CaribPR Wire

International accreditation recognizes exceptional standards of quality and patient care. Baptist Health International is proud to have supported ImSan to reach this significant milestone in Aruba

MIAMI, July 21, 2023 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ – Baptist Health International partner in Aruba, Instituto Medico San Nicolas (ImSan), has earned hospital accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI). Globally recognized as the gold standard in healthcare quality and patient safety, JCI accreditation signifies ImSan’s commitment to providing exceptional medical care, adhering to rigorous international standards, and continuously striving for excellence. ImSan is the first hospital in Aruba and the Dutch Caribbean, as well as the fourth in the entire Caribbean region, to receive this prestigious recognition.

To obtain the accreditation, ImSan underwent a five-day on-site review in June. A team of JCI reviewers evaluated compliance with hospital standards across various areas, including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and individual rights and responsibilities. In addition to their own observations and interviews, the reviewers conducted patient tracers, which followed patients through the course of their care while receiving services.

With its multidisciplinary team of medical experts, Baptist Health International, part of Baptist Health South Florida, offered comprehensive advisory services, assessments, training, and readiness support to ImSan in preparation for the JCI survey.

“We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Rajnherc and the ImSan team on its remarkable achievement of obtaining Joint Commission International accreditation. Through our long-standing partnership, ImSan has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence in healthcare,” said Rogelio E. Ribas, M.D., corporate vice president of Baptist Health International. “This accreditation is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire ImSan team. We are proud to be part of ImSan’s journey and look forward to continued collaboration in advancing healthcare excellence in Aruba and the Dutch Caribbean region.”

Baptist Health International has had a relationship with ImSan for more than 10 years, providing consulting services and guidance throughout various expansion projects. These include the construction and relocation of the dialysis department; the completion of three operating rooms; the opening of the medical surgery area; the construction and launch of Aruba’s first radiation oncology unit, in collaboration with Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute; and the design and construction of the facility’s new central energy plant. Baptist Health International also facilitated the renovation of ImSan’s Eye Center and Clinic, Emergency and Radiology departments, building lobby and support areas.

“With continuous support and inspiration from our partners at Baptist Heath International, we embarked on our journey to excellence. Striving for excellence in healthcare is like reaching for the stars should you only reach the moon you have already made a giant leap forward,” said Joel Rajnherc, director of ImSan. “Achieving JCI accreditation is the ultimate testimony to the success of that journey.”

This accomplishment reinforces ImSan’s position as a trusted healthcare provider that is dedicated to delivering top-quality services to all its patients and positions the hospital as a leading healthcare institution in the region.

About Baptist Health International
Baptist Health International is one of the largest hospital-based international programs in the United States, with more than 13,000 international patient visits at Baptist Health facilities from the Florida Keys to Palm Beach County. Baptist Health International is dedicated to providing comprehensive, high-quality services for international physicians and their patients, including hospital admissions, outpatient medical exams, medical second opinions and physician consultations, as well as concierge services. For more information, please visit https://baptisthealth.net/international-services.

For more information on Baptist Health International’s collaborations and advisory services, please visit https://baptisthealth.net/international-services/international-healthcare-professionals/international-collaborations or email [email protected]

About Miami Cancer Institute
Miami Cancer Institute brings to South Florida access to personalized clinical treatments and comprehensive support services delivered with unparalleled compassion. No other cancer program in the region has the combination of cancer-fighting expertise and advanced technology — including the first proton therapy center in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the only radiation oncology programs in the world with each of the newest radiation therapies in one place — to diagnose and deliver precise cancer treatments that achieve the best outcomes and improve the lives of cancer patients. The Institute offers an impressive roster of established community oncologists and renowned experts, clinical researchers and genomic scientists recruited from the nation’s top cancer centers. Selected as Florida’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer (MSK) Alliance, Miami Cancer Institute is part of a meaningful clinical collaboration that affords patients in South Florida access to innovative treatments and ensures that the standards of care developed by their multidisciplinary disease management teams match those at MSK. For more information, please visit https://cancer.baptisthealth.net/miami-cancer-institute.

Miami Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health Cancer Care, the largest cancer program in South Florida, with locations from the Florida Keys to the Palm Beaches.

