials are being cautious."

Video clipContact: 734-647-4723, etmartin@umich.edu

Theodore Standiford is a professor of medicine and interim chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

"Based on disease modeling, it is quite likely that the number of cases has been considerably underestimated and could be more than one thousand," he said. "In contrast to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, there has been no documented cases of individuals being infected outside of Wuhan, China, and no documented infections in health care workers caring for infected patients.

"Also, the risk for pandemic spread of the virus has been minimized by the early actions of the Chinese health authorities, WHO and CDC, including prompt closure of the site where the infection originated (fish and animal market in Wuhan City), systematic screening and quarantining of travelers departing from Wuhan and in destination cities nationally and internationally, and earlier and better adherence to contact and respiratory isolation precautions of infected subjects.

"Fortunately, the illness caused by 2019-nCoV appears to be less severe than that caused by SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, coronaviruses which were associated with mortality rates of approximately 10% and 35%, respectively."

The Wuhan Novel Coronavirus: Should You Be Worried?

Contact: Kelly Malcom, 734-764-2220, kmalcom@umich.edu

Krista Wigginton is an associate professor of environmental engineering at the College of Engineering. Her research interests include the detection and fate of viruses in water and air, and on how to better control the environmental transmission of viruses. She led a 2015 study looking at the potential presence and fate of enveloped viruses in the urban water cycle, with emphasis on coronaviruses (e.g., SARS and MERS) and avian influenza viruses.

"The transmission of enveloped viruses, like coronaviruses and influenza viruses, is not usually associated with water; however sewage did play a role in some SARS coronavirus transmission," she said. "We need to anticipate the potential role of the urban water cycle in the spread of pandemic viruses, particularly for avian influenza viruses and coronaviruses. In order to address this, virologists, environmental engineers, and public health researchers must work together."

Contact: 734-763-9661, kwigg@umich.edu

Peter Jacobson, professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health, can discuss the legal issues involving the spread of infectious diseases, including quarantine. His research focuses on the relationship between law and health care delivery, law and public health systems, and health equity. He has looked at previous cases including the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when several states imposed quarantines exceeding guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"As long as the screening is conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner and is limited in duration and scope, CDC appears to be acting appropriately under the circumstances," he said.

Contact: 734-936-0928, pdj@umich.edu

Joseph Eisenberg, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an expert on infectious disease epidemiology and has 20 years of experience in microbial risk assessment work focused on water quality. He is part of a group of scientists from around the country who are involved with the Modeling Infectious Disease Agents Study, an NIH-funded program that focuses on infectious disease transmission modeling with a particular focus on waterborne pathogens. Their work has informed recent Ebola projections about infection rates and deaths.

Contact: 734-764-5435, jnse@umich.edu

Linda Lim, professor emerita of corporate strategy and international business at the Ross School of Business, focuses her research on the political economy of multinational and local business in Southeast Asia. That includes the changing international trade and investment environment, and the influence of domestic politics, economic policy and culture on business structure, strategy and operations.

Contact: 734-665-4803, lylim@umich.edu

Michael Imperiale, professor of microbiology and immunology at Michigan Medicine, studies virus replication, virus-host cell interactions and science policy. He serves as U-M's associate vice president of research-policy and compliance and has served on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, a presidentially commissioned advisory board, and on various policy-related committees of the National Research Council and the National Academies.

Adam Lauring is associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and infectious diseases, at Michigan Medicine. He studies RNA viruses, which include coronaviruses, evaluating their rapid mutation rate and implications for human disease. He collaborates with researchers at the School of Public Health to study how the influenza virus changes in home and clinical settings.

Contact: Kelly Malcom 734-764-2220, kmalcom@umich.edu

Sandro Cinti, professor of infectious disease at Michigan Medicine, is involved in preparation for bioterrorism and emerging infections at the national, state and local levels. In addition to treating infectious disease patients and training medical students and residents in the identification and care of infectious conditions, he helps lead biopreparedness activity at Michigan Medicine and coordinates with colleagues across the metro Detroit area and beyond.

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As Chinese celebrate Lunar New Years Eve and coronavirus continues to spread @umich experts available to discuss health, economy, engineering...

