Pfizer Inks Gene Therapy Partnership With Spark Therapeutics

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By Estel Grace Masangkay

Pfizer announced two major moves that will expand its rare disease R&D activities. First, the company said it will establish a gene therapy platform through its newly inked agreement with Spark Therapeutics. Secondly, it has appointed Dr. Michael Linden, Director of the University College London Gene Therapy Consortium, as head of Pfizers gene therapy research in rare diseases area.

Late-stage gene therapy firm Spark Therapeutics will collaborate with Pfizer to develop SPK-FIX, a program incorporating a bio-engineered AAV vector as potential treatment for Hemophilia B. SPK-FIX is set to begin Phase 1/2 clinical trials in the first half of 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, Spark Therapeutics will stay at the helm of the products Phase 1/2 clinical development studies. Pfizer will take over for pivotal studies, regulatory approvals, and potential commercialization of SPK-FIX worldwide. Pfizer will pay Spark an upfront fee of $20 million with up to $260 million in milestone payments for several hemophilia B product leads that may result from the collaboration. Spark will also be eligible to receive royalties based on global sales of the resulting products.

Geno Germano, group president of Global Innovative Pharma Business at Pfizer, said, We believe the SPK-FIX program could add to our existing portfolio of hemophilia products and could pioneer a potential new treatment technology for patients with bleeding disorders.

We are excited to announce our collaboration with Pfizer, as we believe it marks an important step towards bringing a potentially life-altering therapeutic to patients with hemophilia B, said Jeffrey D. Marrazzo, co-founder and CEO of Spark. The company recently announced that it has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA for its lead drug candidate SPK-RPE65 as treatment for nyctalopia in certain patients.

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Pfizer Inks Gene Therapy Partnership With Spark Therapeutics

Learn, Unlearn, And Relearn. Why Flexibility And Sharing Make For Better Global Business

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The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. But what do the words of the writer and futurist Alvin Toffler mean for todays business students? Quite simply, those that are not flexible will be left behind.

Todays business students are expected to adopt and master the trends that saturate the professional world. Take technology, and the well-documented rise of big data, students that can master this key skill will have a considerable head start. But there are 65 million people in India alone with at least 5 years of computer-related university education, so business schools in the West have to foster creative thinking to ensure their students stand out in the hypercompetitive global job market.

Though the likes of Wharton, Tuck and Harvard have shaped business education to become one of the truly global products of the 20th century, when it comes to rapid growth in the number of students in the classroom, youd be hard pressed to beat India and China where new MBA and otherbusiness-oriented programs seem to appear almost every week. But when it comes down to innovative and globally minded work in the arena, the players to watch may be not be in the US or Asia, but instead among the players of Western Europe.

We share therefore we are. EMLYON Business School will soon be sharing knowledge and expertise in North Africa under the guidance of the new dean, Bernard Belletante (image Laurent Cerino)

Bernard Belletante, dean of one of the regions leading business schools, EMLYON Business School, says that flexibility is one of the first things their students are taught. The ability to question and act, he says, is a must in business today. With this in mind, I sat down with Bernard to ask him about his partin Europes international business education offensive.

Bernard, EMLYON is already a top ranked school yet youve been quoted as saying that clinging todays rankings is like clinging to a tombstone if you dont have a sustainable business model for the future. What do you think that model should be?

Given the complexity of the modern business environment, shifting economic power and the increasing porousness of international borders, business schools need to constantly innovate to remain relevant. We need to move away from the traditional ways of doing things, to unlock our invaluable stores of knowledge and expertise and find new ways of collaborating and sharing. The idea of I think therefore I am is being replaced by We share therefore we are.

At EMLYON, for example, we believe that one of the key aspects of this sharing and collaborating should be a commitment to training, not just internationally but also locally. Consequently we have announced plans to set up a brand new campus in Casablanca in North Africa, while expanding our existing Shanghai campus. Another major project will focus on management training in India and the Middle East.

