News Hub | News Direct

Healthcare

Addiction Biotech Cannabis Genetics Healthcare Medical Devices Pharmaceutical Science Veterinary
Article thumbnail News Release

Legal & General Capital makes first U.S. investment, with seed capital for $4Bn platform to fund major life-science and technology assets across multiple regional U.S. markets

Legal & General

Legal & General Capital (LGC) today announced that it has formed a 50:50 partnership with U.S.-based real estate developer Ancora to create a real estate platform dedicated to driving life science, research and technology growth across the U.S. The deal will see Legal & General Capital investing an initial $500 million of seed capital to form a new company, Ancora L&G, LLC. Operating under the name Ancora, the business’ geographic focus will sit predominantly within emerging regional markets in the U.S. where early mover advantages are available. The new venture builds on the successful track record of Ancora’s team and the investing record of LGC in the UK, including over $5 billion currently committed to science and technology development projects at Oxford and Manchester universities. Ancora will be capitalized by LGC to deliver $4 billion (£3.2bn) of existing pipeline and planned acquisition and development activity over the next five years. To support future growth, LGC is seeking third party co-investment partners to accelerate scaling the portfolio. As with other LGC investments, LGC aims to finance longer term cashflows and use them to back Legal & General’s annuity business, providing better value for policyholders and greater options for investors. LGC has a strong track record of establishing and scaling up innovative businesses and has led the way in driving science and technology growth through its Bruntwood SciTech partnership, the UK’s leading developer of innovation districts. Bruntwood SciTech has quickly expanded over 11 UK locations, a model LGC will look to replicate across the U.S. Observed Laura Mason, CEO of Legal & General Capital, “Through our partnership with Ancora, we will be able to leverage Legal & General’s significant experience in the science and technology sector in a new international market with strong growth potential. Remaining committed to investing in the real economy to create a better society over the long term, for the first time we take this ethos to an international level beyond the UK’s town and city centers.” Legal & General Group currently manages over $1.8 trillion of assets globally and is increasing its presence in the U.S. for both equity and debt vehicles. Marking LGC’s first venture into the U.S., this partnership with Ancora forms an important part of its major growth strategy to deliver internationalization and attract third party capital. Notes Sir Nigel Wilson, Chief Executive of Legal & General Group, “While the U.S. is the world’s largest commercial real estate market, the lab real estate market in particular is one of the smallest sectors among other commercial U.S. asset classes. This lack of scale creates high barriers to entry for investors and has made it particularly challenging for tenants to grow due to scarcity of supply. LGC’s ability to access this opportunity via Ancora will set it apart from other sources of institutional capital seeking to participate in the market.” Ancora is a privately owned real estate firm based in Durham, North Carolina with team members in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, and Washington, DC. The firm acquires and develops real estate to serve high-growth science, technology, and innovation tenants in partnership with and proximate to leading U.S. anchor institutions. Core to Ancora’s program-first approach is undertaking development activity in direct partnership with anchor institutions such as universities, academic medical centers, government, and research institutes with whom they have strong and long-lasting relationships. This unique approach in the U.S. market resonates with the way LGC has looked to deploy capital through leveraging strategic partnerships to invest in socially and economically useful developments around the globe. Ancora L&G, LLC will be led by Josh Parker as Chief Executive Officer, alongside John Philipchuck as Chief Investment Officer, Jeff Kingsbury as Chief Connectivity Officer and Nicole Morrill as Chief Real Estate Officer. LGIMA’s Kristina St.Charles will move across from LGIMA as General Counsel and Legal and General’s Sujee Rajah, FCA ICAEW, will move across to Ancora L&G, LLC as its new Chief Finance Officer. Having qualified with Deloitte’s Assurance department, he has held various senior roles within the Legal & General Group, most recently as Group Investor Relations director. As part of its growth ambitions, Ancora will work closely with Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and its global client base as LGIM continues to expand its Real Assets expertise into the US market. Josh Parker, Chairman and CEO of Ancora L&G, noted, "Ancora's ability to deliver Real Estate for What’s Next that serves the needs of our anchor institution partners will be accelerated by this new venture with Legal & General. We can meet any anchor institution requirement with an experienced team and strong capital base aligned with the timelines and aspirations of universities, academic medical centers, government, and research centers.” He added, “Our team is excited to leverage the deep capital base of Legal & General and third-party clients to offer new investment options for our university