Empower Clinics to power online education platform for patients, retail locations, national tele-medicine platform and their expanding network of franchisees with EuroLife's Cannvas.me

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 15th, 2020 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE: CBDT) (OTC: EPWCF) (Frankfurt 8EC) ("Empower" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated life sciences company, is pleased to announce that further to the letter of intent announced on February 25, 2020 it has signed a definitive agreement with EuroLife Brands ("EuroLife"), a vertically integrated enterprise focused on the pan-European hemp, cannabinoid, and health and wellness sector. The agreement grants Empower an exclusive license to EuroLife's "Cannvas.me" cloud based online educational platform in certain international jurisdictions. Empower will use the web-based education technology platform to deliver brand, product, and industry knowledge to employees and over 165,000 patients across Empower's six corporate clinics in Arizona, Oregon, its first franchise in Oklahoma and nationwide tele-health platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Empower has been granted an exclusive license of the Cannvas.me platform in the United States and Mexico with an option to expand to other jurisdictions. The agreement includes a three-year term with a three-year renewable option. A licensing fee will be paid over the life of the agreement, consisting of a mixture of cash and stock totalling $460,000 CAD and includes comprehensive service level agreements from EuroLife and ongoing support from EuroLife team roles including VP of Technology, Senior Developer, Quality Assurance, Creative Designer, Program Management, Account Management and regular support from EuroLife's CEO.

"We needed a robust platform to reach our growing network of owned and franchised locations across the United States and EuroLife's Cannvas.me education platform exceeds all of our requirements," said Steven McAuley, chairman and chief executive officer of Empower. "We now have the ability to reach our employees and the patients they serve through a safe, secure and informative online education portal. I believe the ability to deliver consistent product education quickly and efficiently is a competitive advantage that we will leverage as we continue to grow our patient count and number of locations."

"I am very pleased to announce the agreement with Empower to license our Cannvas.me education portal to reach both employees and medical and retail consumers on an incredibly efficient basis," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer, EuroLife Brands Inc. "I look forward to working with Steven and his incredible team at Empower as they expand their footprint across the United States."

Cannvas.me is a consumer education portal launched in 2018 for medical and recreational cannabis consumers. Through many discussions with industry stakeholders the management team discovered there was significant demand for a cloud-based education portal for licensed producers, retail dispensaries and other large to mid-sized companies in the cannabis sector.

ABOUT EMPOWER

Empower is a vertically integrated health & wellness brand with a network of corporate and franchised health & wellness clinics in the U.S. The Company is building its first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility and produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based products. The Company is a leading multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics, focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through innovative physician recommended treatment options. The Company has commenced activity on how to connect its significant data, to the potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies, psilocybin and other psychedelic plant-based treatment options. The Company now offers COVID-19 testing options in the United States and physician-based consultations, to address COVID-19 concerns.

About EuroLife Brands Inc.

EuroLife Brands is a leading global markets cannabis brand empowering the medical, recreational and CPG cannabis industry worldwide through a data-driven CBD marketplace supported by exclusive and unbiased physician-backed cannabis education and detailed consumer analytics.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steven McAuleyChief Executive Officer

CONTACTS:

Investors: Steven McAuley

CEO

[emailprotected]

604-789-2146

Investors: Dustin Klein

SVP, Business Development

[emailprotected]

720-352-1398

For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: [emailprotected], T: (888) 585-MARI

DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release.Forward-looking statements can frequently be identified by words such as "plans", "continues", "expects", "projects", "intends", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: the Company's expected timing of filing of its Annual Filings, the Company's intention to create psilocybin and psychedelics divisions, that market research on advancements in psilocybin and psychedelics in North America and globally will create greater shareholder value, the Company's intention to open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility, the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders as a result of the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; the effectiveness of the extraction technology; the expected benefits for Empower's patient base and customers; the benefits of CBD based products; the effect of the approval of the Farm Bill; the growth of the Company's patient list and that the Company will be positioned to be a market-leading service provider for complex patient requirements in 2019 and beyond; the ability of the Company to complete or execute phases One, Two, Three or Four of COVID-19 test programs, and Psychedelic substances remain illegal in most countries, so please reference your local laws in relation to medical or recreational use. Such statements are only projections, are based on assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including; that the Company may not open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility; that legislative changes may have an adverse effect on the Company's business and product development; that the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its business plan; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; failure to obtain any necessary approvals in connection with the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; and other factors beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable laws.

SOURCE: Empower Clinics Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/589992/Empower-Clinics-and-EuroLife-Brands-Close-Definitive-Agreement-and-Sign-Multi-Year-Multi-National-Licence-Agreement

Continued here:

Empower Clinics and EuroLife Brands Close Definitive Agreement and Sign Multi-Year Multi-National Licence Agreement - GuruFocus.com

By The Canadian Press on May 14, 2020.

TORONTO The Toronto Zoo is planning to reopen as a drive-thru experience once the province gives it the green light.

A spokeswoman for the zoo says a pre-booked driving route will allow visitors to see the animals from the comfort and safety of their own vehicle.

She says visitors will travel along a 3.4-kilometre route through the park.

Pivoting to drive-thru is one of numerous options zoos and aquariums are eyeing as they figure out how to safely reopen now that the spread of COVID-19 is slowing across much of Canada.

