Archive for June 23rd, 2014
OANDA Unveils New Web API for fxTrade Platform
Leading forex broker provides open access to its award-winning trading platform to allow for customized app builds and personalized trading strategies
SINGAPORE, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — OANDA, a global provider of innovative foreign exchange tradingservices, is pleased to announce the free developer access to its proprietary fxTrade platform via the company’s web based REST application programming interface (API). The new OANDA API allows current and prospective partners and individual traders the opportunity to develop customized apps, and trading algorithms and strategies on top of the broker’s award-winning trading platform, using any programming language.
“Upon completing a successful beta program through which we received excellent feedback from our clients, the OANDA API is now publicly available and ready for the masses,” said Barbara Bermes, Product Manager, OANDA API, OANDA Corporation. “Whether it’s a corporation integrating forex hedging into its treasury systems, or a retail forex trader creating customized user interfaces to fxTrade or developing proprietary trading models, our API suite provides direct communication with OANDA’s fxTrade servers over secure, authenticated internet sessions with fully encrypted communication channels.”
Created specifically to cater to any programming language, developers can build their applications on the OANDA API using Java, Python, .NET or any other preferred development language. Tailored to be easy-to-use, OANDA also provides a development guide that includes thorough user documentation, code samples, and reference implementations via the company’s developer portal. The OANDA API features live and historical market data, trading support for market orders with trailing stops, stop-loss, take-profit, and standard and entry limit orders. There’s also account data (for fxTrade clients), live streaming rates, and events streaming.
“fxTrade offers many benefits to self-directed investors active in the currency, precious metals, commodities, indices and bond markets. Transparency has been a hallmark of our business since its inception and the OANDA API is another example of that,” said Trevor Young, Vice President, Product Management, OANDA Corporation. “Our API team has been intently focused on a number of initiatives including building an accompanying partner program and online Marketplace, all the while enhancing and delivering the APIs that our clients demand.”
For more information, or to access the free OANDA API, please visit http://fxtrade.oanda.com/trade-forex/api/. You can also keep up-to-date by following us at @OANDAAPI on Twitter.
About OANDA
OANDA transformed the business of foreign exchange through an innovative approach to forex trading. The company’s industry leading online trading platform, fxTrade, introduced a number of firsts to the marketplace, including immediate execution; instant settlement on trades; trades of any size between one unit and 10 million units; and interest calculated by the second. The company’s many awards attest to the power and flexibility of its trading platform. In 2013, OANDA was honoured with nearly a dozen awards, including Best Trade Execution Provider, Best Retail Trading Platform and Best Mobile Trading Platform by International Finance Magazine; as well as Best Value for Money by Investment Trends in each of the U.S., UK, and Asia Pacific markets.
OANDA was also amongst the first online providers of comprehensive currency exchange information, and today the company’s OANDA Rate® data provides benchmark rates for corporations, auditing firms, and global banks.
OANDA has eight offices worldwide, in Toronto, Chicago, New York, Boston, London, Singapore, Tokyo, and Sydney. OANDA is fully regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the U.S. National Futures Association (NFA), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA), and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
About OANDA Asia Pacific
This information is made available to you by OANDA Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. OANDA Asia Pacific Pte Ltd holds a Capital Markets Services Licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is also licensed by the International Enterprise Singapore. Co Reg No. 200704926K. Trading in leveraged over-the-counter contracts for foreign currency, precious metals, and CFDs carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. You should never put at risk any amount that you cannot afford to lose. More details under:http://www.oanda.sg/legal/risk-warning.
© 1996 – 2014 OANDA Corporation. All rights reserved. All Registered Trade Marks used in this set of material, whether marked as Trade Marks or not marked, are declared to belong to their respective owner(s). OANDA Corporation owns Trade Marks of all its “FX” products.
The information on this material is not directed at residents of the United States, nor is it intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any jurisdiction, where such distribution or use is contrary to local laws or regulations.
For more information, please contact:
The Hoffman Agency for OANDA Asia Pacific
Jacintha Ng
Direct: +65-6361-0250
OANDASG@hoffman.com
www.hoffman.com
Inmarsat unveils ground-breaking IsatHub service at exclusive global preview in Singapore
CommunicAsia sees first live demonstration of smart connectivity service.
IsatHub set to inject a new lease of life into smartphones and tablets.
