DOCTORS AND EXPERTS AROUND THE WORLD CALL FOR URGENT ACTION TO PREVENT LIVER HEALTH CRISIS

Global Liver Institute’s Second Edition “Global State of Liver Health” Report Reveals Promising Opportunities

Washington D.C., Dec 13 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Liver Institute (GLI), the premier patient-led liver health nonprofit operating globally, released the second edition of its “Global State of Liver Health” report, now including 22 countries covering every region of the world. Following the impetus of the Liver Health is Public Health initiative, international experts drew attention to pressing opportunities for their respective governments to prioritize and improve liver health.

Liver disease continues to pose a heavy burden for the world and its health systems:

• Liver disease causes 2 million deaths per year around the globe.
• An estimated 1.5 billion people in the world have chronic liver disease – an increase of 13% since the beginning of the millennium.
• About 70% of liver cancer is preventable.
• Even rare liver diseases appear to be rising in prevalence; in Germany, for instance, prevalence has risen by around 30% in less than five years.

“Our continued exploration of the scope and scale of the impact of liver diseases gives us both pause and hope. Powerful human intellect has developed many innovative solutions,” noted GLI CEO Donna R. Cryer, JD. “Rather than let these solutions go to waste, it is now time to direct political will towards putting them into practice and ensuring the ability to achieve liver health – and overall health – around the world.” 

Strategies and technologies currently exist that can prevent liver disease or catch it early. However, putting these tools into practice can require financial investment, expert training, and often complex execution on a scale that necessitates government support. Several of the report’s expert advisors highlighted the policy opportunities and successes that might support liver health:

“We don’t have many tools currently to control tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and even the consumption of unhealthy diets in Vietnam,” shared Dr. Tung Pham, report advisor and lecturer /physician at Hanoi Medical University. “These are the second and third leading factors, so a tightening of standards, maybe raising taxes and implementing other promotional programs, will be essential.”

In contrast, a liberal treatment program that provided newly developed hepatitis C treatment to patients in Australia without many barriers has eliminated more than half of the viral disease throughout the country. As report advisor and leading hepatologist Dr. Simone Strasser noted in the report, several features brought about a successful program, including comprehensive training of primary care providers, minimal direct cost to patients, and local access to treatment.

National experts have identified the greatest threats to liver health in their communities. Now, those who care about liver health and its related conditions must urge their national leaders to prioritize and implement solutions.

The Liver Health is Public Health initiative is made possible thanks to the support of Sanofi and Salix Pharmaceuticals.

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About Global Liver Institute  

Global Liver Institute (GLI) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in the belief that liver health must take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with the prevalence and impact of liver illness. GLI promotes innovation, encourages collaboration, and supports the scaling of optimal approaches to help eradicate liver diseases. Operating globally, GLI is committed to solving the problems that matter to liver patients and equipping advocates to improve the lives of individuals and families impacted by liver disease. GLI holds Platinum Transparency with Candid/GuideStar, is a member of the National Health Council, and serves as a Healthy People 2030 Champion. Follow GLI on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube or visit www.globalliver.org. 

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ISF NET ESTABLISHES SINGAPORE OFFICE AS IT SEEKS TO STRENGTHEN IT TALENT IN ASIA

SINGAPORE and TOKYO, Dec. 7, 2023 /Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ --

- GLOBAL ISF PTE. LTD. to Bolster ISF NET, INC's Regional Presence and Support Its Ambitions in Global Expansion - ISF NET, INC., a leading Japanese IT services and staffing company, announced on December 7 the establishment of GLOBAL ISF PTE. LTD. in Singapore as it eyes greater business expansion in the Asian region. Logo: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107946/202312063901/_prw_PI1fl_0ynFt98s.jpg As part of its expansion into Singapore, ISF NET will invest approximately USD13.5 million (2 billion yen) in the venture, setting a sales target of USD20.3 million (3 billion yen) for the global business. The company aims to hire 150 employees by 2030 to bolster its support for clients in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia. With over two decades of industry experience and with offices in Japan, China and South Korea, ISF NET's entry into Singapore marks a significant step towards strengthening its position in Asia. More significantly, this move represents a strategic shift in ISF NET's focus of services from Japan to the global market. "As a renowned international talent hub, Singapore offers an ideal gateway for multinational companies aiming to grow in Asia," said Yukiyoshi Watanabe, President and CEO, ISF NET, INC. "I am confident that our foray into Singapore will further strengthen our presence in the region and empower clients with tailored IT infrastructure solutions to help them navigate and succeed in a region as diverse as Asia." Business Strategy in Singapore ISF NET's business strategy will focus on providing IT engineering HR support for companies in Singapore and recruiting Japanese-English and Korean-English speaking bilingual IT infrastructure engineers. The engineers will be hired from Singapore and other parts of Asia and will be staffed to IT infrastructure projects in Japan and Korea. "ISF NET's expansion into Singapore underscores our commitment to uplifting engineering talent across Asia through cross-border knowledge sharing. In tandem with this, we aim to foster a globally connected workforce and alleviate the hiring and skills challenges faced by our clients across Asia," said Kohei Wakamoto, Managing Director of GLOBAL ISF PTE. LTD. The company aims to address the increasing scarcity of IT talent in Singapore by growing its IT infrastructure-managed service business, IT talent recruitment and IT talent staffing business. This will connect local engineers eager to enhance their skills through overseas projects with companies which are actively seeking bilingual experts. By fostering collaboration with highly skilled engineers in Singapore and across Asia, ISF NET is committed to delivering advanced projects and cutting-edge technology solutions. As part of future initiatives, ISF NET aims to facilitate remote work for individuals who have relocated from overseas, fostering a flexible and globally connected workforce. In addition, ISF NET will focus on developing key partnerships with Japanese and Korean companies which are looking to expand in Asia but lack the know-how, resources and talent to do so. Leveraging its decades of experience in IT staffing solutions, ISF NET will support these companies in actively recruiting bilingual engineers to strengthen business partnerships within region. This will help solve challenges faced by these companies, namely the increased difficulty in hiring bilingual IT infrastructure engineers and alleviation of the additional burden on current employees. Across Asia, ISF NET will provide IT infrastructure services related to cloud, security, and networking, particularly for businesses facing challenges in their digital transformation journey related to human resources, skills, and environmental improvement.  http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=47723

THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION TRADITIONAL MEDICINE FORUM OPENED

NANCHANG, China, Dec. 4, 2023 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/-- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Traditional Medicine Forum opened in Ganjiang New District, Jiangxi Province on November 30, 2023, with the theme of "Inheritance and innovation, unity and cooperation, promoting high-quality development of traditional medicine industry".
 
Source: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Traditional Medicine Forum 

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BIOSKRYB GENOMICS APPOINTS GENOMICS INDUSTRY VETERAN RAM LAXMAN AS CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER

Ram Laxman brings executive leadership experience from 10x Genomics, Illumina, and Pacific Biosciences to expand BioSkryb’s international footprint

DURHAM, N.C., Nov 30 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- BioSkryb Genomics, a company transforming single-cell analysis by enabling the most complete multiomic view of the cellular ecosystem, from discovery to diagnostics, has appointed Ram Laxman, Ph.D., as Chief Commercial Officer. Dr. Laxman will lead sales and support, commercial strategy and operations, and marketing as BioSkryb continues to scale its global presence. He brings strong executive leadership experience and an extensive track record of building and scaling businesses at companies like 10x Genomics, Pacific Biosciences, and Illumina.

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Dr. Laxman joins BioSkryb from 10x Genomics, where he served as the President and General Manager, APAC. As the company’s first hire in APAC, he was instrumental in building 10x Genomics’ presence in the region. He established the Asian operational headquarters in Singapore, oversaw all aspects of the commercial business, managed a team of approximately 100 colleagues across offices in Singapore, Shanghai, and Tokyo, and scaled its APAC revenue to over $100 million.

“BioSkryb has developed a best-in-class DNA-informed single-cell multiomics portfolio that can provide a deeper understanding of the cell-to-cell genomic variability that is critical for the development of more precise and effective treatments for diseases like cancer,” said Dr. Ram Laxman, CCO, BioSkryb Genomics. “Having been at the forefront of genomics and single-cell sequencing, I believe BioSkryb’s technology offers the next big leap in advancing single-cell genomics. Integrated multiomics is the future, and BioSkryb’s technology will play a foundational role in the next decades in discoveries and diagnostics in the broader genomics market. I’m looking forward to scaling BioSkryb’s presence across the globe and driving our commercial pipeline to bring our technology to new users.”