The executive director of Canadas Accredited Zoos and Aquariums says the organizations members are also looking at providing masks to visitors and having them walk along a predetermined route.

Jim Facette says roughly two-thirds of accredited zoos and aquariums have made use of government assistance, and this weeks federal announcement on help for the tourism sector is expected to bolster the industry.

But zoos have also had to make some compromises, including asking for donations from the public to make sure they can feed their animals while continuing conservation work.

And the Calgary Zoo announced this week it will be returning two giant pandas on loan from China because the COVID-19 pandemic has caused problems with getting enough bamboo to feed them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2020.

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Toronto Zoo pivots to 'drive-thru experience' as safe alternative in COVID era - Medicine Hat News

ISLAMABAD: To ensure strict implementation of anti-smuggling measures, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday asked provincial chief secretaries to prepare lists of those found involved in smuggling and submit the same as soon as possible to take action against such elements.

The directive came at a meeting in which issues of smuggling, hoarding and profiteering were discussed. He also asked all relevant departments to submit a report fortnightly about actions taken against smuggling and the people involved in it.

At the outset, the premier showed his displeasure over the slow progress on the implementation of the measures to control smuggling, price hike and hoarding. We have introduced historical strictest penalties for discouraging hoarding and smuggling, he said, adding he wanted its impact on prices in domestic market now.

He pointed out that prices went up immediately with an increase of Re1 per litre in petroleum products. However, he said, he did not see a decline in commodities prices after the recent huge cut in petroleum products prices. The premier directed the relevant quarters to look into the issue and ensure that benefit of oil price cut reached common people.

The premier said that the government took drastic measures to control smuggling and no compromise will be made on it.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has already notified the anti-smuggling powers to Frontier Corps Balochistan, Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), Officers of Pakistan Coast Guard, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Balochistan Levies, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and Frontier Constabulary.

These powers were extended until Dec 31, 2020. All these agencies will submit a monthly report to the customs departments about a seizure. The officials will exercise these powers within a distance of five kilometres from any international border or within the premises of all airports.

The items that will be covered within the purview of smuggling are foreign currency, gold and silver, precious stones, sugar, onions, pulses, salt, potatoes, gur, rice, wheat, flour of all sorts, chemical fertilisers of all sorts, livestock, maize, edible oil, hydrogenated or otherwise, therapeutic goods drugs or alternative medicine or medical devices or biological or other related products.

The premier was updated regarding policy level measures to implement the measures of the ordinance. The law also authorised enforcement agencies to take into custody people involved in smuggling of goods and currency.

The premier remarked that smuggling was a nuisance for the countrys economy. He said smuggling threatens food security and causes irreparable loss to the countrys industrial sector.

Under the ordinance, the government has also elaborated the role of district administration in terms of containing smuggling. Any official not below the rank of BPS-17 can communicate information to customs officials with regards to any contravention. The customs officials are bound to process such information and take appropriate action.

The authorised officer can arrest a person without warrant and detain by [issuing] an order in writing against those who are engaged or are likely to get engaged in any act of transaction of smuggling or facilitate such an act or known as a habitual smuggler. The deputy commissioner will issue a detention order. The detained person can make a representation to the commissioner. The maximum detention period is three months.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2020

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PM asks chief secretaries to name those involved in smuggling - DAWN.com

The Herald

CorrespondentThe world is scrambling to get a treatment for Covid- 19. To date, save from the Madagascar cure claim, the world has not discovered anything to treat Covid-19. Sad is that whatever comes from Africa is dismissed with contempt exposing the world for its hypocrisy.

Developed countries are the only ones who claim to have a God-given power to research, find, produce and sell the treatment for any ailment.

The announcement by Madagascar that they found the treatment of Covid-19 infuriated global super powers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also warned Madagascar and in a statement said it did not recommend self-medication with any medicines . . . as a prevention or cure for Covid-19.

The world is in a time of crisis, and it needs all nations to first find an urgent solution to curb the rate of damage whilst looking for permanent solution.

If Madagascar was in America or Europe, their medication would have been approved.

As long as it is an African nation and regarded as less human no country will be allowed to use that medication.

WHO instead of being an impartial body seems to be controlled by the powers that be. It is high time for WHO to ask Madagascar how they made it possible.

In Africa, herbal medicines have been saving lives since time immemorial even before the emergence of Covid-19.

Recent events make it clear that Africa will always be looked down upon, while other continents jump to experiment their findings on Africans.

WHO describes traditional medicine, as the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness.

Most traditional medicines systems are passed down from generation to generation through verbal teaching.

To date, in some parts of the world, the majority of the population continue to rely on their own traditional medicine to meet their primary health care needs.

When adopted outside of its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often referred as complementary and alternative medicine.

Among others, the most widely used traditional medicine systems today include those of China, India, and Africa.

African traditional medicine can further be described as a form of holistic health care system organised into three levels of specialty, namely divination, spiritualism, and herbalism.

Past research papers prove that the traditional healer provides health care services based on culture, religious background, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that are prevalent in his community.

According to a research by Ezekwesili-Ofili et al, illness is regarded as having both natural and supernatural causes and thus must be treated by both physical and spiritual means, using divination, incantations, animal sacrifice, exorcism, and herbs.

Herbal medicine is the cornerstone of traditional medicine, but may include minerals and animal parts.

Major obstacles to the use of African medicinal plants are their poor quality control and safety. The safety issue is determined by none Africans for Africa.