— Enables use of Smartphones and tablets to talk, text, access the Internet and apps, outside of cellular and fixed networks
— Powered by Inmarsat’s global 3G network
— Service accessed via the IsatHub control and voice app – available for iPhone, iPad and/or iPod Touch and Android™ devices
— One single connection can support multiple devices
SINGAPORE, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Inmarsat is set to deliver a new lease of life for smart device users on every continent with the introduction of its innovative IsatHub service. Scheduled for commercial launch in August 2014, the new service will be the most powerful, portable solution available for connecting smart devices when beyond the reach of terrestrial mobile and fixed networks. However remote the location, the IsatHub service will enable a user to talk, text, access the internet and apps using their own smart device.
IsatHub is receiving its first live public demonstration at an exclusive global preview at CommunicAsia 2014 in Singapore.
When commercially launched in August, the new service will be accessible via the Wideye iSavi terminal from AddValue. A small, lightweight terminal (less than half the size of a standard laptop), iSavi can connect to any iPhone, iPad and/or iPod Touch or Android device via WiFi. Using the IsatHub control app on their smart device, users can gain access to the IsatHub service, allowing them to use both its data capabilities and dedicated high-quality voice line.
Once the IsatHub connection is established, it will provide a personal and secure network up to 30m (100ft) from the terminal. The control app has additional features such as set-up assistance, full control over additional device access, as well as visibility of data usage from each device sharing the IsatHub connection.
The IsatHub voice app enables users to make and receive voice calls on their device via IsatHub’s dedicated high-quality voice line, as well as sending and receiving text messages, even if the device is for WiFi use only. The IsatHub control app and voice app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
“You could be a thousand kilometers from the nearest mobile network and still connect to the rest of the world for applications ranging from video calls to accessing your emails,” said Drew Brandy, Vice President of Strategy & Development, Inmarsat Enterprise, who is attending IsatHub’s live demonstration in Singapore. “For companies, this means that employees can stay productive and in contact regardless of whether they are in a mobile signal ‘blackspot’ or the middle of a desert. For private users, IsatHub means that experiencing an adventure — from the Amazon to the Andes — can be shared with family and friends in real time.”
IsatHub features the highest data rate of any equivalent service with standard IP data up to 240/384kbps (send/receive), in addition to a dedicated, high-quality voice line.
IsatHub connects to the outside world via the award-winning Inmarsat-4 (I-4) constellation, which is used by governments, businesses, broadcasters, humanitarian agencies and many others, to ensure voice and data connectivity on land, at sea and in the air right across the world. The Inmarsat-4 fleet of satellites operates globally, except for extreme polar regions, with an average availability of 99.9 per cent.
Ronald Spithout, President, Inmarsat Enterprise, said: “No other mobile satellite operator can offer this performance and reliability in global smart device connectivity. As an organisation, we are dedicated to bringing voice and data connectivity to those regions not supported by costly terrestrial networks. IsatHub is a further advance and brings our space-based 3G network to more users than ever before.”
About Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat employs around 1,600 staff in more than 60 locations around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ISAT.L). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com.
The Inmarsat press release newsfeed is on Twitter @Inmarsatnews and corporate updates are on @Inmarsat_plc
Hughes Broadband Satellite Technology Selected by Thaicom for In-flight Connectivity Services
Hughes, in partnership with Global Eagle Entertainment, will provide Thaicom with aeronautical mobility solution for airlines in Thailand and SE Asia
SINGAPORE, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and services, announced that it has signed a contract with Thaicom Public Company Limited (Thaicom), a leading satellite communications provider in Asia Pacific, to provide its broadband satellite technology for in-flight connectivity services, in partnership with Global Eagle Entertainment (Nasdaq: ENT). This contract follows the announcement last fall of an agreement between Thaicom and Global Eagle Entertainment to jointly develop, implement and support in-flight connectivity for airlines in SE Asia. Hughes satellite technology has been deployed in conjunction with Global Eagle Entertainment’s in-flight connectivity system to provide in-cabin services on more than 550 aircraft globally.
“Thaicom has expanded our In-flight Connectivity (IFC) offering as a part of our Mobility Services, utilizing the latest satellite-based communications technologies that have extensively served sea-air-land connectivity targeting customers in Thailand and Southeast Asia,” said Dr. Sakon Kittivatcharapong, senior vice president, Ground System Operations at Thaicom PLC. “With In-flight Connectivity our airline partners will gain significant advantages by reducing operational costs while adding more value to their services.”
Dr. Kittivatcharapong continued, “The Hughes broadband satellite solution, in conjunction with the end-to-end services provided by Global Eagle Entertainment, is an ideal choice for us and our airline partners, as it enables state-of-the-art in-flight connectivity in real time and is one of the most proven solutions available today. Launching this service represents another significant milestone for Thaicom as we develop additional innovations and end-to-end solutions for more value-added services to our customers and bring economic benefits to our country. This will also strengthen the capability of Thailand’s satellite systems to grow and stay competitive with other global players.”
