Day: April 28, 2022

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Informa Pharma Intelligence and The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Launches Gene, Cell & RNA Therapy Landscape Q1 2022 Quarterly Data Report

New Report Highlights Key Industry Trends in Pharmaceutical R&D

NEW YORK, April 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Informa Pharma Intelligence, the global business intelligence provider for the biopharma industry, and The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT), today announced the launch of the Gene, Cell & RNA Therapy Landscape Q1 2022 Quarterly Data Report. The Q1 2022 report assesses industry trends by examining approved gene, cell and RNA therapies, the pharmaceutical pipeline by company, most targeted therapeutic areas, and an overview of recent dealmaking and start-up funding.

Notable findings from the first quarterly report of the year include:

  • FDA Approvals – Since Q4 2021, one new genetically modified cell therapy has been approved and one new gene therapy has filed for approval. Carvykti, a CAR-T cell therapy developed by Legend Biotech and Johnson & Johnson, was approved for multiple myeloma in the U.S. and EtranaDez (etranacogene dezaparvovec), an AAV5 gene therapy developed by uniQure, was filed for approval in the EU and UK for hemophilia B.
  • Gene Therapy Pipeline Growth – Since Q1 2021, the gene therapy pipeline has increased by 16% with 3,579 therapies in development, ranging from preclinical through preregistration. A total of 1,986 gene therapies (including genetically modified cell therapies such as CAR T-cell therapies) are in development, accounting for 55% of gene, cell and RNA therapies; and 816 non-genetically modified cell therapies are in development, accounting for 22% of gene, cell and RNA therapies.
  • Most Targeted Therapeutic Areas – Oncology and rare diseases continue to be the top areas of gene therapy development in both the overall pipeline (preclinical to preregistration) and in the clinic (Phase I to preregistration). Development for rare diseases most commonly occurs in the oncology space, representing a majority of 52% compared to non-oncology rare disease gene therapy pipeline development.
  • Deal Making – A total of 123 deals were signed, a 15% decrease in volume from Q4 2021. Q1 2022 was the lowest quarter total within the last year, and acquisition and alliance volume quarter by quarter remained flat, while financings continue to trend down. Acquisitions were the only type of deal to increase in Q1 2022.
  • Start-up Financing – Start-up financing by gene, cell and RNA therapeutic companies remained steady in Q1 2022. A total of 15 companies raised seed or Series A financing, totaling an aggregate $507.8M. The overall deal-making total across alliance, acquisitions and financings saw a 15% decline. In the largest start-up financing, Cellino Biotech, a Harvard University spin-out, raised $80M to support its large-scale production of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies.

“Since we started putting these quarterly reports together in Q1 2021, we have seen the gene therapy pipeline steadily increase. Oncology and rare disease remain the most targeted therapeutic areas, and we continue to see a strong pipeline for CAR-T cell therapies for cancer indications,” said Ly Nguyen-Jatkoe, PhD, Executive Director, Americas, Informa Pharma Intelligence. “Rare diseases continue to be a focus for RNA therapies.”

“The continued approvals of gene and cell therapies has turned into one of the brightest spots in releasing this report each quarter,” said David Barrett, JD, CEO, the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT). “With the approval of Carvykti in Q1 2022 and the ever-expanding pipeline, we’re exceptionally optimistic about the future of the field.”

All pipeline and trial insights were compiled using data from Pharma Intelligence’s Pharmaprojects™, and Trialtrove™, part of Citeline, which has been tracking global drug development since 1980. Deal, financing and catalyst data were derived from Biomedtracker™. For more information, or to view the current and past reports, visit Informa Pharma Intelligence or contact pharma@informa.com.

About The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT)
The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) is the primary professional membership organization for scientists, physicians, patient advocates and other professionals with interest in gene and cell therapy.

Our members work in a wide range of settings including universities, hospitals, government agencies, foundations, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. ASGCT advances knowledge, awareness and education leading to the discovery and clinical application of gene and cell therapies to alleviate human disease to benefit patients and society.