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Learn, Unlearn, And Relearn. Why Flexibility And Sharing Make For Better Global Business

Finding Freedom Through Play in Haiti | One World Play Project – Video

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Finding Freedom Through Play in Haiti | One World Play Project
In Cit Soleil, one of the largest slums in the Western Hemisphere, One World Play Project, Chevrolet and Haitian Initiative are creating a space where the youth are free to play and follow...

By: One World Play Project

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Finding Freedom Through Play in Haiti | One World Play Project - Video

Freedom Beat – Sweden’s Carlito Performs Krigarsjl at Urban Voices 2014 – Video

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Freedom Beat - Sweden #39;s Carlito Performs Krigarsjl at Urban Voices 2014
While attending the Urban Voices 2014 music festival in Stockholm, Sweden, Freedom Beat interviewed the festival #39;s performing artists about their music, the political atmosphere in their perspectiv...

By: Freedom_Beat

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Freedom Beat - Sweden's Carlito Performs Krigarsjl at Urban Voices 2014 - Video

Freedom of Religion Shouldnt Be Unconditional

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TIME Ideas faith Freedom of Religion Shouldnt Be Unconditional

Rabbi Miller is a popular speaker and writer on technology and its effect on the Jewish world.

Have you ever heard of a rabbi who was against religious freedom? I certainly hadnt until last week when I became one. Well, Im not really against religious freedom per se, but I am against the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA). That bill, known as HB 5958, was passed by the Michigan House of Representatives on December 4 and could soon be passed by Michigans Senate and then signed into law by the Governor. I am concerned.

It would seem that any congressional bill that advocated for religious freedom would be a good thing. After all, I believe that one of the most cherished benefits of living in a democracy like the United States is that we all have the right to practice our own faith. However, this bill, if signed into law, would have many negative consequences. (A similar bill was ultimately vetoed by the Governor in Arizona.)

HB 5958 seeks to limit governmental action that substantially burdens a persons exercise of religion, which includes an act or refusal to act, that is substantially motivated by a sincerely held religious belief, whether or not compelled by or central to a system of religious belief. This language would allow individuals to choose not to service other individuals on the basis of their religious beliefs. Imagine if a bakery owner was asked to produce a wedding cake for two homosexual men who were getting married. Claiming that his deeply held religious beliefs forbid homosexuality and therefore gay marriage, the bakery owner would be able to legally refuse to sell this couple a cake. In other words, his bigotry would be upheld by state law.

Another example would be a Jewish pharmacist who refuses to fill a medicine prescription for a fellow Jew with gelatin capsules on the basis that selling non-kosher pills to another Jew violates a religious law he follows. Perhaps a Catholic pharmacist would refuse to fill a prescription for birth control pills or an abortion pill. How about a Muslim shopkeeper who could, under HB 5958, refuse to sell a bottle of wine to a fellow Muslim, citing his own Islamic beliefs.

A few years ago I debated this topic while leading a seminar for second-year medical students. The question posed to the group was whether it was ethical for a Jehovahs Witness health care worker to refuse to perform blood transfusions based on religious belief. Could they simply request that another health care worker perform such a procedure, or might this lead to a situation in which each medical employee of a hospital would have the ability to refuse certain procedures based on their own religious affiliation, causing chaos and confusion, not to mention risking the patients health?

The intent of HB 5958 is to protect the religious rights of Michigans citizens. But it would actually allow for religious tenets to be used for discrimination against individuals. In defense of this legislation, Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger cited an example of a Jewish mother who does not want an autopsy performed on her deceased son because Jewish law forbids autopsies. Working as a hospital chaplain 15 years ago, I know how simple the process is for a Jewish family to request an autopsy be avoided on religious grounds. This bill is not necessary for that.

In fact, this bill would lead to more bigotry rather than less. A common example mentioned by opponents of HB 5958 is that a landlord could evict a gay tenant simply by arguing that a strict reading of his faith opposes homosexuality. While such a case would likely be thrown out of court, the innocent tenant would have the hassle of fighting for his rights against an opponent with state law on his side.