Before 10x Genomics, Dr. Laxman was part of the very early commercial teams at Illumina and Pacific Biosciences. Dr. Laxman holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and served as a postdoctoral fellow with the eminent Professor Daniel Koshland at the University of California, Berkeley.

“We are excited to welcome Ram to our leadership team and know that his deep expertise in establishing and growing a solid presence for some of the most successful companies in the genomics space will allow us to exponentially increase our international footprint,” said Suresh Pisharody, CEO, BioSkryb. “This year, BioSkryb has experienced a strong growth surge in North America where our focus has been, and with Ram on board, we are poised to drive significant growth for the company and expand the footprint of our industry leading single-cell products globally in the years to come.”

Dr. Laxman’s predecessor, Reagan Tully, has been appointed Chief Business Officer of the organization, leading corporate, business, and market development functions, focused on expansion and adoption of the technology through key partnerships and collaborations across the industry.

These appointments reflect BioSkryb’s continued momentum in advancing single-cell analysis, including the launch of ResolveOME™, a revolutionary multiomic solution, and the first-of-its-kind BaseJumper™ platform for multimodal bioinformatics analysis. Additionally, BioSkryb recently announced a significant distribution agreement to expand its services offering across Singapore and Southeast Asia.

To learn more about BioSkryb, please visit https://www.bioskryb.com/.

About BioSkryb Genomics

BioSkryb Genomics is a rapidly growing organization that is transforming single cell molecular discovery and analysis. Through its single cell whole genome and whole transcriptome amplification tools, scientists and clinicians can gain an unprecedented view of the genome, transcriptome, and proteome within a single cell to better understand the drivers, mechanisms, and management of complex disease. The company is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. For more information, visit bioskryb.com. 

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AM BEST AFFIRMS CREDIT RATINGS OF LONPAC INSURANCE BHD

SINGAPORE, Nov 30 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of Lonpac Insurance Bhd (Lonpac) (Malaysia). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Lonpac’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

Lonpac’s risk-adjusted capitalisation is at the strongest level at year-end 2022, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and is expected to remain at this level over the near to medium term. Despite a high dividend payout ratio over the past five years (2018-2022), the company has demonstrated strong capital growth from retained earnings over this period. In addition, the company has a generally conservative investment portfolio comprising cash, bonds and debt-focused unit trust funds. However, Lonpac is viewed to have a moderate dependence on third-party reinsurance to enable the underwriting of large limit risks and to manage catastrophe exposure accumulation.

AM Best views the company’s operating performance as strong, as evidenced by its five-year average return-on-equity ratio of 28.3% and combined ratio of 67.5% (2018-2022). The company observed an uptick in claims activity in 2022 and the first 10 months of 2023 mainly due to easing of COVID-19-related movement restrictions in Malaysia. Underwriting margins for property and bond classes of business have benefited from low net loss experience and favourable reinsurance commission income over a number of years, which remain the key drivers of technical profitability. Investment returns continue to be a stable contributor to overall earnings. As of 31 October 2023, Lonpac’s operating performance remains favourable, driven by stable underwriting profit and investment performance. Whilst AM Best expects Lonpac to maintain its strong operating performance over the medium term, claims normalisation and reinsurance market hardening, as well as the ongoing phased liberalisation of motor and fire insurance pricing in Malaysia may constrain underwriting margins over the near to medium term.

AM Best views Lonpac’s business profile as neutral. The company is a mid-sized non-life insurer in Malaysia, with a market share of approximately 8%, based on 2022 gross direct premium. The company’s underwriting portfolio is diversified moderately by line of business, albeit with majority of business originating from Malaysia. Lonpac benefits from a long-standing relationship with Public Bank Berhad, which provides the company with preferential access to profitable property business through the banking channel.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Contact

Susan Tan
Financial Analyst
+65 6303 5023
susan.tan@ambest.com

Michael Dunckley, CFA
Associate Director
+44 20 7397 0312
michael.dunckley@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
al.slavin@ambest.com

Source : AM Best

VENTI TECHNOLOGIES FOUNDER & CEO BAGS 2023 WOMEN IN TECH GLOBAL START-UP AWARD

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- Venti Technologies, a leader in autonomous vehicle logistics for the global supply chain and industrial and logistics yards announced its Founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Heidi Wyle has won the 2023 Women in Tech Global Start-Up Award.

