Month: March 2023

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2023 Digital Therapeutics Alliance Inaugural Summit: DTx Industry Leaders Gather to Transform Global Healthcare

Held at the Washington D.C. Marriott at Metro Center June 7 – 9, 2023.The 3-day Summit programming will be facilitated by leaders from all facets of the DTx industry, including policymakers, manufacturers, payors, and other experts to guide innovation and equity in healthcare.

Arlington, VA, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) is hosting its Inaugural Summit on June 7-9, 2023 at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center. Leaders from all facets of the digital therapeutics (DTx) ecosystem, including policymakers, clinicians, and payors, will join DTA members to discuss the challenges and opportunities of DTx integration into the healthcare system and identify optimized policy, reimbursement, and regulatory pathways to accelerate adoption.

The 3-day Summit programming will be facilitated by Andy Molnar, Chief Executive Officer of DTA, and feature keynote presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions that cover the advancement of DTx, the impact of healthcare policy, reimbursement and regulatory pathways, clinical evidence requirements, and patient access optimization.

DTA’s Chief Executive Officer, Andy Molnar states: “We are here to transform healthcare and deliver a new category of medicine to patients to improve their lives. The 2023 DTA Inaugural Summit brings together the leaders in healthcare innovation that are making these monumental changes. We are building viable frameworks with partners from Capitol Hill, the investment ecosystem, clinicians, health plans, patients, and caregivers.”

DTx products use evidence-based, clinically evaluated technologies to optimize clinical and health economic outcomes, deliver high quality therapies to underserved populations, and transform how patients understand, manage, and engage in their healthcare.

Leading into the Summit, US-focused DTA members and staff will convene in Washington D.C. to meet with congressional members and other influential parties to advocate for the Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act (S. 723 and H.R. 1458).This bill seeks to create a new benefit category for digital therapeutics and ensure permanent coverage and reimbursement of DTx products by Medicare and Medicaid.

Everett Crosland, DTA board member and Chief Commercial Officer for Cognito Therapeutics, commented, “Given the rapidly evolving reimbursement environment, DTA’s 2023 Inaugural Summit offers the DTx industry an unprecedented opportunity to engage and advocate on the issues that matter most to our companies, patients, providers, and payor partners. I’m excited to speak about the emerging frameworks that are shaping our future.”

Event details and registration: 2023 DTA Inaugural Summit 

About DTA:

The Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) is a global non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders with the mission of broadening the understanding, adoption, and integration of digital therapeutics into healthcare. DTA works to enable expanded access to high quality, evidence-based digital therapeutics for patients, clinicians, and payors to improve clinical and health economic outcomes. To learn more, please visit: www.dtxalliance.org and follow us on LinkedIn.

Attachment

Autumn Brennan
Digital Therapeutics Alliance
608-304-8000
abrennan@dtxalliance.org

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8799236

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Grenade Explodes Injuring Herder In Ijara

An unused hand grenade exploded and seriously injured a herdsman who had mistakenly thought it was a ball and started playing with the foreign object at Dubandubesa area of Masalani town, in Ijara Garissa County. Confirming the incident Ijara Deputy County Commissioner Mr. Willy Cheboi said the 20 years old herdsman Jabir Mohamed Wario, from Fanjua, Galole Sub County in Tana River County while herding goats came across a ball like object and began playing with it before it exploded causing him multiple injuries. ‘The victim was rushed to Masalani Sub County Hospital for treatment where he is in stable condition,’ said Mr Cheboi. It is believed that the object was an unexploded grenade used by Kenya Defence Forces who were guarding a telecommunication mast in Dubandubesa area. Mr Cheboi called on the area Chief and their assistants to educate the public on effect of an unused explosives. He at same time warned security personnel to keep their inventory intact to avoid such incidents from reoccurring. The herdsman Mr Wario is currently recovering at Masalani Sub-County Referral Hospital where he is receiving medical attention. It is common for the Special Forces and armed security teams to forget an unused explosives during operations in the region.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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State Unveils Digital Banking Platform For Cooperatives