Because those who suffer from superiority complex scorn traditional medicine, its practices are still shrouded with much secrecy, with few reports or documentations of adverse reactions.

African medicine has a very bright future if viewed in the context of service provision, increase of health care coverage, economic potential, and poverty reduction. Formal recognition and integration of traditional medicine into conventional medicine will hold much promise for the future.

Because traditional medicine is frowned upon most people will use it, but will not record its success.

How can the Western world take our medicine seriously when we fail to do so ourselves?

In order for our medicine to be accepted we need to allow pharmacognosy. This is the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological implications of natural products for medicinal or health benefit purposes.

Specifically, this area must encompass the study of secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, tannins, phytosterols, and terpenoids that are derived from nature, and is inclusive of plants as well as marine and terrestrial microbes and animals.

These compounds have potential medicinal applications for the prevention and treatment of numerous conditions and diseases, and may also serve as natural pesticides and herbicides.

Recently, Zimbabwe legalised the medical cannabis which would see our health system develop and which will bring millions in our economy.

Stakeholders have garnered new interest pertaining to a sustainable approach to cannabis and natural product research and drug development, an area now legalised for the benefit of the nation.

On the cannabis field some investors pretend to be very clever and try to outsmart their local partners. This happens when people think they are more clever than others.

Drugs of natural origin, which have roots in many medical traditions, are of inordinate significance due to the substantial growth in usage around the world.

In addition, nature-based medicines are the topic of increased inquiry in the quest for novel pharmacophores that hold the prospect of enhanced therapy.

Covid-19 has not moved at a fast rate in Africa than it has done in Europe and China. This should show the world that a cure maybe found in Africa.

The Madagascar Covid-19 cure must be taken to the lab, tested and developed at a larger scale to benefit everyone.

The award of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to a professor who used African nature drugs to produce nature-based drugs Avermectin and Artemisinin, used in the treatment of infections caused by roundworm parasites and malaria, respectively, underscores such trends, and highlights, in particular, the potential value of naturally derived medicines in targeting neglected tropical diseases.

Which means a virus like Covid- 19 can be treated in Africa. If we treat this without prejudice a cure from Murehwa in Zimbabwe known as zumbani and the same zumbani found in Madagascar will have been taken to laboratories and more lives will have been saved.

As humans exploit natures unique gifts for alleviating disease, this should be achieved with safety, sustainability, and equitable benefit-sharing considerations in mind.

It is high time Africa must stand up and shame the devil.

Our medicine should be accepted without segregation or discrimination.

Read the rest here:

Give African medicines a chance - The Herald

Biventricular (BiV) pacing was a game-changer for heart failure management, and it's the only kind of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) backed by randomized trials a vast number of randomized trials.

But other, more physiologic versions of CRT have been gaining traction at some centers, including His-bundle pacing (HBP), ventricular septal pacing, and in a newly reported study direct pacing of the left bundle branch (LBB).

More than 70% of the study's 325 patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction responded to LBB pacing for CRT clinically and echocardiographically, and about 30% of the total were considered super-responders.

The current series shows that LBB pacing can provide CRT at "remarkably low and stable pacing thresholds," suggesting that it's an "excellent alternative option" compared with conventional BiV pacing, said Pugazhendhi Vijayaraman, MD, when formally presenting the results online May8 as part of the Heart Rhythm Society 2020 Scientific Sessions virtual presentation.

His-bundle pacing has received a lot of attention recently as a BiV-pacing alternative; its pacing effect is more physiologic than with BiV pacing, and possibly also LBB pacing, researchers say. But pacing thresholds are generally higher with HBP than with LBB pacing, which can increase battery drain, and achieving HBP tends to be more technically challenging so the learning curve for operators is steeper than it is for LBB pacing, said Vijayaraman, of Geisinger Heart Institute, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Although LBB pacing "addresses a lot of the limitations of His bundle pacing," he told theheart.org| Medscape Cardiology, it's not seen as a replacement. Having both techniques available to operators "gives us the best chance to provide the best outcome for the patient."

Conventional BiV pacing is considered a nonphysiologic approach to achieving CRT, but "the data is solid that it consistently benefits patients with wide QRS intervals," Roderick Tung, MD, University of Chicago Medicine, said in an interview. But many patients with heart failure aren't eligible or don't respond to BiV pacing, so CRT achieved by conduction-system pacing for example, either HBP or LBB pacing may be an alternative for them, he proposed.

"This is a moment to celebrate that we have more methods to access the conduction system" for providing patients with CRT, said Tung, who is principal investigator for the His SYNC study, a small randomized comparison of HBP and coronary sinus pacing for CRT.

Tung was not associated with the study presented by Vijayaraman but had praise for it. The study, he observed, suggested that 85% of patients appear to respond to LBB pacing, "and most importantly, the thresholds were less than 1volt. That's much lower than we see with His bundle pacing."

The study, Tung said, "shows that left bundle-branch pacing is viable for CRT."

Left bundle-branch pacing for CRT was attempted in 325 patients with left-ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF) less than 50% at four centers in the United States and one center in each of Brazil, the Netherlands, India, and Spain. The study used 3830 SelectSecure pacing leads (Medtronic).

Left bundle-branch block (LBBB) was identified in 42% of patients, right bundle-branch block in 18%, and interventricular conduction delay (IVCD) in 12%.