partners, and we are eager to deliver activated districts of research and innovation that will enhance local economies across the United States. " At its Capital Markets Event at the end of last year, LGC set out plans to generate up to £600 million in profit from alternative assets by 2025, growing its alternative asset portfolio to £5 billion and generating returns of around 10 to 12 percent per annum, across its key focus areas of housing, small and medium-enterprise finance, specialist commercial real estate and clean energy. It is now looking at each of these sectors as part of its U.S. expansion. Laura Mason observed, “We see a strong alignment between our business strategy and Ancora’s strategy, with a commitment to investing long term in high-growth sectors and leveraging strategic partnerships to attract third party co-investment. As we look to grow our business at scale, we have major growth plans both in the UK and internationally, and this is just the start.” Notes to editors About Legal & General Capital Legal & General Capital (LGC) is Legal & General Group’s alternative asset platform, creating assets for Legal & General Retirement and third-party clients in order to achieve improved risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. LGC has built its market leading capabilities in a range of alternative assets, delivering depth of resource, track record and intellectual property. Investing in the real economy and creating alternative assets that deliver a tangible societal impact, its purpose is to invest society’s capital for society’s benefit. LGC’s investments have been vertically integrated and include residential property, specialist commercial real estate, clean energy, alternative credit, and venture capital. As LGC’s capability to create alternative assets continues to grow, it will not only continue to grow its balance sheet of alternative assets but also create alternative assets for third party investors. Many of these investors have the same aims, namely to create assets to back pensions with an improved yield or to create assets with strong growth prospects but with low correlation to equities. L&G has invested around £30 billion (about $37 million) in levelling-up regional UK economies, including through major regeneration projects in Cardiff, Newcastle and Salford. Legal & General recently made a commitment to enable all new homes across its portfolio to operate at net zero carbon emissions by 2030, including Legal & General Modular Homes, CALA Group, Legal & General Affordable Homes, Build to Rent and Later Living. The company has strong track record of investing in technology and life sciences with its Bruntwood SciTech venture, the UK’s leading developer of innovation districts, creating the specialist environments and innovation ecosystems for science and technology businesses to form, scale and grow. A 50:50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, Bruntwood SciTech provides high quality office and laboratory space and tailored business support, offering unrivaled access to finance, talent and markets, an extensive clinical, academic and public partner network, and a sector-specialist community of over 500 companies. Bruntwood SciTech has unique experience in creating and developing strategic partnerships with UK regional cities, universities, and NHS Trusts to drive economic growth through investment in science and technology infrastructure. Valued at over £600m ($750.4m), Bruntwood SciTech has now expanded over 11 UK locations with a portfolio of over 2.4m sqft including: - Alderley Park in Cheshire, the UK’s latest single-site science park and home to Cancer Research UK, Catapult and Evotec - £162.9m ($203.6m) - Melbourn Science Park in Cambridge - £52.8m ($66m) - Platform in Leeds - £44.8m ($56m) - Innovation Birmingham - £29.2m ($36.5m) - Manchester Science Park - £73.9m ($92.3m) - Citylabs 1.0 & 2.0 part of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) campus - £78.5m ($98.1m) - Circle Square Manchester - £205.7m ($257.1m) It has a further development pipeline of 5m sqft, which includes $260m Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, $1.8bn ID Manchester and $37m Glasgow’s Met Tower. Ancora Founded in 2019 by Josh Parker, with co-founders John Philipchuck and Jeff Kingsbury, Ancora is a privately owned real estate firm based in Durham, North Carolina with team members in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, and Washington, DC. The firm acquires and develops real estate to serve high-growth science, technology, and innovation tenants in partnership with and proximate to leading U.S. anchor institutions. Core to Ancora’s program-first approach is to undertake development activity in direct partnership with anchor institutions such as universities, academic medical centers, government, and research institutes with whom they have strong and long-lasting relationships. About Legal & General Group Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK’s leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with international businesses in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia. With over $1.4 trillion in total assets under management, Legal & General is the UK’s largest investment manager for corporate pension schemes and a UK market leader in pension risk transfer, life insurance, workplace pensions and retirement income. Contact Details Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com Company Website https://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/