About Informa Pharma Intelligence
Informa Pharma Intelligence powers a full suite of analysis products — Datamonitor Healthcare™, Sitetrove™, Trialtrove™, Pharmaprojects™, Biomedtracker™, Scrip™, Pink Sheet™ and In Vivo™ — to deliver the data needed by the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry to make decisions and create real-world opportunities for growth.

With more than 400 analysts keeping their fingers on the pulse of the industry, no key disease, clinical trial, drug approval or R&D project isn’t covered through the breadth and depth of data available to customers. For more information, visit pharmaintelligence.informa.com

Media Contacts:
Diffusion PR for Informa Pharma Intelligence
informapharma@diffusionpr.com

Alex Wendland for The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT)
AWendland@asgct.org

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Unfavorable US views of China ‘at new high’: report

Negative views of China are growing among U.S. citizens, with around two-thirds of those surveyed in a recent poll considering China’s rising power and influence in the world a “major threat,” according to a new report released on Thursday.

A survey conducted at the end of March by the Washington-based Pew Research Center shows increasing levels of U.S. concern on a wide range of issues, including China’s economic relationship with the United States, China’s partnership with Russia, and growing tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Unfavorable opinions of China rose in the U.S. during the last year, with around 8 out of 10, or 82%, of the 3,581 adults surveyed reporting negative views, 40% of whom reported holding views described as “very unfavorable.”

“[This was] a 6-point increase in negative views from 2021 and a new high since the center began asking this question on its American Trends Panel in 2020,” Pew said in its report.

Most Americans still see China as a competitor rather than an enemy, by a 62% to 25% margin. Another 10% call China a U.S. partner, the survey said.

On economic issues, the United States should take “a tougher stance” against China rather than “strengthening the relationship,” more than half of the survey’s respondents said. Only 28% said the U.S. should “prioritize the economic relationship, even if it means ignoring human rights issues,” according to the report.

“These views have changed little in the last year,” Pew said.

china-honorguard-042722.jpg
Police stand at attention while a Chinese national flag is lowered at sunset at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in a file photo. Photo: AP

Seven out of 10 respondents to the poll said the U.S. remains the world’s strongest military power, with only two-in-10 saying China now holds the lead. “Still, the share who say China is the highest since the question was first asked in 2016 and has more than tripled from 6% who held that view in 2020.

“Americans have [also] become more concerned about the relationship between China and Taiwan,” the report said. “While 28% saw the tensions as very serious in 2021, 35% now consider cross-strait tensions a very grave concern.”

Of special concern to Americans responding to this year’s poll was China’s partnership with Russia, now fighting a war against its neighbor Ukraine.

“About six-in-10 say the relationship poses a very serious problem — 15 percentage points higher than the next highest response,” Pew said, noting that China recently voted against expelling Russia, which has been accused of serious war crimes in Ukraine, from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

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Low interest in events hailing North Korea’s warm relationship with Russia

While much of the Western world views Russia as a pariah state over its invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s autocratic government called on its people to focus on the Cold War comradeship it shared with its powerful neighbor and sponsor.

As part of the celebration to commemorate the 110th birth holiday on April 15 of Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), the country’s founder, North Korea published a photo book promoting solidarity with Russia and its lost Soviet Union empire.

“The Great Years of North Korea and Russia” encourages readers to relive the relationship much like a family photo album does, only in this case the focus is on Kim Il Sung’s friendship with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

“The photobook emphasizes North Korea’s friendship with Russia,” an official from Pyongyang told RFA’s Korean Service April 18 on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The book was displayed at the exhibition halls for the Day of the Sun celebration in Pyongyang from April 8th to the 18th. … It is a photo book of 219 pages of propaganda.”

Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un, was born on April 15, a major holiday now known as the “Day of the Sun.”

The book was on display at three exhibition halls in Pyongyang, including the one that hosted the celebration’s opening ceremony, according to the source.

But North Koreans, many of whom are struggling under dire economic circumstances largely due to trade restrictions related to COVID, did not seem interested in reliving past glories, even as they were forced to attend celebratory events, sources said.

“Only the officials from the Propaganda and Agitation Department, and workers from the publishing house attended the opening ceremony the first day. But the exhibition hall was quiet because the number of visitors was small from the next day,” the source said.