Compared with the 48 patients in whom LBB pacing could not be engaged, the 277 patients successfully treated were significantly more likely to have LBBB, nonischemic cardiomyopathy, smaller left ventricular dimensions, and shorter baseline QRS intervals and were less likely to have IVCD.

The pacing threshold for achieving LBB capture was 0.6volts at baseline and remained stable at 0.7volts 6 months later, "which is much lower than previously reported thresholds for His bundle pacing," Vijayaraman said during his presentation.

There were seven lead dislodgements, for a rate of 2.5%, also lower than reported rates for HBP, he said.

Left bundle-branch pacing was associated with significant QRS interval narrowing and improvement in LVEF (P< .0001 for both results).

The benefits of LBB pacing were more pronounced in patients with vs without LBBB, and in those with nonischemic compared to ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Clinical response, defined as improvement in NYHA functional class without heart-failure hospitalizations, was achieved by 72% of patients.

An echocardiographic response, defined as at least a 5% improvement in LVEF, occurred in 73% of patients. And 31% of patients achieved a super-response, defined as at least 20% gain in LVEF or, for patients with baseline LVEF no higher than 35%, a greater than 50% LVEF increase.

In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of an echocardiographic response included:

LBBB at baseline (odds ratio [OR], 3.90; 95% CI, 1.64- 9.26; P< .01)

Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.49- 0.79; P< .01)

Not independently predictive were QRS duration, age, sex, or heart-failure etiology (ischemic vs nonischemic).

Vijayaraman said currently, conduction-system pacing can be a first-choice CRT strategy for "anybody with a narrow QRS or right bundle-branch block," a group that doesn't meet criteria for CRT by BiV pacing in the guidelines.

However, he said, "left bundle-branch block patients do well with both forms of therapy," BiV or conduction-system pacing. If such patients don't respond well to standard BiV pacing, conduction-system pacing can then be an option.

"We start with the His bundle and try to get the best thresholds," less than 1.5volts, Vijayaraman said. If the pacing threshold is higher, "we move on to left bundle-branch pacing. We don't have to settle for a high threshold like we did in the past."

Vijayaraman discloses receiving fellowship and research support from; serving as a speaker or consultant for Medtronic; and consulting for Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Abbott, and Eaglepoint. Tung has previously reported no relevant financial relationships.

Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) 2020 Scientific Sessions: Late Breaking Clinical Trials2. Presented May8, 2020.

Follow Steve Stiles on Twitter: @SteveStiles2. For more from theheart.org| Medscape Cardiology, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Read more:

LBB Pacing Positioned to Join Arsenal of CRT Alternatives in HF - Medscape

BLUE BELL May 13, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc earnings conference call or presentation Monday, May 11, 2020 at 8:30:00pm GMT

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Director of IR

* J. Joseph Kim

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director

* Kate E. Broderick

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - SVP of Research & Development

* Peter D. Kies

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CFO

H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - MD of Equity Research & Senior Healthcare Analyst

Good day, everybody, and welcome to the Inovio First Quarter 2020 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

Please note today's event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ben Matone, Senior Director of Investor Relations. Please proceed, sir.

Ben Matone, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Director of IR [2]

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining the Inovio First Quarter 2020 Earnings Call. With me today are Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO; Peter Kies, our Chief Financial Officer; Dr. Prakash Bhuyan, Vice President of Clinical Development and Head of Inovio's Clinical Programs to treat HPV-related precancers; and Dr. Kate Broderick, Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Project Lead for Inovio's infectious disease programs, who together will review our corporate, financial and development progress for the first quarter 2020. Dr. Jacqueline Shea, our Chief Operating Officer, is also with us and will be joining for the Q&A session following prepared remarks.

Today's call is being webcast live on our website, ir.inovio.com, and a replay of today's call will be made available shortly after the call is concluded. Following prepared remarks, we will conduct a question-and-answer segment which will be reserved for equity research analysts. During the course of this conference call, we will be making certain forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of the company.

In particular, these events which relate to our business include plans to develop Inovio's integrated platform of DNA medicines, clinical and regulatory developments and timing of clinical data readouts, along with capital resources and strategic matters, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Inovio's business operations. All of these statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of management as of today. These statements involve certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties and could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to revise or update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors should read carefully the risks and uncertainties described in today's press release as well as the risk factors included in today's 10-Q filing with the SEC.

Thank you for your attention. And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Joseph.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [3]

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Thank you, Ben. And good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the call today. Inovio had a productive first quarter with developments across multiple clinical programs continuing to demonstrate the differentiating value and broad applicability of our DNA medicines platform. Please see the press release we just issued less than an hour ago for first quarter financial results and an extensive list of corporate highlights. I'm going to keep our remarks -- prepared remarks brief so that we have plenty of time to address your questions.

But before we delve into updates for each therapeutic program, I want to first provide an update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our programs in progress. First, recognizing the importance of patient safety and adhering to the global stay-at-home government orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, our clinical operations and development teams have gone to great lengths to ensure patients participating in our clinical programs continue to be able to receive our DNA medicines and vaccines within a safe environment.

I personally cannot thank them enough for their dedication and focus during these challenging times. While we do not anticipate -- while we do anticipate various impacts on every clinical trial as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as of today, our clinical catalysts for 2020 that we outlined at the beginning of this year remain on track.