In support of this bill, Bolger said, People simply want their government to allow them to practice their faith in peace. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, however, allows individuals to put their religious beliefs above civil law and cause hardship for other individuals.

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Freedom of Religion Shouldnt Be Unconditional

Freedom camping trial begins

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A freedom camping trial in Marlborough started at midnight last night, but plans for one new camping spot in Picton have fallen by the wayside.

Marlborough District councillors voted at yesterday's full council meeting for a freedom camping trial at set Blenheim locations to start immediately and end on March 17 next year.

Overnight campers will be allowed at Blenheim's A&P Park, the railway station and the Wynen St car park.

An earlier proposal to allow freedom campers to park at Picton's High St car park was withdrawn, but a proposal for camper parking at Waitohi Domain remains.

Councillor David Oddie, who lives in Picton, said the council had received a lot of feedback from businesses and organisations lobbying for and against a freedom camping trial.

"I start to feel a little bit sorry for the ratepayers who are in the middle of this," Oddie said.

There was no silver bullet for dealing with the issue of freedom camping, Oddie said. "We're just trying to do our best."

Councillor Cynthia Brooks said the trial had been developed after restrictions were brought in to limit the number of vehicles parked at Koromiko's freedom camping site to 12.

At times there had been up to 40 cars parked at the site, she said.

"In a well-meaning manner we've tried to develop somewhere this perceived spillover could go."

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Freedom camping trial begins

Devangshu Datta: The 'colour' of intelligence

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James Watson recently created a stir by auctioning off his Nobel medal. The 86-year-old co-discoverer of the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA received the Nobel for Physiology in 1962, along with Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick. Tragically, Rosalind Franklin, who also made a major contribution, died in 1958.

Watson's achievements are gigantic. He has held positions at Harvard, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and headed the Human Genome Project. His personal account, The Double Helix, remains a best-seller, and so do his textbooks on molecular biology.

But his career has also been tainted by recurrent accusations of racism and sexism. He has a talent, if it may be so described, for making quotable statements on charged subjects. For example, he once said a pregnant woman should "hypothetically" have the right to abort if tests showed the foetus "may have a tendency to become homosexual".

He has also famously speculated on links between libido and skin colour: "That's why you have Latin lovers. You've never heard of an English lover. Only an English Patient." He has argued in favour of eugenics and genetic screening to "cure stupidity".

In 2007, Watson was on tour promoting his book, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science (an extremely readable and irreverent tome), when he spoke to Sunday Times. He said "I am inherently gloomy about Africa. All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really". He continued that "people who have to deal with black employees find this (equal intelligence) is not true". Those remarks (which he subsequently withdrew) led to the cancellation of the tour and enforced retirement from Cold Harbor.

Although not in financial need, Watson felt ostracised by the scientific community and decided to auction his medal. Alisher Usmanov, billionaire co-owner of Arsenal FC, bought the medal for $4.8 million and promptly returned it. Watson is said to have donated a large part of the money to Cold Harbor, the University of Chicago, Indiana University and Cambridge.

Watson's racism, and his advocacy of eugenics reflect attitudes that were mainstream when he was a young man. Given the colonial history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the racism may have been historically inevitable.

Francis Galton (1822-1911), who was Charles Darwin's cousin and a pioneering statistician, coined "eugenics". Galton did studies on the inheritable nature of intelligence and the environmental effect on it. He advocated giving intelligent people incentives to marry each other and thus, produce bright progeny.

The darker side is forbidding marriage and procreation rights to "unsuitable" people with lower intelligence, criminal tendencies and so on. Nazism indulged in the extermination of "undesirables". Apartheid in South Africa and Segregation in southern American states created highly discriminatory environments and punished "miscegenation". India's sterilisation programmes during the Emergency also disproportionately targeted specific socio-economic classes.

