Day: July 24, 2023

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Curia expands biologics capabilities with access to Touchlight’s doggybone DNA

Curia collaborates with Touchlight to expand its mRNA manufacturing offering to enable access to enzymatic doggybone DNA (dbDNA™)

ALBANY, N.Y. and HAMPTON, United Kingdom, July 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Curia, a leading contract research, development and manufacturing organization, and Touchlight, a company pioneering enzymatic DNA production, today announced an agreement which will provide Curia and its clients a streamlined means of access to Touchlight’s doggybone DNA (dbDNA). The arrangement expands Curia’s mRNA manufacturing offerings with an additional differentiated source of DNA raw material that is immediately available to be accessed by Curia customers. Under the arrangement, Touchlight will directly manufacture dbDNA on behalf of Curia’s customers.

“Curia remains committed to strengthening our biologics offerings and end-to-end mRNA manufacturing capabilities,” said Christopher Conway, President of R&D, Curia. “With the addition of enzymatic DNA through our partnership with Touchlight, our customers will have a critical advantage in terms of scalability and speed to market.”

Touchlight’s dbDNA is a linear, double-stranded, covalently-closed DNA vector. DNA serves as the template for making mRNA therapies. Through a simple enzymatic process called in vitro transcription, genetic information is copied from DNA to mRNA. This mRNA is then able to teach the cells to make precise proteins that are used to treat or prevent diseases. Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA is produced with a cell-free enzymatic process that offers unmatched benefits in speed, quality and capacity when compared to traditional plasmid DNA production.

Karen Fallen, CEO, Touchlight commented: “We are delighted to work with Curia in order to further expand access to dbDNA as a critical starting material. Working in parallel with fellow CDMOs is a key component of our focus upon enabling broad market access to dbDNA. Curia is building a comprehensive mRNA solution, and this arrangement enables both companies to extend their offering to a wider audience.”

Touchlight’s dbDNA is a novel solution that is widely applicable and versatile, advancing Curia’s mRNA manufacturing capabilities as a complement to its bioprocessing-grade plasmid offering.

About Curia

Curia is a leading contract research, development, and manufacturing organization providing products and services from R&D through commercial manufacturing to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers. Curia’s nearly 4,000 employees at 29 locations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia help its customers advance from curiosity to cure. Learn more at CuriaGlobal.com.

About Touchlight

Touchlight is a privately-owned CDMO based in London, U.K., focused on providing DNA services and manufacturing enzymatically produced doggybone DNA (dbDNA™) to enable the development of genetic medicines. Touchlight provides rapid, enzymatic DNA development and manufacturing for all advanced therapy production, including mRNA, viral and non-viral gene therapy, and DNA API. dbDNA is a minimal, linear, covalently closed structure, which eliminates bacterial sequences. Touchlight’s revolutionary enzymatic production platform enables unprecedented speed, scale, and the ability to target genes with a size and complexity that is impossible with current technologies. Clients can be supported from pre-clinical through development and supply to licensing and tech transfer for use in-house.

Curia Contact Information:
Viana Bhagan
+1 518 512 2111
corporatecommunications@CuriaGlobal.com

Touchlight contact information:

Karen Fallen, Chief Executive Officer
Robin Bodicoat, Head of Marketing
E: info@touchlight.com
T: +44 20 8481 9200

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8879177

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OPEN Health announces a new team of experts will lead its HEOR & Market Access Scientific Office

London, UK, July 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OPEN Health, a global provider of consultancy, HEOR and market access, and scientific communications services, today announced a new team of experts will lead its HEOR & Market Access Scientific Office. This expert team will be led by Dr. Elisabeth Fenwick as Chief Scientific Officer with support from Professor Ben van Hout as Scientific Founder.

Both Elisabeth and Ben joined OPEN Health through its acquisition of Pharmerit International. Elisabeth Fenwick is most widely known for working on the cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC), creating the cost-effectiveness acceptability frontier, and for her work in value of information analyses for research decisions. She has over 20 years of experience in the industry and has published more than 50 publications globally. Ben van Hout is most commonly known for being one of the co-founders of the EQ-5D (a standardized measure of health-related quality of life) and as the developer of the CEAC. He was also one of the first researchers to perform a discrete event simulation and is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He has over 35 years of experience in the industry and was honored with the ISPOR Avedis Donabedian Outcomes Research Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

“The purpose of the Scientific Office is to ensure that science is at the center of everything we do. Our scientific experts are here to support the HEOR and market access team with their amazing research developing innovative solutions.” Elisabeth commented.

The Scientific Office is made up of experts who bring unique skillsets from across OPEN Health’s HEOR & market access service areas. The appointed team consists of Maarten Treur, MSc, Vice President and Global Head of Modeling & Meta-Analysis; Dr. Viktor Chirikov, Director of Real‑World Evidence & Data Analytics; Dr. Marco Boeri, Director of Preference Research in Patient-Centered Outcomes; and Emanuele Arcà, MSc, Senior Research Consultant in Strategic Market Access. Craig Bennison, MSc, Executive Director and Global Innovation Lead for OPEN Health HEOR & Market Access, will also join the team and will focus specifically on innovation.

