Ferret

Vetstream Ltd. and Fear Free LLC Join Forces in a Strategic Alliance to Advance Animal Wellbeing

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 22, 2024

DENVER, Feb. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Vetstream Ltd., a leading provider of digital clinical references and educational content for veterinary professionals, and Fear Free LLC, the pioneering organization dedicated to reducing fear, anxiety, and stress in pets, proudly announce their strategic alliance aimed at enhancing animal welfare globally.

Key Points: 
  • Vetstream Ltd. and Fear Free LLC proudly announce their strategic alliance aimed at enhancing animal welfare globally.
  • "By aligning with Fear Free, we can further support our mission by ensuring that emotional well-being is at the forefront of veterinary practice."
  • Randy Valpy, CEO of Fear Free LLC, echoed Dr. Johnston's sentiments, emphasizing the importance of the alliance in advancing animal welfare.
  • Together, Vetstream Ltd. and Fear Free LLC are poised to drive positive change in the veterinary industry, fostering a culture of compassion and empathy towards animals.

Compana Pet Brands Reveals New ZuPreem Brand Website Featuring State-of-the Art Nutritional Solutions for Birds, Ferrets, Exotic Felines, and Primates

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Compana Pet Brands, global leader in pet care and nutrition, reveals a new ZuPreem® brand website, featuring state-of-the-art nutritional product solutions for pet birds, exotic felines, primates, and ferrets.

Key Points: 
  • ST. LOUIS, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Compana Pet Brands, global leader in pet care and nutrition, reveals a new ZuPreem® brand website , featuring state-of-the-art nutritional product solutions for pet birds , exotic felines, primates, and ferrets.
  • Concurrently with the site launch the ZuPreem brand unveils a new look and feel with an enhanced logo, expanded color palette, typography, and graphics.
  • "We are delighted to share the new ZuPreem website and brand with bird lovers everywhere," said Melissa Ross, Vice President of Marketing and Business Unit Lead (Small Animal, Bird, Homestead), Compana Pet Brands.
  • With its new energy and vibrancy, the updated ZuPreem brand is a colorful celebration of this love.

Jackery Reaffirms Commitment to Earth Protection, Looks to Continue Partnership with WWF in 2024

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 11, 2024

In June of 2023, Jackery announced a partnership with WWF, striving to support scientists and conservationists in their efforts to detect, track and protect endangered black-footed ferrets in their natural habitats.

Key Points: 
  • In June of 2023, Jackery announced a partnership with WWF, striving to support scientists and conservationists in their efforts to detect, track and protect endangered black-footed ferrets in their natural habitats.
  • In addition to supporting WWF in its endangered species conservation initiatives, Jackery has also taken action to support Earth's forests.
  • Looking ahead to 2024, Jackery aims to continue its collaboration with WWF and take proactive measures to protect the natural environment and biodiversity.
  • By strengthening its partnership with WWF, Jackery seeks to amplify its positive impact on the environment.

PDS Biotech Reports Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Provides Business Update

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

The Company will provide a business update on its conference call and webcast at 8:00 AM EST today.

Key Points: 
  • The Company will provide a business update on its conference call and webcast at 8:00 AM EST today.
  • PDS Biotech anticipates initiation of VERSATILE-003 in Q1 2024.
  • PDS Biotech’s cash balance as of September 30, 2023 was approximately $54.3 million.
  • PDS Biotech believes that, with initiating the VERSATILE-003 Phase 3 clinical trial in the first quarter of 2024, its available cash resources will sustain operational and research and development endeavors into the third quarter of 2024.

Arcturus Therapeutics Announces Third Quarter 2023 Financial Update and Pipeline Progress

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

“We had considerable progress this quarter expanding our next generation STARR® vaccine platform,” said Joseph Payne, President & CEO of Arcturus Therapeutics.