“Thaicom’s selection of Hughes technology for its in-flight platform is yet another validation of our leadership in broadband satellite solutions — whether on land, air or sea,” said Vaibhav Magow, senior director of Asia/Pacific region at Hughes. “We are confident that it will enable Thaicom to deliver a reliable and enjoyable in-flight connectivity service for airlines across Thailand and the Asia Pacific region.”
About Thaicom Public Company Limited
Thaicom Public Company Limited, a leading satellite communications provider in Asia Pacific, was granted a 30-year Domestic Communication Satellite Operating Agreement by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (currently transferred to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT). The company was the first in the region to offer Ku-band and Digital Direct-to-Home broadcasting services, and was the world’s first operator to employ MPEG-2 DVB compression since 1994. Thaicom also developed and launched the world’s first Internet Protocal (IP) satellite, IPSTAR. At present, IPSTAR offers broadband and mobile backhaul services to operators and service providers in 13 countries across Asia Pacific. For more information, please visitwww.thaicom.net and www.ipstar.com.
About Global Eagle Entertainment
Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: ENT) is a worldwide provider of media content, technology, and connectivity solutions to the travel industry. Through the industry’s most comprehensive product and services platform, Global Eagle Entertainment provides airlines with a wide range of inflight solutions. These include Wi-Fi, movies, television, music, interactive software, as well as portable IFE solutions, content management services, e-commerce solutions and original content development. Serving over 150 airlines worldwide, Global Eagle Entertainment delivers exceptional quality and value to its customers to help them achieve their passenger experience objectives. The company’s headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California, with offices and teams located in North America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Oceania and South America. Find out more at www.globaleagleent.com.
About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the world’s leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services, and solutions for enterprises and governments globally. HughesNet® is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 4 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing approximately 50 percent market share. Its products employ global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1. Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations and digital TV solutions. For additional information about Hughes, please visitwww.hughes.com.
©2014 Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company. Hughes and HughesNet are registered trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.
Janssen Announces License Agreement With Vertex to Develop Novel Treatment for Influenza A
TITUSVILLE, N.J. /PRNewswire/ — Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals for the worldwide development, manufacturing and commercialization of VX-787, a novel medicine in Phase II development for the treatment of influenza A.
VX-787 is an investigational medicine designed to directly inhibit replication of the influenza A virus, including recent H1 (pandemic) and H5 (avian) influenza strains, based on in-vitro data. Influenza is an acute viral infection that spreads easily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through contaminated hands and surfaces.[1] Universally, resistance has emerged to existing antivirals for influenza and, through the development of VX-787, Janssen hopes to provide an additional treatment option for patients.
“Influenza infection remains one of the most serious public health challenges globally. In addition to the burden of seasonal influenza, the pandemics of the 20th and 21st centuries exemplify the threat the influenza A virus presents,” says Johan Van Hoof, Global TA Head Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Managing Director, Crucell. “This agreement builds on Janssen’s legacy of innovation and partnership, and we are proud to collaborate with Vertex on this novel medicine. This treatment has the potential to address a significant unmet medical need and to improve the well-being of patients everywhere.”
The license agreement also grants Janssen rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize VX-787’s back-up compound, VX-353, as well as rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain other back-up compounds for the prevention and/or treatment of influenza. The agreement is subject to the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
Vertex completed a Phase IIA study of VX-787 in 2013. The parties expect additional clinical trials to begin in the coming months.
About VX-787
VX-787 is a first-in-class, influenza A-specific, oral polymerase inhibitor. It is the first and most advanced example of a novel mode of action (MOA) direct acting antiviral working through the influenza virus PB2 polymerase subunit. Targeting an alternative part of the viral replication process may help ensure that this new medicine can successfully treat strains of the influenza virus which may be resistant to existing antiviral drugs with other MOAs.
VX-787 has demonstrated potent and rapid in-vitro antiviral activity on all Vertex tested influenza A strains to date, including oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) resistant strains.[2] Initial clinical assessments of VX-787 have also been promising. Phase I studies demonstrated the molecule was well tolerated in healthy volunteers providing a pharmacokinetic profile supportive of once daily dosing.[2] Vertex has also completed a Phase IIA challenge study that showed statistically significant improvements in viral and clinical measurements of influenza A infection and demonstrated clinical proof of concept.[3]
About Influenza
Influenza occurs globally, with an average of 5-10 percent of adults and 20-30 percent of children becoming infected with the virus each year. Worldwide, annual influenza epidemics are estimated to result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.[4] Yearly influenza epidemics can seriously affect all populations, but the highest risk of complications occur among children younger than age 2 years, adults aged 65 years or older, pregnant women, and people of any age with certain medical conditions, such as chronic heart, lung, kidney, liver, blood or metabolic diseases (such as diabetes), or weakened immune systems.[4]
The treatment of influenza consists of antiviral medications that have been shown in clinical studies to shorten the disease and reduce the severity of symptoms if taken within two days of infection, however, there is a significant need for new medicines targeting flu that provide a wider treatment window, greater efficacy and faster onset of action.