About Baptist Health South Florida
Baptist Health is the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 12 hospitals, more than 27,000 employees, 4,000 physicians and 200 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosciences. The organization includes Baptist Health Medical Group, Baptist Health Quality Network and Baptist Health Care On Demand, a virtual health platform. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to its faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has been recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit BaptistHealth.net/Newsroom and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Instituto Medico San Nicolas
Instituto Medico San Nicolas (ImSan) is a 22-bed medical facility for hospital care located in San Nicolas, Aruba. Specializing in the treatment of patients with chronic noncommunicable disease, its services and support areas include an emergency department, three operating rooms and medical surgery department, a diabetic center, a full-service eye center and clinics, dialysis, radiology, radiation oncology, pharmacy, central sterile and the ambulance operations for the island. For more information, please visit https://www.imsan.aw/

About The Joint Commission
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve healthcare for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

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CARIBPR WIRE, BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 13, 2023: In response to two World Health Organization (WHO) evaluations of aspartame, one of the most thoroughly researched ingredients in the world, released today, the International Sweeteners Association (ISA) applauds the WHO’s reaffirmation of aspartame’s safety by its leading scientific body responsible for evaluating the safety of food additives, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). These conclusions are consistent with the findings of over 90 global food safety agencies who have confirmed aspartame’s safety, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), that has reviewed aspartame twice, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“JECFA has once again reaffirmed aspartame’s safety after conducting a thorough, comprehensive and scientifically rigorous review” said ISA Secretary General Frances Hunt-Wood. “Aspartame, like all low/no calorie sweeteners, when used as part of a balanced diet, provides consumers with choice to reduce sugar intake, a critical public health objective.”

As part of its comprehensive assessment, reconfirming the safety of aspartame, JECFA examined IARC’s conclusions and found no concern for human health. Importantly, IARC is not a food safety body and its 2B classification does not consider intake levels nor actual risk, making an IARC review far less comprehensive than the thorough reviews conducted by food safety bodies like JECFA and potentially confusing for consumers.

To put this in context, IARC’s 2B classification puts aspartame in the same category as kimchi and other pickled vegetables. IARC would be the first to say that they don’t suggest people should stop using kimchi at meals.

As part of an overall healthy diet and lifestyle, aspartame can be used to further public health objectives on sugar intake reduction and ultimately assist in weight and diabetes management, as well as with dental health.

ENDS

RESPUESTA A LAS REVISIONES DEL ASPARTAMO DE LA ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DE LA SALUD

CARIBPR WIRE, BRUSELAS, July 13, 2023: En respuesta a las dos evaluaciones del aspartamo, uno de los ingredientes más exhaustivamente estudiados del mundo, por parte de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) publicadas hoy, la Asociación Internacional de Edulcorantes (ISA) aplaude la reafirmación de la OMS sobre la seguridad del aspartamo por parte de su destacado organismo científico responsable de evaluar la seguridad de los aditivos alimentarios, el Comité Mixto de Expertos en Aditivos Alimentarios (JECFA) de la FAO/OMS. Estas conclusiones son coherentes con las conclusiones de más de 90 agencias de seguridad alimentaria de todo el mundo que han confirmado la seguridad del aspartamo, incluidas la Autoridad Europea de Seguridad Alimentaria (EFSA), que ha revisado el aspartamo dos veces, y la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de Estados Unidos (FDA).

“El JECFA ha vuelto a reafirmar la seguridad del aspartamo después de llevar a cabo una revisión exhaustiva, completa y científicamente rigurosa”, afirma la Secretaria General de la ISA, Frances Hunt-Wood. “El aspartamo, como todos los edulcorantes bajos en calorías/sin calorías, si se usa como parte de una dieta equilibrada, ofrece a los consumidores la posibilidad de reducir la ingesta de azúcares, un objetivo fundamental de salud pública”.

Como parte de su completa evaluación, que reconfirma la seguridad del aspartamo, el JECFA examinó las conclusiones de la Agencia Internacional para la Investigación del Cáncer (IARC) y no ha encontrado ningún motivo de preocupación para la salud humana. Es importante destacar que la IARC no es un organismo de seguridad alimentaria, y que su clasificación 2B no toma en cuenta los niveles de ingesta ni el riesgo real, lo que hace que la revisión de la IARC sea bastante menos completa que las exhaustivas revisiones realizadas por organismos de seguridad alimentaria como el JECFA, y que pueda confundir a los consumidores.

