KP Assembly takes up entire agenda

Islamabad, January 10, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) transacted entire agenda on Monday and was later adjourned due to lack of quorum, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 30th sitting of 20th session:

Members’ Participation

The House met for two hours and 30 minutes.

The sitting started at 02:30 pm against the scheduled time of 02:00 pm.

The speaker presided over the proceedings for two hours and 20 minutes while the remaining sitting was chaired by a member of panel of chairpersons.

The deputy speaker did not attend the sitting.

The leader of the House (chief minister) was not present.

The opposition leader attended the entire sitting.

As many as 41 MPAs (28 percent) were present at the outset and 31 (21 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.

Parliamentary leaders of PML-N and ANP were present.

Three out of four minority lawmakers attended the sitting.

Output

Moved by the Minister for finance, the House passed the KP Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

Minister for labour introduced the KP Urban Areas Development Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

Tabled by the Minister for law, the House adopted a resolution suggesting the Federal Parliament to regulate the reforms through law or an amendment for setting up a coordinated and comprehensive National Disaster Management System.

Minister for finance presented report on 1st Biannual Monitoring on the Implementation of NFC Award (July-December, 2020).

Representation and Responsiveness

The House took up seven out of ten starred questions while the remaining three questions were lapsed due to absence of relevant lawmakers. In addition, lawmakers asked four supplementary questions.

Sponsored by a PML-N lawmaker, the Chair admitted an adjournment motion regarding non-implementation on minimum wages regulations.

The House took up two calling attention notices regarding non-payment of amount released for land of rural health center Sharingal in District Dir Upper and suspension of appointment letters of 481 nurses recruited under Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP).

A lawmaker debated an adjournment motion for seven minutes which was regarding missing record of Rs. 43 billion announced during last three fiscal years for merged tribal districts.

Order and Institutionalization

A PTI lawmaker pointed out the quorum at 04:52 pm following which the Chair ordered the bells to be rung for five minutes. The quorum was found incomplete upon counting and the House was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 02:00 pm.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ was available for the legislators, observers and the media.

Attendance of the lawmakers was not available for the observers and the media.

For more information, contact:
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)
FAFEN Representative
FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2211026
Fax: +92-51-2211047
Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188
Email: media@fafen.org
URL: www.fafen.org

Senate condoles deaths of tourists in Murree, Chairman’s brother 

Islamabad, January 10, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Senate did not take up its regular agenda on Monday to express condolence over the deaths of tourists visiting Murree and the younger brother of Senate Chairman who died in a road accident, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Members’ Participation

The Senate met for eight minutes.

The sitting started at the scheduled time of 03:00 pm.

The deputy chairman presided over the entire sitting.

The leaders of the house and the opposition attended the entire sitting.

The Prime Minister was not present.

As many as 21 lawmakers (21%) were present at the outset and 31 (31%) at the adjournment of sitting.

The parliamentary leaders of JI, PkMAP, PPPP, PTI and MQM attended the sitting.

Two out of four minority lawmaker were present.

Output

The House did not take up regular agenda appearing on `Orders of the Day’.

Order and Institutionalization

Two lawmakers spoke on points of order for two minutes.

The House was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 10:00 am.

Transparency

Orders of the Day was available to the legislators, observers and public.

Attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.

For more information, contact:
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)
FAFEN Representative
FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2211026
Fax: +92-51-2211047
Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188
Email: media@fafen.org
URL: www.fafen.org

Sri Lanka, UAE and Scotland triumph in latest ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup warm-ups 

Dubai, January 10, 2022 (PPI-OT):Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates and Scotland all recorded impressive victories as the warm-up matches for the 2022 ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup continued in the West Indies.

In Guyana, Sri Lanka notched a 128-run triumph over Ireland and Scotland were winners by 107 runs over Uganda, while the biggest win of the day came in St Kitts for UAE, as they were 250-run victory over Papua New Guinea.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s scheduled warm-up match against England was postponed due to delays in the Afghanistan squad obtaining the necessary visas to enter the West Indies.