The government has announced plans to consolidate accounts of Cooperative Sacco’s under a shared platform for banking services to curb emerging cases cybercrime in their operations. The move under the Cooptech facility is expected to increase accessibility and streamline various banking services which for long have been a big challenge to majority of the cooperative societies due to lack of financial muscles and other endowments. Cooperatives, micro, small and medium enterprises development cabinet secretary Simon Chelugui said the platform will be accessible to all cooperative Sacco’s and that the concept was to enhance competition in the Sacco movement and secure members’ deposits. ‘Technology cannot work alone, behind every transformational technology there must be a transformational leader. However, as we invest in technology it would also be prudent to invest in cyber security due to the rapid increase in cybercrime which has emerged as an issue of great concern across the divide. I urge all SACCOs to implement strong and proper internal controls to protect members’ investments,’ he said. The CS made the announcement during the launch of Coop Tech platform stressing that technology was the global drive in every sector and had become an integral part of investment and related transactions to protect the interest of members in the co-operative movements. ‘A good number of Sacco’s owing to lack of strong financial muscle are unable to install current ICT models but through the new platform they will be able to access crucial services and more so expand their market share,’ said Chelugui. The government he noted has rightfully identified cooperatives as a vehicle through which it will achieve its transformational objectives and promotes inclusion and environmental sustainability hence helping in creating a more prosperous and equitable society for all ‘, Chelugui said The CS further emphasized that the national governments bottom up economic model is best exemplified by the cooperative business model that taps its strength from members and mobilization of those at the bottom of pyramid can be effectively be done through cooperatives. Daniel Marube the chief executive officer Cooperatives Alliance of Kenya (CAK) noted that investing in cyber security is expensive. ‘When cooperative societies come together through the Coop tech platform, we will be able to employ the most expensive technology and experienced people to protect our members,’ he said. He explained that Cooperatives will need to buy shares at Sh5,000 per share to join the platform saying that the small Sacco’s will pay between Sh350,000- Sh500,000 while the big ones will pay shares of up to Sh10 million as a one off payment. ‘Every year, the societies remit a lot of money in terms of licenses. But with this system, they will be paying a one off amount in terms of shares. They stand to save billions of shillings because every cooperative pays an annual price of about SH1.5 million on licenses only besides other costs,’ he said. Marube said the platform will also make technology affordable to those members because currently, a simple system could cost one society over Sh100 million . ‘Instead of each cooperative buying its own system, we are saying let’s come together, spend maybe SH10 million so that the rest SH90 million can be available to the members as loans,’ he said. ‘We also want to enable cooperatives to improve their image. The image of cooperatives has been bad for a long time. For instance, being behind technology, not being attractive to the youth, constant delays in processing loans, loss of documents and old machinery and equipment,’ the CEO said. He however added that the platform will help uplift all the cooperatives participating in the platform into a completely new world of technology. Technology will enable cooperatives to attract the youth because they are technology enabled. ‘At the end of the day, we want to have one cooperative movement with one till number and we will be respected as cooperatives,’ Marube said. ‘We will be able to borrow money amongst ourselves, we will be sending remittances and receiving money from all over the world. We can also be able to negotiate with the Government once we have enough funds together to invest in different bounds. This is the beginning of building a strong financial institution,’ he added. Cooperatives play a key role in socio economic development in Kenya, they are found in all spheres of economy including agriculture, finance, housing investments, transport , insurance and even diaspora. Kenya has over 28,000 cooperatives with membership of over 14 million. Cooperatives also control assets of over ksh 1.5 trillion

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Tana Police To Conduct Road Safety Workshop

Tana River Sub County Police Commander Mr. Patrick Kafulo has said, a one-day workshop will be conducted for motorists and boda boda riders in Tana River following increasing cases of minor road accidents, parking of vehicles in the middle of the road and poor knowledge of using roundabout in Hola Town. Speaking to the press yesterday in his Hola office, the Police Commander said the roads in Hola Town are poorly made because they do not have parking bays and many boda boda riders do not know traffic rules. Mr. Kafulo also said, many boda boda riders lack driving licences, reflector jackets and head helmets hence, breaking traffic rules. He said his office has organized the workshop on traffic rules to be held next week. He appealed to the Department of Roads and Public Works in Tana River to make sure that Hola Town roads have parking areas and roundabouts are well marked to avoid road accidents.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Owalo Pleads With Residents Stop Demos

Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Mr. Eliud Owalo has asked Migori residents to stop demonstrations and embrace the politics of ideas. Owalo said that demonstrations would keep off investors, destroy businesses and risk losing the future and life of the youths. The CS who spoke during food distribution in Nyarongi area in Suna East Constituency noted that the new government leadership was focused on developmental ideas and programmes to steer the economic development of the nation. Owalo noted that demonstrations would not resolve the high cost of living in the country but instead the government had embarked on a programme to help farmers across the country with subsidized fertilizer and seeds in order to solve the food situation. He added that the time for politics was over and it was important for the political leaders to embrace social economic activities like sugar cane production, the fishing industry and mining activities to improve the lives of the Nyanza region. Owalo said that he would continue working with like-minded leaders in Nyanza region to ensure that the region is steered in the right economic direction. The Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) for Roads and Transport Nicholas Gumbo said that it was time for development and the government had no business for demonstrations. Gumbo thanked President William Ruto for rewarding the Nyanza region with plum positions in the government and having faith in Nyanza leaders. Nyanza region was awarded three CAS that included Dr. Evans Kidero in the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, Nicholas Gumbo in the Ministry of Roads and Transport and Fred Outa in the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs. However, a High Court order has stopped the appointed CASs from assuming office until a case by the Law Society of Kenya and others is resolved in the Labour and Employment Court. The Chairperson of the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA) Edick Anyanga said that demonstration was not the answer to solving the problems facing the nation. Anyanga urged the residents of Migori to shun politics because they were destructive to the economy of the county. Similarly, Migori County Deputy Commissioner Benson Karani said that the ongoing demonstrations in Migori County were not genuine. He noted that youths were collecting money from motorists before they could be allowed to pass making it an illegal and unethical demonstration.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Vista Equity Partners Completes Acquisition of Duck Creek Technologies

Boston, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Duck Creek Technologies (“Duck Creek”), the intelligent solutions provider defining the future of property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance, today announced the completion of its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses, for $19.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.6 billion.

“We are excited to commence our partnership with Vista Equity Partners and work together to advance the next generation of P&C insurance technology,” said Michael Jackowski, Chief Executive Officer of Duck Creek. “With Vista’s global network and deep sector expertise, we will be better positioned to support and accelerate the industry’s transition to the cloud while continuing to deliver a best-in-class customer experience.”

“Duck Creek is a demonstrated leader in the P&C space, delivering innovative solutions that empower carriers to be faster and more nimble in servicing the digital needs of their customers,” said Monti Saroya, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Vista’s Flagship Fund. “We look forward to partnering with Mike and the Duck Creek team as they continue to scale and define the future of P&C insurance technology.”

“We’re excited to welcome Duck Creek to the Vista ecosystem,” said Jeff Wilson, Managing Director at Vista. “Their commitment to excellence and innovation coupled with Vista’s experience in driving sustainable growth will take the business to new heights while delivering solutions that help carriers transform their business.”

Duck Creek has earned the right to partner with and provide its modern technology solutions to an esteemed list of leading carriers across the globe, including Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Hollard Insurance, Northbridge Financial Corporation and Tokio Marine.

With the completion of the transaction, Duck Creek Technologies shares have ceased trading and are no longer listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor to Duck Creek, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal counsel to Duck Creek.

Evercore acted as financial advisor to the Special Committee of the Duck Creek Board of Directors, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to the Special Committee of the Duck Creek Board of Directors.

RBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to Vista, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to Vista.

About Duck Creek Technologies

Duck Creek Technologies is the intelligent solutions provider defining the future of the property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance industry. We are the platform upon which modern insurance systems are built, enabling the industry to capitalize on the power of the cloud to run agile, intelligent, and evergreen operations. Authenticity, purpose, and transparency are core to Duck Creek, and we believe insurance should be there for individuals and businesses when, where, and how they need it most. Our market-leading solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. Visit www.duckcreek.com to learn more. Follow Duck Creek on our social channels for the latest information – LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Vista Equity Partners

Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $95 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2022. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.

