News Release

Milestone biodefense publication by Elsevier journal Vaccine

Supplement launched at Sealy Center for Vaccine Development Symposium

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Elsevier

Amsterdam, 19 November 2009 – Last week during the 'Vaccines for Biothreats and Emerging and Neglected Diseases Symposium' in Galveston TX, USA, the Elsevier journal Vaccine released a supplement dedicated to vaccines for biodefense (www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0264410X). This publication provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview on vaccines that have been developed against a diverse group of human and veterinary pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis, smallpox, and blue tongue.

Biodefense has traditionally been associated with defense against biological warfare agents with an emphasis on military applications. However, the events of October 2001 involving envelopes containing anthrax spores sent through the US Postal Service radically changed our thinking about biodefense. We now recognize the need for biodefense to protect both civilian and military populations against biothreat agents. As research continues to develop biodefense countermeasures, it is clear that vaccines are a critical component of the portfolio to control biothreats.

In their editorial in the supplement, the US Guest Editors Alan Barrett (University of Texas Medial Branch), Shan Lu (University of Massachusetts), and Greg Poland (Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group) state that, "the progress in development of vaccines for biothreat agents has been remarkable due to the combined efforts of academia, biotechnology companies, larger pharma, governments, and regulatory authorities, and it is our hope that this supplement may serve as a milestone for this process and a useful reference for people interested in knowing the current status of biodefense vaccine development".

The supplement was launched at the 3rd in a series of symposia around the theme of, 'The Changing Landscape of Vaccine Development', organized by the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston TX, USA in conjunction with the James W. McLaughlin Fellowship Fund (www.utmb.edu/scvd/).

The symposium Co-Chair and Co-Guest Editor of the Vaccine Supplement, Alan Barrett judged the conference a great success and said: "By focusing on the progression of biodefense vaccine development from bench to bedside the symposium very successfully brought together experts from industry, academia and government to discuss the latest developments in discovery, preclinical development, clinical trials and vaccine acceptance".

###

Notes to Editors:

To receive a copy of Vaccine Volume27, Supplement 4, 5 November 2009; Vaccines for Biodefense (Guest editors Alan D.T. Barrett, Shan Lu, and Gregory A. Poland), please contact the Executive Publisher of Vaccine at f.hon@elsevier.com.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including the Lancet (www.thelancet.com) and Cell (www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (www.scopus.com), Reaxys (www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.