“Only a few copies of the booklets were displayed, and copies were distributed as e-books instead, so that reduced the effectiveness of the propaganda,” the source said.

Authorities encouraged state-run organizations, universities and factories to send employees to the exhibition halls, but the people were less than enthusiastic about attending, he said.

“Residents who reluctantly visited the exhibition hall under the direction of their affiliated supervisors complained, questioning the intent in emphasizing the friendship between North Korea and Russia at this time,” the source said.

A resident of the city told RFA that authorities forced people to attend exhibitions that glorified Kim Il Sung, including the photobook exhibition, but actual turnout was lean because companies and organizations reported more attendees than they actually sent.

“The authorities are trying to emphasize the blood alliance with Russia and focus on promoting long-standing friendly ties,” he said.

“The Pyongyang citizens had no choice but to visit the exhibition emphasizing our friendship with Russia, but that does not change the people’s opinion on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” this source said.

The Kim Dynasty owes its early legitimacy to Soviet backing. Kim Il Sung led guerilla campaigns in and around the Korean peninsula against the occupying Japanese in the 1930s and 1940s, eventually earning the rank of major in the Soviet Army.

When Japan surrendered at the end of World War II, Stalin installed Kim as first secretary of the Korean Communist Party north of the 38th parallel, a position that enabled him to consolidate power and wage war on the South in 1950, largely with Soviet military equipment.

Soviet aid played a huge role in propping up the North Korean economy up until its collapse in 1991. The sudden cutoff of aid to the country, along with Kim’s death in 1994, resulted in a famine that killed millions of North Koreans.

Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whonng.

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Delphix Accelerates Growth, Profitability for Second Consecutive Year at Scale

Data Security, Compliance Drive Urgent Adoption of Delphix DevOps Test Data Management Platform

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Delphix, the industry leader in DevOps test data management (TDM), today announced closing fiscal year 2022 with a second consecutive year of accelerated revenue growth and profitability at a scale well over $100M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

With increasing activity from hostile nation states and ransomware gangs, companies around the world need a solution to automate and secure test data for enterprise applications. As a result, the company also reported 36% faster year-over-year growth of its large, enterprise customer base driven by increasing data risks.

Delphix’s growth comes as companies around the world continue to invest in innovative DevOps solutions to accelerate application delivery, modernize legacy infrastructure, and move applications across the multicloud. Delphix offers the only DevOps TDM platform that automates the delivery of secure, compliant data for test and development, enabling up to 10x faster innovation.

“Enterprise applications all need test data for fast, quality releases,” said Jedidiah Yueh, Delphix Founder and CEO. “But test data has traditionally been slow, complex, and filled with risk. Delphix helps companies like Banco Carrefour, The University of Manchester, and BNP Paribas release applications quickly while improving data security and compliance.”

Banco Carrefour in Brazil utilizes the Delphix DevOps Data Platform to accelerate application releases while ensuring data security and compliance with privacy regulations such as Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD). Delphix empowers development teams with 320x faster data availability for financial reporting and analytics, enables faster application releases, and helps save 70% on storage.

Delphix delivers an innovative API-first data platform that transforms application delivery with comprehensive data controls. By automating data delivery into test environments, Delphix helps software developers innovate faster while reducing compliance and security risk.

Delphix also helps companies recover faster from ransomware attacks by continuously protecting data and making historical data immutable.

“We selected Delphix, because we like the technology as a tool to move data efficiently from one place to another, to reconstruct, to travel to the past,” said Yves Caseau, Group Chief Digital & Information Officer at Michelin. “If we look at what we’ve done, we used Delphix to move data from our Exadata server legacy to community Linux servers to get more scalability and lower cost.”

“We are also using Delphix as a way to accelerate innovation and set up new test and development environments faster. We can get all the appropriate data very fast with a few pointers and a few clicks and have a virtual transfer of the data as opposed to a physical one,” Caseau added.

Test data management is a critical component of application development but is often slow and manual. The Delphix DevOps Data Platform enables teams to create, manage, and automate hybrid cloud-based data environments to support CI/CD pipelines and train AI/ML algorithms.