Carley Bunch
Duck Creek Technologies
+1 (201) 962-6091
carley.bunch@duckcreek.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8798688

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Moderna Finalizes Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Kenya to Establish an mRNA Manufacturing Facility

Facility to enable access to manufactured mRNA vaccines for Kenya and the African continent, providing health security and building upon Moderna’s global public health commitments

The facility will be capable of producing up to 500 million doses each year

CAMBRIDGE, MA & NAIROBI, KENYA/ ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2023 / Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and the Government of the Republic of Kenya have finalized an agreement to establish an mRNA manufacturing facility in the Republic of Kenya. This will be the Company’s first mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa.

In partnership with the Government of the Republic of Kenya, Moderna will build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Kenya to produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year. The Company expects the new facility to enable drug substance and drug product manufacturing for Kenya and the African continent. In addition, this facility will have surge capacity to rapidly scale and respond to public health emergencies on the continent and around the world.

“The finalization of our agreement with the Government of the Republic of Kenya is a key pillar of our global public health strategy, where we hope to bring mRNA innovation to the people of Africa in areas of high unmet need, such as acute respiratory infections, as well as persistent infectious diseases like HIV and outbreak threats such as Zika and Ebola,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “This also demonstrates our confidence in the investment climate in Kenya and the importance of utilizing mRNA technology to build resilience in healthcare security in Africa. We are also grateful for the leadership of the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, and Samantha Power, in her role as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for their instrumental support of this project.”

“We are excited about this milestone that brings to bear our efforts as Government to sustain our economic model of facilitating investments that serve not only Kenya but the African continent. My Government commits to supporting this investment as a critical signal to the investment community that Kenya is open for business,” said President William Ruto.

“This investment creates the momentum to meet the $10 billion annual target under the Government’s manufacturing 20 by 30 vision, where we plan to grow the contribution of manufacturing to GDP to 20% by the year 2030 from the current 7%,” said Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade, and Industry Hon. Moses Kuria.

The Government of Kenya has championed an accelerated investment agenda to grow foreign direct investment levels from the current levels of $448 million annually to $10 billion annually, making the country’s goal the continent’s most ambitious agenda to attract investments as an enabler to job creation. Moderna’s investment signifies confidence in the business environment in Kenya and readiness to support foreign and local investment in the healthcare sector, as well as Moderna’s ongoing commitment to global public health. Moderna will operate under a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status, signifying Kenya’s increasing focus on the SEZ program as a key enabler of economic growth.

With this agreement, Moderna has commitments to establish mRNA manufacturing facilities in Kenya, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, furthering health security around the world. Moderna has spent more than a decade refining its mRNA platform to accelerate the pace and success of mRNA medicines. The speed, scale, and flexibility of Moderna’s mRNA platform is uniquely suited for rapid response to serious international epidemics, commonly referred to as Disease X.[i]

Moderna is committed to advancing into clinical studies a portfolio of 15 vaccine programs targeting emerging or neglected infectious diseases by 2025, advancing vaccines that address current diseases of significant impact to low- and middle-income countries, and those that prepare for Disease X. Moderna will prioritize development efforts against pathogens identified as persistent global health threats, including HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, neglected tropical diseases and the priority pathogens of the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Learn more at https://www.modernatx.com/responsibility/our-commitment.

About Moderna

In over 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio, and integrated manufacturing facilities that allow for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines against the COVID pandemic.

Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology, and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and auto-immune diseases. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past eight years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding: the Company’s plans to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya; the anticipated capacity and output for that facility; the ability of the facility to respond to public health emergencies; Moderna’s aspiration to develop treatments or vaccines against HIV, Zika, Ebola, and other public health pathogens; the ability of Moderna’s mRNA platform to respond to future epidemics; foreign investment in the health sector in Kenya; the advantages of doing business in a Kenyan Special Economic Zone; and Moderna’s plans to establish manufacturing facilities in the United State, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna’s control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, among others, those risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Moderna’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current expectations and speak only as of the date of this press release.

Moderna Contacts:

Media:

Luke Mircea Willats
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
Luke.Mirceawillats@modernatx.com

Investors:

Lavina Talukdar
Senior Vice President & Head of Investor Relations
617-209-5834
Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com

[i] “Disease X” was named by the WHO to represent the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. https://www.who.int/activities/prioritizing-diseases-for-research-and-development-in-emergency-contexts

SOURCE: Moderna, Inc.