“I am honoured to receive the Women in Tech Global Start-Up Award on behalf of Venti Technologies. This year has been significant for Venti as we have grown our company with new funding and progressed into operational deployments.

“This recognition is a testament to our amazing team at Venti. As we look to the new year, I am excited about Venti’s continued journey of growth, collaboration, and innovation,” said Dr Wyle in a statement.

She added that all the women nominated for this award have made extraordinary strides, and she is thrilled to be among such incredible and inspiring leaders.

Dr Wyle has served on the Boards of MIT, the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Boston, and the Massachusetts Women’s Forum where she served as president.

Since Venti’s founding, she has successfully led the company through two funding rounds totalling US$37 million, and in the past year, has grown Venti from 18 employees to 103 as of June this year. (US$1=RM4.67)

The Women in Tech is a global non-profit organisation on a mission to empower five million women and girls in tech by 2030.

The Women in Tech Global Start-Up Award recognises a female-founded startup that has demonstrated exceptional innovation, growth potential and a positive impact on the tech industry, and awards were announced recently in a gala at the United Arab Emirates.

-- BERNAMA

APR ACHIEVES CONSOLIDATED SALES OF KRW 122 BILLION AND CONSOLIDATED OPERATING PROFIT OF KRW 21.7 BILLION IN Q3 2023

· Sales increased by 28.0% and operating profit surged by 72.7% year-over-year (YoY)


SEOUL, South Korea, Nov 27 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- APR Corp. (APR, CEO: Byunghoon Kim), a global beauty tech company, broke its record-high performance in Q3 2023.

APR disclosed on November 14 that it had consolidated sales of KRW 122 bn (approx. USD 94.8 mn) and an operating profit of KRW 21.7 bn (approx. USD 16.87 mn) in Q3 2023. APR’s revenue climbed by 28.0% year on year, while its operating profit increased by 72.7%.

On a cumulative basis, Q3 achieved record-breaking sales of KRW 371.9 bn and an operating profit of KRW 69.7 bn. Year-on-year, cumulative sales soared by 37.9%, while operating profit surged by an impressive 277%. Remarkably, Q3’s cumulative sales reached 94% of last year’s total sales (KRW 397.7 bn), and operating profit surpassed the total amount for the entire 2022 (KRW 39.2 bn).

APR’s beauty business, which grew by an impressive 37.4% year-on-year, played a pivotal role in driving its outstanding results. The combined growth of medicube cosmetics and medicube AGE-R beauty device has been particularly impactful. AGE-R, which sold around 600,000 units in total in 2022, witnessed a remarkable surge in demand, reaching 750,000 units in Q3 2023, marking a 46.8% year-on-year expansion. This success can be partly attributed to Booster Healer, an entry-level beautification device that has enjoyed consistent sales both domestically and internationally.

medicube cosmetics also achieved outstanding performance thanks to its products, including the best-selling Zero Pore Pad as well as the deep line and collagen line that create synergy effects with beauty gadgets. Other established beauty brands such as APRILSKIN, FORMENT, and GLAM.D Bio also showed solid performance, with an overall growth rate of 28.0% YoY in the cosmetics sector.

Overseas achievements are also noteworthy. Beauty gadgets drove the overall growth in international sales, which totaled KRW 56.1 bn in Q3, a 52.5% increase year on year. APR, which recorded overseas sales of KRW 82.6 bn in H1 2023, achieved a figure equivalent to 96.5% of the total overseas sales of KRW 143.7 bn in 2022 in just three quarters.

Byunghoon Kim, CEO of APR, said, “Starting in the third quarter of this year, our records are expecting to go through an upheaval in the beauty industry. We will focus ahead of time on strengthening corporate competitiveness through bold measures based on diversification of the global market.”

Meanwhile, APR aims to be listed on the stock market in H1 2024.

The CEO added, “As the listing schedule has materialized after submitting the preliminary review request last September, APR will make its utmost efforts to operate the company stably and systematically while preparing for the listing schedule.”

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Contact

APR Corp.
Joon Hur
communications@apr-in.com

Source : APR Corp.