Drive-In Film Fest Has Debut – Micromedia Publications

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LONG BEACH ISLAND It was a week of firsts. It was the first time several movies were shown to the public, and it was the first time that the Lighthouse International Film Festival was a drive-in. In fact, the local event was the first and only international film festival that was a drive-in.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, the organizers of the festival were left brainstorming ways to still get fiction, documentary, and other films to the public while protecting theater-goers and staff. Fortunately, one of the outdoor activities that was approved by the governor was drive-ins.

Pop-up drive-in venues were set up in Beach Haven, Loveladies, and Stafford. Cars lined up to watch films on the big screens for five days.

The Festival opened on Tuesday, June 16 with the war drama The Outpost and ended with the comedy The Last Shift. There were 31 unreleased films in between. Some of them were world premieres or films that showed at Sundance or SXSW.

The festival showed films as they were meant to be seen on the big screen while keeping the health and safety of its attendees its top priority, Spokesperson Christine Rooney had said about the festival. Like all responsible New Jersey businesses and non-profits LIFF has come to realize that business as usual is no longer an option, at this unique point in time, and that the Festival cannot be presented in its usual format this year.

There is a huge shortage of cultural and entertainment events due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and festival organizers hoped to fill that void.

While COVID-19 put our daily lives on hold, it also shut down the window to the alternative universe of imagination, creation, and art that is cinema. Lighthouse International Film Festival is here to reopen this window on the big screen, as part of LBIs rejuvenation, said LIFF executive director Amir Bogen.

As with schools, sometimes the best way to reach people was online. The virtual component of the event had scores of short films, episodic projects, surf films and other features. It was also the way that the winners of the festival were announced.

Films were awarded in several categories. The award for Best Narrative Feature went to The Subject, by Lanie Zipoy. It is about a documentarian who caught the murder of an African American teen on tape, and now someone is videotaping his every move.

The award for Best Feature-Length Documentary went to Feels Good Man by Arthur Jones. This chronicles how indie comic character Pepe the Frog became the icon of hate groups, and the artists attempt to regain control of the character.

The Best Short Narrative Film was White Eye by Tomer Shushan, about a man who finds his stolen bicycle and his struggles with himself.

The Best Short Documentary was Ashes To Ashes by Taylor Rees & co-director Renan Ozturk, which follows the story of Winfred Rembert, the only living survivor of a lynching. It also won an award for Social Impact.

The Best Episodic Project was Lost In Traplanta, by Mathieu Rochet.

The Jennifer Snyder Bryceland award is a $3,500 prize to a feature-length documentary that displays artistic excellence, incorporates (social) environmental themes (local, regional or global), and inspires optimism in audiences. It was awarded to Why Is We Americans? by Udi Aloni & co-director Ayana Stafford-Morris, about the Baraka family and their relationship with Newark.

The Best High School Student Film was Empty by Vic Pater, an animated journey using metaphors to have the audience understand mental illness.

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Drive-In Film Fest Has Debut - Micromedia Publications

Incels: Alienated Men And Violence In The Digital Age – Rantt Media

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The online subcultures driving "incels" grew more concerning after Canada pursued terrorism charges for incel-related violence. We must analyze them.

Florence Keen is a Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, specializing in far-right extremism and violence

As the world was forced into lockdown at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alex Lee Moyers documentary TFW No GF was released online, its focus on an internet subculture of predominately young, white men who already experienced much of life from the comfort of their own homes pandemic notwithstanding.

Its title, a reference to the 4chan-originated phrase that feel when no girlfriend, reveals the essence of its subjects grievances described by the SXSW Film Festival as first a lack of romantic companionship, then evolving to a greater state of existence defined by isolation, rejection and alienation. As one of the films subjects remarks early on: Everyone my age kinda just grows up on the internet4chan was the only place that seemed realI realized there were other people going through the same shit

What does this level of alienation tell us about society today? And how seriously should we take the content found on this online patchwork of messaging boards and forums, each with its own language and visual culture that may at first seem humorous or ironic, but often disguises misogyny, racism, and violence? These are difficult and urgent questions, particularly given the emergent incel phenomenon (incel being a portmanteau of involuntary celibate) which appears to be gaining in strength online.

The idea of virtual expressions of alienation and rage translating to actual violence remains a real and present danger, as we were reminded of this in May when a teenager became the first Canadian to be charged with incel-inspired terrorism. The documentary, however, avoids confronting the violence that this subculture often glorifies, and the director has since stated that it was never supposed to be about incels, but that it had become impossible to discuss the film without the term coming up.

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As it turns out, the men we meet in TFW No GF appear to be largely harmless except perhaps to themselves, and despite the documentarys lack of narrative voice, it takes a patently empathetic stance. Set against the backdrop of industrial landscapes and empty deserts, this is a United States in decline; where role models and opportunities lie thin on the ground, and the closest thing to community exists in virtual realms. Each self-described NEET (slang for Not in Education, Employment or Training) has his own tale of alienation: of alcoholic parents, dead friends, or disenfranchisement with the school system.

For those who study internet subcultures, the memes explored of Pepe the Frog and Wojak will be familiar. Pepe is used as a reaction image, typically in the guises of feels good man, and smug/angry/sad Pepe, and although not created to have racist connotations, is frequently used in bigoted contexts by the alt-right. Wojak, AKA feels guy is typically depicted as a bald man with a depressed expression.

One of the documentarys subjects Kantbot explains that you cant have one without the other thats the duality of man. For these men, Pepe represents the troll self, a public persona that embodies their smug and cocky traits. Wojak denotes a more private and vulnerable self, typified by inadequacy, unfulfillment, and sadness. At its core, it is this dichotomy that the documentary seeks to explore, whilst at the same time demanding our sympathies.

On the surface, the men in TFW No GF are united by their failure in finding female partners, a theme that permeates the manosphere, which includes Men Going Their Own Way, (MGTOW) and incels. This latter identity has garnered particular attention in recent years due to the spate of incel attacks witnessed in North America, most infamously Elliot Rodgers Isla Vista attacks in California in 2014 which left six people dead. According to Moonshot CVE, incels believe that genetic factors influence their physical appearance and/or social abilities to the extent that they are unattractive to women, with some subscribing to the philosophy of the blackpill, namely, that women are shallow, and naturally select partners based upon looks stifling the changes of unattractive men to find a partner and procreate.

Incels are a diverse and nebulous community, their worldview characterized by a virulent brand of nihilism which is viewed through the prism of a three-tiered social hierarchy dictated by looks. Here, incels find themselves at the bottom of the pile, after normies, Chads and Stacys. Whilst instances of real-world violence perpetrated by incels remain in relatively low in numbers, its potential to mutate into an offline phenomenon is rightly a cause for concern, with Bruce Hoffman et al. (2020) making a convincing argument for increased law enforcement scrutiny, noting that the most violent manifestations of this ideology pose a new terrorism threat. Especially as we know misogyny is a gateway drug for white supremacy.

A counterterrorism approach alone, however, is unlikely to address the reasons why so many young men (and women see: femcels) are drawn to these virtual worlds. If self-reported narratives on forums such as Incels.net and Incels.co are anything to go by, low self-esteem, bullying, and mental health issues are rife. An acknowledgment of the pain, rejection, and illness that someone may be suffering from is surely required, however unpalatable that is when faced with the abhorrent imagery and rhetoric that may espouse. Underlying all of this, is the need for response based in public health, as well.

The documentarys empathic approach has however been criticized, with The Guardian accusing it of misinformation, particularly in its portrayal of 4chan and the like as harmless, and Rolling Stone criticizing the films acceptance of events without challenging the communitys support of violence, misogyny, and racism. In this sense, the film is reminiscent of the 2016 documentary The Red Pill, which followed Cassie Jays journey into the world of Mens Rights Activists similarly focusing on one side of an ever-complicated debate. Thus, showing compassion should ultimately not be a way of avoiding difficult conversations, and in the case of inceldom, a failure to do so could be seen as irresponsible.

As a researcher of internet subcultures, documentaries like TFW no GF are valuable, in so much as we are granted a rare perspective of these men in their own words. Despite the films selectivity and subjectivity representing a small sample of the infinite experiences and beliefs held by those in this expansive community it provides us with a vignette of the online spaces that allow for certain hateful ideas to flourish and be sustained.

For some, the strange and often hostile world of online messaging boards provides a much-needed connection when other doors are closed. For others, they contribute to a more misogynistic, racist and at times violent way of perceiving the world. As COVID-19 continues to rage on, forcing more of us to shift our lives online, societies ability to understand and combat deeply entrenched loneliness, as well as its potential to intersect with extreme and even violent corners of the internet will be essential.

This article is brought to you by the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right(CARR). Through their research, CARR intends to lead discussions on the development of radical right extremism around the world.

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Incels: Alienated Men And Violence In The Digital Age - Rantt Media

Boogaloo Extremists, Banned From Facebook, and the Hawaiian Shirt – The New York Times

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Boogaloo groups may also have seized on the Hawaiian shirt for reasons other than signaling their association and intentions. Mr. Nakagawa said that doing so may be an attempt to bait the less informed into assuming the group means no real harm. That they are, really, in effect, a goofy bunch of boys despite their military-grade weaponry.

This interpretation is shared by Patrick Blanchfield, an associate faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, who regularly writes about the far right. He views the use of the Hawaiian shirt as yet another attempt by far-right groups to create an undefinable space with in-your-face absurdity.

Its by design, Mr. Blanchfield said. That confusion is what theyre trying to exploit, which means its important to keep an eye on the big picture, or whats right in front of you. If you see an image of a man wearing tactical gear with a gun and a Hawaiian shirt, the most salient thing there is that the guy has a gun and tactical gear.

ULTIMATELY, A SYMBOL like the Hawaiian shirt shifts focus from the obvious armed men asserting dominance in public spaces to expert-led discussions of the boogaloos movements coded symbols and language games, which are absurd to the point of meaninglessness, Mr. Blanchfield thinks. He, and other experts on white nationalist extremism in the United States, have stressed that such in-jokes are a longstanding practice of extremist movements born out of online message boards like 4chan and Reddit and, more recently, in the case of the boogaloo, Facebook.