About Janssen
At Janssen, we are dedicated to addressing and solving some of the most important unmet medical needs of our time in infectious diseases and vaccines, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Driven by our commitment to patients, we develop innovative products, services and healthcare solutions to help people throughout the world.
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
(This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and/or Johnson & Johnson.
Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: economic factors, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approvals; challenges to patents; changes in behavior and spending patterns or financial distress of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to governmental laws and regulations and domestic and foreign health care reforms; general industry conditions including trends toward health care cost containment; and increased scrutiny of the health care industry by government agencies.
A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2013, including in Exhibit 99 thereto, and our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at http://www.sec.gov, http://www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.)
1. World Health Organization. Influenza. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/influenza. Last accessed June 2014
2. Vertex. Data on file.
3. Vertex. VX-787 Showed Significant Antiviral Activity and Reduced the Severity and Duration of Influenza Symptoms in Phase 2 Challenge Study. Available at: http://investors.vrtx.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=744857. Last accessed June 2014.
4. World Health Organization. Influenza (Seasonal). Available at:http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs211/en/. Last accessed June 2014.
CyberSource and Amadeus Partner to Help Travel Organizations Optimize Fraud Management Operations Across Booking Channels
FOSTER CITY, Calif. and MADRID, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — CyberSource, a Visa Inc. company (NYSE:V), and one of the world’s leading providers of eCommerce payment management services, has formed a strategic global partnership with Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry. The agreement brings an integrated travel reservation and fraud management solution to airlines, travel agencies and other travel organizations worldwide.
Leveraging CyberSource’s global expertise in fraud management, the innovative solution integrates a fraud management system, Decision Manager, into the dedicated travel Amadeus Payment Platform (APP). Decision Manager can help travel organizations globally accept more legitimate bookings, while identifying potential fraudulent transactions and lowering operational costs.
The combined solution will help travel businesses worldwide maximize revenue, reduce costs and improve the customer payment experience across multiple channels, such as online, mobile, face to face and call center.
“We are delighted with the integration of CyberSource to the Amadeus Payment Platform for travel,” said Celia Pereiro, Head of Travel Payments at Amadeus. “This will provide our customers with a customised and enriched travel-payment fraud solution, helping them to optimise business operations; increasing acceptance rates and facilitating a smooth consumer payment process.”
Simon Stokes, Head of CyberSource EMEA & APAC, said, “With a track record of delivering results for major airlines, travel agencies, hotel chains and other travel suppliers, we are excited to partner with Amadeus to help provide travel companies and their customers with a fast, safe and seamless buying experience, irrespective of device or location.”
CyberSource Decision Manager assists travel companies in identifying fraud faster, more accurately and with less manual intervention. Data insights are derived via sophisticated modelling of more than 60 billion transactions that Visa Inc. and CyberSource process annually worldwide, including transactions across multiple payment types and sales channels, spanning online, call center and mobile. The transaction data is supplemented by 260 detector tests and time-tested statistical risk models, which can be localized by region to further expand the depth and breadth of transaction pattern visibility.
About CyberSource
CyberSource, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Visa Inc., is a payment management company. Over 400,000 businesses worldwide use CyberSource and Authorize.Net brand solutions to process online payments, streamline fraud management, and simplify payment security. The company is headquartered in Foster City, CAand maintains offices throughout the world, with regional headquarters in Singapore, Tokyo, Miami, Sao Pauloand Reading, U.K. CyberSource operates in Europe under agreement with Visa Europe. For more information, please visit www.cybersource.com.
About Amadeus
Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations and travel management companies). The Amadeus group employs around 10,000 people worldwide, across central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding (operations), as well as 71 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations globally. The group operates a transaction-based business model. Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol “AMS.MC” and is a component of the IBEX 35 index. To find out more about Amadeus please visitwww.amadeus.com.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 47,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.comand @VisaNews.