May 25, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Slovenian Consortium and Elsevier establish transformative agreement

Elsevier

Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, has established its first transformative agreement with Slovenian ScienceDirect Consortium of universities, institutes and hospitals (Slovenian Consortium). The agreement will benefit the member institutions with access to Elsevier's extensive collection of journals on ScienceDirect, and enable their affiliated authors to publish their research open access in Elsevier journals. The cost of publishing open access is covered under the terms of the agreement which will run for three years until December 2024. Prof Gregor Majdič, Rector of the University of Ljubljana and President of the Slovenian Rectors’ Conference, stated that the new Slovenian research legislation is in line with the European Research Area trends, mandating immediate open access to scientific publications. Therefore, Slovenian research organisations are aiming for open access bibliodiversity and welcome transitional transformative agreements with academic publishers, as these would further promote openness of scientific publications. Prof Majdič said: “We look forward to expanded opportunities for open access publishing in Elsevier journals, made possible by the transformative agreement. This is in line with new important developments in scientific publishing and will help bridge the gap between scientists and the general public.” Miro Pušnik, director of Central Technical Library at the University of Ljubljana, said: “With this transformative agreement the Slovenian research organizations have ensured that needs of their researchers are met. The agreement provides a suitable infrastructure for open publications in accordance with the principles of the Horizon Europe program, the principles of cOAlition S (of which the Slovenian Research Agency is a member), and the principles of the newly adopted Slovenian research legislation. The new legislation includes strict requirements for open publication of all results from publicly funded research.”. The Slovenian ScienceDirect Consortium was founded in 2001 and represents sixteen public institutions across Slovenia. It is financially supported by the national research funder, the Slovenian Research Agency. Felix Haest, VP Sales Elsevier, said: "We are delighted to be working with the Slovenian Consortium. We are thrilled to have agreed to our first transformative agreement with them to ensure Slovenian researchers can access high-quality research and publish openly with Elsevier, enabling them to share their work globally." Elsevier aims to find the right solutions to meet the diverse needs of academic institutions, students, researchers, and funders worldwide while ensuring published research remains trusted and of high quality. Our approach with all customers is to understand their objectives and work with them to achieve these in an economically sustainable way while preserving the quality, integrity, and sustainability of the peer-review publishing system. As one of the fastest-growing open access publishers in the world, nearly all of Elsevier's 2,700 journals enable open access publishing, including 600 fully open access journals. We now support over 2,000 institutions globally to publish open access through transformative agreements. In 2021 Elsevier published 119,000 gold or pay-to-publish open access articles, an increase of more than 46% over 2020. For more on how Elsevier supports open access, please visit our website. About Slovenian ScienceDirect Consortium The Slovenian Consortium for Science Direct includes sixteen public institutions. The cooperation with Elsevier started in 2001. The transformative agreement is a result of a successful collaboration between the publisher and the consortium members. About Elsevier As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems. In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions, and funders. Elsevier employs 8,100 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, LCUA, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our 2,700+ digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our 40,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world. Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com Contact Details Elsevier Communications, UK Andrew Davis +44 7393 242466 andrew.davis@elsevier.com

May 23, 2022 03:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

New World-Class Treatment Center Announces $34 Million Investment in Pitt County, North Carolina.

Haven at Blue Creek

Haven at Blue Creek celebrated the ground breaking of their new Holistic Recovery Campus on Thursday, May 19 th. Nestled on a 250-acre land parcel, Haven at Blue Creek is the culmination of many years of work including the NC certificate of need application process and successful approval for the behavioral health program to proceed. Haven at Blue Creek received great support for this facility from many community members, local and statewide dignitaries that wrote letters of support to accompany the certificate of need requirements. Haven at Blue Creek is also grateful to the State of North Carolina and Pitt County for a $500,000 Building Reuse grant that will support this important project. Thoughtful planning and dedication are truly a testament to the power of the Balot family’s passion for providing these services to the Pitt County community. Haven at Blue Creek’s 75,000 square-foot facility will be home to 84 beds, a result of the Balot family’s vision and eager planning over the past five years. A local understanding and commitment is evident with a dedicated building team that includes: Erin Sterling-Lewis of Open Studio Design in coordination with Sal Lore and Steve Auger from AKA Architects; Civil Engineering led by Bryan Fagundus of ARK Consulting, and White Construction services provided by Eddie White, Project Manager Ryan Corbett and the rest of their team. Haven at Blue Creek is committed to significant community support offering employment, growth, education and future community partnerships within the community. From the outset of this project, the focus has been to align the best talent and resources to provide the community with a clinically excellent and safe place where recovery from behavioral health problems is possible for individuals and their families. The campus will create at least 80 new jobs and work hand-in-hand with community partners to support education and prevention on issues related to trauma, substance use/abuse and mental health disorders. Set to open in late 2023, Haven at Blue Creek intends to be a beacon for recovery for those in need in the community. “Prevention and education brought to the community and schools will be essential in keeping a keen eye on the growing addiction concerns we face,” says Haven at Blue Creek, President, Colleen Balot. “Taking care of our community, keeping them safe and informed, is important to our family and our children’s futures, and sound rationale for providing treatment services”. “Haven at Blue Creek is a genuine blessing for eastern North Carolina. Our families will be better off because of this facility,” said NC Senator, Don Davis. In a post covid environment, and a country-wide, soaring opioid crisis, Haven at Blue Creek recognizes the importance of active relationships to deliver substance use disorder education and prevention services for the local community. “Society says it’s too hard to have vision and dreams, but the Balots have a dream and vision to make the world a better place,” said Rich Zeck, Mayor of Simpson. He added “community is where each and every one of us work to make lives better for all of us. This work will serve not only this community, but the region and state beyond.” As a family owned and operated Holistic Behavioral Health Campus, the founders are long time Greenville residents. “We are committed to our community and taking care of those in need to create a path for wellbeing for people where they live, when they need it”, says, President and CEO Colleen Balot. Haven at Blue Creek will be both a peaceful and private campus, with ponds and wooded areas along the perimeter. Patients wanting treatment will have access to all levels of care in a secure and tranquil setting. The initial phase of the campus has begun, with a Spiritual Renewal Center and athletic facilities, including an Olympic-sized pool, already completed. The dream unfolds and this ground-breaking marks the additional construction and paves the way for the facility’s completion. Allen Thomas, Former Mayor of Greenville, and current Regional Administrator, Southeast United States for the Small Business Administration has this to say about the new campus: “We are very excited about the world-class behavioral health services coming to the Pitt County area that will augment our existing tertiary healthcare system. We have a substantial need in our community for the compassionate and intentional services that will be provided by Haven at Blue Creek. I applaud the exponential efforts put forth by Colleen and Rich Balot to secure and fund these much-needed services for our community.” Downloads: Renderings and photos of the Balot’s https://havenatbluecreek.com/press-release/ About Haven at Blue Creek Family-owned and operated by Rich and Colleen Balot, Haven at Blue Creek is a substance use disorder campus. Created from experience, dedicated to building a safe, supportive, and transformative space for others to find recovery, Haven at Blue Creek is being thoughtfully developed from the ground up with both best practices, and the needs of all individuals and families in Eastern North Carolina top of mind. Contact Details Douglas Marketing Group Kay Douglas +1 248-940-8004 kdouglas@experiencedmg.com Amanda Iera +1 313-571-1858 aiera@experiencedmg.com