Joshua Citarella, a researcher of extremist behaviors on the internet, has followed the boogaloo movement, sometimes referred to as Hawaiian shirt nationalism by those in far-right corners of the internet, from its earliest manifestation as a meme on social media. Its earliest expressions, Mr. Citarella said, were mostly about civil libertarianism and drew on internet aesthetics like Vaporwave.

The boogaloo kit post on social media is another recent example of the meme bridging the gap with real life. In late 2018, Mr. Citarella began to notice that users had begun sharing images of their own skins, or outfits, laid out on the ground. They were usually a combination of tactical gear, assault weapons, bottles of liquor and street wear like Supreme hoodies, all tied together in some way by the floral print of the Hawaiian shirt.

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Boogaloo Extremists, Banned From Facebook, and the Hawaiian Shirt - The New York Times

Myriad Announces Partnership with OptraHEALTH to Deliver Gene a New AI Based Information Tool for Hereditary Cancer Patients – BioSpace

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SALT LAKE CITY, July 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, today announced a new collaboration with OptraHEALTH to implement a cognitive ChatBOT named Gene to provide genetic and financial assistance information to prospective patients. Gene is an AI-powered, HIPAA-compliant knowledge platform for genetic health with BOT interfaces and can answer over 500,000 health related questions pertaining to hereditary cancer. Gene interfaces with Myriads market leading online hereditary cancer quiz, which is now taken by approximately one million people per year.

We are excited to offer this innovative new tool for physicians and patients to provide best-in-class pre-test education solutions that we can supplement with live sessions when necessary, said Nicole Lambert, president of Myriad International, Oncology and Womens Health. Myriad is highly focused on making the screening and testing process as streamlined as possible for healthcare providers and the implementation of this new technology will give their patients access to unparalleled online genetic education and support tools. This is especially important in the current environment with COVID-19 where patients may not be returning to the clinic setting and pre-test education can be particularly helpful as they work remotely with the healthcare provider to determine if testing is right for them.

Gene will interactively engage individuals online, providing them with education about hereditary cancer prior to taking an online assessment to determine if they may be a candidate for genetic testing. For those who complete the preliminary assessment and meet criteria for further evaluation, Gene will automate a pre-test process that sends an educational link that displays interactive multimedia content and gives the option to start a live conversation with a patient educator, who is a certified genetic counselor. Gene can also assist in finding a healthcare provider who can help a patient make an informed, definitive decision whether testing is appropriate and then order testing if so. Myriad plans on launching the Gene chatbot for its Foresight and Prequel prenatal tests and for companion diagnostic testing in oncology later this calendar year.

About OptraHEALTH: OptraHEALTH is focused on improving outcomes for consumers and leading Life Sciences and Healthcare organizations by utilizing a next-generation Artificial Intelligence Platform. OptraHEALTHs flagship product GeneFAX is an AI-powered knowledge platform for genetic health and is available as a web plugin or mobile application.

About Myriad GeneticsMyriad Genetics Inc., is a leading personalized medicine company dedicated to being a trusted advisor transforming patient lives worldwide with pioneering molecular diagnostics. Myriad discovers and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests that: determine the risk of developing disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease progression, and guide treatment decisions across six major medical specialties where molecular diagnostics can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. Myriad is focused on three strategic imperatives: transitioning and expanding its hereditary cancer testing markets, diversifying its product portfolio through the introduction of new products and increasing the revenue contribution from international markets. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: http://www.myriad.com.

Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, myPath, myRisk, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice CDx, Vectra, Prequel, Foresight, GeneSight, Prolaris and riskScore are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, MYGN-G.

Safe Harbor StatementThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to implementation of this new technology giving patients access to unparalleled online genetic education and support tools; plans to launch the Gene chatbot for its ForeSight and Prequel prenatal tests and for hereditary cancer testing in oncology later this calendar year; details of the functionality of the Gene chatbot; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainties associated with COVID-19, including its possible effects on our operations and the demand for our products and services; our ability to efficiently and flexibly manage our business amid uncertainties related to COVID-19; the risk that sales and profit margins of our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may decline; risks related to our ability to transition from our existing product portfolio to our new tests, including unexpected costs and delays; risks related to decisions or changes in governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests or our ability to obtain reimbursement for our new tests at comparable levels to our existing tests; risks related to increased competition and the development of new competing tests and services; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and any future tests and services are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities and our healthcare clinic; risks related to public concern over genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we license or acquire; risks related to our projections about our business, results of operations and financial condition; risks related to the potential market opportunity for our products and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents or other intellectual property; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and patents or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court decisions in Mayo Collab. Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), Assn for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 569 U.S. 576 (2013), and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Intl, 573 U.S. 208 (2014); risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; the risk that we may be unable to comply with financial operating covenants under our credit or lending agreements; the risk that we will be unable to pay, when due, amounts due under our credit or lending agreements; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

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Myriad Announces Partnership with OptraHEALTH to Deliver Gene a New AI Based Information Tool for Hereditary Cancer Patients - BioSpace

Children’s National Medical Center and AWS partner for genome project targeting COVID-19 – SiliconANGLE

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Finding vaccines or drugs against COVID-19 is certainly one of the main current objectives of medical research centers worldwide. At Childrens National Medical Center, researchers are deploying technology tools from Amazon Web Services Inc. to combine hundreds of data sets to identify genes that might be targeted to treat many diseases, including COVID-19.

We know that there are a lot of drugs that target different genes,and we are particularly interested in, for example, can we repurpose some of these drugs to treatdifferent types of viruses, including COVID-19? said Wei Li (pictured), principal investigator at the Center for Genetic Medicine Research & Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at Childrens National Medical Center.

Li spoke with Stu Miniman, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Medias livestreaming studio, during the AWS Public Sector Summit event. They discussed how the genome project can help combat COVID-19, as well as the role of AWS technology tools in scientific research. (* Disclosure below.)

The Childrens National Medical Center has been using computational biology and gene editing approaches to understand humangenome and disease, and it is particularly interested in a gene-editingtechnology called CRISPR screening, according to Li, who has a research background in computer science.

This is a fascinating technology because it tells you whether one of the 20,000human genes are connected with some certain disease phenotype in one single experiment, he said. We are tryingto, for example, perform machine-learning and data-mining approaches to find new clues of human diseasefrom the original mix and screening big data.

CRISPR screening and other similar screening methods have been widely used in recent years by several research laboratories to study virus infections, such as those related to HIV, Ebola, influenza and now coronavirus, according to Li. Then, the team at the Childrens National Medical Center had an idea: to connect all the sets of screening data related to these viruses to try to extract new information that cannot be identified in a single study.

Can we identify new patterns or new human genes that are commonly responsible for many different virus types? Or can we find some genes that work only from some certain type of viruses? he asked.

Researchers use AWS technology to process and analyze huge amount of data sets, in addition to creating an integrated database in the cloud, so that research results can be freely accessed around the world. It is estimated that AWS technology can reduce the time to process screening data from months to days, according to Li.

Two major benefits are expected from the outcome of this research project.

The first thing is that we hope to find some genes thatcan be potentially drug targets. So, if there are existing drugs that target the genes, then that would be perfect, because we dont need to do anything about this, he explained. And,in the end, we hope that these drugs can have the broad antiviral activity; that means that these drugs can be potentially used to treat COVID-19 and in the future if theres a new virus coming out.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLEs and theCUBEs coverage of the AWS Public Sector Summit event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the AWS Public Sector Summit Online event. Neither Amazon Web Services Inc., the sponsor for theCUBEs event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

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Wed also like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we dont have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary onSiliconANGLE along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams attheCUBE take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.

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Children's National Medical Center and AWS partner for genome project targeting COVID-19 - SiliconANGLE

Sarepta Therapeutics Announces Retirement of Sandy Mahatme, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer – BioSpace

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.(NASDAQ:SRPT), the leader in precision genetic medicine for rare diseases, today announced the retirement of Sandy Mahatme, Sareptas executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief business officer, from the company effective July 10, 2020. The company has commenced a search process to identify the future chief financial officer. During the interim period, the finance and accounting functions will report directly to Sareptas Chief Executive Officer, Doug Ingram, and other departments reporting to Mr. Mahatme will be overseen by members of Sareptas executive committee.

The Sarepta from which Sandy retires is a very different one from the organization he joined as our chief financial officer some eight years ago. And the Sarepta of today a financially solid biotechnology organization with perhaps the industrys deepest and most valuable pipeline of genetic medicine candidates with the potential to extend and improve lives would not have been possible without Sandys business acumen and dedication, said Doug Ingram, president and chief executive officer, Sarepta Therapeutics. On behalf of our board of directors and the entire organization, I want to wish Sandy all the best in his next journey and thank him for his invaluable and numerous contributions to our success and for having built a strong team of finance leaders who will continue to perform as he departs.

Said Mr. Mahatme, It has been a privilege to serve as Sareptas CFO and CBO for almost eight years and to have participated in its remarkable transformation and extraordinary growth. Working with this leadership team and our talented colleagues, we have built a strong foundation for Sareptas ongoing success in achieving its goal of changing the lives of patients with rare diseases around the world. Having built a strong team of finance, IT, facilities, manufacturing and business development professionals, I feel confident that this is a good time to transition to other opportunities, knowing that Sarepta is well-positioned to continue to lead the industry.

Sandy will continue to serve on the Board of Directors for Flexion Therapeutics, Inc., Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc., and Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

AboutSarepta TherapeuticsAt Sarepta, we are leading a revolution in precision genetic medicine and every day is an opportunity to change the lives of people living with rare disease. The Company has built an impressive position in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and in gene therapies for limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs), mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), and other CNS-related disorders, with more than 40 programs in various stages of development. The Companys programs and research focus span several therapeutic modalities, including RNA, gene therapy and gene editing. For more information, please visitwww.sarepta.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Forward-Looking StatementThis press release contains "forward-looking statements." Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," "intends," "potential," "possible" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the search process to identify the future chief financial officer, the reporting structure during the interim period and the performance of the finance team; Sareptas potential to extend and improve lives; Sareptas goal of changing the lives of patients with rare diseases around the world; and Sarepta being well-positioned to continue to lead the industry.

