Vaccine

HHS appeals federal injunction ruling on vaccine changes

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has appealed a recent federal ruling that put on hold several changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices as reconstituted by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy.

CARB-X award supports Adjane’s gonorrhea vaccine

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is awarding US$2.6 million to Adjane Holding BV to advance the development of a vaccine candidate to prevent infections caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Kp-OMV4 elicits strong immunity against K. pneumoniae

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is a major health problem globally, with relevant infection-related mortality reported. Researchers from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Spain and their collaborators recently presented data regarding an outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccine for the management of K. pneumoniae infection, Kp-OMV4.

AI opens the way to systematic risk assessment of zoonotic potential of viruses

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0400

Researchers in the U.K. have developed an AI-driven method of identifying viruses in wild animals with the potential to spillover into humans. The technique makes it possible to use the genome sequences of the spike proteins by which viruses enter host cells to assess the potential to infect humans without having to isolate an individual virus and tests its infectivity in the lab.

K-Vax shows broad protection across circulating K. pneumoniae strains

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii are both major contributors to the global antimicrobial resistance crisis, causing rapidly progressive and often severe infections. Researchers from Vaxdyn SL and collaborators presented efficacy data for K-Vax, an inactivated, LPS-null whole-cell A. baumannii-based vaccine engineered to display conserved K. pneumoniae outer-membrane proteins on the bacterial cell surface.

New nominee may need a charm at the CDC

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s third nominee for CDC director, Erica Schwartz will soon find out if three times really is a charm. Trump announced the nomination on social media April 16, touting Schwartz’s credentials for the job. Calling her “incredibly talented,” Trump cited her “distinguished career” as a military doctor, in the Navy and Coast Guard, and her service as deputy surgeon general during his first term in office.

HHS budget hearing not so much about budget

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy made his first stop April 16 on a congressional tour in support of President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget, which would reduce discretional spending for HHS and its agencies by about 12%.

KDTV-001: a trivalent HPV vaccine with broad and durable antitumor immunity

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400

While most human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are cleared by the host immune system, persistent infection with high-risk HPV genotypes, particularly HPV16 and HPV18, can promote cervical cancer development. Researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology reported the development and preclinical characterization of KDTV-001, an HPV vaccine comprising a nonreplicating adenovirus type 5 vector encoding a codon-optimized fusion protein of the early antigens E6 and E7 derived from HPV genotypes 16, 18 and 52.

Kennedy expands ACIP function, membership criteria

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Amending his previous two-year-renewal of the standard charter for the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy made monitoring adverse vaccine events a primary function of the committee and expanded its liaison membership to include organizations that have challenged vaccine safety.>

Kennedy sidestepping court order sidelining ACIP?

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Don’t like a court order? Sidestep it. That seems to be the idea behind U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy’s latest changes to his renewal of the charter for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Supreme Court shuts the door to three life sciences petitions

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0400

What do a patent dispute over a CRISPR/Cas system, a rejected whistleblower case involving lab tests and a vaccine injury claim parading as multidistrict tort litigation have in common? All three were denied cert in the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest orders list.

Single-dose mRNA vaccine elicits superior anti-VZV immunity in mice

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Researchers from Chengdu Kanghua Biological Products Co. Ltd. recently published information on their novel varicella zoster virus (VZV) mRNA vaccine candidate (KH014). KH014 contains sequence-optimized mRNAs encoding full-length glycoprotein E encapsulated in ionizable lipid nanoparticles.

Pfizer, Valneva post mixed results for Lyme disease vaccine

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Overall, results from the phase III Valor trial testing Lyme disease vaccine PF-07307405 “strengthen confidence” in the candidate, according to partners Pfizer Inc. and Valneva SE, with the big pharma now looking toward regulatory submissions. Investors, however, focused on the fact that the study, which demonstrated more than 70% efficacy in preventing Lyme disease in individuals, ages 5 and older, failed to hit the statistical criterion for the first prespecified analysis.

Emerging therapeutic strategies for Parkinson’s at ADPD 2026

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Parkinson’s disease (PD) involves the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, particularly in the substantia nigra. This neurodegeneration is linked to the abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein, a protein that forms toxic aggregates and spreads between cells, damaging them. At the 20th International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases (AD/PD), held from March 17 to 21, 2026, in Copenhagen, several strategies were presented that aim to modify the course of the disease and offer real alternatives to purely symptomatic treatments.