For media queries, please contact:
Lara D’Souza / Felicia Ang
Ying Communications
+65-9622-7065 / +65-9113-9636
lara.dsouza@yingcomms.com / felicia.ang@yingcomms.com
EDHEC Launches the Family Business Global Executive MBA
EDHEC supports future family business leaders
PARIS, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — EDHEC Business School is proud to announce the launch of the EDHEC Family Business Global Executive MBA, an innovative academic programme tailor-made for next generation family business leaders. The programme, which will focus on the distinct challenges faced by family firms, is the first of its kind in Europe and will welcome its first class of students in February 2015.
To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/71400556-EDHEC-launches-family-business-MBA
The EDHEC Family Business Global EMBA responds to the distinct needs of family firms, which represent 65 per cent of private sector enterprises in Europe. The objectives of this new programme are to provide next generation family business leaders with the management competences and confidence necessary to move into a Senior Management position or join the Board of Directors.
This new programme teaches participants how to provide excellent leadership, efficient governance, and to better understand the highly-competitive international marketplace. The programme is composed of three phases: Foundations of Business and Management Practices, including a trip to Singapore to learn from Asian and European family firms; Growth of the Family Business, including a “serious game” with a focus on family firm strategy; and Development of an Action Plan, during which each participant creates his or her own personal business strategy.
During the 15-month programme, participants will learn management theory from renowned academic experts and business innovators, and test their knowledge by participating in case studies executed in partnership with top family firms from around the globe. They will also put their leadership skills to the test as part of a boot camp – an experience that is sure to thrill and challenge participants.
The EDHEC Family Business Global EMBA also offers an “Assessment Centre” to help each participant chart his or her personal development plan, regular coaching sessions and discussions with industry-specific mentors, and a media training course. These and other programme features promise a truly transformational experience to participants.
“EDHEC has long recognised the important role of family businesses in the global economy,” said Olivier Oger, Dean of the EDHEC Business School. “We believe that by launching this one-of-a-kind MBA programme that we can provide additional support to these firms and the families who work to ensure their success. Our motto is ‘EDHEC for Business’ and the creation of this programme is perfectly in line with our strategy to be useful to business and to provide research-based solutions to the business innovators who fuel our economy and our imagination.”
Video:
http://www.multivu.com/mnr/71400556-EDHEC-launches-family-business-MBA
with a unique MBA programme
Frost & Sullivan: Innovators Globally Continue to Submit CIO Impact Award Nomination Entries
– Many companies have nominated CIO teams or clients for breakthrough work with more expected to file
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan will present the CIO Impact Awards honoring enterprise teams and top executives that enable breakthrough new business models and strategies through the use of transformative technologies during the 3rd Annual ConNEXTions 2014: A Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange. The event will be held on Feb. 8-10, 2015 in San Francisco, Calif. Companies are encouraged to submit nominations on behalf of their information technology teams or clients by Sept. 12, 2014 at frost.com/cioawards.
CIO Impact Award nominees, award winners, and other senior-level information technology executives will come together for participant-driven sessions and a CIO Impact Awards Gala. The selected CIO Impact Award winners will have demonstrated and be honored in the following categories:
- Enterprise Social Networking: Those that have leveraged a variety of social networking tools and platforms to enable internal collaboration and decision-making or to connect with and better understand and serve their customers’ needs.
- Advanced Software Development: Winners must have achieved competitive advantage and delivered outstanding customer value by successfully embracing cutting-edge software development tools and techniques.
- Advanced Analytics and Big Data: The recipients will have earned competitive advantage through effective collection, management, and analysis of large volumes of enterprise and market data from a wide variety of sources, from traditional transactions to customer interactions and data generated through the Internet of Things.
- Enterprise Architecture: Winners will have successfully aligned their organization’s IT architecture roadmap with their enterprise’s overall strategic direction.
- Mobility: Those selected will have collaborated closely with line-of-business executives to define effective, flexible governance programs and deploy applications that demonstrate the vast potential of mobile technologies delivering measurable business value.
- Cloud Computing: Recipients will have aggressively embraced public or private cloud computing paradigms providing reduced costs, increased agility, greater scalability, improved standardization of IT services, and transformed the role of the IT organization.
- Unified Communications and Collaboration: Winners gained tangible benefits from platforms and technologies that support the integrated, unified delivery and management of communication services, such as instant messaging, telephony, presence information, video conferencing, data sharing, as well as messaging services, such as voicemail and email.
- Data and Network Resilience: Recipients will have taken cost-effective steps to assure that the networks, information systems, and technologies that their enterprises use are continuously available, high performing, and secure.
Furthermore, the CIO Impact Awards will honor two CIO Innovators of the Year. These will be CIOs whose teams had the most positive impact on their enterprises’ strategic innovation.