These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Sareptas control. Known risk factors include, among others: Sarepta may not be able to execute on its business plans and goals, including meeting its expected or planned regulatory milestones and timelines, clinical development plans, and bringing its product candidates to market, due to a variety of reasons, many of which may be outside of Sareptas control, including possible limitations of company financial and other resources, manufacturing limitations that may not be anticipated or resolved for in a timely manner, regulatory, court or agency decisions, such as decisions by the United States Patent and Trademark Office with respect to patents that cover Sareptas product candidates and the COVID-19 pandemic; and those risks identified under the heading Risk Factors in Sareptas most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other SEC filings made by Sarepta which you are encouraged to review.

Any of the foregoing risks could materially and adversely affect Sareptas business, results of operations and the trading price of Sareptas common stock. For a detailed description of risks and uncertainties Sarepta faces, you are encouraged to review the SEC filings made by Sarepta. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Sarepta does not undertake any obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements based on events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Internet Posting of Information

We routinely post information that may be important to investors in the 'For Investors' section of our website atwww.sarepta.com. We encourage investors and potential investors to consult our website regularly for important information about us.

Source: Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

Investors:Ian Estepan, 617-274-4052iestepan@sarepta.com

Media:Tracy Sorrentino, 617-301-8566tsorrentino@sarepta.com

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Sarepta Therapeutics Announces Retirement of Sandy Mahatme, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer - BioSpace

Movers & Shakers, July 3 | BioSpace – BioSpace

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AVROBIO: On Monday, clinical-stage gene therapy company AVROBIO, headquartered in Massachusetts, announced the appointment of Kim Raineri as chief manufacturing and technology officer.

I am thrilled to join AVROBIO, a leader in lentiviral gene therapy and a true pioneer in driving manufacturing advances that address the gene therapy fields need for faster, more scalable and more automated production, Raineri said. The AVROBIO team has created a state-of-the-art gene therapy platform and is clearly committed to continuous innovation on behalf of the patient communities they strive to serve. I am excited to contribute to that work.

Raineri will be replacing AVROBIO co-founder Kim Warren in the position, who will be retiring at the end of July. Before joining AVROBIO, Raineri served as the vice president of operations for Nikon CeLL Innovation Co.

Scenic Biotech: On Wednesday, Netherlands-based Scenic Biotech announced the appointment of their new chief executive officer. Newly appointed CEO Oscar Izeboud brings more than 20 years of life sciences and finance industry experience.

Prior to joining Scenic, Izeboud served as managing director at NIBC Bank in Amsterdam, where he led its corporate finance and capital markets team with a focus on innovation and growth companies.

Former acting CEO and scientific co-founder Sebastian Nijman takes on the role of chief scientific officer.

Akari Therapeutics: Biopharmaceutical company Akari Therapeutics on Wednesday announced the appointment of Torsten Hombeck as chief financial officer and a member of the company's executive team.

Torsten brings a deep understanding of financial strategy, the capital markets and business development to Akari. We are delighted to have him as a permanent member of Akaris executive leadership team," said Clive Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of Akari Therapeutics. "His appointment comes at a time of significant company opportunity and growth. His business and financial expertise will be instrumental in helping us to further develop the Company."

Hormbeck joins Akari with over 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience in financial and strategic planning.

Sarepta Therapeutics: Earlier this week, Cambridge-based Sarepta Therapeutics announced the retirement of Sandy Mahatme, the company's executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief business officer. Mahatme will be leaving the company effective July 10.

The Sarepta from which Sandy retires is a very different one from the organization he joined as our chief financial officer some eight years ago. And the Sarepta of today a financially solid biotechnology organization with perhaps the industrys deepest and most valuable pipeline of genetic medicine candidates with the potential to extend and improve lives would not have been possible without Sandys business acumen and dedication, said Doug Ingram, president and chief executive officer of Sarepta Therapeutics.

Sarepta has launched a search to identify the future chief financial officer.

BioMarin: On June 29, BioMarin, a global biotechnology company, announced a pair of promotions. Brian Mueller was promoted to executive vice president, chief financial officer and Andrea Acosta was promoted to group vice president, chief accounting officer.

Mueller has been with BioMarin since 2002, during which he has taken on roles of increasing responsibility. Acosta has been with BioMarin since 2017 as vice president, corporate controller.

Theravance Biopharma: Dublin-based Theravance Biopharma on Thursday announced the appointment of Deepika Pakianathan to its Board of Directors. Pakianathan serves as a managing member at Delphi Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on biotechnology and medical device investments.

"We are honored to welcome Dr. Pakianathan to our board of directors," said Rick Winningham, chief executive officer of Theravance. "We believe her vast experience in the biotechnology sector, translating breakthrough science and taking important therapies from pipeline to patients, will further enhance our already talented Board of Directors."

Novavax: On Thursday, Maryland-based Novavax announced the appointment of Frank Czworka as senior vice president, global sales. Czworka will be responsible for leading sales planning and distribution for the company. He brings more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience to the company, with his most recent experience being as vice president, global customer enngagement at U.S. Pharmacopeia.

Novavax also announced the promotion of Brian Webb to senior vice president, manufacturing. Webb will be responsible for overseeing antigen manufacturing and supply activities in support of the company's vaccine candidates. Webb has been with Novavax since May 2014.

eGenesis: On Wednesday, Massachusetts-based eGenesis announced that it appointed Peter Hanson as chief operating officer. Hanson will be in charge directing eGenesis' day-to-day organizational and operational activities including production and manufacturing.

Peter is a highly experienced biopharmaceutical executive across multiple disciplines, which will be critical to support our next phase of growth as we integrate production and R&D, said Paul Sekhri, President and Chief Executive Officer of eGenesis. Peters operational leadership and veterinary knowledge will help us accelerate our product development as we move closer to IND filing for human clinical studies. We are very grateful for Kenneth Fans many contributions as our founding COO. I am delighted that he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company.

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Movers & Shakers, July 3 | BioSpace - BioSpace

The Future of Medicine Is Bespoke – Fair Observer

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There was a time when modern medicine was primitive. There were no antibiotics, so every infection took its own course, leading to decline in health. Hypertension and diabetes were largely untreatable. X-ray was new, and remedies had changed but little from medieval times. No one ever embarked on the goodness of preventative treatment, not to speak of predictive medicine, beyond taking a distasteful cod liver oil capsule.

During the last hundred years, modern medicine has undergone a sea change. Just think of it an ever-expanding repertoire of medicines, high-tech procedures, therapies and reams of clinical data to employ when one gets sick. Yet modern medicine remained (in)complete, notwithstanding the therapeutic advances.

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Things are now changing thanks to the integration of all such advances, from how a persons diet interacts with ones unique genetic profile to how environmental pollutants affect our thinking, not to speak of preventative medical approaches in health and wellness. The bigperestroikahas begun, and it is poised to transform health care for a growing number of people in the near future. Welcome to a whole new world of personalized, bespoke medicine.

Personalized medicine is, in essence, tailored or customized medical treatment. It treats while keeping in mind the unique, individual characteristics of each patient, which are as distinct as ones fingerprint or signature. It also includes scientific breakthroughs in our understanding of how a persons unique molecular and genetic profile makes them susceptible to certain illnesses. Personalized medicine expands our ability to envisage medical treatments that would not only be effective but also safe for each patient while excluding treatments that may not provide useful objectives.

Personalized medicine is, in simple terms, the use of new methods of molecular scrutiny. It is keyed to help better manage a patients illness or their genetic tendency toward a particular illness or a group of diseases. In so doing, it aims to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes by helping both clinicians and patients choose a disease management approach that is likely to work best in the context of the patients unique genetic and environmental summary. In other words, it allows to accurately diagnose diseases and their sub-types while prescribing the best form and dose of medication most suited to the given patient.

Personalized, or precision, medicine is not rocket science it is, in essence, an extension of certain traditional approaches to understanding and treating disease. What jazzed up the therapeutic fulcrum of personalized medicine are tools that are more precise. This is what also offers clinicians better insights for selecting a treatment protocol based on a patients molecular profile. Such a patient-specific methodology, as has been practiced for long in certain complementary and alternative medical (CAM) or integrative approaches, not only curtails harmful side effects but also leads to more successful outcomes, including reduced costs in comparison to the current trial-and-error approach to treatment, which has distressingly come to the fore during these extraordinary and unprecedented times of COVID-19.

It is still early days, but the fact remains that personalized medicine has changed the old ways of how we all thought about, identified and managed health issues. As personalized medicine increasingly bids fair to an exciting journey in terms of clinical research and patient care, its impact will only further expand our understanding of medical technology.

What personalized medicine has done is bring about a paradigm shift in our thinking about people in general and also specifically. We all vary from one another what we eat, what others eat, how we react to stress or experience health issues when exposed to environmental factors. It is agreed that such variations play a role in health and disease. It is also being incrementally accepted that certain natural variations found in our DNA can influence our risk of developing a certain disease and how well we could respond to a particular medicine.

All of us are unique individuals, perhaps with the exemption of identical twins, albeit the genomes are unique in them, too. While we are genetically similar, there are small differences in our DNA that are unique, which also makes us distinctive in terms of health, disease and our response to certain medicinal treatments.

Personalized medicine is poised to tap natural variations found in our genes that may play a role in our risk of getting or not getting certain illnesses, along with numerous external factors, such as our environment, nutrition and exercise. Variations in DNA can, likewise, lead to differences in how medications are absorbed, metabolized and used by the body. The understanding of such genetic variations and their interactions with environmental factors are elements that will help personalized medicine clinicians to produce better diagnostics and drugs, and select much better treatments and dosages based on individual needs not as just fixing a pill or two, as is the present-day conventional medical practice.

It is established that a majority of genes function precisely as intended. This gives rise to proteins that play a significant role in biological processes while allowing or helping an individual to grow, adapt and live in their environment. It is only in certain unusual situations, such as a single mutated or malfunctioning gene, that our apple cart is disturbed. This leads to distinct genetic diseases or syndromes such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. In like manner, multiple genes acting together can impact the development of a host of common and complex diseases, including our response to medications used to treat them.