May 19, 2022 05:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

LiveSpo: Spobiotic Research Center opens - A breakthrough solution for an antibiotic-free future

LiveSpo

HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach - 19 May 2022 - A Lancet publication in early 2022 reported that an estimated 5 million deaths are associated with antibiotic resistance every year [1]. Despite great efforts to call for a global fight against the alarming antibiotic resistance crisis for many years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not proposed a particularly effective solution to solve the problem yet. Spore Probiotics - a breakthrough solution for an antibiotic-free future Theoretically, besides antibiotics, probiotics can be used to inhibit and kill pathogenic bacteria. The University of California, Berkeley, in 2013 showed strong evidence from intensive studies that probiotics can be helpful for the treatment of acute diarrhoea within three days [2]. Even though three-day is still long compared to using antibiotics as an alternative, this would fuel more cutting-edge researches into probiotic products for the gradual replacement of antibiotics with superior advantages in terms of safety. In the International Scientific Conference on Probiotics 2019 held in Prague, the Czech Republic, LiveSpo COLON and LiveSpo SOS Spore Probiotics in liquid form, multi-strains, and high concentration from Viet Nam have drawn full attention from scientists worldwide thanks to their super durability and outstanding effects compared with traditional probiotic products. LiveSpo SOS products mainly show their helpfulness in prompt and effective treatment of acute diarrhoea caused by bacterial infections like antibiotics, especially in many cases of children when antibiotic treatment has failed. The results made a big splash at the conference and were broadcast by Vietnam Television (VTV). Spore Probiotics marks the breakthrough in gradually reducing human’s dependence on antibiotics. Launching a pioneering Spobiotic Research Center Given such a milestone, it’s crucial to conduct further in-depth research on spore probiotics, expand their functions, and find new applications in treating not only gastrointestinal diseases but also respiratory infections, ear infections, dermatitis, and gynaecological inflammation. This will then help to enable the gradual replacement of antibiotics. Therefore, with the establishment of the world's first Spobiotic Research Center on May 18, 2022, LiveSpo Global JSC hopes to be the driving force for more scientists to be interested in and develop Spore Probiotics as a solution toward An Antibiotic-Free Future. A brief introduction to the Spobiotic Research Center and LiveSpo Global LiveSpo Global, formerly known as ANABIO R&D, was founded in 2010, by a group of 3 founders, with proprietary technology developed by Dr. Nguyen Hoa Anh. After 15 years of studying and working in molecular biology at Tohoku University, Japan, Dr. Nguyen Hoa Anh returned to Vietnam in 2010. After months working around the clock, in 2013, the first commercial spore-based probiotics in water form was launched. This technology surpassed all the disadvantages of traditional probiotics: multi-strains, high concentration, resistant to temperature up to 80oC, and resistant to acid, even at pH2, the acid level in the stomach. In 2012, LiveSpo Global began to export its products to more than 20 countries in Europe, America, and Asia. In 2021, LiveSpo Global successfully attracted investment from Mekong Capital to speed up the realisation of its vision for an antibiotic-free future. LiveSpo Global‘s Spobiotic Research Center invests in modern machinery and equipment for in-depth research on microbiology, biophysics, biochemistry, molecular biology, and cells on Spore Probiotics. The establishment of the centre has realised Dr. Nguyen Hoa Anh's dream to contribute to his homeland and prove Viet Nam's capability for being recognised as a country with a considerable contribution to the invention of cutting-edge technology. [1] The Lancet (February 12 th, 2022). “Global Burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext [2] University of California, Berkeley (2013). “Probiotics” https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Probiotics.pdf Press conference upon the opening of the Spobiotic Research Center Time: 10:00 on May 18 th, 2022 Venue: No. 22 Lot 7.8 La Khe, Van Khe, Ha Dong, Ha Noi, Viet Nam Contact Details Media Contact huong.md@livespo.com Company Website https://livespo.com/en/

May 19, 2022 11:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

VinFuture Prize 2022 officially announces commencement of the pre-screening round

