Conagen Successfully Develops Antioxidant Kaempferol by Precision Fermentation

Bedford, Mass., Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Conagen, the Massachusetts-based biotechnology innovator, announced the successful development of antioxidant kaempferol produced by state-of-the-art, proprietary, precision fermentation. As a biotechnology company specializing in developing commercially valuable molecules for its partners and clients, Conagen’s kaempferol enables brands in nutrition, beauty, and personal care products to adopt a more natural position by formulating with clean and sustainable kaempferol.Recognized as one of nature’s most potent antioxidants, kaempferol is a flavonoid with health-promoting properties found in tea, fruits, and vegetables, especially rich in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale.

Rising consumer awareness towards chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes drives the kaempferol market demand. The global kaempferol market may exceed $6.5 billion by 2025, according to a recent research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.

“We’re bringing to market a pure and natural kaempferol at affordable prices that were not possible or available until now,” said Casey Lippmeier, Ph.D. vice president of innovation at Conagen. “Conagen’s scalable, precision fermentation for producing flavonoids like kaempferol is more efficient and sustainable than what can be achieved with the chemically-synthesized or botanically-sourced molecule.”

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds commonly found in plants and are a significant part of the human diet. They are biosynthesized by plants and fungi as secondary metabolites and comprise a diverse group of phytonutrients.

Plants protect themselves and their fruits against biological intruders such as fungi and bacteria by using phenolic phytochemicals, including flavonoids. Accordingly, kaempferol provides powerful anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and immune system benefits to humans.

Dietary kaempferol in multiple studies has demonstrated a wide range of promising beneficial activities, primarily as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, for reducing the risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer.

Prolonged oxidative stress leads to premature aging and can trigger many degenerative diseases and cancer. Kaempferol’s powerful antioxidant property can help the body’s defense against free radicals that promote cancer development.

Conagen derived kaempferol from its molecular platform for flavonoid antioxidants, including the previously announced molecules: DHQ, also known as Taxifolin, p-coumaric acid, hydroxytyrosol, and rosmarinic acid. The development of natural kaempferol is good news for Conagen’s commercialization partner, Blue California, as kaempferol will expand its offerings of specialty ingredient solutions.

“This launch further demonstrates our talent for delivering innovative compounds which are ideal for dietary supplements and ‘clean-label’ ingredients for functional foods, beverages, and cosmetics,” said Lippmeier. “Our vision for promoting health and wellness is to continuously leverage our precision fermentation capabilities for high-quality phenolic and flavonoid phytonutrients, thus confirming our position as a leader in the development of strains and processes for making clean-label ingredients and nutraceuticals.”

Blue California has a long-standing partnership with biotechnology innovator Conagen. Conagen focuses on developing sustainable, nature-based ingredients that improve existing options in the market or represent completely novel ingredient solutions.

About Conagen

Conagen is a product-focused, synthetic biology R&D company with large-scale contract manufacturing capabilities. Our scientists and engineers use the latest synthetic biology tools to develop high-quality, sustainable, nature-based products by precision fermentation and enzymatic bioconversion. We focus on the bioproduction of high-value ingredients for food, nutrition, flavors and fragrances, pharmaceutical, and renewable materials industries. www.conagen.com

About Blue California

Blue California is a vertically integrated technology company providing innovative ingredient solutions to global partners. With more than 20 years of innovation success, our ingredients are used in commercial products and applications in nutrition, personal care, healthy aging and wellness, functional food and beverage, and beauty. www.bluecal-ingredients.com

Attachment

Ana Arakelian, Head of Public Relations and Communications
Conagen
+1.781.271.1588
ana.arakelian@conagen.com

Harris acquires i2 product portfolio from IBM

OTTAWA, Ontario and CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Jan. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Harris, a global vertical market software provider, has acquired the i2 intelligence analysis product portfolio of IBM, including the i2 Analyst’s Notebook, i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis (EIA) and i2 iBase platforms. The acquisition positions Harris to further deliver mission-critical applications for national defense, state & local law enforcement, maritime security as well as evidence management.

i2’s advanced analytics and intelligence analysis tools, such as the industry leading i2 Analyst’s Notebook, help analysts transform data into decisions in near-real-time, uncover hidden connections with visual displays, and turn overwhelming and disparate data—regardless of the source—into actionable intelligence.