New advances will revolutionize bespoke medical treatment with the inclusion of drug therapy as well as recommendations for lifestyle changes to manage, delay the onset of disease or reduce its impact. Not surprisingly, the emergence of new diagnostic and prognostic tools has already raised our ability to predict likely outcomes of drug therapy. In like manner, the expanded use of biomarkers biological molecules that are associated with a particular disease state has resulted in more focused and targeted drug development.

Molecular testing is being expansively used today to identify breast cancer and colon cancer patients who are likely to benefit from new treatments and to preempt recurrences. A genetic test for an inherited heart condition is helping clinicians to determine which course of treatment would maximize benefit and minimize serious side effects while bringing about curative outcomes.

Such complexities exist for asthma and other disorders too. This is precisely where molecular analysis of biomarkers can help us to identify sub-types within a disease while enabling the clinician to monitor their progression, select appropriate medication, measure treatment outcomes and patients response. Future advances may make biomarkers and other tools affordable and allow clinicians to screen patients for relevant molecular variations prior to prescribing a particular medication.

It is already clear that personalized medicine promises three strategic benefits. In terms of preventative medicine, personalized medicine will improve the ability to identify which individuals are predisposed to develop a particular condition. A better understanding of genetic variations could also help scientists identify new disease subgroups or their associated molecular pathways and design drugs to target them. This could also help select patients for inclusion, or exclusion, in late-stage clinical trials. Finally, it will allow to work out the best dosage schedule or combination of drugs for each individual patient.

Yet not everything is hunky-dory for personalized medicine. Critics of precision medicine believe that the whole idea is too much of overhyped razzmatazz, among other things. Proponents, however, argue that when it comes to managing our own health, most of us are used to the idea of taking a one-size-fits-all approach be it medicines, supplements, diets and diagnoses. This may be wrong.

What works, as they put it, for one may be a gaffe for another. As the award-winning oncologist and medical technology innovator, Dr. David B. Agus, author of the groundbreaking bookThe End of Illness, puts it, each patients individual risk factors are based on ones DNA, the environment and a preventative lifestyle plan in response. He begins with simple, profound pointers: How is your sense of smell? and Is your ring finger longer than your middle finger? He explains with statistics-backed guidelines that moving and walking regularly is mandatory because exercising and then sitting is equivalent to smoking cigarettes, while eating and sleeping at consistent hours is imperative because irregularity causes inflammation.

The inference is obvious: We should all understand our physiology and quiz doctors with the thorough, exploratory frame of mind of a gadget buyer. This holds the key to making medicine truly personal, more humane, effective and safe while keeping in mind the individual in us all as unique and distinctive, the sum of the whole not just the parts.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observers editorial policy.

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The Future of Medicine Is Bespoke - Fair Observer

Dropping Race-Based eGFR Adjustment Gains Traction in US – Medscape

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A small number of US health systems, as well as some individual physicians, have begun dropping the African American-specific modifier when recording estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of renal function.

The move aims to correct a race-based health-access inequity that's been in place for more than two decades, say advocates, while others voice concern that the change threatens over-diagnosis of both chronic and end-stage kidney disease in some patients.

In late June, the Boston-based Massachusetts General Brigham health system stopped noting the race-based modifier when its laboratories reported eGFR, and the leadership sent its staff a message discouraging them from applying the modifier. A similar change in eGFR reporting started on June 1 at the University of Washington health system, UW Medicine, Seattle.

These steps followed what is widely regarded as the first institutional change away from race-based adjustment of eGFR, begun in March 2017 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and they have come amid a growing movement by some individual US physicians to drop the modifier from their practice.

"Momentum is clearly building," said Nwamaka D. Eneanya, MD, a nephrologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and lead author of a commentary published a little over a year ago that laid out the case for reconsidering how to calculate eGFR in African Americans (JAMA 2019;322:113-4).

"Many discussions are happening at other [US] academic medical centers," Eneanya added, including the system where she works.

The concept is that the formula used to calculate eGFR systematically underestimates the value in African Americans. Hence, it requires a small but meaningful up-adjustment, which can be traced back to the introduction of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study equation in 1999 (Ann Intern Med 1999;130:461-70).

The idea was perpetuated in an improved calculation formula, the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) that came out a decade later (Ann Intern Med 2009;150:604-12).

These are the most widely used US approaches to eGFR calculation, with the newer CKD-EPI formula predominating.

The rationale for including a modifier for Blacks in the 2009 formula was for improved accuracy relative to the standard reference measure based on iothalamate clearance.

The data used to develop the CKD-EPI formula showed that Black individuals in the dataset had, on average, GFR levels that were 16% higher than people of other races with the same age, sex, and serum creatinine level, according to a recent commentary (Clin J Am Soc Nephrol2020;CJN.12791019). The first author, Andrew S. Levey, MD, was also lead author of the reports that introduced both the MDRD and CKD-EPI equations.

But the argument withers in the light of both its flimsy lynchpin race assessment and the medical and social consequences of its application, say those who have sought change.

"Race is a social, not a biological, construct and the kidney-function race multiplier ignores the substantial genetic diversity within self-identified Black patients," said Thomas D. Sequist, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston and chief patient experience and equity officer for Mass General Brigham, who spearheaded the policy change for that system.

"Do we really believe that the population breaks down into just 'Black' and 'not Black,' as the CKD-EPI equation asks us to believe?" he said in an interview.

"The equation was developed from a few thousand patients, and we now apply it to millions of people using a very imprecise measure race."

"Reporting eGFR by race perpetuates a notion that race is a biologic construct when it's not," agreed Rajnish Mehrotra, MD, a professor and chief of nephrology at the University of Washington in Seattle and leader of the eGFR change within his medical system.

Equally compelling, said Mehrotra, Sequist, and others, are the health inequities that have resulted from routinely raising the eGFR in African Americans.

This has led to "withholding treatment from people longer than needed. We arrived at the conclusion that reporting eGFR by race does more harm than good," Mehrotra said in an interview.

Sequist added: "Researchers across Mass General Brigham have demonstrated that use of these race multipliers can lead to important delays in care for Black patients, such as timely evaluation for kidney transplantation."

"Our main concern is that race correction is creating harm."

Eneanya concurs: "It was never designed to oppress patients, but that's where we are. No one ever thought about the repercussions of using race."

And while the movement to eliminate the race modifier is clearly gaining steam, it's also receiving pushback from those who see benefit from the modification and have concern that its abolition could lead to overestimates of kidney disease severity.

Some clinicians "have a hard time letting the race modifier go," Eneanya noted.

In their 2020 commentary, Levey and co-authors write: "We propose a more cautious approach that maintains and improves accuracy of GFR estimates and avoids disadvantaging any racial group."

Their suggested remedies included full disclosure of use of race, accommodation of people who decline to self-identify themselves that way, shared decision-making, and "mindful" use of cystatin C, an alternative to serum creatinine for calculating eGFR.

The latter is regarded as more precise and accurate than serum creatinine across populations butis often not as readily available to many clinicians. Their article also supported looking for even better and more accessible ways to calculate eGFR.

"In the nephrology community, it's pretty controversial," said Mallika L. Mendu, MD, a nephrologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, who has studied the impact of using the modifier on patient assessment.

Her recent review of Mass General Brigham patients found that close to a third of African Americans would have been reclassified with a more severe form of kidney disease if their eGFR had remained unmodified.

"That raised concerns that by using race adjustment we're potentially leading to less equitable outcomes for African American patients," she said. "I'd rather over diagnose than not diagnose in a timely way."

The research that led to development of the MDRD and CKD-EPI equations "are gold-standard studies" that "saw a real difference," Mendu acknowledged in an interview.

"But the way those studies were run and the way they defined the patients was problematic." Despite that, "many nephrologists" agree with the position taken by Levey and co-authors in their recent commentary, she said.

She added that she stopped using the modifier about a year ago in her own practice , well before the system where she works adopted the same approach.

In one sign of the controversy, a quartet of clinicians affiliated with San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH)recently posted an online petition in which they noted that the race modifier had been eliminated in eGFR reports from the hospital's laboratory in October 2019, but more recently had been slated for reinstitution. "We were deeply distressed to recently discover the intended plan to revert back to race-based eGFR reporting at SFGH," they noted.

The same four clinicians also wrote an opinion piece calling for elimination of the modifier in November 2019 in the San Francisco Examiner.

Controversy will likely linger as the movement to withdraw the race modifier spreads without clear agreement on what to do instead.

Mehrotra said he's received inquiries about his system's experience from clinicians at several US medical centers and systems, and he remains comfortable applying the unadjusted CKD-EPI formula to all adults, an approach he called "sufficient."

Other physicians, like nephrologist Vanessa Grubbs, MD, call for a rapid shift to a cystatin C-based, fully race-neutral method for calculating eGFR, a position she detailed in a recent editorial (Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2020;CJN.00690120).

And at the University of Pennsylvania, Eneanya continues to use race-adjusted eGFR in her practice despite her misgivings because her institution's leadership has not yet agreed on any changes.

"People have a hard time letting it go because it is so important in clinical care. Getting everyone to come to a consensus takes time," she said.

Eneanya, Sequist, and Mendu have reported no relevant financial relationships. Mehrotra has been a consultant for Baxter Healthcare.

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July: Genome sequencing rare diseases | News and features – University of Bristol

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A research programme pioneering the use of whole genome sequencing in the NHS has diagnosed hundreds of patients and discovered new genetic causes of disease.

The project, the results of which were published in the journal Nature, offered whole-genome sequencing as a diagnostic test to patients with rare diseases across an integrated health system, a world first in clinical genomics.

Whole genome sequencing is the technology used by the 100,000 Genomes Project, a service set up by the government which aims to introduce routine genetic diagnostic testing in the NHS. The integration of genetic research with NHS diagnostic systems increases the likelihood that a patient will receive a diagnosis and the chance this will be provided within weeks rather than months.