“Over the last few years, the scientific contributions and leadership of these experts have played instrumental roles in shaping our reputation and research efforts, working in partnership with our clients to improve health outcomes and patient wellbeing,” said Richard Jones, President of OPEN Health Evidence & Access. “This team will ensure our scientific expertise, thought leadership, and innovation stay front and center of our HEOR and market access offering.”

To learn more about the team of experts in the Scientific Office, please explore this interactive publication.

About OPEN Health

OPEN Health unites deep scientific knowledge with wide-ranging specialist expertise to unlock possibilities that improve health outcomes and patient wellbeing. Working in partnership with our clients, we embrace our different perspectives and strengths to deliver fresh thinking and solutions that make a difference. OPEN Health is a flexible global organization that solves complex healthcare challenges across HEOR and market access, medical communications and creative omnichannel campaigns. For more information on OPEN Health, visit www.openhealthgroup.com.

Candice Subero
OPEN Health
candicesubero@openhealthgroup.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8878752

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Chairman Pakistan People’s Party and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari extends heartiest congratulations to entire nation on Pakistan’s victory in World Junior Squash Championship 2023

Karachi, July 24, 2023 (PPI-OT): Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has extended heartiest congratulations to entire nation on Pakistan’s victory in the World Junior Squash Championship 2023.

According to the statement issued by Media Cell Bilawal House, Chairman PPP has also extended his best wishes to Hamza Khan, the teenager player who led Pakistan to victory in the championship, saying: “Well done, Hamza Khan! You have raised the flag of Pakistan in the world of sports through your brilliant performances. May you always continue to shine the name of our beloved motherland like this.”

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the victories in the World Junior Squash Championship 2023 and the ACC Men’s Emerging Cup 2023 against India reflect the indomitable spirit and determination of our new generation.

For more information, contact:

PPP Media Cell (Sindh)

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)

Peoples Secretariat Shikarpur Colony,

Behind Mazar-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Karachi, Pakistan

Cell: +92-305-3370383

Email: contact@ppp-tu.com

Website: https://www.ppp.org.pk

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There are speculations regarding caretaker set-up, there was no consultation with the People’s Party on any name for the caretaker prime minister

Karachi, July 24, 2023 (PPI-OT): (Pakistan People’s Party leaders Sherry Rehman and Faisal Karim Kundi have said that there are speculations regarding the caretaker set-up, there was no consultation with the People’s Party on any name for the caretaker prime minister, it is being given the impression that the People’s Party has agreed on the caretaker prime minister, the People’s Party has established a parliamentary committee in this regard, there is fake news about the caretaker prime minister, speculations should be avoided, all parties should have a level playing field in the election, inshallah agree on a name. It will be done, but it will take time. According to the constitution, the elections should be held within 60 to 90 days. Elections should not be affected by the census.

Speaking at the press conference along with media coordinator Nazir Dhokhi, Sherry Rehman said that there are speculations regarding the caretaker setup, there has been no consultation with the People’s Party for the caretaker prime minister. But the People’s Party has agreed, neither a name has been shared with us nor has any consultation been made, a neutral person should be named for the caretaker government, this is not a decision of one or two parties, it is a consultative constitutional process, it is fake news about the caretaker prime minister. No name has been finalized from our side, the People’s Party has established a parliamentary committee in this regard, they will consult for the consultative process, speculations should be avoided.

He has repeatedly demanded that while the leadership of PP has always talked about holding elections on time and within the constitutional framework, all parties should have a level playing field in the elections, the rules and regulations of the Election Commission have been put forward, inshallah a name will be agreed upon, but it will take time. Bhutto Zardari has given women ownership rights of houses, we are working on empowering women according to the manifesto, while tourists should avoid going to landslide areas during monsoon rains. Faisal Karim Kundi said that Sindh government has given 5000 women ownership rights of houses, our target is 20 lakh houses, if we had governments, similar projects would have been made in other provinces, if we are successful, Sindh-like projects will come forward. He said that fake news was spread about caretaker prime minister yesterday, the name of Ishaq Dar has not come to us till today, whatever name is decided, it will be by consensus, the assembly will complete its term, elections will be held in 60 days, but if the coalition parties want, then elections can be held in 90 days.

Be made, our police are protecting us by sacrificing their lives. Faisal Karim Kundi said that 652 employees out of 678 employees have been promoted in the Benazir Income Support Program. In response to a question, Sherry Rehman said that the Prime Minister will consult the opposition leader after consulting the coalition parties in which a consensus will be reached on the name of the Caretaker Prime Minister. Yes, the former government took a loan of 70 years in three and a half years while cancelling the agreement with the IMF.

But a consensus will be reached. There was no talk about taking caretaker prime minister from the federal cabinet, we are in favor of a neutral setup, the previous government took a loan of 70 years in three and a half years while canceling the agreement with the IMF. But a consensus will be reached. There was no talk about taking caretaker prime minister from the federal cabinet, we are in favor of a neutral setup, the previous government took a loan of 70 years in three and a half years while cancelling the agreement with the IMF.