Vingroup

HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach – 19 May 2022 - On May 18 th, 2022 – The commencement of VinFuture Pre-Screening Round has been officially announced. Honoring the theme of “Reshaping and Reviving”, the VinFuture Prize has received a total of 970 nominations, submited by prestigious scientists and institutions from more than 70 countries in six continents for its second award season. Under this year’s theme, nominations are centered around important research works and inventions that can help revive the post-pandemic world by solving humanity’s most pressing challenges related to health and the food supply, the environment and sustainable energy, as well as the application of technology in all aspects of life. Currently leading in number of nominators is Asia with 34.6% of the total accepted nominators, followed by the Americas with 29.8%, Europe with 16.2%, and Oceania with 7%. Notably this year, Africa has 12.4% of the nominators, six times higher than its share in 2021. In terms of quality, 584 out of 2618 nominators of the VinFuture Prize’s second season are individual nominators from the top 2% of most-cited researchers in the world, and 37.1% are from the world’s top 500 universities and research institutions, such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University (U.S.A), University of Oxford (U.K.), Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University (China), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa), Cairo University (Egypt), and many other leading universities and institutions globally. The VinFuture Pre-Screening round consists of a rigorous evaluation process based on the highest international standards in order to ensure scientific integrity, fairness, and transparency. The VinFuture Pre-Screening Committee will assess the nominations according to a set of core criteria, which includes the degree of scientific or technological advancement, the level of impact on people’s lives, as well as the project’s scale and sustainability. Dr. Lê Thái Hà, Managing Director of the VinFuture Prize, shared, “ Witnessing the consequences of two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, VinFuture recognizes its role in contributing to, and promoting, the global process of post-pandemic revival, aiming ultimately for sustainable development. With the theme of “Reshaping & Reviving”, the VinFuture Prize 2022 has gathered leading scientists from a variety of science and technology fields from across the world to increase the number of multi-dimensional perspectives in the nomination evaluation process. From this, we hope to find scientific solutions to the world’s pressing problems, and to simultaneously inspire and disseminate the great values that science and technology can bring in different sectors to new countries and territories, particularly in vulnerable areas. ” With the official commencement of the Pre-Screening round, the 2022 VinFuture Prize has announced three additional scientists to join its Scientific Councils this season. Professor Dan Kammen from the University of California, Berkeley (U.S.A), the former Science Envoy for the U.S. State Department, one of the world’s leading experts in the field of energy, will be officially joining the VinFuture Prize Council from 2022. The two other new professors joining the VinFuture Pre-Screening Council for the second season include Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim – The 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Laureate, one of the Inaugural VinFuture Prize Laureates, and Professor Ermias Kebreab - the Director of the University of California, Davis World Food Center. Sharing his thoughts about his new role, Professor Dan Kammen said, “ I was especially impressed by VinFuture’s realistic message, as well as the mission of science and technology that has been disseminated through VinFuture’s humanitarian angle. I have high expectations for not only the quality, but also the applicability of the scientific nominations to real life. As a scientist who is dedicated to science for humanity, being able to participate in evaluating the nominations and choosing the scientific inventions and innovations to be the next Prize winners is a meaningful and enjoyable mission. ” The 2022 VinFuture Pre-Screening round takes place from May 18 th to late September, 2022 and aims to enable the Council to meticulously evaluate the most impactful and award-worthy works to proceed to the final round. VinFuture Prize Council: - Professor Sir Richard Henry Friend, FRS – University of Cambridge, UK, Millennium Technology Laureate in Physics 2010. - Professor Gérard Albert Mourou – École Polytechnique Palaiseau, France, Nobel Laureate in Physics 2018. - Professor Sir Konstantin (Kostya) S. Novoselov, FRS – University of Manchester, UK and National University of Singapore, Nobel Laureate in Physics 2010. - Professor Michael Eugene Porter – Harvard Business School, USA, creator of the theory "Competitive Advantage of Nations". - Professor Leslie Gabriel Valiant, FRS – Harvard University, USA, A.M. Turing Laureate 2010. - Dr. Padmanabhan Anandan – AI Matters Advisors LLC, USA. - Professor Jennifer Tour Chayes – University of California, Berkeley, USA. - Professor Pascale Cossart – Pasteur Institute of Paris, France. - Professor Van-Chi Dang – Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, USA. - Dr. Xuedong David Huang – Microsoft, USA. - Professor Dan Kammen – University of California, Berkeley, USA. - Professor Ha-Van Vu – Yale University, USA and VinBigdata Institute, Vingroup, Vietnam. VinFuture Pre-Screening Committee: - Professor Thuc-Quyen Nguyen - University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. - Professor Albert P. Pisano - University of California, San Diego, USA. - Professor Mônica Alonso Cotta – Institute of Physics “Gleb Wataghin”, University of Campinas, Brazil. - Professor Ngoc-Minh Do - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA and VinUniversity, Vietnam. - Mr. Akihisa Kakimoto - Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Japan. - Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim - CAPRISA Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa - Professor Ermias Kebreab - University of California, Davis, USA. - Professor Duc-Thu Nguyen - Rutgers University, USA. - Professor Alta Schutte - University of New South Wales and The George Institute for Global Health, Australia. - Professor Molly Shoichet - University of Toronto, Canada. - Professor Vivian Yam – The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. About the VinFuture Foundation: The VinFuture Foundation, established on December 20th, 2020 on the occasion of International Human Solidarity Day, is an independent, not-for-profit foundation initiated by Mr. Phạm Nhật Vượng, and his wife, Madam Phạm Thu Hương. The mission and vision of the Foundation is to create meaningful changes in the everyday lives of millions of people in the world. The core activity of the Foundation is awarding the annual VinFuture Prize to technological innovations that have already contributed or have the potential to contribute to the betterment of life for millions of human beings globally. The VinFuture Prize consists of four prize categories, of which the Grand Prize – with a value of US$3 million – is one of the largest annual global prizes, and three additional Special Prizes, worth US$500,000 each, are dedicated to Female Innovator(s), Innovator(s) from Developing Country(ies), and Innovator(s) with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields. In addition, the Foundation also conducts many activities to realize its mission, such as funding research, collaborating in academic development, and promoting STEM education. Contact Details Vingroup Media Contact v.nammh@vingroup.net