After judge’s injunction, will ACIP disband?

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

A member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), physician and biochemist Robert Malone, who a judge earlier this week suggested lacked vaccine-related experience, wrote March 19 on X that the committee “has been disbanded.” Nearly six hours later, he followed up, saying it was a “miscommunication.”

Judge’s order shuts down new vaccine schedule, ACIP itself

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

In one fell swoop March 16, a U.S. federal judge stayed the CDC’s January memo revising the childhood vaccine schedule and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) as reconstituted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, along with everything that committee has done since early June.

Counterx signs license supporting work in fentanyl overdose

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Counterx Therapeutics Inc. has executed an exclusive licensing agreement with the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington for a portfolio of novel monoclonal antibody and vaccine candidates targeting fentanyl and opioid overdose.

Korean ARPA-H to invest ₩162B in nine projects in 2026

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

The K-health MIRAE Initiative, also known as Korean ARPA-H, announced plans to allocate about ₩162 billion (US$110 million) in nine new projects over the next five years, with a focus on strengthening national health security.

Replication-incompetent HAdV-55 vaccine provides in vivo protection against pathogenic adenoviruses

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0400

Aiming to develop a vaccine candidate against human adenovirus-55 (HAdV-55) infections, researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (China) and collaborators have generated a replication-incompetent rAd55-5E4.

Korean ARPA-H to invest ₩162B in nine projects in 2026

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Moderna to pay up to $2.25B to settle COVID-19 patents case

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In what it says could be the largest disclosed patent settlement in the pharmaceutical industry, Roivant Sciences Ltd. has reached a potential $2.25 billion settlement with Moderna Inc. over the use of its lipid nanoparticle delivery technology in the Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine.

ACIP grows by two ahead of next meeting

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0500

The U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has two new members, bringing its total membership to 15. As he has done since dismissing the entire ACIP panel last June, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy named the new members, Angelina Farella and Sean Downing, barely two weeks before the next ACIP meeting, March 18-19.

Moderna’s combo flu/COVID vaccine gets thumbs up in EU

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended approval of Moderna Inc.’s Mcombriax (mRNA-1083), positioning it to potentially become the world’s first combination vaccine for both seasonal influenza and COVID-19.

Another lawsuit challenges changes to ACIP, US vaccine schedule

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy is facing a second lawsuit challenging his replacement of all the members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and seeking to undo the CDC’s Jan. 5 revision of its childhood immunization schedule.

Australia launches world-first pediatric mRNA brain cancer trial

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 11:00:00 -0500

A world-first pediatric mRNA cancer vaccine trial is launching in Australia that could open new possibilities for children with aggressive brain tumors.

February ACIP meeting not happening

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Amid an ongoing court challenge to the current composition of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the committee’s Feb. 25-27 meeting has been removed from its calendar.

L. monocytogenes vaccine enhances immunotherapy efficacy in CRC

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In a recent study, researchers from Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory investigated whether in vivo targeting of gastrointestinal tissues via foodborne delivery of Lm-based cancer vaccines could control tumor growth in murine models of colorectal cancer.

Moderna’s flu vaccine back in play as FDA shifts course on review

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:05:00 -0500

A week after catching Moderna Inc. and its investors off guard with a refuse-to-file letter, the U.S. FDA has reversed course on the company’s BLA submission seeking approval of seasonal influenza vaccine mRNA-1010, now agreeing to review the application and setting an assigned PDUFA date of Aug. 5, 2026.

Australia launches world-first pediatric mRNA brain cancer trial

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

A world-first pediatric mRNA cancer vaccine trial is launching in Australia that could open new possibilities for children with aggressive brain tumors. The Paedneo-Vax trial, funded by Canada’s Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc., in combination with the Australian Government and philanthropic donors, is the first multisite pediatric study to evaluate individualized mRNA vaccines designed specifically for each child's cancer.

DNA origami vaccine produces broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

The use of DNA scaffolds could mark a turning point in HIV vaccine design. Scientists at Scripps Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a new vaccine platform based on DNA origami, a material that the immune system does not recognize as a threat, avoiding unwanted responses.