The multi-centre study, led by researchers at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource together with Genomics England, demonstrates how sequencing the whole genomes of large numbers of individuals in a standardised way can improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with rare diseases.

The researchers, including experts from the University of Bristol, studied the genomes of groups of patients with similar symptoms, affecting different tissues, such as the brain, eyes, kidney, blood, or the immune system. They identified a genetic diagnosis for 60 per cent of individuals in one group of patients with early loss of vision.

Principal investigators Andrew Mumford, Professor of Haematology, and Moin Saleem, Professor of Paediatric Renal Medicine, led the set-up of the programme and oversaw regional enrolment in the South West. Professor Mumford provided national oversight for blood related disorders, while Professor Saleem managed inherited kidney diseases.

Professor Mumford and researchers in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine collaborated with the Bristol NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and the University of Cambridge to develop ways to improve the genetic identification of blood disorders, contributing significantly to the breakthrough diagnostic potential.

Professor Mumford said: This pioneering study illustrates the power of whole genome sequencing for diagnosis of rare human diseases. The approach developed in this research has paved the way for the flagship 100,000 Genomes Project and the introduction of whole genome sequencing into standard NHS care.

Professor Saleem established the UK National Renal Rare Disease Registry, and the national and international NephroS (Nephrotic Syndrome) groups, based within the UK Renal Registry in Bristol. These provided recruitment, essential genetic data, and DNA collection for the study. Researchers in Bristol provided functional and clinical insights leading to the discovery of causative genes relating to kidney disorders.

Professor Saleem said: Rare diseases in their entirety are common, in that there are more than 7,000 different rare diseases in total affecting about 7 per cent of the population. Most have a genetic cause, so this research for the first time brings the most powerful genetic sequencing capabilities to apply across the whole health service, meaning all patients will now have the best possible chance of finding their individual genetic defect.

In the study, funded mainly by the National Institute for Health Research, the entire genomes of almost 10,000 NHS patients with rare diseases were sequenced and searched for genetic causes of their conditions. Previously unobserved genetic differences causing known rare diseases were identified, in addition to genetic differences causing completely new genetic diseases.

The team identified more than 172 million genetic differences in the genomes of the patients, many of which were previously unknown. Most of these genetic differences have no effect on human health, so the researchers used new statistical methods and powerful supercomputers to search for the differences which cause disease a few hundred needles in the haystack.

Using a new analysis method developed specifically for the project, the team identified 95 genes in which rare genetic differences are statistically very likely to be the cause of rare diseases. Genetic differences in at least 79 of these genes have been shown definitively to cause disease.

The team searched for rare genetic differences in almost all of the 3.2 billion DNA letters that make up the genome of each patient. This contrasts with current clinical genomics tests, which usually examine a small fraction of the letters, where genetic differences are thought most likely to cause disease. By searching the entire genome researchers were able to explore the switches and dimmers of the genome the regulatory elements in DNA that control the activity of the thousands of genes.

The team showed that rare differences in these switches and dimmers, rather than disrupting the gene itself, affect whether or not the gene can be switched on at the correct intensity. Identifying genetic changes in regulatory elements that cause rare disease is not possible with the clinical genomics tests currently used by health services worldwide. It is only possible if the whole of the genetic code is analysed for each patient.

Dr Ernest Turro, from the University of Cambridge and the NIHR BioResource, said: We have shown that sequencing the whole genomes of patients with rare diseases routinely within a health system provides a more rapid and sensitive diagnostic service to patients than the previous fragmentary approach, and, simultaneously, it enhances genetics research for the future benefit of patients still waiting for a diagnosis.

"Thanks to the contributions of hundreds of physicians and researchers across the UK and abroad, we were able to study patients in sufficient numbers to identify the causes of even very rare diseases."

Paper:

Whole-genome sequencing of patients with rare diseases in a national health system, by Ernest Turro et alin Nature.

There are thousands of rare diseases and, together, they affect more than three million people in the UK. To tackle this challenge, the NIHR BioResource created a network of 57 NHS hospitals which focus on the care of patients with rare diseases.

Based on the emerging data from the present NIHR BioResource study and other studies by Genomics England, the UK government previously announced that the NHS will offer whole-genome sequencing analysis for all seriously ill children with a suspected genetic disorder, including those with cancer. The sequencing of whole genomes will expand to one million genomes per year by 2024.

Whole-genome sequencing will be phased in nationally for the diagnosis of rare diseases as the standard of care, ensuring equivalent care across the country.

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July: Genome sequencing rare diseases | News and features - University of Bristol

A New Generation of Coronavirus Tests Is Coming. Here’s What to Expect. – The New York Times

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Still, the quick tests available now are frequently inaccurate. Although they ensure we can get an answer faster, said Dr. Ibukun Akinboyo, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Duke Universitys School of Medicine, you lose some sensitivity, she said. Its hard to win at both.

Last month, a swab-based point-of-care test called Abbott ID Now made headlines when an analysis found that it might miss infections up to 48 percent of the time, despite being promoted by President Trump as highly accurate.

Sensitivity issues also plague antigen tests, which detect pieces of proteins made by the virus, rather than its genes. Antigen tests have been used to detect other airway infections, such as the flu, in less than an hour, and are easy to manufacture en masse. But the convenience comes at a cost: Unlike genetic material, antigens cant be amplified easily. Some antigen tests, including a few that search for influenza viruses, fail to pick up on active infections around 50 percent of the time.

If a Covid antigen test performs like an influenza antigen test, I dont think they will have much utility, said Dr. David Alland, the director of the Center for Emerging Pathogens at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Still, he noted, if improved, they could be very promising.

Even imprecise tests have their place in this pandemic, as long as theyre easy to use and distributed widely enough. Should a test miss someone on Monday, maybe youll get them a day or two later, Dr. Wyllie said.

So far, only two companies have received emergency authorization from the F.D.A. for coronavirus antigen tests. One is Quidel, which is, according to a representative, producing millions of tests each month, many of which have been distributed to urgent care centers and medical clinics in the United States. On Monday, a second firm, Becton Dickinson & Company, also entered the fray with a point-of-care antigen test that can reportedly produce results in 15 minutes. While speedy, both Quidels and BDs tests may produce false negatives between 15 and 20 percent of the time.

Other antigen tests have made headway overseas, and experts estimated that several more will likely seek clearance in the United States in coming months.

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A New Generation of Coronavirus Tests Is Coming. Here's What to Expect. - The New York Times

Male fruit flies’ decline in fertility with age is not only driven by changes in sperm – Mirage News

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Infertility is one of the most striking effects of ageing. The impact of ageing on females fertility is more severe and much better understood, but it also affects males. Male reproductive ageing is less researched, but of those studies that do address it, most focus on sperm. However, ejaculate contains more than just sperm. Proteins in the seminal fluid are important for fertility, and in many animals, they have a dramatic effect on female physiology and behaviour. Little is currently known about the impact of male ageing on these proteins, and whether any changes contribute to poorer ejaculates in older males.

To resolve these questions, researchers at the University of Oxfords Department of Zoology conducted experiments in a model organism, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. This species typically lives for less than five weeks, which means that researchers can very rapidly measure the impact of age on male fertility, and their sperm and seminal fluid proteins. This species is also highly amenable to genetic studies, which allowed the researchers to genetically manipulate male lifespan, to see how this impacted the decline in fertility with age.

Published this week in PNAS are their results which show that both sperm and seminal fluid protein quality and quantity decline with male age, making distinct contributions to declining reproductive performance in older males. However, the relative impacts on sperm and seminal fluid often differ, leading to mismatches between ejaculate components. Despite these differences, experimental extension of male lifespan improved overall ejaculate performance in later life, suggesting that such interventions can delay both male reproductive ageing and death.

Lead author Dr Irem Sepil, from the University of Oxfords Department of Zoology, says: These results highlight that the decline in fertility with male age is not exclusively driven by changes in sperm. The quality and quantity of the seminal fluid proteins also change as males age, and these patterns can differ from the changes seen in sperm, but still impact male reproductive function. However, a manipulation aimed at increasing lifespan also slows down age-related reproductive decline. This means that it is possible that drugs and treatments aimed at promoting healthy ageing could be co-opted to slow down male reproductive ageing.

Going forward, the researchers want to look into the health of offspring. In humans, children of old fathers are more at risk of certain medical disorders, but the mechanisms driving these changes remain unclear. Also, whilst a lifespan-extending genetic manipulation helped fertility in older males, it is not clear whether less invasive treatments, which might be used in human medicine, would work similarly. There is ongoing research to understand how we can increase the healthspan of individuals. The aim is not to live longer but to age healthily, slowing down the onset of age-related diseases such as cancer, Alzheimers and arthritis.

It is important to note that the work described here was on a species of fly. While ageing mechanisms are often similar across animals, to understand whether the patterns are commonly shared, they will need to be examined in other species.

Read the paper in PNAS: https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/06/30/2009053117

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Male fruit flies' decline in fertility with age is not only driven by changes in sperm - Mirage News

In the Future, Lab Mice Will Live in Computer Chips, Not Cages – Medscape

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Animal models, especially mice, have given scientists valuable insights into the mechanisms behind countless human diseases. They have been instrumental to the discovery of drug targets, metabolic pathways, and gene function. They've helped to lay bare the basic biochemistry of metabolism, hunger, cognition, and aging. Because mice are, to a certain extent, miniature facsimiles of human anatomy and genetics, science has an array of tools at its disposal to manipulate and visualize their bodily processes in real time, in highly controlled settings.

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But, as the recent Covid-19 pandemic has revealed, science doesn't always have the tools to minimize loss of animal life. As the pandemic took hold and academic research labs across the U.S. shuttered indefinitely, scientists were faced with an unprecedented animal care dilemma. Without the teams of veterinary nurses and technicians who usually attend to the animals daily, many labs were forced to resort to wholesale euthanasia. Some labs sacrificed hundreds of animals, and were criticized harshly for their management of their experimental colonies. Many started to consider more durable, long-term plans for preserving and storing their mouse lines.