“Compliant test data is the lifeblood of DevOps and ensuring continuous access to it is key for enterprises to accelerate application delivery,” said Jim Mercer, Research Director of DevOps and DevSecOps at IDC. “With digital transformation becoming increasingly essential for enterprises to compete across today’s marketplaces, we continue to see the need for modern TDM solutions across multiple industries.”

Delphix Growth Highlights

Delphix also introduced multiple innovations across the company’s product offerings in last fiscal year, including:

About Delphix

Delphix is the industry leader for DevOps test data management.

Businesses need to transform application delivery but struggle to balance speed with data security and compliance. Our DevOps Data Platform automates data security, while rapidly deploying test data to accelerate application releases. With Delphix, customers modernize applications, adopt multi-cloud, achieve CI/CD, and recover from downtime events such as ransomware up to 2x faster.

Leading companies, including Choice Hotels, Banco Carrefour, and Fannie Mae, use Delphix to accelerate digital transformation and enable zero trust data management. Visit us at www.delphix.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.


Josh Harbert     
Chief Marketing Officer   |   Delphix
913.972.6180
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MMEX RESOURCES CORP. AND THE PROVINCE OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO ARGENTINA JOINTLY ANNOUNCE THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF A GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECT FROM WIND POWER IN RÍO GRANDE, PROVINCE OF TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ARGENTINA

FORT STOCKTON, TEXAS, April 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, the Province of Tierra del Fuego and MMEX jointly announce the potential development of a green hydrogen project in the Río Grande area.

The Governor of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Mr. Gustavo Adrian Melella, announced that, “MMEX, a North American company with operations in Texas USA with extensive experience in the implementation, financing and operation of energy infrastructure in Latin America and the USA, is evaluating a project for the production of 55 tons of green hydrogen with 160 megawatts of base wind power.”

Governor Melella added, “The excellent wind conditions in the Río Grande area, which allow efficient logistics and production and direct access to the sea, are the basis for MMEX’s entry into Argentine Patagonia. The final objective would be the implementation of a green hydrogen node destined to export to Europe and Asia. We welcome and support the participation of MMEX in Tierra del Fuego.”

Jack W. Hanks, the CEO of MMEX stated, “We are very excited to join the Government of Tierra del Fuego to plan this project. The global focus on renewable energy and the need to reduce the planet’s carbon footprint is at the core of Tierra del Fuego and MMEX’s strategy, drawing on MMEX’s green hydrogen expertise.”

Hanks added, “Since 1989, in Texas and Peru, MMEX has built and operated thermoelectric plants, oil and gas pipelines, oil refineries and ethanol plants. It has also explored and operated oil and gas fields. MMEX, in conjunction with Siemens Energy, recently completed a front-end engineering design study for the production of 55 tons per day of hydrogen for this project and its other projects in Texas. Hydrogen can be transformed into Ammonia or Methanol for global exports. It is estimated that the investment will be in the range of US $500 million, generating up to 1,500 jobs in the construction stage and 300 qualified and permanent jobs in the operation stage.”

Hanks further commented, “Siemens Energy is a leading manufacturer of electrolysis equipment that enables the transition to clean energy. MMEX has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa, one of the world leaders in the production of wind towers, which is associated with the realization of this project. This will allow defining the necessary wind turbine and the required land to implement a 160MW wind farm that supplies electrical energy to the Siemens electrolysers to produce hydrogen.”

Governor Melella added, “The province of Tierra del Fuego and MMEX have signed agreements on the exchange of technical information. This allows rapid progress in the preliminary assessment of wind potential.”

The provincial government, within its support for the development of renewable energy industries, welcomes initiatives that allow the sustainable use of Tierra del Fuego’s resources and reaffirms, as a government, its commitment to sustainable development, the preservation of the environment, investment and employment.