May 19, 2022 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

Green Cubes Technology Expands Executive Team

Green Cubes Technology

Green Cubes Technology, a leader in electrification and clean, connected, cost-effective power solutions, today announced four significant executive appointments to its leadership team - Ken Gregory as Vice President of Supply Chain and Procurement, Alan Forster as Vice President of Sales for Americas, Rita Faunce as Vice President of Sales Operations and Customer Experience, and Rocio Castellanos as International Controller. These executives join Ken Johnson, who was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) last year. The team will provide leadership to sales, supply chain, operations, manufacturing, and customer support functions for continued growth within Motive (including Ground Support & Materials Handling), Stationary (Telecom & Data Center), and Mobile (Industrial Automation) Power market segments. “We’re very pleased to add so many talented professionals to Green Cubes’ executive team,” said Keith Washington, CEO of Green Cubes Technology. “This reflects the rapid growth of the company, and the leadership that each of these individuals bring to the company will help us continue to lead the charge to electrification.” Mr. Gregory has a history of success with enterprise operations and transformation, customer experience, supply chain and channel/alliance sales across enterprise and consumer Information Technology, Education and Learning organizations. He has driven sustainable cultural and digital transformations in highly matrixed organizations resulting in increased revenue, enhanced customer confidence, organizational capability, and employee engagement. He brings over 25 years of core supply chain experience gained at IBM supporting its enterprise computer hardware segments. Mr. Gregory’s most recent experiences were at Pearson, a global leader in learning and education where he oversaw customer service and digital operations transformation. Mr. Forster is responsible for managing and accelerating Green Cubes’ pipeline and revenue growth while developing its channel and sales enablement programs. In his recent role as Sales Director for the company’s Telecom and Data Center business unit (operating as Unipower), he helped rebuild sales and channel relationships, managed consistent quarterly growth, and increased sales channel coverage during the global pandemic. By working diligently with the Unipower team, he doubled bookings and revenue during a global supply chain and transportation slow down. Ms. Faunce directs Green Cubes’ sales operations teams globally, drives its customer experience strategy, and will facilitate ownership of customer experience excellence. She has vast experience managing global teams in sales operations, customer service, and customer satisfaction with success in delivering customer facing programs that foster a spirit of transparency, continuous improvement, and mutual accountability in customer relationships. Ms. Faunce will implement continuous improvement plans, leverage customer insights and data, and work across multiple departments to ensure team members and leadership are aware of and dedicated to the goals of continuously improving the customer experience. Ms. Castellanos joins Green Cubes as a key member of the global finance and accounting team. She is responsible for the internal and external financial reporting of all Green Cubes affiliated entities outside the U.S. In her role, she will support the entities in financial reporting topics and bridge the information to the U.S. headquarters. She will focus on continuous improvement of processes and deliverables to enhance financial performance visibility across the entities, as well as act as a strategic business advisor for International Operations. Ms. Castellanos brings over 20 years of experience and has worked for various companies including PwC, Swiss Life and Daniel Swarovski Corp. The expansion of Green Cubes’ executive team follows the company’s announcement last year that it added a second 36,000 square foot domestic facility in Kokomo, Indiana, and expanded its product lines for Motive and Stationary Power to support accelerated growth in Material Handling and Telecom markets. The Kokomo facility is currently increasing its manufacturing throughput and is expecting a 150% increase in Motive Power shipments in 2022, relative to 2021. Additionally, Green Cubes previously announced that it established two new facilities in Europe and a Technology Center in Zurich, Switzerland. About Green Cubes Technology Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures safe and reliable electrification solutions that enable its OEM and enterprise customers to transition from Lead Acid and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to Lithium-ion battery power. Green Cubes utilizes proven hardware and software platforms to build the most reliable Lithium power solutions in its industries. With a global footprint across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality power solutions since 1986. More information at https://greencubes.com/. Contact Details Ray Young +1 512-633-6855 ray@razorsharppr.com Company Website https://greencubestech.com/