The ICC U19 Men’s CWC starts on January 14, with all teams now entering the final stages of preparation.

Sri Lanka shine in shortened match

Despite overnight rain in Guyana shortening the match between Sri Lanka and Ireland to 43 overs per side, Shevon Daniel helped lead the Sri Lankans to an impressive 128-run victory.

Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl but opener Daniel attacked from the off as he scored 75 from 72 balls, including eight fours and a six.

Opening partner Chamidu Wickramasinghe being run out for five and No.3 Sakuna Liyanage being trapped LBW by pick of the Irish bowlers Nathan McGuire (2/40) couldn’t slow Daniel, who retired not out with the score at 122 for two.

The middle order picked up the slack from there as Sadisha Rajapaksa (22), Pawan Pathiraja (25) and Ranuda Somarathne (33) all had cameos to push the Sri Lanka total to 233 for seven from 43 overs – with three of the dismissals being run outs.

In response, the Ireland top order failed to build a foundation with Wickramasinghe clean bowling both opener Liam Doherty and captain Tim Tector to end with figures of two for seven from four overs before Wanuja Sahan (3/5) picked up the mantle to cheaply dismiss Philippus le Roux, Scott MacBeth and McGuire.

No.3 Joshua Cox was the lone source of Irish resistance as he resiliently made 44 from 86 balls but with wickets tumbling at the other end, there was little he could do to stop his side being dismissed for 105 from 31.4 overs – Jamie Forbes the last man out when he was bowled by Matheesha Pathirana for a duck.

The 128-run triumph was the perfect tonic for Sri Lanka as they continue preparations for a group that includes Australia, hosts West Indies and Scotland at the upcoming ICC U19 Men’s CWC.

UAE lay down a marker

United Arab Emirates impressed with both bat and ball as they recorded a dominant 250-run victory over Papua New Guinea in Basseterre.

Having lost the toss and been asked to bat, UAE opener Kai Smith set about punishing that decision with a brilliant innings of 145 that came off just 139 balls.

Smith plundered 19 fours and a six as he built three big partnerships with his top-order teammates, starting with an opening stand of 72 alongside Shival Bawa, before Bawa was caught by Malcolm Aporo off the bowling of John Kariko for 23.

Dhruv Parashar came to the crease and made 52 in a partnership of 133 before a third-wicket stand of 77 with Punya Mehra (41 off 25) took the UAE total towards 300.

Smith finally perished for 145 with just 13 balls remaining in the innings and the score on 298 before UAE took their final total up to 321 for five from 50 overs.

Their bowlers then capitalised on that mammoth target as Papua New Guinea were reduced to 22 for four, with Ali Naseer taking one for three with three maidens in a suffocating five-over spell, as fellow opener Nilansh Keswani (2/16) helped himself to a pair of wickets at the other end.

PNG opener Peter Karoho (14 from 18) and No.6 Christopher Kilapat (27 off 40) were the only batters to reach double figures as Aayan Khan’s three for ten helped skittle them for just 71 from 28 overs and seal a 250-run triumph.

Scotland impress to beat Uganda

Scotland may only have been a late replacement for New Zealand in the 2022 ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup but they signalled their intention to make some noise in West Indies with a 107-run warm-up win over Uganda.

Batting first, they posted a creditable total of 219 for nine from their 50 overs, with opener Charlie Tear steering the innings as he made 50.

In fact, Scotland received useful runs all the way down the order as Sam Elstone hit 29, Jack Jarvis contributed 33 before being run out and Charlie Peet added 26 late on.

The Ugandan bowlers did take wickets at regular intervals with Edwin Nuwagaba (3/29) and Juma Miyaji (2/30) doing most of the damage but the Scots still gave themselves a target to defend.

Uganda made a promising start with the bat, reaching 41 for none in the ninth over but would go on to lose all ten wickets for just 71 runs thereafter.