Para poner esto en contexto, la clasificación 2B de la IARC sitúa al aspartamo en la misma categoría que el kimchi y otros vegetales encurtidos. La IARC debería ser la primera en aclarar que no está sugiriendo que la gente deba dejar de tomar kimchi en las comidas.

Como parte de una dieta y un estilo de vida general saludables, el aspartamo puede ser útil para promover los objetivos de salud pública de reducción de la ingesta de azúcares y, en definitiva, ayudar en el control del peso y el tratamiento de la diabetes, así como con la salud bucodental.

FIN

Innovation born from Anguillan ingenuity has earned seven USPTO utility patent awards since the pandemic, showing that even in challenging times, human creativity and determination know no bounds.

CARIBPR Wire, The Valley, Anguilla, Tues. May 23, 2023: Dr. Hughes, an Anguillan plastic surgeon has co-invented a method for unassisted robotic surgery at the quantum scale. Far from being a play on words, the invention aims to eliminate human error from one of medicine’s most ambitious and intricate skills – surgery. The surgical innovation represents the second patent for Hughes in the month of May, a noteworthy achievement, considering that only 13% of issued patents are awarded to doctoral scientists and engineers, and multiple patent grants are even rarer. Technology and societies evolve with innovation, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced anatomic imaging, and programmatic processes have advanced substantial over the last decade. While surgical advancements have historically lagged, this latest invention is positioned to transform the field of microsurgery, enabling techniques to operate at the atomic scale, well beyond the limits of human dexterity and traditional surgical instruments. This invention, entitled “Unassisted Robotic Surgery Employing Paramagnetic Halo Metallofullerenes as Minimally Invasive, Precision Scalpels or Micronization Particles through Magnetic Field Manipulation and Targeted Exenteration Patterned by Programmed 3D Imaging Using Needle or Magnetic Energy Access and Microelectronic Semiconducting in Non-stationary Wafer-less Space” addresses the complexities and challenges of human biology, encompassing minuscule glands, intricate anatomic pathways, microscopic neuroanatomy, and nanoscale pathophysiology (Patent No. 11,653,984). Dr. Hughes, a board-certified plastic and general surgeon, envisions early utility of this breakthrough as a potential cure for chronic dry eye disease, which affects nearly half of the population due to clogged eyelid glands. The innovation could redefine the limits of surgery and patient care, enabling treatment of previously untreatable conditions and unlocking new possibilities for challenging procedures that have been hindered by the limitations of human hands and macroscale surgical instruments, such as deep brain surgery. Hughes Medical Center offers a comprehensive suite of procedures using a healthcare model that features both local and visiting specialists that deliver globally recognized care. Their diverse and dynamic practice of physicians from the West Indies, United States and Europe foster deep connections with Anguillan patients, providing exceptional care alongside intellectual engagement.  In addition to this patent accolade, Dr. Hughes has two additional inventions under review that focus on weight loss and malnutrition mitigation and stunting in children. His motivations towards these major health challenges are regionally charged, as childhood stunting affects nearly 30% of the population in nearby Haiti while antithetically 20% of children in this same population experience obesity. Dr. Hughes emphasizes the importance of fostering innovation in the West Indies. “Our West Indies family of nations must break from our economic past by using our creativity and hardscrabble environment as inspiration and motivation. Our most favored competitive asset is our endemic abilities, and we must teach our children to read, first and foremost, and secondly, fuel our kids with STEM education.” Dr. Hughes went on to explain the need for local manufacturing of inventions in the Caribbean, highlighting that high technology factory floorspace requirements are significantly smaller for innovations like the upcoming malnutrition solution and cure for stunting. He cited a previous invention for mitigating STDs and UTIs, explaining that the atomic scale matter required to meet annual global demand would only fill up a kitchen cabinet or two, showcasing the potential for the region to become a hub for advanced manufacturing. In 2023, Anguilla emerges as a hotspot for innovation and invention, propelling the region to new technological heights and industrial possibilities. This resurgence harkens back to the days of the “sea island cotton era” and the first resident cottonseed removal gin, now proudly displayed at the Anguilla Heritage Collection Museum in the East End. The cotton gin, once a significant capital investment equivalent to purchasing multiple homes, highlights the historical importance of Anguilla’s cotton yield and its role in British textile industry dominance. The island’s rich industrial past also includes the Sombrero phosphate mines, which employed 130 Anguillan workers and produced the fertilizer that replenished the depleted soils in the U.S. Southern States following the American Civil War. This vital contribution helped save the war-weary, hungry, and disheveled population from starvation. Although the lucrative mineral lease payments made directly to the war-depleted UK crown coffers have never been formally acknowledged or credited, they remain an unforgettable part of Anguilla’s ancestral legacy. EDITOR’S NOTE: A photo of Dr. Lowell for use with this article is available HERE CAPTION: Dr. Lowell Hughes, an Anguillan plastic surgeon has co-invented a method for unassisted robotic surgery at the quantum scale.