May 19, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

G Medical Innovations (NASDAQ: GMVD) Provides Update Regarding its Forecast for Q1 2022 Revenues

G Medical Innovations Holdings

Irvine, CA – May 18, 2022 – G Medical Innovations Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: GMVD) (the “Company”), today announced that it will not meet its forecast of $30 million in revenues for the first quarter of 2022. While the Company is still working on finalizing most of the revenue figures for the first quarter, the previously reported purchase orders received by the Company from McDade Products, LLC for 6 million co-branded LiveNow COVID-19 PCR Test Collection Kits (approximately $20 million in orders) have not materialized into revenues due to a slowdown of the pandemic in the US during the first quarter. Approximately $6 million of invoices have been submitted for payment, out of which $0.7 million has been received and another batch of claims of approximately $1 million is to be filed for payment. Further, the proposed budget for COVID-19 tests which has not yet been approved by the U.S. Congress creates further uncertainty as to revenue the Company expected to receive and recognize from sales of such tests in its testing centers. The Company plans to announce the final revenues numbers for the first quarter of 2022 as part of its financial results release for the first six months of 2022. The Biden administration has announced that it expects another outbreak of the pandemic as early as this fall with new variants and expects about 100 million patients, which we believe will increase the need for tests. About G Medical Innovations G Medical Innovations Holdings Ltd. is an early commercial stage healthcare company engaged in the development of next generation mHealth and telemedicine solutions and monitoring service platforms. The Company’s solutions and services can empower consumers, patients, and providers to better monitor, manage and improve clinical and personal health outcomes, especially for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease (or CVD), pulmonary disease and diabetes. The Company’s current product lines consist of its Prizma medical device (or Prizma), a clinical grade device that can transform almost any smartphone into a medical monitoring device enabling both healthcare providers and individuals to monitor, manage and share a wide range of vital signs and biometric indicators; its Extended Holter Patch System, a multi-channel patient-worn biosensor that captures electrocardiography (or ECG) data continuously, including its QT Syndrome Prolongation Detection Capabilities Patch. In addition, the Company is developing its Wireless Vital Signs Monitoring System (or VSMS), which is expected to provide full, continuous, and real time monitoring of a wide range of vital signs and biometrics. Its monitoring services include provision of Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (or IDTF) monitoring services and private monitoring services. Visit https://gmedinnovations.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, the Company is using forward looking statement in this press release when it is providing an update regarding its forecast for first quarter 2022 revenue in connection with the previously reported purchase orders, uncertainty of additional government funding for COVID-19 tests and the belief in an increased need for COVID-19 testing in the future. Because such actions deal with future events and are based on the Company’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on April 29, 2022, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, the companies undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. Contact Details G Medical Innovations Kobi Ben-Efraim, CFO +972 8-958-4777 service@gmedinnovations.com Company Website https://gmedinnovations.com/

May 18, 2022 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Article thumbnail News Release

Kadimastem Expands R&D Program to Include Multiple Sclerosis

Kadimastem

Kadimastem Ltd. (TASE: KDST), a clinical stage cell therapy company developing a treatment for ALS and a potential cure for diabetes, is expanding its R&D activity with the exploration of developing a treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Kadimastem remains on track to submit IND to the FDA before the end of 2022 to begin a multicenter clinical trial of AstroRx® for ALS in 2023 in the U.S. As part of this initiative, the company has signed a service agreement with Hadasit Medical Research Services and Development Ltd. Hadasit is the technology transfer arm of Hadassah Medical Center. It is well known for its partnerships with international companies and research institutions, and its success with groundbreaking medical developments that fill unmet market needs. Under the terms of the agreement, Kadimastem’s astrocyte cells, which comprise AstroRx®, the company’s flagship product for ALS, will be tested for their therapeutic potential for MS using a unique animal model in Professor Tamir Ben-Hur’s laboratory at Hadassah Medical Center. Professor Ben-Hur is the Director of Brain Medicine at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center and a pioneer and opinion leader in the field of clinical research in multiple sclerosis. If successful, the goal is to thereafter plan and conduct a clinical trial of AstroRx® for MS. "We are very excited about the expansion of the range of neurological diseases that astrocyte cells (AstroRx®) could be used to treat. The pre-clinical study that will be conducted at Professor Ben-Hur's laboratory is extraordinary. It’s a first-of-its-kind in the world to treat multiple sclerosis, " said Professor Michel Revel, Israel Prize Winner, Kadimastem Founder and Chief Scientist, and famous for his groundbreaking research that led to the development of the blockbuster drug Rabif for multiple sclerosis. Kadimastem CEO Asaf Shiloni said, “Expanding our R&D activity by conducting the ALS and the MS research in parallel enables us to provide maximum value for patients and investors alike. We are working diligently to move the ALS clinical program ahead. We also hope that AstroRx® will be the answer for the millions of MS patients for whom the usual method of treatment is ineffective. The use of AstroRx® cells, with their various mechanisms of action, may lead to an innovative regenerative treatment for the disease." About Kadimastem: Kadimastem is a clinical stage cell therapy company, developing and manufacturing "off-the-shelf", allogeneic, proprietary cell products based on its technology platform for the expansion and differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) into functional cells. AstroRx®, the Company's lead product, is an astrocyte cell therapy in clinical development as a treatment for ALS. IsletRx is the Company's second product in development. IsletRx is comprised of functional pancreatic islet cells intended to treat patients with insulin dependent diabetes. IsletRx demonstrated safety and efficacy in a proof-of-concept preclinical study. Kadimastem was founded by Professor Michel Revel, CSO of the Company and Professor Emeritus of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Professor Revel received the Israel Prize for the invention and development of Rebif®, a multiple sclerosis blockbuster drug sold worldwide. Kadimastem is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: KDST). Forward Looking Statement: This document may include forward-looking information as defined in the Securities Law, 5728 – 1968. Forward-looking information is uncertain and mostly is not under the Company's control and the realization or non-realization of forward-looking information will be affected, among other things, by the risk factors characterizing the Company's activity, as well as developments in the general environment and external factors affecting the Company's activity. The Company's results and achievements in the future may differ materially from any presented herein and the Company makes no undertaking to update or revise such projection or estimate and does not undertake to update this document. This document does not constitute a proposal to purchase the Company's securities or an invitation to receive such offers. Investment in securities in general and in the Company in particular bears risks. One should consider that past performance does not necessarily indicate performance in the future. Contact Details Kadimastem Sarah Bazak +972 73-797-1613 a.shiloni@kadimastem.com Company Website https://www.kadimastem.com/