It was a run out that finally broke the opening partnership as Ronald Lutaaya departed for 17 before Oliver Davidson (3/14) dismissed three of the top five and another run out left them at 63 for five.

Scotland skipper Jamie Cairns went on to get himself a three-wicket haul for the concession of just 15 runs as Cyrus Kakuru (top scorer with 25), Pius Oloka (5) and Miyaji (2) all fell to the slow left-armer.

Nuwagaba was the last man out for five off the bowling of Lyle Robertson in a total of 112 as Uganda slipped to 107-run defeat in 31.2 overs.

Scores in Brief:

Sri Lanka Under 19s beat Ireland Under 19s by 128 runs, Providence Stadium, Guyana

Sri Lanka 233-7, 43 overs (Shevon Daniel 75 retired not out, Ranuda Somarathne 33; Nathan McGuire 2-40, Daniel Forkin 1-21)

Ireland 104 all out, 31.4 overs (Joshua Cox 45 not out, Scott MacBeth 11; Wanuja Sahan 3-5, Chamidu Wickramasinghe 2-7)

United Arab Emirates Under 19s beat Papua New Guinea Under 19s by 250 runs, Conaree Cricket Field, Basseterre, St Kitts

United Arab Emirates 321-5, 50 overs (Kai Smith 145, Dhruv Parashar 52, Punya Mehra 41; Barnabas Maha 1-33, John Kariko 1-40)

Papua New Guinea 71 all out, 28 overs (Christopher Kilapat 27, Peter Karoho 14; Aayan Khan 3-10, Adihya Shetty 2-10, Nilansh Keswani 2-16)

Scotland Under 19s beat Uganda Under 19s by 109 runs, Everest Cricket Club Ground, Georgetown, Guyana

Scotland 219-9, 50 overs (Charlie Tear 50, Jack Jarvis 33; Edwin Nuwagaba 3-29, Juma Miyaji 2-30)

Uganda 112 all out, 31.2 overs (Cyrus Kakuru 25, Ronald Lutaaya 17; Oliver Davidson 3-14, Jamie Cairns 3-15)

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

MeMed raises $93M to accelerate commercialization of its host immune-response product portfolio

MeMed raises $93M to accelerate commercialization of its
host immune-response product portfolio

MeMed BV® test recently cleared for use by US FDA to aid in distinguishing between bacterial and viral infection on the point-of-need platform MeMed Key®

HAIFA, Israel; BOSTON, MA; January 10th, 2022 – MeMed, a leader in host response technologies, today announces a $93 million private financing round, bringing total funding in the Company to over $200 million, including support from the U.S. Department of Defense and EU Commission. Funds will be used to scale up manufacturing, accelerate commercialization and expand MeMed’s pioneering host immune response product portfolio.

MeMed’s technology suite decodes the body’s immune response within minutes, providing physicians with important patient management solutions that tackle key clinical dilemmas. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted a landmark clearance for the use of the MeMed BV® test on the point-of-need platform MeMed Key®, to help healthcare providers distinguish between bacterial and viral infections in both children and adults. MeMed has also developed the MeMed COVID-19 Severity™ test for predicting severe outcomes in COVID-19 patients, which has been cleared for use in Europe.

The latest financing brings together new and existing investors including Horizons Ventures, Shavit Capital, Social Capital, La Maison Partners, Touchwood Capital, Caesara Medical Holdings, Union Tech Ventures, ClaI Insurance, Phoenix Insurance, Poalim Equity and Western Technology Investment.

Eran Eden, MeMed’s co-founder and CEO, said: “This new investment will enable MeMed to expand operations with a focus on the U.S. We are grateful to our investors for their support and will leverage the funds, the recent FDA clearance, and our growing network of partnerships to provide broad patient access to our technology, as well as expand our product portfolio of pioneering host response solutions.”