Beyond 2020, it is still difficult to clearly project the exact impact the continuing COVID-19 pandemic will have on our clinical development programs. That said, we do anticipate that the enrollment rate for REVEAL 2, which has been at about 50% for the months of March and April during the pandemic lockdown will likely impact REVEAL 2 time line. Prakash will speak to this during his remarks on VGX-3100. But at this time, we are not changing guidance for our BLA anticipated timing and we will continue to work with the sites on REVEAL 2 accordingly to ensure both patient safety and data integrity.

Inovio remains on track and well positioned to have 2020 to be a transformative year for the company. We remain confident that this statement was true even in the midst of this global pandemic. Our team continues to be diligent and resourceful to ensure we are on track to deliver key data milestones in 2020, which include REVEAL 1 Phase III top line efficacy data from our lead asset, VGX-3100, in the fourth quarter. Overall survival at 12 months data or OS12 data from INO-5401 for our GBM therapy being presented at ASCO and abstracts available this afternoon, followed by OS18 data in the fourth quarter. And you'll hear more from Peter during his financial update, but Inovio remains well capitalized, having a strong balance sheet which is essential for properly executing our product development and business objectives and the continued global uncertainty related to COVID-19.

While our 200-plus employees are not working all physically side-by-side, our R&D and manufacturing teams in San Diego are in our facilities relentlessly driving the development of our immunotherapies and vaccines, including INO-4800, while practicing social distancing and taking all measures necessary to keep our team safe. Rest of our team is working remotely and seamlessly together in our shared mission to urgently develop our DNA vaccine that we believe will play a significant part in addressing this global health crisis. As we highlighted in today's press release, Inovio has validated the speed and versatility of our DNA medicines platform by rapidly entering the clinic with our novel DNA vaccine candidate, INO-4800 and the fight against COVID-19. Kate will elaborate more on this shortly, but I want to profess that our INO-4800 development effort has truly been a global and collaborative one. Since we began developing a COVID-19 vaccine in January, we have been forging and expanding collaborations with government entities and premier private funders, including the U.S. Department of Defense, CEPI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Inovio is collaborating with leading labs around the world to test the vaccine and is working with a team of existing and new contract manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing capacities. These relationships have helped Inovio expedite vaccine development, access untapped resources and prepare to massively scale up our device and plasma manufacturing processes to potentially create hundreds of millions of INO-4800 doses to satisfy the urgent global demand for a safe and effective vaccine. We plan to update you in more detail in the coming months.

To speak more on our infectious disease experience and where we are with INO-4800, I would now like to turn the call over to Dr. Kate Broderick. Kate?

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Kate E. Broderick, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - SVP of Research & Development [4]

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Thank you, Joseph, and good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here today. As Joseph expressed during his opening remarks, our team has been exceptionally productive during these exceptionally challenging times. And I'm so honored to be working with such a brilliant and dedicated team. Our dedication alongside our infectious disease expertise and preexisting collaborations have allowed us to be in a position to rise to this emerging public health challenge, being one of the first and few companies to be initially called on to develop a vaccine. In fact, when we first embarked on this development back in January, the name COVID-19 didn't exist, and the virus, in fact, was not deemed a pandemic for another 5 to 6 weeks. And yet here we are, nearly 4 months later, and I'm very pleased to share with you our progress to date on our COVID-19 DNA vaccine and what you should expect to see over the next few months.

In 83 days, we went from a vaccine design to first human dosing. That is a remarkable speed. And last month, we completed the first of 2 doses in all 40 healthy volunteers in our Phase I clinical study with INO-4800 against COVID-19 disease. For this Phase I study, we enrolled at sites at the University of Pennsylvania and a clinic in Kansas City, Missouri. As of today, we are on track for all 40 volunteers to complete the second round of dosing by the last week of May. After which, we expect to have preliminary safety and immunogenicity data by late June in support of advancing rapidly to Phase II/III efficacy trial which is planned to potentially initiate in the July, August time frame and frontline health care workers in multiple major medical centers in the U.S.

Concurrently, we also expect our partners Advaccine and IVI to initiate 2 separate Phase I clinical trials of INO-4800 this summer in China and South Korea, respectively. Speaking of our previous MERS vaccine work, we will be presenting new positive data from our Phase I/IIa trial providing a great foundation for the current COVID-19 work at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Conference this week. As already published in the conference abstract, for the study participants receiving the 0.6 mg of INO-4700 intradermally with the CELLECTRA device, 88% demonstrated 0 conversion after 2-dose regime at 0 and 8 weeks, while those receiving a 3-dose regime giving at 0, 4 and 12 weeks, 84% 0 converted after 2 doses and 100% after 3 doses as measured by a binding antibody assay against the full-length spike protein. Additionally, 92% of the vaccine recipients in both groups displayed the ability to neutralize the virus using a neutralization assay. Robust T cell responses were observed in 60% of the vaccine recipients after the 2-dose regime, and 84% of those in the 3-dose group. Interestingly, after a single dose of 0.6 mg of INO-4700, intradermal vaccination resulted in 74% binding antibody response rates and 48% neutralizing antibody response rate. We have designed our COVID-19 vaccine, INO-4800, using the same strategy as we did for INO-4700, including the selection of the full-length spike protein as the target and the use of intradermal CELLECTRA delivery device. We are both hopeful and optimistic that the ongoing Phase I clinical trial with INO-4800 who generate a similar level of clinical immune responses and safety data as we have just reported for INO-4700. Furthermore, this latest data demonstrated both the power of the intradermal delivery and the strength of our coronavirus experience. Furthermore, I'm really proud to say that while Inovio has been able to bring a new vaccine from construct design to Phase I clinical trials in record times, we were still able to confirm the robust immune responses of INO-4800 in multiple animal models that we typically test all our vaccine candidates in, including small animals, all the way up to nonhuman primates. In fact, our preclinical data has been accepted for a peer-reviewed publication in Nature Communications, demonstrating robust T and antibody responses, including neutralization antibody responses in several animal models with INO-4800 vaccination. Over the next couple of months, we will also expect to attain and report data from several animal challenge studies being conducted collaboratively at some of the world's leading laboratories.