May 18, 2022 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Image
Article thumbnail News Release

BreatheSuite Announces Latest Addition to Board of Directors

BreatheSuite

BreatheSuite Inc., a Canadian connected respiratory health company, today announced that Brad Fluegel officially joined the company’s Board of Directors. In his role, Fluegel will tap into his extensive digital health experience to provide feedback on how to support the company’s growth. “We welcome Brad to the BreatheSuite Board of Directors and look forward to leveraging his knowledge and experience in digital health as we continue to expand the BreatheSuite program,” said Brett Vokey, CEO of BreatheSuite. “We are excited to draw upon his background in commercial healthcare as we continue to work toward improving the lives of respiratory patients worldwide. Brad has exactly the experience we need to navigate the digital health ecosystem.” Before working as an advisor to healthcare organizations, entrepreneurs, and other participants in healthcare, Fluegel was most recently the senior vice president and chief healthcare commercial market development officer for Walgreen Co. based in Deerfield, Ill. He was responsible for all commercial healthcare activities, including sales and contracting, biopharma relationships, retail clinics, clinical affairs, new service development and market planning. Previously, he was chief strategy and business development officer for Walgreens, responsible for corporate strategy and business development. Prior to joining Walgreens, Fluegel served as executive in residence at Health Evolution Partners. Before that he was executive vice president and chief strategy and external affairs officer of Wellpoint (now Anthem), among the nation’s largest health benefits companies. While at Wellpoint, Fluegel was responsible for long-term strategic planning, government affairs, corporate communications including public relations, corporate marketing, corporate development, international expansion, innovation and new business ventures. Fluegel was senior vice president of national accounts and vice president, enterprise strategy at Aetna, Inc. In this role, he led the national accounts business and was responsible for developing and executing on strategies that expanded Aetna’s position as a leader in the large employer market. “I’m excited to join BreatheSuite, as digital healthcare has always been a passion of mine because of its ability to improve people’s lives,” said Fluegel. “I look forward to using my experience to help BreatheSuite achieve its mission to provide better, more transparent care for all people with asthma or COPD.” Fluegel is well versed in the complexities of business and healthcare and is also a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from the University of Washington. He serves on the Board of Directors of MJHS Health System in New York City, Performant Financial Corporation and Premera Blue Cross, among others. He was also on the board of Fitbit before its sale to Google in early 2021. Fluegel’s appointment to BreatheSuite’s Board of Directors comes on the heels of BreatheSuite’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Meshari F. Alwashmi, joining the Forbes Technology Council. The company also recently announced that it secured a spot on the inaugural Canadian Business New Innovators List. About BreatheSuite BreatheSuite is a Canadian connected health company empowering people with chronic respiratory conditions live longer, healthier lives. The BreatheSuite program incorporates a smart inhaler sensor designed to track and train proper inhaler usage, a BreatheSuite App to gamify getting Asthma & COPD under control, as well as health coaches to support patients wherever they are on their journey. BreatheSuite works with leading partners across North America to deliver better care to people with chronic respiratory conditions. For more information visit www.breathesuite.com or contact info@BreatheSuite.com. Follow us on Twitter, and LinkedIn Contact Details SVM Public Relations Erin O’Brien +1 401-490-9700 erin.obrien@svmpr.com Company Website https://www.breathesuite.com/

May 17, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

1 ... 184185186187188 ... 249