Immunology

PharmaForce International: New Product Launches and Additional Indication Approvals Lead to an Increase in Immunology Personnel – BioSpace

READING, Pa., Jan. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PharmaForce International (PFI) recently completed a study that benchmarks the leading Immunology sales and marketing organizations in the United States. The report focuses on key companies with products competing across the Dermatology, Rheumatology, and Gastroenterology markets throughout 2019. Since the previous Immunology report published by PFI in 2018, the profiled companies have experienced a 25 percent increase in the total number of commercial operations personnel that are dedicated to Immunology. This includes various roles such as sales, marketing, field medical, market access, field reimbursement, and upper-level management.

Additional profiled company trends since the 2018 report include:

Joyce Wedemeyer, Director of Marketing and Sales at PharmaForce International, says that this increase in personnel is due to new product launches and additional indication approvals for existing products.

"The majority of these profiled companies have expanded their dedicated Immunology personnel in the anticipation of launching new products into the market or having additional indications approved. These expansions are strategic approaches to ensure better positioning versus the competitive products," says Wedemeyer.

PFI plans to further the focus on Immunology benchmarking in 2020. The United States Immunology report will be updated again, as well as a report on the five major EU countries. Both studies are expected to be completed and available to clients by December.

For more information on the reports mentioned above, please contact Joyce Wedemeyer at Joyce.Wedemeyer@strategicreports.comor by phone at 610-370-2906.

PharmaForce International (PFI) is a competitive intelligence firm with over two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. PFI has become the market leader in commercial operations benchmarking and competitive intelligence.

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PharmaForce International: New Product Launches and Additional Indication Approvals Lead to an Increase in Immunology Personnel - BioSpace

Immunology

Key trends that will shaped the immunology market in the last decade, according to GlobalData – PharmiWeb.com

From an increase in sales of interleukin inhibitors to the prevalence of biosimilars, this decade has been an eventful one in the immunology industry.

Patrick Aiyes, Senior Immunology Analyst at leading data and analytics company GlobalData, observes the key trends that has shaped the immunology market in the last decade:

Key immunology drugs

The immunology market has seen a continuous increase in the sales of interleukin inhibitors and a decrease in the sales of TNF inhibitors - primarily because of the entry of biosimilars into the market and the increased safety profile associated with interleukin inhibitors. Abbvies Humira will end the decade as the highest grossing drug of 2019, generating sales of approximately $19bn globally, while Janssens Stelara will be the highest-grossing interleukin inhibitor in the market.

JAK inhibitors have also been a very popular drug in the immunology space. After the approval of Pfizers Xeljanz in RA in 2012, Eli Lillys Olumiant and Abbvies Rinvoq have followed suit. Although this class of drugs boasts a great efficacy profile and a fast onset of action, there has been controversy surrounding its safety and this has been a key topic in the latter years of the decade. Long-term studies are needed to see if this class of drugs will be useful in the next ten years.

Improvement in research

In the last decade, there has been a breakthrough in research surrounding diseases that have not had therapies approved. For example, in atopic dermatitis (AD) Sanofis Dupixient was approved in 2017, while Benlysta was approved for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 2011.

There have been many breakthrough and fast-track designations assigned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to promising drugs in diseases where there is a lack of safe and efficacious agents. Over the last ten years, graft versus host disease (GvHD) saw as many as nine drugs assigned breakthrough or fast-track designations, while AD saw six drugs, and SLE saw five. This is primarily because therapies with specific targets are now being introduced to help patients treatments.

Biosimilar disruption

The increasing prevalence of biosimilars has noticeably had a negative impact on mainstay biologics, including Janssens Remicade and Abbvies cash cow, Humira, which faced the introduction of biosimilars in Europe in 2018. In 2019, biosimilars will generate sales of over $3.4bn, with Pfizers Inflectra generating a whopping $671m.

On the disruption caused by biosimilars, big pharma is most at-risk from the arrival of biosimilar competition. However, many have invested in their own biosimilar pipelines to offset risk, typically through partnerships. Biosimilars were mainly brought in to help reduce the cost of very expensive drugs, while this strategy is working in Europe, there is still more to be done in order to keep healthcare costs low in the US.

About GlobalData

4,000 of the worlds largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalDatas unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalDatas mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.

