The researchers argued that their work would be beneficial to creating a safer and more effective vaccine for smallpox, although an effective vaccine is already available. The horsepox virus had previously seemed to have gone extinct, raising concern about potential revival of Variola major and causing other scientists to question their motives. Critics found it especially concerning that the group was able to recreate viable virus in a short time frame with relatively little cost or effort. Although the WHO bans individual laboratories from synthesizing more than 20% of the genome at a time, and purchases of smallpox genome fragments are monitored and regulated, a group with malicious intentions could compile, from multiple sources, the full synthetic genome necessary to produce viable virus. Transmission
Transmission occurred through inhalation of airborne Variola virus, usually droplets expressed from the oral, nasal, or pharyngeal mucosa of an infected person. It was transmitted from one person to another primarily through prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person, usually, within a distance of 1.8 m (6 feet), but could also be spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects (fomites) such as bedding or clothing. Rarely, smallpox was spread by virus carried in the air in enclosed settings such as buildings, buses, and trains. The virus can cross the placenta, but the incidence of congenital smallpox was relatively low.
Protein-bound paclitaxel was developed by VivoRx which became Abraxis BioScience as the first in its class of drugs to use the nanoparticle albumin bound (nab) technology platform.In 2010, Abraxis was acquired by Celgene, which now markets Abraxane. Total revenue from the sales of Abraxane for 2009 were $314.5 million. In 2013, Abraxane was FDA approved for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In 2014, Abraxanes sales were $848 million, 31 percent year-over-year increase.The British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced in 2015, that it would not support the routine use of protein-bound paclitaxel in advanced pancreatic cancer on the NHS. References
Further reading
Miele E, Spinelli GP, Miele E, Tomao F, Tomao S (2009). "Albumin-bound formulation of paclitaxel (Abraxane ABI-007) in the treatment of breast cancer". International Journal of Nanomedicine. 4: 99–105. doi:10.2147/ijn.s3061. PMC 2720743. PMID 19516888. Stinchcombe, Thomas E (2007). "Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel: a novel Cremphor-EL®-free formulation of paclitaxel". Nanomedicine. 2 (4): 415–423. doi:10.2217/17435889.2.4.415. ISSN 1743-5889. PMID 17716129. Gradishar, William J (2006). "Albumin-bound paclitaxel: a next-generation taxane". Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. 7 (8): 1041–1053. doi:10.1517/14656566.7.8.1041. ISSN 1465-6566. PMID 16722814. S2CID 12736839. External links
"Human albumin". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. "Paclitaxel". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.