Those that may submit a nomination include:
- Small, medium and large size companies located anywhere in the world, provided they have an information technology function;
- Public relations companies and agencies on behalf of their clients;
- Technology providers on behalf of their clients;
- Consultants on behalf of their clients
The nominees will be judged on the following criteria:
- Process Impact: Did the project transform key processes and allow the company to add value in new ways?
- Business Impact: Did the project deliver measurable bottom-line business benefits that met or exceeded expectations?
- IT/Business Alignment: Has the project enabled the company’s overall business strategy? Does the project demonstrate strategic alignment between the IT function and the business?
- Use of Technology: Does the project reflect the use of appropriate and cost-effective transformational technologies to provide maximum business value?
In order to join the 3rd Annual ConNEXTions 2015: A Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange please contact events.us@frost.com or visit: www.bestinformationtechnologyevent.com
You can also join the conversation on Twitter by using #FrostNEXT.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants.
Our “Growth Partnership” supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.
- The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
- The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.
For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?
Contact Us: Start the discussion
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Contact:
Jeff Moad
Research Director
E: Jeffrey.moad@frost.com
P: 
+1-510-531-3456
www.frost.com/cioawards
Sanofi’s Lyxumia(R) (lixisenatide) Showed More Pronounced After-Test-Meal Blood Sugar Lowering Than Liraglutide When Both Were Added to Insulin Glargine
PARIS, June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced today that Lyxumia® (lixisenatide) met the primary endpoint in an 8-week head-to-head pharmacodynamic study versus liraglutide, showing a significantly more pronounced post-prandial (after-meal) glucose (blood sugar) lowering effect after a test-meal than liraglutide when both were added to optimally titrated Lantus® (insulin glargine). Lowering of post-prandial glucose was measured as change from baseline in incremental area under the glucose curve for 4 hours after a standardized solid breakfast, at week 8.
Findings also showed that while both lixisenatide and liraglutide lowered blood glucose (HbA1c) when added to optimally titrated insulin glargine, lixisenatide treatment resulted in fewer reports of gastrointestinal adverse events, a lower mean increase in heart rate and smaller increases from baseline to week 8 in pancreatic enzyme (amylase and lipase) levels. The most commonly reported adverse events in the study were symptomatic hypoglycemia and nausea. Symptomatic hypoglycemia was more frequent in the lixisenatide group compared to the liraglutide group. (Full results are available in the Results of Analysis section.) Lixisenatide is currently approved in Europe and an investigational drug in the United States, where it is not approved.
“In this Phase II head-to-head study we saw a significant difference in the post-prandial glucose lowering effects of lixisenatide and liraglutide, two GLP-1 receptor agonists, with similar overall blood sugar reductions,” said Riccardo Perfetti, Senior Medical Officer, Vice President Global Medical Affairs, Diabetes Division, Sanofi. “The results showed that both medicines reduced blood glucose, but we found that lixisenatide did this with a greater delay in gastric emptying, and its use was associated with differences in safety and tolerability compared to liraglutide. These differences are interesting and could be further explored to determine whether differences in gastric emptying benefit patients by lowering the post-prandial glucose excursion and whether gastric emptying corresponds to differences in safety and tolerability.”
These results were presented at the 74th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, San Francisco, CA. The abstract is titled: Effect of Lixisenatide vs Liraglutide on Glycemic Control, Gastric Emptying, and Safety Parameters in Optimized Insulin Glargine T2DM +/- Metformin. (Meier et al. Poster presentation #1017-P, June 14, 2014).
Results of Analysis
This 8-week, randomized, open-label, three-arm parallel trial, comparing lixisenatide 20µg with liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg QD in 142 patients with type 2 diabetes on optimally titrated (SMPG of 80-100mg/dL) insulin glargine treatment with or without metformin, met its primary endpoint. Results showed a greater reduction in post-prandial glucose (PPG) from baseline with lixisenatide (-240.2h.mg/dL, SE 20.0) than with liraglutide 1.2mg (-131.8h.mg/dL, SE 20.2) and 1.8mg (-157.1h.mg/dL, SE 21.0) for 4 hours after a standardized solid breakfast (p<0.0001).
At week 8, HbA1c decreased significantly from baseline (p<0.05) for all groups, and final HbA1c levels were similar in all treatment arms (6.2 +/- 0.4 for lixisenatide, 6.1 +/- 0.3 for liraglutide 1.2mg, and 6.1 +/- 0.3 for liraglutide 1.8mg). Body weight decreased significantly in all groups (-1.61 +/- 0.47kg, p<0.05 for lixisenatide, -1.78 +/- 0.48kg, p<0.05 for liraglutide 1.2mg, and -2.42 +/- 0.49kg, p<0.0001 for liraglutide 1.8mg).