In the lab where I work at the University of California, San Francisco, and where for the past two years I've been the designated rodent surgeon, we were asked to euthanize all but our most irreplaceable mice. As new animal researchers, we are trained to sacrifice our mice humanely to give them a dignified death. Returning to lab after the shutdown to find rows of empty racks that once held cages of mice we had worked with for months was a shock, and it was hard to conjure dignity in that moment.

That experience led me to reflect on how we as a research community use animal models in biomedical research, and how we might better use them in the future. And I've become increasingly convinced that the animal model of the future will live not in a cage but in a computer chip: By simulating biological systems rather than experimenting with them, we can make drug development and biomedical research safer, more efficient, and more effective.

This is not to say that researchers' treatment of animals has been haphazard. Research in animal models is highly regulated. These regulations vary in austerity from country to country and institution to institution, but they revolve around a common set of principles known as the "three Rs": Replace the use of animals when possible, reduce the number of animals used per experiment, and refine methods to minimize suffering and improve welfare.

As the recent Covid-19 pandemic has revealed, science doesn't always have the tools to minimize loss of animal life.

A few years ago, when I was a new mouse surgeon, the three Rs were the guiding tenets of a week-long course I took at the Ren Remie Surgical Skills Center in Almere, Netherlands. The center's founder, Ren Remie, advocated for meticulous surgical technique, held to the same standards of sterility and post-operative care as any human surgical procedure. But he was also a proponent of the thinking that longer-term strategies can hasten recovery time from infection and surgical procedures. For instance, Remie and other researchers advocate what's called environmental enrichment, a method that helps animals cope with the inherent stress of being isolated after a surgical procedure or during an experiment. The researchers place toys, nesting material, or other inanimate objects in the cage that allow the mouse to engage with its surroundings, similar to the way it would in the wild. Studies suggest that environmental enrichment may even promote wound healing in rats.

But the success of strategies like environmental enrichment highlights an inherent weakness of the animal research model: An animal's behavior is often extremely sensitive to its environment, in ways that are difficult if not impossible to control. This raises a perennial issue in biomedical research of just how reliably conclusions drawn based on studies in mice can be faithfully applied to human disease treatment. For instance, rodents are housed in groups as a rule, but certain kinds of experiments and treatments require them to be isolated, triggering a stress response that could significantly affect their immune activation. Studies have shown that mice and rats who live with companions fare better against injury, stroke, and even tumor growth than their lonely counterparts. As a result, when mice studies ask questions about human diseases, the housing status of the mouse is often a confounding factor. Even slight variation in the ambient temperature of a mouse's housing room can cause stress responsesthat affect experimental outcomes. This variability is one reason that treatments that seem promising in mice often produce underwhelming outcomes in human clinical trials.

One attractive complement to animal studies that may address some of these shortcomings is in silico, or "on a chip" medicine. In silico models apply computational modeling strategies to genomic data to predict physiological responses to drugs or other stimuli. Although they are far from being able to replicate the full complexity of a living, sentient being, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has begun consider computer modeling-based strategies to update the cumbersome and costly clinical trial pipeline. Research with in vitro models, which attempt to replicate animal physiology in test-tube style experiments, have also shown promise. These efforts have given birth to projects like the Comprehensive in Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay initiative, which integrates modeling and in vitro strategies to evaluate the potential for new drugs to cause heart rate abnormalities

Likewise, in 2013, the European Commission assembled a consortium of research groups known as the Avicenna Alliance to unify academia and industry around a set of standards for computer modeling in medicine. Based in Belgium but comprised of independent organizations around the world, the goal of the Alliance is to enable virtual clinical trials whose results can be validated by the same kinds of rigorous standards that are applied to traditional clinical trials.

As the Avicenna Alliance envisions them, virtual clinical trials would be based on unique genetic models derived from individual patients, rather than on large, genetically variable sample groups. Conceivably, this could allow a researcher to simulate a patient's unique response to a treatment strategy, capturing the effects of subtle variations in baseline metabolism, bodyweight, or underlying health conditions that might influence the patient's treatment outcomes. It might also significantly reduce the time and expense traditionally required to usher a new drug or medical device from the lab bench to the clinic potentially lowering the barrier to care for large swaths of the population who can't afford the often-astronomical costs of life-saving medications.

In silico clinical trials, if and when they are realized, could also address the long-standing problem of sample bias in drug development. Demographically, clinical trials tend to be disproportionately White and, until recently, overwhelmingly male. They therefore don't fully capture the therapeutic value and potential risks that drugs present to the patients who eventually rely on them. If in silico strategies become widely adopted, they'll hold potential to both increase the efficacy of new drugs and expand access to treatment.

The ethical debate around the use of animals in research has roiled for hundreds of years and will likely continue to do so. But what the Covid-19 outbreak has made clear is that there are severe weaknesses in the current animal model paradigm. As experiments have come to a halt during the coronavirus lockdowns, researchers have been given time to consider new, more sustainable approaches to discovery. Hopefully, we will look beyond the short-term technical challenges that will inevitably accompany the resumption of business as usual and gaze further afield, toward more humane, more modernized approaches to doing science.

Lindsay Gray is a lab manager at the University of California, San Francisco.

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In the Future, Lab Mice Will Live in Computer Chips, Not Cages - Medscape

CMU team evaluates range and battery tradeoffs between vehicle automation and electrification – Green Car Congress

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A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has used a vehicle dynamics model to evaluate the trade-off between automation and electric vehicle range and battery longevity. The researchers compared vehicle-level energy use, range and battery life of a vehicle equipped to attain Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) levels 45 automation to human-driven EVs by undertaking a careful consideration of the effect on vehicle-level energy use of the different components needed for automated driving, as well as the potential increase in drag from LiDAR (light detection and ranging).

They found that automation will likely reduce electric vehicle range by 510% for suburban driving and by 1015% for city driving. The effect on range is strongly influenced by sensor drag for suburban driving and computing loads for city driving. They also found that the impact of automation on battery longevity is negligible. Their paper is published in Nature Energy.

Box plot showing the range impact for the composite drive profile and for automated solutions with and without LiDAR. The y axis shows the percentage change in range for the AEVcompared to the base EV. The horizontal red line is the median change in range, and the red data points are the data that are beyond the whisker where the maximum whisker length is 1.5 times theinterquartile range. The x axis lists the five EVs considered in the analysis. Mohan et al.

While some commentators have suggested that the power and energy requirements of automation mean that the first automated vehicles will be gaselectric hybrids, our results suggest that this need not be the case if automakers can implement energy-efficient computing and aerodynamic sensor stacks.

Mohan et al.

Two of the researchers had developed a physics-based vehicle dynamics model to estimate the energy demands of an EV given a realistic driving profile. Using a realistic velocity profile with a 1 s temporal resolution the model calculates the instantaneous power needed each second to overcome vehicle inertia, aerodynamic drag and road friction.

The CMU team extended the model for autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs) by adding the weight of the different components to the mass of the vehicle and battery pack, and increasing the drag coefficient for automated solutions with a roof-based spinning LiDAR.

If no LiDAR is used, or if solid-state LiDAR that is incorporated into the aerodynamic profile of the vehicle is used, the increase in drag is zero. They also modified the velocity profile to account for potentially smoother driving and add the computing and sensor loads at each second.

Keeping track of the total energy used, they repeated the driving profile until the battery was fully depleted. They then compared the resulting range estimates for a given battery capacity to conventional EVs.

All underlying data are publicly available at https://github.com/battmodels/Automation-EV-Range. Source data are provided with the paper.

Resources

Mohan, A., Sripad, S., Vaishnav, P. et al. (2020) Trade-offs between automation and light vehicle electrification. Nat Energy doi: 10.1038/s41560-020-0644-3

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CMU team evaluates range and battery tradeoffs between vehicle automation and electrification - Green Car Congress

One third of Indigenous workers in Canada in jobs facing automation, says report – Turtle Island News

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By Tara Deschamps

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO- One-third of Canadas Indigenous workers are in jobs facing a high risk of automation, a new report has found.

Researchers at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Ryerson Universitys Diversity Institute and the Future Skills Centre spent roughly a year studying 33 sectors and how advances in automation will affect Indigenous workers in those industries.

About 250,000 jobs, or 33.8 per cent of roles held by Indigenous workers across Canada, are currently concentrated in industries with a high risk of automation, says the report released on Monday.

Tabitha BullCCAB

Theres a lot of research that goes into the economy, but very rarely is there an Indigenous lens put on it, said Tabatha Bull, chief executive at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and a member of the Nipissing First Nation.

This really puts a lens on the difficulties and potential barriers Indigenous people face to be on an equal playing field.

Indigenous people in Canada represent four per cent of the total labour force and generate a combined household income of about $30 billion a year, according to Statistics Canada.

Bulls study showed that Indigenous workers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island are more at risk from automation than non-Indigenous workers in these provinces.

The research also found that 131,000 Indigenous workers are employed in sectors with the highest levels of automation risk, including accommodation and food services, retail trade, construction, transportation and warehousing, and management and administration.

Those at-risk industries account for approximately $2.43 billion of Indigenous wage revenue.

Indigenous workers tend to be more concentrated in these at-risk industries because of historical and geographical factors that have resulted in structural inequality lasting decades, said Wendy Cukier, the founder and academic director at the Diversity Institute and a research lead at both the Future Skills Centre and Women

Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub.

We know that Indigenous people have been disadvantaged in terms of opportunities for developing skills, for example, in the high-end information communications technology sector, where jobs tend to be safer from the risk of automation than other jobs that require lower level skills, said Cukier.

In the construction industry, she has already noticed computerization eliminating jobs in architecture, design and surveying and an increase of robotics in the transportation and warehousing sector.

Its even become common to see administrative roles eliminated because offices can resort to using iPads at a front entryway to admit people to a facility rather than having a receptionist, Cukier pointed out.

Jobs are at risk for non-salaried workers as well.

About 49,000 Indigenous individuals in Canada are listed as self-employed and many are in at-risk industries.

To protect their work and ensure Indigenous people have an opportunity to pivot or to land jobs that are less at-risk, Bull said the country must look at improving access and the quality of education for Indigenous communities, which have the fastest growing youth rates.

Improving infrastructure and working with policy-makers is key too, she said.