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CONTACT: Terry Earl Brady Principle at A.T. Research Partners Email: [email protected] Phone: +1-336-217-5163 Address: PO BOX 1639, The Valley, AI AI-2640, British West Indies SOURCE: AT Research Partners [www.atresearchpartners.com]

Risk Mitigation of Infectious Disease Transmission from Incidental and Intimate Contact Using Atomic Scale Molecular Disruption and Biocidal Halo-fullerenes Delivered via Topical, Flushing and Enteral Mechanisms,

US Patent No. 11,638,720; May 2, 2023.

CARIBPR WIRE, The Valley, AI / May 02, 2023 / During COVID-19 havoc, Anguillan inventors worked to prevent hospital acquired infections (HAIs), but also broadly, urinary tract (UTIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). These biocides are atomic scale matter without mutagenic consequence or antibiotic microbial resistance (AMR). Atomic scale reactions kinetically destroy viral, bacterial, and fungal species.  Atomic physics prevents interference with anatomy and cell biology. Utilities are presurgical sterilizing scrubs, injections, phlebotomy or IV therapy as preventive measures against HAIs. The UTI epidemic (million cases a day) was disturbingly newly identified by eating meat and paradoxically colonizing the urinary tract. An aqueous suspension using diuresis renal flushes may prevent colonization including STDs.

Every government house understands microbe infections as the leading cause of untimely deaths, sepsis, and forecasted to become the leading cause of “all deaths”. Sepsis is overtaking cancers, heart-failure, accidents, and other causes cumulatively. Microbe infested planet Earth showed that COVID-19, and a 2^nd pathogen was usually present with pandemic death.

Regionally, Dr. Hughes is a Renaissance surgeon and polymath and a University of the West Indies graduate. Returning to his academic roots with this patent (lifegoal) and a broader objective for the Caribbean and Anguilla. He is coinventor of 3 other filings and awards hopefully forthcoming.

Dr. Hughes, speaking provenance-wise, “Our hardscrabble childhoods and ancestry gave us cleverness and skills that make us inventors. Knowing the ropes of intellectual property will diversify our economy, technologically” — “Our unspoiled youth grow up outdoors using imagination with boating, fishing, and machinery repair. — We must teach our schools and children about “cognitive property” — out-of-thin-air — and bolsters STEM education.”

This invention is the 5^th since the COVID 19 Pandemic with “The Valley, AI” address. A British Overseas Territories innovation—hothouse, — and beyond. Had these inventions emerged in “The City of London or Slough” knighthoods would have followed.

Topically, a UK economist published the scourge of sepsis by UK Prime Minister appointment; lookup: “Jim O’Neill”. His reports depict morbidity and mortality including the £100s of trillions of AMR, sepsis cost. Jim O’Neill: now “Lord Jim O’Neill” (deservingly), but no invention nor infectious disease decline.