Among other Nobel Prize winners, Winston Churchill (unsurprisingly) and William Shockley were pro-eugenicists. Shockley was a co-developer of the transistor and one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley. He was an abrasive, paranoid man who alienated subordinates and eventually, his children. Shockley believed that the "less intelligent" should be prevented from having children in order to prevent the spreading of bad genes.

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Devangshu Datta: The 'colour' of intelligence

Logging Forwarder offers 15.4 ton payload capacity.

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Features increased payload, more tractive effort, and innovative Comfort Ride

Chattanooga, TN Komatsu America Corp introduces the new Komatsu 855.1 Forwarder offering many updated features. The new 855.1 has an 8% payload increase, a 17% larger load space area, and an 11% increase in tractive effort, compared to the previous Komatsu 855 model. The 855.1 matches the previous model 860.4 in payload and load space, plus has 4.5% greater tractive effort. The 855.1 also features the industry-leading Comfort-Ride hydraulically dampened cab suspension system as an option.

Increased Payload Capacity and Load Space Area The 885.1 Forwarders rated payload capacity has increased by 8% to 15.4 tons (14 metric tons) compared to the prior model. Also, the fixed headboard load space area has been increased by 17% (to 52 ft / 4.8 m from 44 ft / 4.1 m) in order to utilize the higher payload capacity.

Powerful Fuel-Efficient Tier 4 Interim Engine The 855.1 is powered by an eco-friendly Agco Power Diesel 6.6 liter 204 hp (150 kW) EPA Tier 4 Interim emissions certified engine. While producing the same horsepower as the 860.4, the 855.1 engine has 13% higher torque and 5% lower fuel consumption. The cooling system features a larger radiator and variable speed fan to increase cooling capacity by 23%.

Improved Power Train & Tractive Effort Thanks to an improved powertrain, which includes a new lower ratio gearbox, new double bogie bearings, and a new differential housing, the 855.1s tractive effort has increased by 11% compared to the 855 and 4.5% when compared to the 860.4. A new smart integrated transmission control unit (TCU) responds faster to changes in load and terrain.

Innovative Comfort Ride Cab Suspension The Komatsu Comfort Ride active cab suspension system uses four hydraulic cylinders to keep the cab level in relation to the machine frame during operation, improving operator comfort in hilly and difficult terrain. Comfort Ride also allows the operator to raise the cab to a top fixed position, improving operator visibility when unloading. The function and control of the system is very easy to use, and is controlled by the machines MaxiXplorer 3.1 Control System which displays the status on the 12 PC color screen.

Improved Operator Environment & Controls The new cab design has 21% greater interior volume and provides a quieter and more comfortable work environment than the 860.4. Larger windows have improved upward visibility sight lines by 61% for the rear window and 45% for the side windows. Ergonomic Komatsu Comfort Controls have arm and wrist supports that are fully adjustable. Komatsus MaxiXplorer 3.1 Control System is Windows-based and features intuitive easy-to-use controls for the vehicle, engine, transmission, crane, and production data system.

Convenient Maintenance and Serviceability The new 855.1 design has convenient service and fluid fill points. Integrated ladders and a foldout engine hood service platform, two hydraulic tank service platforms, and a crane service platform provide excellent service accessibility.

Komatsu America Corp. is a U.S. subsidiary of Komatsu Ltd., the worlds second largest manufacturer and supplier of earthmoving equipment, consisting of construction, mining and compact construction equipment. Komatsu America also serves the forklift and forestry markets. Through its distributor network, Komatsu offers a state-of-the-art parts and service program to support its equipment. Komatsu has proudly provided high-quality, reliable products for nearly a century. Visit http://www.komatsuforest.us for more information.

*All comparisons and performance claims are made with respect to the prior Komatsu 855 and/or 860.4 models. All trademarks and service marks used herein are the property of Komatsu Ltd., Komatsu America Corp., or their respective owners or licensees.

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Logging Forwarder offers 15.4 ton payload capacity.