We really need to look at our corporations and businesses and how are we educating senior leadership, at the board level and government about the history and the gaps that exist.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2020.

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One third of Indigenous workers in Canada in jobs facing automation, says report - Turtle Island News

Why automation will play a key role in the future of retail – Telegraph.co.uk

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As Britain cautiously emerges from coronavirus lockdown, automation technology is proving crucial to retailers hoping to tempt customers to spend again, according to retail experts.

During the pandemic, retailers such as Aldi used automation to reassure nervous customers. The supermarket pioneered a traffic-light system to show shoppers when to enter. McDonalds trialled a social-distancing restaurant in the Netherlands, with automated ordering and contact between staff and customers minimised.

This is a really pivotal moment for the uptake of automation in retail, both on the front and back end

For bricks-and-mortar retailers, the recovery from coronavirus looks set to be challenging, with two in five (42pc) consumers intending to shop online more, according to research by ChannelAdvisor and Dynata.

But this turbulent period offers quick-thinking retailers new opportunities, says Phil Jones. managing director at business technology solutions provider Brother UK. Its important to remember that opportunities often arise from adversity. Be fast on your feet and focus on adapting, rather than optimising, to seize the openings that will come.

Mr Jones says there are five key themes that business leaders must consider to reshape their companies for the post-pandemic environment. The first is reorganising their business model or cost structure; then enhancing what they did before; pivoting to reinvent where needed; creating innovations; or capitalising to grow exponentially from what is.

Retailers that have adopted automation weathered the crisis in better shape, says Miya Knights, co-author of Omnichannel Retail. And that trend looks set to continue. Covid-19 has only accelerated the trend towards more complex automated robotics and AI [artificial intelligence] systems.

Those that did not have sophisticated forecasting and planning systems were unable to address out-of-stocks as fast as those who did, losing out on sales and potentially damaging customer relations and brand image.

The automated front end of a transactional ecommerce website or an AI chatbot may have been the only way non-essential businesses stayed open or in touch with customers during lockdown. Those without that connection have suffered.

Businesses need to build on this to form a digital connection with their customers, Ms Knights believes. Businesses now need to make sure they have a digital connection to their customers that is as tightly coupled to their operational systems as possible, she says.

This is so that any automation investments not only improve trading efficiency and resilience in the face of a second wave [of coronavirus], but can also help the business stay current by giving customers more of what they want now and into the future.

Coming out of lockdown offers an opportunity for retailers to reassure customers using technology, while also pioneering new ideas, says Erik Mueller-Ali, director of speciality retail at retail architect CallisonRTKL. This is a really pivotal moment for the uptake of automation in retail, both on the front and back end, he says.

Retailers have talked for years about creating the seamless digital-to-real-world customer journey. Low-touch and contactless transactions are now mission-critical considerations.

Companies are already embracing automation to bridge the world of offline and online retail

Automation can be leveraged for both optimal customer convenience and enhanced experience, while still providing comfort and reassurance to consumers. This can take the shape of digital click-and-collect functions in more localised places; 24-hour vending machines; or augmented reality fitting options and interactive in-store displays.

Automated self-checkouts or even checkout-free transactions offer further streamlining opportunities, while also easing the all-important margins for retailers and freeing necessary staff for value-added services.

Companies are already embracing automation to bridge the world of offline and online retail, says Peter Scott, head of retail consultancy at Graystone Strategy. Some retailers are already doing this, like PC World where you can book a slot to speak to a real person who is in store from the comfort of your home.

They will show you the range and help you select the product thats right for you. You then buy it and collect it from the store at an agreed time.

This sort of mixture of online and offline will grow ever more important, Mr Scott believes. Quantum-leaping into the future, there could be virtual shopping putting on a headset and going shopping, interacting with virtual assistants, he says. The key here is to join the digital to the physical so that it is seamless.

From streamlining existing processes to monitoring and controlling expenditure, successful business transformation is vital to remaining competitive.

To find out more about how you can transform your office technology, visit Brothers business transformation areabrother.co.uk/business-transformation

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Why automation will play a key role in the future of retail - Telegraph.co.uk

The COVID-19 Impact On Intelligent Process Automation Market | Recent Study Including Growth Factors, Applications And Regional Analysis – 3rd Watch…

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The Intelligent Process Automation market research report is a fruitful research guide that gives prediction of Intelligent Process Automation market futuristic trends and examines market figures. Further, this report specifies the applications, extension, and key locales. Different explanation, portrayal, and representation considered in the report have made it easy to understand. This quintessence research report features the market drivers and constraints that affect the Intelligent Process Automation market development. The patterns and anticipated viewpoints for the market are additionally shrouded in the report which gives a savvy learning of the industry.

Global Intelligent Process Automation Market is driven by better optimization in the organization and to gain a major competitive edge within the market. Intelligent process automation is more focused towards reducing the costs and increasing the revenue. This is projecting a rise in estimated value from USD 7.34 billion in 2018 to an estimated value of USD 19.79 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 13.2% in the forecast to 2026.

Get Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts [emailprotected] https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample?dbmr=global-intelligent-process-automation-market

Major Industry Competitors:Intelligent Process Automation Market

Few of the major competitors currently working in intelligent process automation market are Automation Anywhere, Inc., UiPath., Blue Prism, Pegasystems Inc., AntWorks, NICE Robotic Automation, KOFAX INC., softmotive, SAP SE, AutomationEdge, Eggplant, LarcAI, Kryon Systems, Autologyx Ltd., Echelon, Sanbot Innovation Technology. Ltd, Cinnamon, Inc. and Crowd Computing Systems, Inc

Revealing the Competitive scenario

In todays competitive world you need to think one step ahead to chase your competitors, our research offers reviews about key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies to present better insights to drive the business into right direction

Key Segmentation: Intelligent Process Automation Market

By Technology (Natural Language Processing, Machine and Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Virtual Agents, Mini Bots and RPA, Computer Vision, Others), Component (Solutions, Services), Vertical (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Telecommunications and IT, Transport and Logistics, Media and Entertainment, Retail and E-Commerce, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Others), Application (IT Operations, Business Process Automation, Application Management, Content Management, Security, Others),

Regional Outlook

North America (US, Canada, Mexico)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, rest of south America)

Asia and Pacific region (Japan, china, India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, etc)

Middle east and Africa (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, etc)

Europe (Germany, Italy, U.K, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, etc)

Rapid Business Growth Factors

In addition, the market is growing at a fast pace and the report shows us that there are a couple of key factors behind that. The most important factor thats helping the market grow faster than usual is the tough competition.

What are the major market growth drivers?

Rapid increase in scope and usage of IT and automation within the globe with high acceptance ratio in the market

Automation with artificial intelligence helps in better customer experience and to grow in systematic manner

Minimizing the human work and error with optimum utilization of resources to earn greater efficiency of business enterprise in the market

Research strategies and tools used of Intelligent Process Automation Market:

This Intelligent Process Automation market research report helps the readers to know about the overall market scenario, strategy to further decide on this market project. It utilizes SWOT analysis, Porters Five Forces Analysis and PEST analysis.

Key Points of this Report:

The depth industry chain include analysis value chain analysis, porter five forces model analysis and cost structure analysis

The report covers North America and country-wise market of Intelligent Process Automation

It describes present situation, historical background and future forecast

Comprehensive data showing Intelligent Process Automation capacities, production, consumption, trade statistics, and prices in the recent years are provided

The report indicates a wealth of information on Intelligent Process Automation manufacturer

Intelligent Process Automation market forecast for next five years, including market volumes and prices is also provided

Raw Material Supply and Downstream Consumer Information is also included

Any other users requirements which is feasible for us

Key Developments in the Market:

In October 2018, Automation Anywhere launched Apeople an online community, for the experts and practitioners of robotic process automation, business process automation and artificial intelligence

In September 2018, Eggplant RPA by eggplant has been launched which can do or automate the work which is being done by the human using DAI technology. It has the capability of conversion and migration of 500,000 files which reduce the chances of overlapping of work using DAI technology

Some extract from Table of Contents

Overview of Global Intelligent Process Automation Market

Intelligent Process Automation Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by Type

Intelligent Process Automation Size (Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application

Intelligent Process Automation Size (Value) Comparison by Region

Intelligent Process Automation Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate

Intelligent Process Automation Competitive Situation and Trends

Strategic proposal for estimating availability of core business segments

Players/Suppliers, Sales Area

Analyze competitors, including all important parameters of Intelligent Process Automation

Global Intelligent Process Automation Manufacturing Cost Analysis

The most recent innovative headway and supply chain pattern mapping

Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe, MEA or Asia Pacific.

Table Of Contents Is Available [emailprotected] https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc?dbmr=global-intelligent-process-automation-market&AM

Why Is Data Triangulation Important In Qualitative Research?

This involves data mining, analysis of the impact of data variables on the market, and primary (industry expert) validation. Apart from this, other data models include Vendor Positioning Grid, Market Time Line Analysis, Market Overview and Guide, Company Positioning Grid, Company Market Share Analysis, Standards of Measurement, Top to Bottom Analysis and Vendor Share Analysis. Triangulation is one method used while reviewing, synthesizing and interpreting field data. Data triangulation has been advocated as a methodological technique not only to enhance the validity of the research findings but also to achieve completeness and confirmation of data using multiple methods

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The COVID-19 Impact On Intelligent Process Automation Market | Recent Study Including Growth Factors, Applications And Regional Analysis - 3rd Watch...

Analytics, automation startups gain as firms look to cut costs due to covid hit – Livemint

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Bengaluru: The covid-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for analytics and automation startups that have witnessed a growth in business, as clients focus on cutting costs and improving productivity amid hit to their businesses.

In the past four years, about 90% of enterprises have experienced a turn that upset normal operations, and organisations with a higher adoption rate of contemporary technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) will have a competitive advantage, a Gartner report has said.

Despite analytics including AI being part of discretionary spend", there has been an increase in demand for such solutions during the current downturn.

This was not the case during the recession of 2008-09," said Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder and group chief executive, Fractal Analytics. "AI is still discretionary but most of our clients in the last three months have come up to us and said that though it is discretionary, it is mission critical. It is super important to us and we are actually going to expand," said Velamakanni.

