KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘bbb-’ of New Zealand Medical Professionals Limited (NZMPL) New Zealand.
In a statement, AM Best said the outlook of these ratings was stable. The ratings reflect NZMPL’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorised as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. NZMPL’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, which remains at the strongest level. In addition, the balance sheet is supported by the reinsurance programme placed with a highly rated counterparty, which is designed to protect NZMPL from exposure to elevated claims. AM Best considers the company to have limited financial flexibility, with a dependence on shareholders for financial support, if needed. Prospective risk-adjusted capitalisation is also dependent on NZMPL’s ability to retain earnings, which is driven by its underwriting performance and investment income, as well as level of dividend distribution. NZMPL is a small and niche insurer in New Zealand that focuses on providing medical indemnity insurance to medical practitioners and health professionals. The company’s claims consist largely of legal fees, as most medical injury costs are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation in New Zealand. -- BERNAMA
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TOKYO, March 24 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Does competitiveness of agribusiness really increase in ASEAN? The answer is yes according to the ASEAN-Japan Centre. The Centre provides a solution to this question by participating more in global value chains (GVCs) of agribusiness in its report, “Global Value Chains in ASEAN: Agribusiness,” issued today (https://www.asean.or.jp/en/centre-wide-info/gvc_database_paper15/).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200324005240/en/ Agribusiness1 plays an important role in the socio-economic development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), accounting for 12% of GDP in ASEAN on average in 2018. Agribusiness also provides jobs and livelihood to 100 million people, or one-sixth of the total population, and their families in ASEAN. It is also a major source of trade revenue in many ASEAN countries. ASEAN’s value-added exports in agribusiness amounted to $102 billion in 2015. The share of foreign inputs used in ASEAN’s agribusiness exports, or the backward linkage to GVCs, was 20% of the total gross exports of ASEAN in 2015. The share of foreign value added is higher for food products than agricultural products. China, the United States, and Japan are the three largest foreign contributors to ASEAN’s agribusiness exports. The amount of ASEAN’s value added incorporated in other countries’ exports, also referred as forward participation in GVCs has been increasing since 1990. Improving productivity in agricultural output is an important policy priority for addressing food security. At the same time, some countries, especially Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar (the CLM countries), lack food processing capacities and import large volumes of processed food for their domestic markets. Shifting from simple agriculture to the higher value-added food processing industry is a common priority in ASEAN. Participating in and moving up the agribusiness GVCs may provide ASEAN with opportunities to increase its productive capacities by using efficient foreign inputs and technologies obtained through foreign direct investment (FDI) and non-equity modes (NEM) of operation. Japan has been a strong supporter of agribusiness in ASEAN. There is a joint effort by the Government of Japan and the private sector to develop agribusiness in ASEAN and integrate it into GVCs. In order to effectively participate in agribusiness GVCs, the Centre proposes a set of three groups of policy recommendations to increase productivity.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200324005240/en/ Contact ASEAN-Japan Centre Tomoko Miyauchi [email protected] https://www.asean.or.jp/en/ Source : ASEAN-Japan Centre http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=37022 Announces Preclinical COVID-19 Research Tools
RENSSELAER, N.Y., March 23 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Taconic Biosciences, a global leader in providing drug discovery animal model solutions, announces support for global COVID-19 research efforts via a new Coronavirus Toolkit featuring relevant models and services. Mouse models have been extensively used for research on the SARS-CoV virus, closely related to the new SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Taconic offers many animal models and services to support COVID-19 research and empower the global fight against this disease. Taconic’s Coronavirus Toolkit models are grouped by application: COVID-19 disease models, antibody development and production, and vaccine research and development. The toolkit includes several proprietary models, one example being an Ace2 knockout mouse available to Taconic through our partnership with inventor Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. Ace2 knockout mice are used to study acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a COVID-19 complication. Taconic and Lexicon have partnered to scale production of this strain with subsidized distribution to researchers worldwide. A second example includes genetically humanized HLA (human leukocyte antigen) mice, which are better able to model human vaccine response compared to standard mice. Finally, Taconic is one of only a few companies in the world which can produce humanized immune system mice on scale, which carry human immune cells in a mouse. Beyond models, Taconic’s colony management solutions also offer relief to laboratories faced with restrictions, staff reductions, or temporary closures.Cryopreservation services are offered at a highly competitive price to ensure the security of valuable genetically modified models for the future. As research priorities change, Taconic also encourages researchers to consider custom model generation as a path to move research forward without requiring extensive internal human resources. Taconic has the most comprehensive, fully-licensed gene modification toolkit in the industry. mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=37004 CHICAGO, March 20 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NetSfere, an award-winning, global secure mobile messaging service and a collaboration platform from Infinite Convergence Solutions, Inc., today announced its secure enterprise messaging services are offered free of charge to hospitals, healthcare providers, first responders and government entities world-wide in an effort to offset the impact of COVID-19, effective immediately.
This offer applies to new customers only. Free services will be offered through June 30th, 2020 and this offer is valid globally. To inquire about NetSfere’s offer of free enterprise messaging services contact [email protected]. NetSfere’s cloud-based platform includes end-to-end encryption that complies with HIPAA and other global regulatory requirements such as GDPR, providing healthcare providers, first responders and government workers with a secure communication option that offers the immediacy of instant messaging across multiple devices. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are able to communicate and consult with one another simultaneously regarding patient diagnoses or test results while streamlining communications and operations. “Healthcare providers and first responders are currently on the front lines protecting the safety of people across the world during the COVID-19 global pandemic and we felt the need to offer them assistance any way we can,” said Anurag Lal, president and CEO of Infinite Convergence. “We hope that by offering our enterprise messaging services free of charge to these healthcare providers it will help improve internal communications, eliminating any existing pain points and enabling them to perform their jobs more efficiently.” NetSfere’s enterprise messaging plan includes global cloud-based service availability, industry-leading security algorithms that support device-to-device encryption, location-based features, administrative controls and collaboration tools including high definition one-to-one and group voice calling, video streaming and screen sharing. http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=36996 KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 -- RoosterBio Inc has announced a clinical supply and manufacturing collaboration agreement with pioneering gene circuit company, Senti Biosciences Inc (Senti) to accelerate the clinical translation of Senti’s gene-modified cell therapies for ovarian cancer and other solid tumour indications.
The collaboration will leverage RoosterBio’s human mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (hMSC) bioprocess systems, rapid product and process development platform, and current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)-compliant, hMSC-focused manufacturing capabilities. “Gene-modified cell therapies are one of the most important segments in our industry, and we are excited to help Senti Biosciences accelerate its technology into the clinic,” said RoosterBio’s Founder & Chief Product Officer, Jon A. Rowley, PhD in a statement. “Our collaboration reflects the importance of strategically positioned gene engineering platforms that are designed for rapid clinical translation.” Under the terms of the agreement, Senti will apply its novel gene circuit technology to hMSCs produced by RoosterBio’s breakthrough CliniControl™ hMSC manufacturing platform. In addition, Senti will employ RoosterBio for external development of hMSC supply and expansion, including bioreactor scale-up and industrialised large-scale manufacturing unit operations. RoosterBio is a privately-held cell manufacturing platform technology company focused on accelerating the development of a sustainable Regenerative Medicine industry. More details at www.roosterbio.com. -- BERNAMA |
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