Symptomatic hypoglycemia was slightly more frequent with lixisenatide (14 events with lixisenatide versus 9 and 10 events with liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg, respectively). There was one case of severe symptomatic hypoglycemia in the lixisenatide arm and one case of mild asymptomatic confirmed pancreatitis in the liraglutide 1.8mg arm.
In addition, lixisenatide significantly delayed gastric emptying more than liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg (LS mean change +/- SE for gastric emptying lag time: 175.6 +/- 23.7 [lixisenatide, p<0.0001 for change from baseline] vs. 70.1 +/- 23.8 [liraglutide 1.2 mg, p<0.05 for change from baseline] and 48.9 +/- 24.6 [liraglutide 1.8 mg p<0.05 for change from baseline]; LS mean change +/- SE for gastric emptying half time: 453.6 +/- 58.2 [lixisenatide, p<0.0001 for change from baseline] vs. 175.3 +/- 58.5 [liraglutide 1.2 mg, p<0.05 for change from baseline] and 130.5 +/- 60.3 [liraglutide 1.8 mg p<0.05 for change from baseline]). There were more gastrointestinal adverse events (GI AEs) reported with liraglutide than with lixisenatide (21 and 22 with liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg, respectively, versus 17 with lixisenatide) with nausea reported in 8 and 11 with liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg respectively, versus 9 with lixisenatide. Liraglutide treatment also resulted in greater increases from baseline to week 8 in the levels of the pancreatic enzymes amylase and lipase compared with lixisenatide (amylase: +8.01IU/L, SE 4.00 and +5.68IU/L, SE 4.13 for liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg, respectively, versus +2.98IU/L, SE 4.00 for lixisenatide; lipase: +21.12IU/L, SE 7.16 and +20.76IU/L, SE 7.38, versus +6.97IU/L, SE 7.11). Mean ambulatory monitored 24-hour increase in heart rate was greater with liraglutide 1.2mg and 1.8mg than with lixisenatide (9bpm for liraglutide, 3bpm for lixisenatide, p<0.0001), with no significant differences in 24-hour blood pressure.
About Lixisenatide
In Europe, Lyxumia® (lixisenatide) is approved as a once-daily prandial glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It remains under investigation in the U.S. GLP-1 is a naturally-occurring peptide hormone that is released within minutes after eating a meal. It is known to suppress glucagon secretion from pancreatic alpha cells and stimulate glucose-dependent insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells.
Lyxumia was in-licensed from Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen: ZEAL), http://www.zealandpharma.com, and was approved in Europe in 2013 for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus to achieve glycemic control in combination with oral glucose-lowering medicinal products and/or basal insulin when these, together with diet and exercise, do not provide adequate glycemic control. Lyxumia is currently approved in over 40 countries worldwide for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes, with commercial launches in Europe, Japan, Mexico and other markets. Sanofi plans to resubmit the New Drug Application for lixisenatide in the United States in 2015, after completion of the ELIXA cardiovascular outcomes study. Lyxumia is the proprietary name approved by the European Medicines Agency and other health authorities for the GLP-1 RA lixisenatide.
The Lyxumia pen is the winner of a number of innovative design awards, including the Good Design Award 2012 and the iF Product Design Award. The variant of the Lyxumia pen used in Japan won the Good Design Award (G Mark) 2013.
About Sanofi Diabetes
Sanofi strives to help people manage the complex challenge of diabetes by delivering innovative, integrated and personalized solutions. Driven by valuable insights that come from listening to and engaging with people living with diabetes, the Company is forming partnerships to offer diagnostics, therapies, services, and devices including blood glucose monitoring systems. Sanofi markets both injectable and oral medications for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
About Sanofi
Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “plans” and similar expressions. Although Sanofi’s management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the absence of guarantee that the product candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, the Group’s ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, the impact of cost containment policies and subsequent changes thereto, the average number of shares outstanding as well as those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in Sanofi’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.
JNA Awards 2014 Honourees Announced
HONG KONG, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — JNA (Jewellery News Asia), the organiser of the prestigious JNA Awards, has announced the much-anticipated list of Honourees across 14 categories for its third edition. A total of 29 companies from 10 countries/regions have been shortlisted. The event is supported by Headline Partners Rio Tinto Diamonds and Chow Tai Fook, together with Honoured Partners Diarough Group, Gubelin Group, Israel Diamond Institute, KARP Group, Paspaley Pearling Company and Shanghai Diamond Exchange.