Key Points: 
  • “We had considerable progress this quarter expanding our next generation STARR® vaccine platform,” said Joseph Payne, President & CEO of Arcturus Therapeutics.
  • ARCALIS Inc., the Company’s manufacturing joint venture in Japan to support the production of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, continues to make operational progress while also obtaining financial support from the Japanese government.
  • Arcturus achieved a milestone for $35 million and anticipates receipt from CSL in November 2023.
  • Arcturus expects the final database lock to occur in the fourth quarter of 2023.

PDS Biotech Announces PDS0202 Elicits Active Neutralization of Multiple Influenza Strains in Preclinical Studies

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 20, 2023

“We are encouraged that PDS0202 has demonstrated activity in generating protective hemagglutination inhibition assay (HAI) antibody responses in pre-immune ferret studies, which are the gold standard in influenza vaccine testing.

Key Points: 
  • “We are encouraged that PDS0202 has demonstrated activity in generating protective hemagglutination inhibition assay (HAI) antibody responses in pre-immune ferret studies, which are the gold standard in influenza vaccine testing.
  • In addition to active neutralization of various influenza strains, the data demonstrated that PDS0202 prevented illness, weight loss and importantly protected the lungs of vaccinated animals from H1N1,” said Dr. Ross.
  • PDS0202 combines PDS Biotech’s Infectimune® novel investigational immune activating platform with proprietary Computationally Optimized Broadly Reactive Antigens (COBRA) influenza antigens.
  • This robust immune response to the COBRA antigens suggests strong potential for PDS0202 as a broad and long-term protecting universal influenza vaccine.

PDS0202 Universal Influenza Preclinical Ferret Data to be Presented in Oral Lecture at 9th ESWI Conference

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB) (PDS Biotech or the Company), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of targeted cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company’s proprietary T cell activating platforms, today announced that data from preclinical studies in ferrets of PDS0202, the company’s universal influenza vaccine utilizing proprietary COBRA (computationally optimized broadly reactive antigen) hemagglutinin (HA) flu proteins, will be featured in an oral lecture at the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI) Conference.

Key Points: 
  • PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB) (PDS Biotech or the Company), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of targeted cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company’s proprietary T cell activating platforms, today announced that data from preclinical studies in ferrets of PDS0202, the company’s universal influenza vaccine utilizing proprietary COBRA (computationally optimized broadly reactive antigen) hemagglutinin (HA) flu proteins, will be featured in an oral lecture at the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI) Conference.
  • ESWI is being held September 17-20, 2023, in Valencia, Spain.
  • Abstract Title: Influenza pre-immune ferrets vaccinated with computationally optimized recombinant HA proteins generate sero-protective antibody responses against H1N1 and H3N2 viruses from the last decade.

TFF Pharmaceuticals Awarded $2.97 Million to Develop Universal Influenza Vaccine

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 26, 2023

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TFF Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFFP) (“the Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative drug products based on its patented Thin Film Freezing (TFF) technology platform, today announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded the Company a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of approximately $2.97 million to continue development of a novel, pan-flu multivariant mucosal vaccine using the Company’s Thin Film Freezing technology.

Key Points: 
  • If successful, this work could provide a first-in-class stable, easy-to-transport and easy-to-stockpile vaccine that would overcome the vaccine failures that result from mishandling, mismatches between predicted and actual seasonal flu strains, and evolutionary changes in influenza viruses across the season.
  • “The advancement of this program is a result of a highly productive, multi-year collaboration between TFF Pharmaceuticals and world-renowned vaccine researcher Dr. Ted Ross, Global Director of Vaccine Development at Cleveland Clinic,” said Dr. Dale Christensen, VP of Preclinical Development at TFF Pharmaceuticals.
  • “A shelf-stable mucosal formulation will revolutionize the public health approach, providing an influenza vaccine that is effective regardless of which strain emerges in any given year.
  • “Based on positive data generated in collaboration with TFF Pharmaceuticals, we are moving closer to achieving our goal of developing a universal influenza vaccine to protect all patient populations in the US and globally.”

How a 'pot-smoking, acid-gobbling smart-arse' became the producer behind some of Australia's greatest music

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 19, 2023

Or maybe this excellent memoir by engineer and producer Tony Cohen, who died in 2017, will fling him into the spotlight.