"We have grown around 25% year-on-year in Q1 FY20."

Analytics startup Tredence, founded by former MuSigma executives, has also seen an uptick in business as customers look at ways to drastically reduce costs, chase demand and prepare to bounce back.

"There has been an increase in new deals this year much of which is inspired by the covid-19 downturn. So far this year, we have acquired as many new clients as we had in the whole of last year," said Shashank Dubey, co-founder and chief analytics officer, Tredence.

Automation Anywhere, a niche player in RPA, believes the slowdown is an opportunity for companies like them. According to their recent survey of over 5,000 senior executives mostly from India, over 50% of them are expected to invest in intelligent automation this fiscal as part of their digital transformation mandate.

"Covid-19 has created the perfect storm for organisations to accelerate digital transformation and to embrace intelligent automation, combining RPA, AI, machine learning and analytics," said Milan Sheth, executive vice president (IMEA), Automation Anywhere.

'We are witnessing a surge in interest for intelligent automation among our existing customers as well as we are onboarding new customers across industry verticals. The advantage of intelligent automation is that organisations can deploy software bots to handle many repetitive tasks freeing up human workers to focus on innovation," Sheth said.

RPA startup UiPath believes automation has come out as a "silver lining" for various enterprises in the last 3-4 months. "We have seen 20% growth y-o-y since February. This is much higher than our last quarter or even the same quarter last year," said Manish Bharti, president, UiPath India & South Asia.

While the demand for analytics and automation has been seen across verticals, these startups are witnessing an increased interest from retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), fitness & healthcare, and the banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) segments. While the BFSI sector is using automation to supplement processes for high-volume tasks, the healthcare sector is turning to automation to reduce paper trails in services like insurance.

The slowdown has also forced firms to re-think their business models. While these analytics startups are not seeing any pricing pressure, customers are demanding pricing models that are more outcome-based and transparent.

Our clients are showing great openness to take brave bets as long as we are ready to engage them with the outcome based revenue models," said Dubey.

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Analytics, automation startups gain as firms look to cut costs due to covid hit - Livemint

Pharmaceutical Industry Automation Market Analysis & Technological Innovation by Leading Key Players – 3rd Watch News

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This report Added by Market Study Report, LLC, focuses on factors influencing the present scenario of the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market. The research report also offers concise analysis referring to commercialization aspects, profit estimation and market size of the industry. In addition, the report highlights the competitive standing of major players in the projection timeline which also includes their portfolios and expansion endeavors.

The research report on Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market provides a granular assessment of this business vertical and includes information concerning the market tendencies such as revenue estimations, current remuneration, market valuation, and market size over the estimated timeframe.

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An overview of the performance assessment of the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market is enlisted. The document also comprises of crucial insights pertaining to the major industry trends and the expected growth rate of the said market. The study encompasses specifics related to the growth avenues as well as the restraining factors for this business space.

Major factors underlined in the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market report:

Considering the geographical landscape of the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market:

Pharmaceutical Industry Automation Market Segmentation: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific & Middle East and Africa.

A summary of the details offered in the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market report:

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An overview of the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market in terms of product type and application scope:

Product landscape:

Product types:

Key parameters included in the report:

Application Spectrum:

Application segmentation:

Specifics offered in report:

Additional information mentioned in the report:

Other insights regarding the competitive scenario of the Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market:

Vendor base of Pharmaceutical Industry Automation market:

Key parameters as per the report:

Highlights of the report:

Key questions answered in the report:

For More Details On this Report: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-pharmaceutical-industry-automation-market-growth-status-and-outlook-2020-2025

Some of the Major Highlights of TOC covers:

Executive Summary

Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis

Development and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Pharmaceutical Industry Automation

Key Figures of Major Manufacturers

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Automated shipping coming to Europe’s waters – Horizon magazine

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Imagine a ship sailing into port, only with no captain on the bridge, and nobody to be seen on board. In the past such a vessel might have been known as a ghost ship, but in the future it might just be our new normal.

European researchers are participating in this push and designing ships with varying degrees of autonomy. Two ships bound for automation already sail across Europe today. The first is a carrier that delivers fish feed along the west coast of Norway. The second is an inland cargo barge that operates in Flanders, the northern region of Belgium. Both are to be retrofitted for autonomous sailing as part of a project called AUTOSHIP.

The use-cases are very different, said Jason McFarlane, Research & Innovation Manager at the Norwegian company Kongsberg Maritime, a participant in AUTOSHIP. One is a short sea route off Norway, which has significant weather challenges. The inland route, in turn, requires the ship to operate in a confined waterway, often in areas where navigation is more challenging than in open seas.

Three parts

The technology that will make these boats autonomous is composed of three main parts. First you have the vessel control systems, said McFarlane. Second there is digital connectivity from vessel to shore. And finally you have the shore-based systems.

The first part is what makes the ships sail autonomously. This includes the sub-systems for situational awareness, such as sensors, positioning systems or cameras and other technologies that enable detection of obstacles. The data from these sensors is then joined together, something called sensor fusion, and feeds back into the ships autonomous navigation system which makes steering decisions based on it.

Its similar to self-driving cars in terms of scanning surroundings and detecting obstacles using AI-based computer vision systems. But there are differences too. McFarlane for example notes how every ship over a certain size is tracked using a transponder under a system called Automatic identification system (AIS), which potentially provides more information to vessel autonomous navigation systems than is available for cars. Ships on the open sea also go slower and have more space to manoeuvre than cars.

Two systems Kongsberg Maritime has developed are auto berthing and auto crossing. Essentially the crew press a button, and the ship will dock, said McFarlane. A range of sensors, that, for example, know the position or orientation of the boat, interact with our system. That allows the ship to dock without a captain on board.

For now, the crew is still on the vessel and can take action if they see a problem. The automatic system is installed on a passenger and car ferry operating in the Oslofjord and has been used in more than 80% of voyages. Yet even when a ship that uses this technology is fully uncrewed it would still be connected to a control centre on shore. Here, humans would remotely monitor the ships and its sensors, and be able to take over control manually.

It will probably require workers to become more qualified, but it will also mean that their skills and labour will be utilised more efficiently.

Danitsja van Heusden-van Winden, Innovation Manager, Netherlands Maritime Technology

Costs

McFarlane says there are several reasons to automate shipping. One is to increase the attractiveness of water-based transport, where labour can often be a significant proportion of operating costs. Another is to reduce road traffic and cut emissions. McFarlane notes that one barge, like the one they are testing in Flanders, can carry 300 tons of cargo which would replace 7,500 truck journeys per year. According to calculations from AUTOSHIP, this would reduce CO2 emissions per km by 90%. McFarlane says that automated ships could also sail more efficiently than if they had human operators, optimising for engine power and speed.

Nevertheless full autonomy isnt always the first step, and intermediate levels of automation might reach us before we go fully uncrewed. The NOVIMAR project works on platooning for inland and short-sea transport, where a partly automated ship follows a fully crewed leader vessel.

We don't sail fully autonomously, said Danitsja van Heusden-van Winden, project coordinator of NOVIMAR and innovation manager at the Dutch company Netherlands Maritime Technology. For now theres always at least one person on the ship.

In their model, a lead vessel sets out a line or course along a waterway, which is then imitated by the follower vessels. Instead of full autonomy, the follower vessels copy the route the lead ship took, keeping it on the desired path, while maintaining its distance to the next vessel. Its a concept they want to demonstrate at the end of the year in the Netherlands, and which they already tested using one-sixteenth-scale model ships in a laboratory basin in the German city of Duisburg.

Labour shortage

This partial automation could be important for reducing costs and filling in labour shortages. Instead of having to operate a number of ships with full crews, a company could operate one fully crewed lead ship and a few follower ships with limited staff.

Labour shortage is a known problem in shipping, said van Heusden-van Winden. Its hard to find qualified people.

In 2016 BIMCO, the largest association of shipping companies in the world, published a study which projected that by 2025 there would be a shortage of 150,000 maritime officers worldwide. Automation, whether full autonomy or a partial system like NOVIMARs, could help fill that gap.

Its also why van Heusden-van Winden argues that NOVIMAR wouldnt deeply impact the prospects of workers in the shipping industry. Our technology is not a threat to them, she said. It will probably require workers to become more qualified, but it will also mean that their skills and labour will be utilised more efficiently.

A study of the social impact is also a part of AUTOSHIP. McFarlane notes that there might be job losses for workers in inland shipping, and even for truck drivers. Yet their technology doesnt always replace workers. In the case of the Norwegian fish-feed carrier, the operating company mainly wants to use autonomous systems for efficiency, for example by allowing crews to rest right before docking and unloading the ship. At the same time new jobs might be created, like retrofitting boats for autonomous operations or controlling them remotely.

Our boats have a constrained form of autonomy, McFarlane said. There will always be a control centre. It will mean a shift of jobs. Instead of people living and working on barges, which young people sometimes don't want to do anymore, we can move to office jobs.

Hurdles

Nevertheless, there are hurdles to overcome before autonomous shipping will be rolled out. There are risks to having less people on board, which could undermine the business case, said van Heusden-van Winden. A vessel train might be caught in a storm, which might be more dangerous when theres only one person on board instead of a full crew, a problem for which NOVIMAR is currently searching for solutions.

Regulation equally remains a key issue. Many jurisdictions require a certain amount of people to be on board a vessel, defeating the purpose of automation. Both projects are in touch with regulators. Some regulations, for example, require ships to have a watch on the bridge, explained McFarlane. 'But does that mean a physical person needs to be there? Or can we specify that it doesn't have to be a person standing watch?

For now both projects are moving full steam ahead. NOVIMAR wants to do a real-life test at the end of 2020. And AUTOSHIP wants to follow with a demonstration of their own in 2022. After these trials, which includes a sea crossing from Norway to Denmark for AUTOSHIP, ships could start becoming more autonomous, although much depends on how fast regulatory changes are implemented. So in a few years ghost ships might be a common sight across European waters.

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Automated shipping coming to Europe's waters - Horizon magazine