IMAGE FOR USE WITH PRESS RELEASE: Dr. Lowell Hughes of Anguilla

CONTACT:

SOURCE:

AT Research Partners [www.atresearchpartners.com]

RIVM concludes negligible risk of Oxitec’s Friendly™ Aedes mosquitoes

France’s High Council for Biotechnology also publishes Supportive Position

OXFORD, England, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ –The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands today published its “Technical evaluation of a potential release of OX513A Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on the island of Saba“, which positively concludes a vector control program using Oxitec’s Friendly™ Aedes aegypti mosquitoes would pose negligible risks to human health and the environment.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150630/227348 )

RIVM’s GMO office undertook its biosafety evaluation of Oxitec’s Friendly™ self-limiting mosquito technology following the guidance for risk assessment of genetically modified animals by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European risk assessment framework, which is considered one of the most robust and thorough biosafety frameworks globally.  Additionally this independent review reflected guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) for testing of genetically modified mosquitoes as well as the Cartagena Protocol on the Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“We welcome the favorable outcome of the RIVM’s extensive review indicating a positive safety profile of our bio-based mosquito technology,” said Mark Carnegie-Brown Chief Executive Officer at Oxitec. “When combined with our excellent efficacy data, this result points to the significant potential of the Oxitec platform to safely address the growing global challenge from dangerous Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. We are committed to working with regulators worldwide to bring this important technology to market.”

This result reinforces the affirmative biosafety profile of Oxitec’s self-limiting technology for deployment in vector control programs, and also supports the conclusions of environmental assessments conducted elsewhere including from Brazil’s National Technical Commission of Biosafety (CTNBio) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) whose review team consisted of experts from the Center for Veterinary Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Additionally, France’s High Council for Biotechnology (HCB) last month published its supportive position on the use of genetically modified mosquitoes for vector control, following the emergence of mosquito-borne diseases in French overseas territories and perceived threats to metropolitan France. Oxitec has been working closely with the HCB to help inform their evaluation and welcomes HCB’s opinion on self-limiting Aedes aegypti. The HCB opinion will help to shape the policy landscape in France towards the deployment of new tools for vector control, and is a positive step towards advancing Oxitec vector control projects in the French Caribbean.

How Friendly™ Aedes works

Oxitec has been working in Aedes aegypti control for over a decade and pioneered the use of a biological method to suppress wild populations of this dangerous mosquito species through the release of Friendly™ Aedes males, which do not bite and do not transmit diseases. When released, these males search for wild females to mate, and their offspring inherit a self-limiting gene that causes them to die before reaching functional adulthood.  Friendly™ Aedes’ offspring also inherit a fluorescent marker that allows tracking and monitoring at a level never before achieved, making the assessment of effectiveness more accurate throughout the whole Friendly™ Aedes deployment program. Unlike other approaches, Friendly™ Aedes mosquitoes die along with their offspring, and therefore do not persist in the environment or leave any ecological footprint.

About Oxitec

Oxitec is a pioneer in using genetic engineering to control insect pests that spread disease and damage crops, and was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Oxford University (UK). Oxitec is a subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), which engineers biology to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems.  Follow us on Twitter at @Oxitec.

NEW YORK, April 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ –

If You Purchased Solodyn and/or Its Generic Equivalent Partial Settlements of a Class Action Lawsuit May Affect Your Rights

Partial settlements have been reached in a class action lawsuit involving the antibiotic drug Solodyn. The lawsuit claims that Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Impax Laboratories, Inc., Lupin Limited, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Sandoz Inc. (the “Defendants”) violated state competition (i.e. antitrust and consumer protection) and unjust enrichment laws by agreeing not to compete with each other and keeping lower-cost generic versions of Solodyn off the market. The Defendants deny this. No one is claiming that Solodyn is unsafe or ineffective.

WHAT DO THE SETTLEMENTS PROVIDE?

To settle the lawsuit, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lupin Limited (”Lupin Defendants”) and Sandoz Inc. (”Sandoz”) have each agreed: (a) that they would be willing to provide certain witnesses that Plaintiffs could call and a declaration that the Plaintiffs could use during the Solodyn case involving the overall End-Payor Class, other Plaintiffs, and the Non-Settling Defendants; and (b) to deposit $625,000 and $1.75 million, respectively, into Settlement Funds. If the Settlements are approved by the Court and become final, the Settlement Funds, inclusive of interest, will be used to: (1) pay for costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred by Counsel in continuing the lawsuit against Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., and Impax Laboratories, Inc. (the “Non-Settling Defendants”); (2) cover taxable costs and taxes payable on the Settlement Funds; (3) pay for notice and other expenses; and (4) pay for service awards not to exceed $10,000 to the class representatives in recognition of their efforts to date on behalf of the Classes. Any remainder in the Settlement Funds, after the payment of the above expenses, shall be distributed to the End-Payor Class for the Lupin Settlement and the End-Payor Class for the Sandoz Settlement in a manner approved by the Court at the conclusion of the litigation. The Settlement Agreements, available at the website www.SolodynCase.com contain more details. These Settlements involve only the Lupin Defendants and Sandoz. The case will continue against the Non-Settling Defendants.

WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE CLASSES?

Generally, you are included in the Classes if you purchased, paid and/or provided reimbursement for some or all of a Solodyn and/or its generic equivalent prescription in the United States and its territories, including Puerto Rico, in tablet form, from July 23, 2009, onward. Certain third-party payors are also members of the Classes.

You are NOT a member of the Classes if: you paid a “flat co-payment” for all of your prescription drug purchases regardless of whether they are brand or generic; you are one of the Defendants or an officer, director, manager, employee, subsidiary, or affiliate of any Defendant(s); you purchased only directly from Defendants or for resale purposes; you purchased or received Solodyn or its generic equivalent only through a Medicaid program; you are the judge in this lawsuit or a member of the judge’s immediate family; and/or you previously excluded yourself from the overall End-Payor Class.

YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS

If you are a Class Member, you have the right to exclude yourself (to opt-out) from one or both of the Settlements no later than June 12, 2017. You may also comment on or object to one or both of the proposed Settlements. To do so, you must act by June 12, 2017. Details on how to request exclusion, comment, or object are at www.SolodynCase.com.

The Court will hold a hearing tentatively set for 3:00 p.m. on November 27, 2017, to consider whether the Settlements and all of their terms are fair, reasonable, and adequate. Please check the website for updates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit www.SolodynCase.com
Call 1-800-332-7414

OXFORD, England and GERMANTOWN, Maryland, Jan. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), a leader in synthetic biology, today announced its subsidiary Oxitec and Piracicaba City Hall have expanded the ‘Friendly Aedes aegypti Project’ in Piracicaba, Brazil following strong results for controlling the Ae. aegypti mosquito population, the primary vector for dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus outbreaks around the world. In preparation of this growing program and to meet increasing demand for its proprietary vector control solution, Oxitec is initiating a new mosquito production facility in Piracicaba that will have capacity to protect over 300,000 people.

Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130919/NY83283LOGO
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“We are delighted Piracicaba is encouraged by our strong results and expanding the program. Our new facility will support the roll out of our groundbreaking vector-control across the heart of the city and beyond,” said Oxitec CEO Hadyn Parry. “As the principal source for the fastest growing vector-borne infection in the world in Dengue Fever, as well as the increasingly challenging Zika virus, controlling the Aedes aegypti population provides the best defense against these serious diseases for which there are no cures.”

Following approval by Brazil’s National Biosafety Committee (CTNBio) for releases throughout the country, Piracicaba’s CECAP/Eldorado district became the world’s first municipality to partner directly with Oxitec and in April 2015 started releasing its self-limiting mosquitoes whose offspring do not survive. By the end of the calendar year, results had already indicated a reduction in wild mosquito larvae by 82%. Oxitec’s efficacy trials across Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands all resulted in a greater than 90% suppression of the wild Ae. aegypti mosquito population – an unprecedented level of control.

Based on the positive results achieved to date, the ‘Friendly Aedes aegypti Project’ in CECAP/Eldorado district covering 5,000 people has been extended for another year. Additionally Oxitec and Piracicaba have signed a letter of intent to expand the project to an area of 35,000-60,000 residents. This geographic region includes the city’s center and was chosen due to the large flow of people commuting between it and surrounding neighborhoods which may contribute to the spread of infestations and infections.

According to Mayor Gabriel Ferrato, “The city of Piracicaba has always sought innovative solutions to serious problems. In the case of Aedes aegypti, we looked for the tool that seemed most appropriate to help in the tough battle against this mosquito that transmits dengue, Zika and chikungunya. Based on the results presented today, we decided to extend the project in CECAP/Eldorado district for another year and also signed a record of intent to expand the project to the central area of Piracicaba. This will bring to the city a new Oxitec factory to meet demand for years to come and help protect the public’s health with this clean and innovative technology.”