For more information, contact:

PPP Media Cell (Sindh)

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)

Peoples Secretariat Shikarpur Colony,

Behind Mazar-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Karachi, Pakistan

Cell: +92-305-3370383

Email: contact@ppp-tu.com

Website: https://www.ppp.org.pk

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Second phase of Engro Cricket Coaching Project commences from Wednesday

Lahore, July 24, 2023 (PPI-OT): The second phase of the second edition of the Engro Cricket Coaching Project under the PCB Pathway Cricket Programme will commence from Wednesday, 26 July in Lahore and Muridke. Like the first phase, five coaches will be involved in the second phase which consists of 55 U19 players. The second phase of the cricket clinic will run concurrently in Lahore’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) and Muridke Country Club (MCC) from 26 July to 10 August.

Local coaches along with Australia’s Geoff Lawson, New Zealand’s Scott McLaren (strength and conditioning coach), United Kingdom’s Gordon Parsons and Julien Fountain and Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu will work with the U19 players. South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs was part of the first phase for a week and worked with U13 and U16 players at both NCA and MCC. Earlier, in the first phase, which ran from 10 to 24 July, 25 U13 players featured in Lahore’s NCA from 13 to 24 July, while 37 U16 players took part in the programme at the Muridke Country Club from 10 to 24 July.

The eligibility criteria for the U19 players is 1 September 2004.

27 U19 players reporting at NCA (National cricket Academy):

Adeel Mushtaq (Multan), Afaq Khan (Mardan), Ali Hamza (Mandi Bahauddin), Ali Hassan Baloch (Lahore), Awais Ali (Gujranwala), Awais Raheem (Karachi), Ch Shujah (Abbottabad), Farhan Yousaf (Lahore), Hafiz Usman Nadeem (Lahore), Haroon Arshad (Karachi), Husnain Majid (Rahimyar Khan), Inamullah (Sahiwal), Mohammad Danish (Muzaffargarh), Mohammad Nabeel (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Tayyab Arif (Sialkot), Mohammad Usman (Mianwali), Mohammad Zeeshan (Faisalabad), Momin Qamar (Faisalabad), Muhammad Ismail (Sahiwal), Naveed Ahmed Khan (Karachi), Saad Baig (Karachi), Saad Masood (Rawalpindi), Salman Ahmed (Pakpatan), Sameer Ahmed Minhas (Multan), Shamraiz Khan (Pishin), Ubaid Shahid (Lahore) and Yahya Shah (Hyderabad)

28 U19 players reporting at MCC (Muridke Country Club):

Abidullah (Rawalpindi), Afkar Durrani (Dir Lower), Ahmed Hussain (Peshawar), Ali Raza (Sheikhpura), Ali Zoraiz Asif (Lahore), Arsalan Ali (Islamabad), Fahad Amin (Karachi), Hamza Nawaz (Bahawalnagar), Haseeb Nazim (Multan), Ikramullah Tareen (Quetta), Jawad Ali (Charsada), Mohammad Ansarullah (Peshawar), Mohammad Aqib Asghar (Vehari), Mohammad Irfan (Khyber Agency), Mohammad Shan (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Shoaib (Peshawar), Mohammad Tahir (Mohmand Agency), Mohammad Zubair (Peshawar), Mohammad Zulkifal† (Charsada), Mohsin Ali (Hub), Qurban Ali (Chaman), Riazullah Khan (Dir Upper), Shahmir Nisar Khan (Islamabad), Shahzaib Khan (Mansehra), Syed Tayyab Hussain (Karachi), Taha Masood (Rahimyar Khan), Usman Ghani (Quetta) and Wazdan Khan (Karak)

For more information, contact:

Media Manager,

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 54600, Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-5717231-4

Fax: +92-42-5711860

Website: www.pcb.com.pk

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Fed. Minister for education to inaugurate academic block established with Saudi funding at IIUI

Islamabad, July 24, 2023 (PPI-OT): Federal Minister for Education Rana Tanveer Hussain will inaugurate the Academic and examination Block at International Islamic University (IIU) that is established with the Saudi funding to facilitate the students as per international standards.

The inauguration ceremony will be held today (Tuesday) at 12 o’clock in the New Campus. The ceremony will be attended by well-known social personalities, eminent journalists and University President Dr. Hathal Homoud Alotaibi.

Meanwhile, in the light of President IIUI’s vision of providing best educational facilities to the students and solving their problems on priority basis, the committee constituted by him met here at the New Campus to review issues like SOPs to solve the problems of students and training of officials. Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Zafar Iqbal presided over the meeting. In the meeting of the committee, the solution of the problems of the students in the newly formed modern block, its inauguration and other issues were also considered. At the end, the Chair of the committee directed the three committee heads to submit their reports on next Tuesday, to finalize the action plan in this regard.

For more information, contact:

Public Relations,

International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI)

Room No.118, Admin Block, New Campus,

H-10 Sector, Islamabad, Pakistan

Tel: +92-51-9019249

Fax: +92-51-9257909

Email: iiuipublicrelations@iiu.edu.pk

Website: www.iiu.edu.pk