Leveraging these preclinical results and continued work with our animal challenge studies, along with our expected Phase I data in June, we anticipate having the necessary immune response and safety data to support our plan to move into a large, randomized Phase II/III efficacy study.

And finally, another important advantage of Inovio's platform technology I wanted to state here is that our DNA vaccines do not require the challenging deep frozen cold chain storage. In fact, our vaccines are stable at room temperature for at least 1 year. And for 5 years at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, which, of course, is normal refrigeration temperature.

In comparison, most messenger RNA and viral vector vaccines are not temperature stable and are often have to be maintained in a freezer cold chain as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius. This is an important differentiator and key advantage of Inovio DNA vaccines.

And with that, I'll now turn it back over to you, Joseph. Thank you.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [5]

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Thank you, Kate. Appreciate that update, really amazing work. Again, I can't thank you and the team enough for all the dedication and hard work that you have been doing in the midst of this pandemic. To reiterate, we are aiming to be in a Phase II/III efficacy study by the July, August time frame, where we will be targeting health care workers on the front line. We estimate the high side of the study size to be around 2,000 health care workers and our capable regulatory and clinical operations teams are confident that we could fully enroll this number of participants in about 1 month. Again, the actual size of the study will largely depend on the infection rate at that time. In addition to our plan to determine the true efficacy of our vaccine in a large well designed, randomized Phase II/III study we're also planning to pursue the Emergency Use Authorization path to achieve emergency approval of INO-4800. We plan to utilize immunogenicity and safety data from our Phase I trial as well as from an early subset of Phase II/III participants, along with our anticipated preclinical efficacy data from our ongoing animal challenge studies to form our EUA submission being planned for potentially fourth quarter of this year.

Now let's move our update to our mid- and late-stage clinical programs. In fact, in less than 48 hours from now, the overall survival at 12 months data for our INO-5401 immunotherapy in 52 newly diagnosed GBM patient study will be available to the public as our abstract has been accepted for presentation at ASCO. Abstracts will be available this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., followed by a virtual presentation at the end of this month. We had previously presented very exciting progression-free survival at 6 months in this study last winter. So naturally, I know you are all really excited to see this early promising data fully translate to the OS12 data. You will not have to wait too long for this data.

Before I turn the call over to Prakash for an update on VGX-3100, I want to provide a brief update on INO-3107, which targets the rare orphan HPV-associated disease, RRP, or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Given the progressive nature of this rare, debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease, patients are eager for an alternative treatment so they can avoid repeated invasive surgery.

As we stated in our last call, the FDA accepted Inovio's IND application to evaluate INO-3107 in a Phase I/II trial for the treatment of RRP. We expect to enroll approximately 63 patients in this Phase I/II trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of INO-3107 in patients with high-risk HPV-6 and/or 11 associated RRP and who have needed at least 2 surgeries annually for the last 3 years or to remove the papilloma tumors. While the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a curveball at this trial, we anticipate to begin dosing patients this summer.

So we have so much to look forward to the summer on top of our progress in INO-4800. Now I'd like to turn over the call to Dr. Prakash Bhuyan, M.D., Ph. D, who will provide an update on multiple targets and studies we have ongoing for VGX-3100. Prakash?

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Prakash Bhuyan, [6]

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Thank you, Joseph, and hello, everyone. As you know, our lead asset is VGX-3100, which targets HPV-associated diseases. Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 upon our clinical programs, we still plan to report top line efficacy data from REVEAL 1, which is our pivotal Phase III trial for HPV-related high-grade cervical dysplasia patients and that will be in the fourth quarter of this year. For REVEAL 2, recruitment is still underway at our sites around the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly had an impact upon our patient recruitment since March. We are hopeful in getting back to the pre-pandemic rates as soon as possible as various countries and regions begin to open back up.

As a reminder, REVEAL 2 has the same design and target patient enrollment of 198 subjects as in REVEAL 1. The main difference is the safety follow-up time of 1 month for REVEAL 2 versus 1 year for REVEAL 1.

Turning now to our positive interim data that we reported in March at ASCCP. We continue to validate the broader applicability of VGX-3100 and our HPV platform in general. So specifically, in our Phase II trial in anal dysplasia, we've reported that of the 20 patients with data available, 50% showed clearance of their HPV-16/18 positive precancerous lesions and 75% of the subjects showed a reduction in the HPV-16/18 positive precancerous lesion number just 6 months after the first dose. We do believe these data are extremely encouraging. Not only do they build upon the previously reported efficacy in our cervical dysplasia Phase IIb trial. But as further context to this, only 1 in 5 people with HPV-16 associated precancerous dysplasia would be expected to exhibit spontaneous resolution at 1 year.