Patrick Zhang, Horizons Ventures, said: “We strongly believe that MeMed’s strategy of using host immune response technologies is a significant advance in the improvement of two major issues in healthcare today: the rise of antimicrobial resistance due to unnecessary prescription of antibiotics and effectively triaging patients infected with COVID-19. We look forward to playing a role in how MeMed, a category leader in this area, is transforming the way diseases are diagnosed and treated to improve patient healthcare across the globe.”

About MeMed
Our mission is to translate the immune system’s complex signals into simple insights that transform the way diseases are diagnosed and treated, profoundly benefiting patients and society. For additional information on MeMed, please visit http://www.me-med.com.

MeMed Contacts:
Media: Will Harris, VP Marketing, MeMed
pr@me-med.com

IR: Kfir Emmer, CFO, MeMed
kfir.emmer@me-med.com

Media Contacts:
Consilium Strategic Communications
MeMed@consilium-comms.com

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Nyxoah Provides General Corporate Update

Nyxoah Provides General Corporate Update

Transformational 2021 positions Nyxoah for further clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones in 2022

Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium – January 10, 2022, 7:00am CET / 1:00am ET – Nyxoah SA (Euronext Brussels/Nasdaq: NYXH)(“Nyxoah” or the “Company”), a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), today provided a general corporate update.

2021 Highlights

  • Implanted first U.S. patient in the DREAM IDE pivotal study in December 2020; there are currently 15 active and enrolling patient sites in the U.S., with implants expected to be completed in Q1 2022
  • Secured CE Mark MR conditional labeling for the Genio® system in January, ensuring that implanted patients can undergo full-body 1.5T and 3T MRI diagnostic scans
  • Raised $97.8 million in a Nasdaq initial public offering in July, successfully completing Nyxoah’s second IPO after previously raising $100 million in the September 2020 Euronext Brussels IPO
  • Granted U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe OSA and Complete Concentric Collapse (CCC) of the soft palate in September; engaged in sprint discussions with FDA regarding the IDE study for CCC patients in the U.S., which Nyxoah hopes to commence in the second half of 2022
  • Received expanded CE Mark indication to treat CCC patients in October, thus increasing Nyxoah’s total addressable market by at least 30% and thereby enabling patients not to have to undergo a Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) procedure prior to Genio® implantation
  • Made strong commercial progress in Germany after obtaining a dedicated DRG code in January
  • Obtained DRG coding in Switzerland in March and secured first revenue in Spain; submitted reimbursement files in other key European markets
  • Entered exclusive licensing agreement with Vanderbilt University in February to develop next generation neurostimulation technologies, specifically a stimulator focused on the Ansa Cervicalis, which innervates the palatoglossus and/or the palatopharyngeus muscle; this collaboration has thus far resulted in initial prototyping discussions, and Nyxoah expects to make further progress on this project in 2022
  • Appointed Loic Moreau as Chief Financial Officer effective January 1, 2022, replacing Fabian Suarez, who is pursuing a new opportunity as CEO of a startup MedTech company
  • Announced the appointment of Rita Johnson-Mills to the Board of Directors in August

“2021 was a transformational year for Nyxoah as we achieved several important clinical, regulatory, commercial, and financial accomplishments and set ourselves up for continued progress in 2022 and beyond,” said Olivier Taelman, CEO of Nyxoah. “On the clinical front, we announced that our BETTER SLEEP clinical trial achieved a statistically significant mean reduction in the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) from baseline to six months post implantation for the entire cohort as well as for the subgroup of patients with Complete Concentric Collapse (CCC) of the soft palate. We will be submitting the full data set for journal publication and look forward to discussing more fully once the data are published, hopefully in the first half of 2022. We are extremely encouraged by the data generated by BETTER SLEEP, which were used by our notified body DEKRA to expand our CE Mark indication to include CCC patients as well as by FDA in granting us Breakthrough Device Designation for the treatment of CCC patients in the U.S. We are also excited to partner with Dr. David Kent and his team at Vanderbilt University on the development of a next generation device that stimulates the Ansa Cervicalis, which Dr. Kent’s research suggests could be another effective way to treat OSA patients, and we look forward to advancing our work in creating a stimulator that leverages this novel approach.”