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Key trends that will shaped the immunology market in the last decade, according to GlobalData - PharmiWeb.com

Immunology

Oxford Immunotec Announces Donation in Support of Coronavirus Testing Efforts to Help Differentiate Tuberculosis from the New China Virus – BioSpace

OXFORD, United Kingdom and MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Jan. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (Nasdaq:OXFD) (the Company), a global, high-growth diagnostics company, today announced they are planning a new initiative to commemorate the coming World Tuberculosis Day, bring the benefits of the T-SPOT.TB test to mainland China and assist with differentiating tuberculosis (TB) from other respiratory infections. Oxford Immunotec will donate tests approximately valued at CNY 3,000,000 to Chinese hospitals through a non-profit organization, Bethune Charitable Foundation, in support of their efforts to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Because some pathogens present with similar symptoms as TB, ruling out TB quickly in infected suspects is critical to fighting the spread of the infection. Since its approval in the Peoples Republic of China in 2010, T-SPOT.TB has been recognized for its high level of sensitivity and specificity across patient populations and has become a critical aid in the diagnosis of TB infection.

The donation plan is supported by leading hospitals and KOLs in China. Prof. Mou Xiangdong, Director of Respiratory and Critical Care Department, Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital says, We would like to thank Oxford Immunotec for their commitment to the Chinese people. As symptoms of some infections may be similar to TB, this test will help us differentiate these illnesses with greater accuracy during epidemic seasons.

About T-SPOT.TB

The T-SPOT.TB test is available in over 60 countries and recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one the 100 essential diagnostic tests that should be available in every country. In China, the T-SPOT.TB test has been on the market since 2010 and has been rapidly adopted by the leading hospitals and physicians as a critical tool for diagnosing TB infection. Today more than 250 of Chinas top hospitals rely on the T-SPOT.TB test to determine treatment for hard to diagnose patients. There is no comparable technology with similar sensitivity and specificity on the market in China. The T-SPOT.TB test is relied on as an essential tool in the fight against TB.

About Oxford Immunotec

Oxford Immunotec Global PLC is a global, high-growth diagnostics company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary assays for immunology and infectious disease. The Companys T-SPOT.TB test has been approved for sale in over 60 countries, including the United States, where it has received pre-market approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Europe, where it has obtained a CE mark, as well as Japan and China. The Company is headquartered near Oxford, U.K. and in Marlborough, MA. Additional information can be found at http://www.oxfordimmunotec.com.

CONTACTS:

For Media and Investor Inquiries: Matt McLaughlinChief Financial OfficerOxford ImmunotecTel: +1 (508) 573-9953mtmclaughlin@oxfordimmunotec.com

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Oxford Immunotec Announces Donation in Support of Coronavirus Testing Efforts to Help Differentiate Tuberculosis from the New China Virus - BioSpace

Immunology

L2P Research (Former AJES Life Sciences, LLC) and Transcell Oncologics, LLC Announce Partnership to Provide High Quality Hu-CB-CD34 and Hu-PBMC to…

ANNVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--L2P Research, LLC and Transcell Oncologics, LLC have entered into a partnership with the purpose of marketing and the distribution of Transcell Oncologics, LLC Trans HSC (CD34+), Trans-HSC (PBMC) product line and L2P Researchs humanized mouse models.

L2P Research, LLC is a Pennsylvania based Research organization founded with a vision to provide integrated R&D support in all the key areas of Pharmaceutical development. L2P provides a complete array of research services as required for Investigational New Drug Applications (IND). Transcell Oncologicss Transtoxbio portfolio (www.transtoxbio.com) is all about human sourced primary progenitor cell based predictive platforms that work for exploratory drug and cosmetics research meant for clinics.

The agreed terms of this partnership highlight the product line dealing with CD34+ cells and Humanized mouse models, the scope of joint business development utilizes both companys capabilities jointly to address demand, quality, fit with preclinical research grade stem cells ( For Academia, Pharma, Contract Research Organizations) in the USA.

CAT# TRANS-HSC-CBM; CAT#TRANS-HSC-CBCD34; CAT#TRANS-HSC-PBCD34Represent the CD34+ cells available lots.

CAT#TRANS-HSC-HMRepresent the humanized mouse models available to the user.

CD34+ cells and the cell based humanized animal models market is projected to reach $ 200 M by 2022 with their applications shown in Oncology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Neuroscience, Toxicology, and Hematopoiesis by the user.

This specific partnership between Transcell Oncologics and L2P Research is confident to address the existing gap seen between the demand and the quality of supply owing to respective groups advantageous positions and credibility dealing with right kind of cells and the animal models.

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L2P Research (Former AJES Life Sciences, LLC) and Transcell Oncologics, LLC Announce Partnership to Provide High Quality Hu-CB-CD34 and Hu-PBMC to...