The i2 product portfolio, i2 executives and their global teams will form a new Harris business unit, i2 Group, which will operate independently and autonomously. Jean Soucy, Harris Group President stated: “The acquisition of i2 is important to Harris because not only is it a proven business with an excellent international team of experts, but it also provides Harris with a feature-rich intelligence platform widely deployed by an influential customer base”, adding, “We look forward to working with our partners and customers to expand i2’s capabilities in this highly innovative space.”

“Resilience and collaboration have never been more critical for organizations as they confront the increasing complexity of intelligence analysis. We’re committed to addressing those needs by offering the most complete end-to-end intelligence analysis portfolio on the market” said Jamie Caffrey, Program Director at i2 Group. “The convergence of data and processes is transforming the industry. By integrating i2 into their existing networks, customers will be able to better leverage their data and will be empowered to unlock valuable insights that can translate into business success.”

As part of publicly traded Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU), Harris’ financial strength, software industry expertise, and public safety focus were important factors in finding a forever home to execute i2 Group’s long-term growth strategies.

Visit www.i2group.com to learn more about i2 solutions.

For further information contact:

Jean Soucy
Group President
Phone: +1 581-205-9821
Email: JSoucy@harriscomputer.com

Steve Hammond
Portfolio Leader
Phone: +44 787-486-2811
Email: SHammond@harriscomputer.com

About N. Harris Computer Corporation (Harris)

Harris acquires vertical market software businesses, manages them well, and builds them for the future. Through acquisitions, Harris has grown extensively from its roots in the utilities, local government, education, and healthcare verticals to operate over 170 businesses globally across more than 20 industries. We are a part of Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU), one of the world’s most active acquirers of VMS businesses.

About Constellation Software Inc.
Constellation Software acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses.

Expereo Appoints Ben Elms as Chief Revenue Officer

New addition strengthens executive management team of Amsterdam based global network company

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Jan. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Expereo, the world’s leading provider of Global Internet, Cloud Access Optimization, SASE, and SD-WAN services, has today announced the appointment of Ben Elms as Chief Revenue Officer. Elms’ s overarching brief is to lead the Sales and go-to-market transformation across all channels and drive the expansion and adoption of Expereo’s services globally.

Elms brings more than 20 years of operational expertise and leadership in the telecommunications industry. Most recently, he served as the Group Director (CEO) at Vodafone Global Enterprise, a division of Vodafone Group Plc, a leading international wireless and wireline operator. Whilst there, he was responsible for leading global team managing relationships with multinational customers around the globe. During his tenure, the business outperformed the market with strong EBITDA performance and delivered significant improvements in customer and employee satisfaction whilst driving a program of operational efficiencies.

With his strong market experience, customer track record, and breadth of international expertise, he is a significant hire for the company as it continues its global growth and development.

Commenting on the appointment Irwin Fouwels, CEO at Expereo, said,

“Ben exhibits all the trademarks of a great leader, a true team player with super-strong commercial acumen and operational experience whilst demonstrating a relentless focus on the needs of the customer. Over the last few years, we see enterprises becoming even more cloud and internet-centric. Expereo has established a global leadership position in the highly attractive global cloud and software-defined networking market. I am very excited to have Ben join our company to continue our global go-to-market transformation. I am looking forward to a great partnership to take Expereo to further heights.

On joining the Expereo, Elms said:

“I am honored to be appointed as Expereo’s first Chief Revenue Officer and to lead the next phase of growth. Expereo is on an exciting journey and has developed a unique market leadership position. My immediate focus will be on serving our customers as we continue to invest and expand our market position and in building operational excellence in our go-to-market. I look forward to speaking and meeting with employees, customers, and partners and working with Irwin and the team to take the business forward in a market that has a huge opportunity.”