Key Points: 
  • Or maybe this excellent memoir by engineer and producer Tony Cohen, who died in 2017, will fling him into the spotlight.
  • Cohen, who was mostly Melbourne-based, made an astonishing contribution to Australian recorded music in the 70s and 80s.
  • The gist of the stories was pure, even if the dates might have needed a bit of research on Olson’s part.
  • Read more:
    'A gentleman with the mad soul of an Irish convict poet': remembering Chris Bailey, and the blazing comet that was The Saints

‘Turn it up a bit more!’

    • Working as an assistant, cleaning toilets and getting coffees, he was 15 and he had a job!
    • In the first week he was paid $17 – “I was so young I spent it on lollies.
    • I was up myself: a pot-smoking, acid-gobbling smart-arse who thought he knew it all.
    • This time at Armstrong’s was informative, not just in learning what to do, but what not to do.
    • And he talks a bit about Molly [Meldrum], which people will probably be surprised to read.” Cohen’s regard for Molly Meldrum is clear.

A strange, scrambled method

    • He was daring to do different things, and there was a bit of "Fuck you!” to what the normal music benchmarks were.
    • He was daring to do different things, and there was a bit of "Fuck you!” to what the normal music benchmarks were.
    • He didn’t care that I wanted to tune my drums differently, it was all cool.
    • Cohen wrote:
      I’ve got a strange, scrambled way of working.
    • I know how to use most pieces of equipment, but I don’t necessarily know what they do or why they do it.
    • I’ve got a strange, scrambled way of working.
    • He was a master at both what not to do in the studio and what to do in the studio.

Gain-of-function research is more than just tweaking risky viruses – it's a routine and essential tool in all biology research

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Some research on emerging viruses can result in variants that gain the ability to infect people but this does not necessarily mean the research is dangerous or that it is not fruitful.

Key Points: 
  • Some research on emerging viruses can result in variants that gain the ability to infect people but this does not necessarily mean the research is dangerous or that it is not fruitful.
  • Concerns have focused on lab research on the virus that causes bird flu in 2012 and on the virus that causes COVID-19 since 2020.
  • Clarifying what gain-of-function research really is can help clarify why it is an essential scientific tool.

What is gain of function?

    • To study how a living thing operates, scientists can change a specific part of it and then observe the effects.
    • These changes sometimes result in the organism’s gaining a function it didn’t have before or losing a function it once had.
    • This mutated immune cell, called a CAR-T cell thereby “gains the function” of being able to bind to cancerous cells and kill them.

Medical advances from gain-of-function research

    • Only decades later does the research bring a new treatment to the clinic or a new technology within reach.
    • The development of most antibiotics have relied on the manipulation of bacteria or mold in gain-of-function experiments.
    • Alexander Fleming’s initial discovery that the mold Penicillium rubens could produce a compound toxic to bacteria was a profound medical advance.
    • Gain-of-function research in virology has also been critical to the advancement of science and health.

Nature’s gain-of-function experiments

    • Many viruses that infect such nonhuman animals as bats, pigs, birds and mice have the potential to spill over into people.
    • Gain-of-function experiments in the lab can help scientists anticipate the changes viruses may undergo in nature by understanding what specific features allow them to transmit between people and infect them.
    • In contrast to nature’s experiments, these are conducted in highly controlled lab conditions designed to limit infection risk to laboratory personnel and others, including air flow control, personal protective equipment and waste sterilization.
    • Scientists have a better appreciation of the tangible risk of bird flu spillover because of gain-of-function experiments published a decade ago.

Oversight on gain of function

    • Many researchers would likely agree that gain of function as a general tool is an important way to study biology that should not be restricted, while also arguing that it should be curtailed for research on specific dangerous pathogens.
    • While updates to current oversight are not unreasonable, we believe that blanket bans or additional restrictions on gain-of-function research do not make society safer.
    • Clarifying which specific research areas are of concern regarding gain-of-function approaches can help identify how the current oversight framework can be improved.