Mr. Taelman continued, “As we begin 2022, our primary clinical focus is on our DREAM U.S. IDE pivotal study in which patient enrollment and implants are well underway, and we still expect to complete our target of 134 implants by the end of Q1 2022. We continue to generate great enthusiasm from physicians and patients as we activate more sites and enroll more patients, and we are seeing implant rates accelerating as we move into the new year. We have also been encouraged by our sprint discussions with FDA regarding our IDE trial for CCC patients in the U.S., which we hope to commence in the second half of 2022. From a commercial standpoint, we have made tremendous progress in our key geographic markets, securing DRG codes in Germany and Switzerland, obtaining hospital reimbursement in Spain and awaiting reimbursement decisions in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries. Our commercial strategy centers on the concept of going deep as opposed to going wide; in other words, we want to focus our strategy on key Centers of Excellence with high levels of clinical expertise and patient care, large patient pools, and well-coordinated clinical and administrative infrastructures. This strategy, combined with our ability to treat CCC patients, has enabled us to gain meaningful market share in Germany, and we expect to exit 2022 as the market leader in that important country.”

Mr. Taelman concluded, “As proud and excited as we are of our significant accomplishments in 2021, we have our sights set much higher for 2022. Aiding our efforts is a strong balance sheet that we bolstered in July with close to $100 million raised in our Nasdaq IPO, less than one year after raising close to $100 million in our Euronext IPO in September 2020. This liquidity gives us ample flexibility to complete the DREAM study, conduct the ACCCESS study, invest further in our existing commercial operations, and begin to build out a U.S. commercial operation in anticipation of launch following FDA approval. We are extremely well positioned to execute on our clinical, regulatory, and commercial initiatives, and we look forward to providing further updates on our progress as the year unfolds.”

About Nyxoah
Nyxoah is a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Nyxoah’s lead solution is the Genio® system, a patient-centered, leadless and battery-free hypoglossal neurostimulation therapy for OSA, the world’s most common sleep disordered breathing condition that is associated with increased mortality risk and cardiovascular comorbidities. Nyxoah is driven by the vision that OSA patients should enjoy restful nights and feel enabled to live their life to its fullest.

Following the successful completion of the BLAST OSA study, the Genio® system received its European CE Mark in 2019. Nyxoah completed two successful IPOs: on Euronext Brussels in September 2020 and NASDAQ in July 2021. Following the positive outcomes of the BETTER SLEEP study, Nyxoah received CE mark approval for the expansion of its therapeutic indications to Complete Concentric Collapse (CCC) patients, currently contraindicated in competitors’ therapy. Additionally, the Company is currently conducting the DREAM IDE pivotal study for FDA and US commercialization approval.

For more information, please visit http://www.nyxoah.com/

Caution – CE marked since 2019. Investigational device in the United States. Limited by U.S. federal law to investigational use in the United States.

Forward-looking statements 
Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company’s or, as appropriate, the Company directors’ or managements’ current expectations regarding the Genio® system; planned and ongoing clinical studies of the Genio® system; the potential advantages of the Genio® system; Nyxoah’s goals with respect to the development, regulatory pathway and potential use of the Genio® system; the utility of clinical data in potentially obtaining FDA approval of the Genio® system; and the Company’s results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, performance, prospects, growth and strategies. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities are not guarantees of future performance and should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. In addition, even if actual results or developments are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. No representations and warranties are made as to the accuracy or fairness of such forward-looking statements. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person’s officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Contacts:
Nyxoah
Loic Moreau, Chief Financial Officer
corporate@nyxoah.com
+32 473 33 19 80

Jeremy Feffer, VP IR and Corporate Communications
jeremy.feffer@nyxoah.com
+1 917 749 1494

Gilmartin Group 
Vivian Cervantes
IR@nyxoah.com

 

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