Like many invasive insect species, Ae. aegypti’s territory is expanding as are the diseases it spreads, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus, which collectively impact over 100 countries and approximately 400 million people globally each year. Today Brazil has the highest reported incidence of dengue in the Western Hemisphere, and with both chikungunya and Zika virus having entered the country in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the Ae. aegypti mosquito has become an increasing health risk. As a result, Brazil’s Ministry of Health spent over 1.2 billion reals last year and allocated an additional 500 million reals for states and municipalities in January 2016 to combat the mosquito.

As per the recent New England Journal of Medicine publication titled “Zika Virus in the Americas — Yet Another Arbovirus Threat”, Brazil is not alone. Authors Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and David M. Morens, M.D., from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases noted, “The explosive pandemic of Zika virus infection occurring throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean and potentially threatening the United States is the most recent of four unexpected arrivals of important arthropod-borne viral diseases in the Western Hemisphere over the past 20 years.”

Samuel Broder, M.D., SVP and Head of Intrexon’s Health Sector commented, “As a vector that transmits a number of serious diseases, the Aedes aegypti mosquito poses a major threat to public health and the economic welfare of nations. Brazil has been hard hit by dengue and the situation there has been aggravated by the recent introduction of Zika virus infections leading to a startling increase in the number of children being born with microcephaly.” Dr. Broder continued, “Through the responsible engineering of biology, we demonstrate a new paradigm of species-specific vector control resulting in dramatic reductions of dangerous mosquitoes, without persistence or harm to the ecosystem, representing a major scientific, environmental and clinical advance.”

Diseases spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito:

• Dengue Fever infects up to 400 million people every year with an estimated 40% of the world’s population perpetually at risk.
• Zika Virus is rapidly spreading into new countries. In 2015 it emerged in Brazil where it has been linked to a sudden increase in birth defects (microcephaly). The number of children born with microcephaly in Brazil has now risen to more than 3500.
• Chikungunya swept into Central America and the Caribbean in 2013 with an epidemic spiking to over a million cases within only a year.
• Yellow Fever remains a major health threat. There are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever, causing 30,000 deaths, worldwide each year, with 90% occurring in Africa.

About Oxitec
Oxitec is the only GM insect company in the world and a pioneer in using genetic engineering to control insect pests that spread disease and damage crops. Oxitec was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Oxford University (UK), and is now a subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), which engineers biology to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Oxitec’s self-limiting insect control targets only the one species of pest in a way that is non-toxic and pesticide-free, providing vector control that is both effective and environmentally friendly. Follow us on Twitter at @Oxitec.

About Intrexon Corporation
Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON) is Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA^™ to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet. The Company’s integrated technology suite provides its partners across diverse markets with industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function, and performance of living cells. We call our synthetic biology approach Better DNA^®, and we invite you to discover more at www.dna.com or follow us on Twitter at @Intrexon.

Trademarks
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- Clinical trials with over 3,000 treated patients demonstrate its efficacy.

- Studies demonstrated that at least two thirds of the patients obtained 75% improvement of Psoriasis Activity Severity Index.

- This treatment significantly improves the quality of life of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

PANAMA CITY, Dec. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ – Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that affects around 140 million people worldwide.  It’s more frequent between the ages of 15 and 25, but may develop at any age and highly impacts the quality of life.

Several types of psoriasis exist, which range from mild to severe and disabling. Plaque psoriasis is the most common form and is known for producing inflammation and scaly patches of thickened skin called “plaques”. It is caused due to a problem in the immunologic system, where white blood cells that normally become activated to fight infections, are in this case activated against the healthy skin cells.  The cause of the disease is unknown. The immunologic system is activated and produces inflammatory mediators which are responsible for the skin lesions.

During this process, white blood cells release chemical products called “cytokines”, which produce inflammation, reddening of the skin and make the cutaneous cells move from deeper skin layer to surface at a higher speed than normal, (almost 5 times). These cells accumulate and generate the scaly patches. Psoriatic lesions show the aspect of scales, sometimes with a white silver color, while the skin below is red and if scratched it can bleed. Two specific cytokines are increased in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and produce the inflammatory process of the disease (Interleukin 12 and Interleukin 23).

Ustekinumab is a monoclonal antibody that represents the first of a new class of psoriasis therapies that specifically and selectively targets IL-12/IL-23.