Elms’ appointment comes after a sustained period of acquisition and expansion for Expereo, which will continue into 2022. With Elms added to its executive management team, the business will look to further consolidate its position as a leading player in the market – delivering simplified global networks while delighting customers with the seamless delivery of complementary services from one trusted supplier

About Expereo
Expereo is the leading provider of managed network solutions, including Global internet connectivity, SD-WAN, SASE, and Cloud Access Optimization services. Expereo is the trusted partner of 30% of Fortune 500 companies and powers enterprise and government sites worldwide, helping to enhance every business’ productivity with flexible and optimal Internet performance. In Feb 2021, Vitruvian Partners international growth capital and buyout firm acquired a majority stakeholding in Expereo, alongside the leading European private equity firm Apax Partners SAS and company management.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Sofia Pensado
Account Director
sofia@grammatikagency.com
+447540221914

Fakhar Responds After Hafeez’s Retirement Speech Turns Into a Meme

Mohammad Hafeez received a lot of love from the cricketing fraternity on social media after his decision to retire from international cricket. While the cricketing faithful lauded the veteran all-rounder for his contributions to Pakistan cricket, there was also a section of social media users who grabbed onto the opportunity to make memes.

One hilarious meme was shared by a Twitter user where he pointed out that Hafeez had stated that he is retiring from international cricket with ‘Fakhar’ (pride). Pakistan’s explosive opener, Fakhar Zaman, responded to the meme in a hilarious fashion.

Fakhar replied to the meme and said that there is still some time for his retirement while he tagged Hafeez in the post as well. The hilarious response of Fakhar went viral on Twitter as his post garnered over 7,000 likes and over 500 retweets.

Both Fakhar and Hafeez will be seen in action together for Lahore Qalandars in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) 7. The two players have been a part of the franchise over the past few years and are considered crucial members of the team.

Lahore will face Multan Sultans in their opening encounter of the tournament on 29 January at National Stadium Karachi.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Shahid Afridi Raises Question Marks on Why Mohammad Hafeez Really Retired

No one had anticipated Mohammad Hafeez’s ‘sudden’ retirement from international cricket earlier this week. It was so unexpected that media representatives were expecting routine coverage when they were called to cover the press conference of The Professor on Monday.

Commenting on Hafeez’s retirement, veteran all-rounder, Shahid Afridi, said that he thinks that Hafeez was forced into announcing his retirement from the game.

He added that he watched Hafeez’s farewell press conference closely and observed that his body language was indicating that he wanted to play for the national side more instead of hanging up his boots.

He highlighted that there is a communication gap that has existed between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and centrally contracted players for several years now, urging the former to take measures to bridge the gap.

The former captain also lauded Hafeez for parting ways with the international game in a dignified manner and not turning his retirement into a major controversy.

Mohammad Hafeez represented Pakistan for 18 years, featuring in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs, and 119 T20Is for the national side. He scored more than 12,000 runs and picked over 250 wickets across all formats.

The 41-year old is one of the most successful limited-overs players in the country’s cricketing history and was central in Pakistan’s ICC 2017 Champions Trophy triumph.

He featured for Pakistan for the last time against Australia in the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Hafeez is set to continue to play franchise league cricket all over the world and will be seen in action in PSL 7 with Lahore Qalandars.

Source: Pro Pakistani

PTA Starts Application Process for Long Distance and International Licenses

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has started accepting applications for Long Distance and International (LDI) licenses for Pakistan with an application processing of $500.

The initial license fee for the LDI license for Pakistan is $0.5 million and issued for the provision of end-to-end communication between points that are located in Pakistan with points that are located outside of Pakistan.

The Licensee shall provide the mandatory services:

a. Long-Distance and International Public Voice Telephone Services,

b. Long-Distance and International Public Data Services, and

c. Such other Telecommunication Services as the Authority may by Regulations, require.

The Licensee shall notify and obtain prior written approval of the Authority before:-

a. Establishment, maintenance, or operation of a terrestrial transmission facility linking Pakistan with another country, including without limitation to a microwave or fiber optic cable transmission facility.

b. Establishment, maintenance, or operation of an international submarine cable and /or satellite transmission facility linking Pakistan with, and enabling connectivity with, multiple countries.

The License does not authorize the following:

a. The provision of Basic Public Telephone/Data Access Service;

b. Distribution of radio or television programming by means of a cable television transmission system;

c. Broadcasting of radio or television programming;

d. Mobile Communication Service;

e. Limited Mobility Communication Service;

f. The establishment, maintenance, or operation of a Telecommunications System to provide any Telecommunication Service that is not authorized in this License; and

g. Such other activities or Telecommunication Services as the Authority may, by Regulation(s), prohibit.

This license shall be valid for a term of 20 (twenty) years. Applicants for the license will have to provide a letter of application, CNIC, or passport along with other relevant documents.

Source: Pro Pakistani