The following constitutes a “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements. These risks include but are not limited to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, our lack of revenues, general business conditions, the requirement to obtain significant financing to pursue our business plan, our history of operating losses and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports. In particular, readers should note MMEX undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Kristen Quinn
MMEX Resources Corporation
kristen@paigepr.com
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Philips and Prisma Health sign multi-year, long-term strategic partnership to innovate healthcare across the enterprise and unlock the power of patient data

April 28, 2022

South Carolina’s largest health system adopts Philips software solutions for patient monitoring and enterprise imaging, helping to drive interoperability and data analytics, and deliver on Quadruple Aim

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and South Carolina, USA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Prisma Health, South Carolina’s largest non-profit healthcare system, today announced they have entered into a multi-year agreement to help the health system achieve enterprise interoperability, standardize patient monitoring, and drive innovation in enterprise imaging solutions to enhance patient care and improve clinical performance. As South Carolina’s largest private, non-profit healthcare system, and second-largest private company, Prisma Health wants to deliver on the quadruple aim: improve patient and staff satisfaction, lower costs, and improve outcomes for all South Carolinians.

Prisma Health was formed in 2017 when Greenville Health System and Palmetto Health, two of South Carolina’s most highly regarded healthcare systems, came together as one organization. Today, Prisma Health has nearly 3,000 licensed beds and 18 acute care and specialty hospitals, as well as 270 physician practices servicing 21 counties. They treat over one million unique patients across their networks each year, including 368,000 virtual care visits, and just under half a million emergency department visits.

“When our two regional healthcare organizations merged, an enterprise-wide technology strategy became critical to standardize best practices across the whole system, creating new bridges between hospital and home care and continuing to drive innovation,” said Rich Rogers, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Prisma Health.  “At Prisma Health, we wanted to engage a partner to help us address data integration and unlock the power of patient data so that we are able to provide our patients with the best care anywhere in our service areas. We want to put the right tools into the hands of our clinicians to allow them to better share information, collaborate and help transform care for the communities we serve.”

With the Philips HealthSuite secure cloud platform at its foundation, Philips is committed to enterprise interoperability. Philips’ solutions portfolio includes real-time patient monitoring, therapeutic devices, telehealth, image management and informatics solutions including radiology and cardiology PACS, advanced visualization, vendor neutral archive (VNA) and Philips Enterprise Viewer – Vue Motion, and interoperability solutions, including the industry-leading Philips Capsule Medical Device Information Platform. Prisma Health will not only have access to these technologies, they will also be the largest installation of the Philips Enterprise Performance Analytics – Performance Bridge – analytics platform in North America. Performance Bridge gives healthcare professionals access to near real-time data on departmental performance through an easy-to-use interactive dashboard. Vendor agnostic, Performance Bridge unifies information across different imaging modalities and informatics solutions to optimize organizational efficiency, drive adherence to standards of care and facilitates additional revenue streams. Prisma Health plans to use Performance Bridge to drive innovation and monitor their delivery of quality healthcare.

“At Philips, we made a deliberate decision to create an end-to-end enterprise strategy that will help our customers overcome interoperability barriers and enable data sharing,” said Vitor Rocha, Chief Market Leader for Philips North America. “Health systems shouldn’t have to worry about integrating technology, which is why we have developed vendor-agnostic solutions based on standards and frameworks that bring together data from applications, systems, and devices. This allows our partners to focus on what is most important to them and their patients – continuously improving the patient journey and outcomes.”

Long-term strategic partnerships (LSPs) are a growing trend within hospitals and health systems to better manage the cost and complexity of their technology investments over a defined period of time, while expanding quality access to advanced medical care to improve patient outcomes. Philips is a leader in LSPs and continues to work with forward-thinking organizations like Prisma Health to develop standards, best practices, and predictive technologies that can redefine the future of healthcare.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Groves
Philips Global Press Office
Tel.: +31 631 639 916
E-mail: mark.groves@philips.com

Silvie Casanova
Philips North America
Tel.: +1 781 879 0692
E-mail: silvie.casanova@philips.com

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2021 sales of EUR 17.2 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Prisma Health
Prisma Health is a non-profit health company and the largest healthcare system in South Carolina. With nearly 30,000 team members, 18 acute and specialty hospitals, 2,947 beds and more than 300 outpatient sites with nearly 2,000 physicians, Prisma Health serves more than 1.5 million unique patients annually in its 21-county market area that covers 50% of South Carolina. Prisma Health’s goal is to improve the health of all South Carolinians by enhancing clinical quality, the patient experience and access to affordable care, as well as conducting clinical research and training the next generation of medical professionals. Visit PrismaHealth.org for more information.

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