Without adequate treatment, precancerous anal dysplasia would typically progress to anal cancer. Having a DNA medicine that can clear these lesions without the burden of repetitive, multiple and painful surgical or invasive treatments would change the standard of care and provide patients with a true meaningful benefit. Demonstrating VGX-3100's broad applicability, we also reported encouraging Phase II initial data in our vulvar dysplasia trial, where 12 of the 22 subjects completed their primary endpoint evaluation at 6 months following the treatment with VGX-3100.

The results were shared at ASCCP in March and demonstrated that 80% of treated women had an overall decrease in the lesion area 6 months after treatment. Two trial subjects completely resolved their HPV-16 vulvar dysplasia. And to put this into context, spontaneous regression for these patients is expected to be very low, about 2% to 5% and typically takes 1 to 2 years.

So taken together, these data build the case for VGX-3100's broader potential to treat HPV-caused precancers and further proof-of-concept for our DNA medicine approach. We look forward to providing full study results for both the vulvar and anal precancers dysplasia trial later this year.

And with that, I'll turn it back over to you, Joseph.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [7]

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Great. Thank you, Prakash. Running a large global Phase III study is challenging enough. And working in the wake of a pandemic is unprecedented, you and your team have been truly rockstar through all this, showing your tireless dedication to work on providing a therapeutic alternative to surgery and improve the quality of life for these patients. Thank you again.

Now I will ask our CFO, Peter Kies, to provide a financial update. Peter?

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Peter D. Kies, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CFO [8]

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Thanks, Joseph, and good afternoon, everyone.

First, I will provide a summary of our capital resources for the first quarter of 2020. The company ended with 20 -- with $270 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2020. To this cash position, we added an additional $121.7 million through the ATM in April. Given the uncertainties associated with the macro impact that the pandemic may have on the global economy, we have been both prudent and proactive in maintaining a strong financial position, providing Inovio with multiyears worth of cash runway.

As both Kate and Joseph mentioned during their prepared remarks, the company anticipates to continue to receive external funding to support Inovio's advancement of INO-4800.

Turning now to revenue and net income, or net loss in our case. We reported total revenue of $1.3 million for the 3 months ended March 31, 2020. Inovio's net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, was $32.5 million or $0.26 per share basic and dilutive. Lastly, R&D expenses for the 3 months ended March 31, 2020, were $19.1 million compared to $24.4 million for the same period in 2019. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily related to a decrease in employee compensation expenses due to lower employee head count accompanied by a decrease in clinical trial expense timing, and there was an increase in our contra R&D expense recorded from grant revenues. A complete summary of our financial statements for the first quarter of 2020 can be found in today's press release and in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC. This can also be accessed on our website under Investor Relations financial reports.

With that, I'll turn it back to you, Joseph. Thanks.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [9]

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Thank you, Peter. Before we turn to the analyst Q&A, I'd like to list all of the events we expect before our next earnings report in August. Here are the list: we expect to report on 12 months overall survival efficacy data from INO-5401 in GBM to be presented at ASCO in late May: Second, preliminary safety and immune responses data from our U.S. Phase I trial for COVID-19 vaccine INO-4800 in 40 healthy volunteers; next, data from our COVID-19 animal challenge studies; fourth, additional external funding to support INO-4800 development; fifth, either started or be poised to start our large, randomized Phase II/III efficacy trial upon regulatory approval; sixth, start of additional clinical trial for INO-4800 in China and in South Korea; seventh, start of patient dosing for Phase I/II clinical trial of INO-3107 to treat RRP, a lot of milestones to look forward to.

Now I look forward to taking your questions. Operator, please open the line for the analysts.

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions)

Our first question today will come from Stephen Willey with Stifel.

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Stephen Douglas Willey, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division - Director [2]

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I think, Joseph, you mentioned in your comments a couple of times regarding your ability to secure external funding. I believe there was a CEPI grant handed out to a competitive program here after market hours today. And that's obviously an organization that you have a pre-existing relationship with. They gave you, I think, $60 million for the MERS vaccine. So I'm not sure what you can say about the funding process itself, but I guess, anything you can say just with respect to active dialogues you may be having, whether this involves some kind of formal application process and to what extent the need to scale a device is potentially viewed as a rate-limiting step here by some of these agencies.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [3]

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Well, thanks, Steve. Great question. And I guess, a great thing for Novavax and CEPI. As I stated before, there are extensive amount of fundings available for promising vaccine candidates as we all have seen BARDA contracts to both J&J and Moderna and now CEPI funding to Novavax. There's probably at least $15 billion to $20 billion in total funding available in both BARDA and CEPI, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, each have said they will each support up to 5 or 6 for CEPI and BARDA's case. And both CEPI and BMGF both have stated that they will support up to 8 different candidates in rapid scale up. So I think there are -- congratulations to Novavax, and Moderna and J&J have already received theirs. So I think the potential of additional funding for Inovio, I think, is great. I do think there will be a total of 10 to 12 viable candidate vaccines, which will be heavily invested by these various funding agencies.