The judging panel consists of five industry experts, namely Nirupa Bhatt, Managing Director of GIA in India and the Middle East; Bill Boyajian, Founder and President of Bill Boyajian & Associates Inc. and former President of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA); Albert Cheng, Managing Director of the World Gold Council – Far East (WGC); James Courage, Chief Executive Officer of Platinum Guild International (PGI); and Lin Qiang, President and Managing Director of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE).
Now in its third year, the awards event has grown in size and stature with 91 highly qualified entries from 20 countries and regions. Countries represented for the first time included Belgium, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Vietnam. Nominations were also fielded from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, U.S. and the United Arab Emirates.
A new category, Outstanding Enterprise of the Year – ASEAN Countries, has been introduced this year to reflect the growing importance of this region in the jewellery and gemstone industry.
The Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Contribution of the Year Award will be nominated by the organiser, and the announcement will be made at a later date.
This year’s JNA Awards ceremony and gala dinner will be held on Tuesday, 16 September, at the InterContinental Hong Kong, during the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. It is an industry-wide event that honours and recognises excellence and achievement in the global jewellery trade with a focus on contributions and achievements made in the Asian region. It is a ticketed event by application only. Interested parties can submit their request by logging on to www.JNAawards.com
Please click here for the list of Honourees and full announcement.
SOURCE: JNA
Frost & Sullivan: South African Companies Adopt Wireless Application Services for Improved Internal and External Communications
– High demand for wireless application services expected from the financial services, retail, and media and entertainment sectors
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — A growing number of large corporates, public sector companies, and small and medium enterprises in various sectors across South Africa are making extensive use of wireless application services. As these services have become more affordable than other mediums, the user base will continue to expand, opening up revenue opportunities for the country’s wireless application service providers (WASPs) and mobile operators.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, The Role of WASPs in Enterprise Communication – South Africa, finds that the market earned revenues of $282.3 million in 2013 and estimates this to reach $656.9 million in 2018. The study covers the service segments of short messaging system (SMS), multimedia messaging system, interactive voice response, location-based services, premium rate SMS, and event-based billing.
“With over 65 percent of South Africa’s population having access to mobile services, enterprises are leveraging the immediacy of wireless application services to effectively communicate with their customers and employees,” said Frost & Sullivan Information & Communication Technologies Research Analyst Lehlohonolo Mokenela. “Enterprises in customer-centric sectors such as financial services, retail, and media and entertainment are among the leading adopters of wireless application services and are expected to play a central role in driving the market.”
Enterprises use a wide array of wireless application services for mobile advertising campaigns, mobile payments, and to send out reminders and alerts to customers. Process-intensive companies in the mining and manufacturing sectors, however, mostly rely on SMS services to improve operational efficiency by incorporating them in remote monitoring systems.
Nonetheless, the growth of WASPs’ revenues from enterprise mobile advertising is likely to be slowed by the enforcement of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), which safeguards citizens’ rights to privacy of personal information. In addition, rogue WASPs illegally signing up mobile subscribers without their consent has reduced consumer faith in WASPs. To address this issue, operators are being forced by the Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association to introduce double opt-in systems that will give mobile subscribers the option to accept or reject subscription to wireless application services.
Increased smartphone penetration has fuelled the uptake of over-the-top (OTT) mobile applications, such as Whatsapp and Facebook. As a result, revenues from wireless application services such as person-to-person (P2P) text messaging and, to a lesser extent, application-to-person (A2P) text messaging have taken a hit.
Mobile applications offer enterprises a more interactive experience in their engagement with customers than traditional WASP bearers and can be more cost-effective. Therefore, WASPs cannot ignore the relevance of mobile applications when building a comprehensive mobile engagement strategy for their enterprise customers.
“Market participants need to consider integrating mobile applications into their service offering to provide a wholesome customer experience,” stated Mokenela. “WASPs could offer other customer value additions, such as the secure delivery of codes or coupons, by employing SMS-based, in-app messaging services.”
For more information on this study, please email Samantha James, Corporate Communications, at samantha.james@frost.com.
The Role of WASPs in Enterprise Communication – South Africa is part of the Mobile & Wireless Communications (http://www.wireless.frost.com) Growth Partnership Service program. Frost & Sullivan’s related studies include: Africa Mobile Communications Outlook on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, Machine to Machine Market Opportunities in South Africa—Vertical Focus, Southern African Broadband Market Analysis, and Hot Topic—Mobile Payment Services in Brazil. All studies included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants.
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The Role of WASPs in Enterprise Communication – South Africa
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Contact:
Samantha James
Corporate Communications – Africa
P: +27 21 680 3574
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E: samantha.james@frost.com
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