Vaccine for Zika starts human testingWASHINGTON — A vaccine for the Zika virus is to begin human testing after getting the green light from U.S. health officials.Inovio Pharmaceuticals said Monday it received clearance from the FDA to begin early-stage safety tests of its DNA-based vaccine. The National Institutes of Health is expected to begin testing its own DNA-based Zika vaccine by early fall. Inovio’s vaccine is intended to prime the immune system to fight Zika by introducing genetically-engineered material that mimics the virus.

Patent challenging process upheldWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the process for challenging invalid patents, making it easier for companies to fight so-called patent trolls.The justices were unanimous in backing the legal standard used to cancel patents by a new appeals board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.Congress created the board in 2011 over concerns federal officials were issuing too many patents and fueling the rise of patent trolls — companies that buy up patents and force businesses to pay license fees or face litigation.

Former Volkswagen CEO investigatedBERLIN — German prosecutors are investigating former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and another unnamed executive over allegations they didn’t inform investors soon enough about the company’s scandal over cars rigged to cheat on U.S. diesel emissions tests.German stock market law requires publicly traded companies to alert investors as soon as they have unforeseen developments that could affect a decision to buy or sell the stock. Prosecutors said Volkswagen only made that notification on Sept. 22, and that there was evidence that the disclosure obligation should have been fulfilled earlier.