Ustekinumab is now available in the Caribbean, specifically in Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao and Jamaica.^[i] Ustekinumab is commercialized under the brand Stelara™.

This therapeutic alternative is the latest generation of psoriasis treatment. With over 3,000 treated patients (in clinical trials) up to 5 years of treatment. The data obtained proves that the treatment is well tolerated and safe.

Clinical trials demonstrated that at least two thirds of the patients obtained a 75% improvement of the psoriasis, in accordance with the Psoriasis Activity Severity Index (PASI 75), after only two doses of Ustekinumab. This innovative treatment has a very convenient dosage regimen when compared with other biological therapies for psoriasis. After 5 years, approximately 80% of the patients treated with Ustekinumab maintain response.

Until recent years, psoriasis was considered a disease limited to the skin. Recent evidence, from important population studies in psoriatic patients, has demonstrated an increase in mortality and a decrease in life expectancy between 3 to 4 years in patients with psoriasis.

On the other hand, the impact of psoriasis notably influences the quality of life, and this is reflected in the increase of different social and psychoactive pathologies, and in the acquisition of unhealthy habits like tobacco and alcohol, favored by low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and the isolation which patients feel subjected to.^[ii]

“Ustekinumab significantly improves the quality of life of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, as well as their physical and mental functions. After 12 weeks of treatment, patients treated with Ustekinumab present a significant improvement in their mental well-being and their physical condition”, affirmed Dr. Eduardo Franco; Janssen’s Medical Director for Central America and the Caribbean.

The itching and pain, the plaques in their hands and feet may hinder the performance of certain tasks or participation in some activities. Overtime, about 40% of psoriatic patients develop arthritis. “The most severe cases of psoriasis may even generate immobility of the patient. Some patients compare the reduction of their physical activities to the ones generated by other diseases as cancer or heart diseases”, pointed out Dr. Jose Antonio Herrera, Immunology Medical Manager for Janssen.

About Janssen

Janssen is a Company dedicated to the research of providing innovative products that help protect and improve the life of people, and face and solve the most important and unresolved medical needs of our times, in the areas of oncology, immunology, neurosciences and infectious, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Across the different companies of the Johnson & Johnson group, our people are united in the passionate pursuit of solutions through science, in benefit of the patients.

Present in over 50 countries, we share the commitment of the founders of the Company, of innovating in ideas, products and services for the patients of the whole world.

^{[i] Ustekinumab was approved by the following Health Authorities:
Aruba: Drug Registration Board,
Curacao; Drug Registration Board
Jamaica: Ministry of Health.
Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Bermuda are not regulated countries.}

^{[ii] 2009 Latin American Psoriasis Consensus, treatment guides, Latin American Psoriasis Society}

Fact Sheet Psoriasis

1. Psoriasis is a chronic disease that affects over 140 million people worldwide.
2. It presents itself more frequently between the ages of 15 and 25, but may develop at any age and highly impacts the quality of life.
3. The main cause for this disease is unknown. The immunologic system is activated and produces inflammatory mediators which stimulated white cells and infiltrate the skin layers. The deep layer cells move to the outer layer of the skin at least 5 time faster than usual, and this produces the characteristic plaque of the psoriasis.
4. There are several clinical forms of the disease, plaque psoriasis being the most common form. It is known for producing inflammation and scaly patches of thickened skin called “plaques”.
5. Moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, notably influences the quality of life.  Severe cases of psoriasis may even generate immobility of the patient.
6. Some patients compare the reduction of their physical activities to the ones generated by other diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
7. Ustekinumab is now available in the Caribbean, specifically in Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Caiman Islands, Curacao and Jamaica.[i]  Ustekinumab is commercialized under the brand Stelara™.
8. Clinical trials with over 3,000 patients treated with Ustekinumab have demonstrated its efficacy. At least two thirds of the patients obtained a 75% improvement of the Psoriasis Activity Severity Index.
9. After 5 years, approximately 80% of the patients treated with Ustekinumab maintain response.

^{[i] Ustekinumab was approved by the following Health Authorities:
Aruba: Drug Registration Board,
Curacao; Drug Registration Board
Jamaica: Ministry of Health.
Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Bermuda are not regulated countries.}

CONTACT:  Janssen, JoanTownsend, (507) 64306252 or (507) 3989740, tojoa