So as we make progress, I think the potential of Inovio's receiving these external funding, as we mentioned in our prepared remarks, is very good. Lastly, touching on your question about the devices. We received already funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this year to help accelerate our commercial vaccine device, and we're on good track for doing that. So I don't believe the devices and arrays are going to be a rate limiter for us to both scale up and also receive this external funding.

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Stephen Douglas Willey, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division - Director [4]

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Okay. That's helpful color. And you talked about the desire to pursue an Emergency Use Authorization path and I think maybe even referenced the submission here before the end of this year. Can you maybe just talk a little bit about how that process logistically works? And I believe the EUA is under the auspice of HHS, not FDA. So what kind of submission actually needs to be made? Is that analogous to, I guess, an NDA filing? Or how is that different, I guess, when you're submitting something to an agency that's outside of FDA?

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [5]

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Yes. I mean certainly, the secretary of HHS has the authority to provide EUA authorization. But of course, the FDA reports through the HHS. So as we have seen numerously in therapeutics and diagnostics case, there's been dozens of EUAs provided for those 2 areas. For vaccines, there hasn't been any, ever. So the clarity on how and when those may occur, is something that we and our team, our regulatory team, our clinical team are working through. But here's what [Spence] communicated to us and others publicly. One is the vaccine has to demonstrate some level of safety and immune responses and especially if you can tie those immune responses to any challenge model data, if they're relevant. So I think we would be at Inovio to be in position with our Phase I primary data readouts in June with multiple animal challenge studies, including nonhuman primates, ferrets and mice to be reported in the next couple of months that we will be in a great position to collect those data, evaluate and prepare a proper submission to the FDA for an EUA. So I think the exact mechanism and the process will be clarified in the next couple of months, but we should be in a great position to apply for that.

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Operator [6]

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Continue reading here:

Edited Transcript of INO earnings conference call or presentation 11-May-20 8:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

Dublin, May 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Organ-on-a-Chip Global Market - Forecast To 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Organ-on-a-Chip is gaining popularity as they are rendered crucial for prognosis and monitor disease progression; personalized medicine along with playing a vital role in discovery and development of target molecules and drug toxicity testing also to cut cost and time of drug development.

According to analysis, the Organ-on-a-Chip global market is estimated to reach $193,316.9 thousand by 2026 growing at a very high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. The Organ-on-a-Chip market is classified into product, application, material type, end-user, and geography.

The factors driving the market are rising use of organ-on-a-chip in early detection of drug toxicity, increasing demand for personalized medicine, the emergence of OOC as an alternative to animal testing, the significant increase in research funding and venture capital investments for the development of different types of organ-on-a-chips, whereas, factors such as technical uncertainty within the pharma companies, the lack of scaling and standardization, biological and technical challenges involved are restraining the market growth.

Market Segment Insights

The Organ-on-a-Chip product market is further classified into chips & services. The services segment accounted for the largest revenue in 2019. The Chips market is further segmented into liver, lung, kidney, tumor, multiple-organ-on-a-chip, and others. Among these, liver-on-a-chip accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 and is expected to grow at a strong double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. The factors driving the market are increasing use of Liver-on-a-chip in drug discovery as a disease model (NASH) and also in toxicity screening of drugs, cosmetics, environmental pollutants, etc.

The growth is also attributed to the increased interest shown by regulatory agencies, by the top pharma companies, other government organizations and venture capitalists for the development of the technology, whereas, factors such as lack of scaling and standards, the uncertainty of how regulatory bodies will adapt to technological changes, as OOC is in its infancy stage, they are still not efficient to replace the current methods followed, but, are used as an additional test for accuracy, complexity in the establishment of organ models, challenge to explore sample associated data requirement of ethical clarity, need for the establishment of well understood single mixed-cell models using universal media combined with the flow and supporting matrix are restraining the market growth.

Based on the application, the market is segmented into drug discovery, toxicity screening, and personalized medicine. Among this toxicity, screening accounted for the largest revenue of in 2019 and is expected to grow at a high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to increased failure of drugs due to their toxicity had lead to the accelerated use of organ-on-a-chip involving human-derived cells to check their toxic effects. Further engagement of various chips in environmental toxicity testing, cosmetic toxicity is driving the growth of the market.

The market by material type is segmented into PDMS, polymers, glass, and silicon, among these, polymers commanded the largest revenue in 2019 and is expected to grow at a high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. Factors such as ease of access and inexpensiveness, optically transparent, biocompatible, inert, rigidity are the factors favoring their usage. The silicon segment is expected to grow at a strong CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

Based on End-User, the market is segmented into Pharma & Biotech, Academic & research institutes, and other industries. Among the end-users, Pharma & Biotech accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 growing at a strong double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to extended research and development activities in biologics, drug development, and manufacturing.

Based on geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the world. Among these, the North American region dominated the Organ-On-A-Chip accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 growing at a high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. This is due to the accelerated technological advancements in analytical and informatics field, presence of major players, increased funding from both private and government agencies, growing awareness about benefits of Organ-On-A-Chip in development of personalized medicine, presence of advanced research institutes with specialized technologies, pharma biotech companies, government & private agencies concentrating on accelerating Organ-on-a-Chip research. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing region with a strong CAGR from 2019 to 2026. This might be attributed to increasing government funding towards Organ-on-a-Chip research, and the emergence of this region as the manufacturing hub for biologics drugs.

Some of the companies are coming up with new technological advancements to maintain their leadership status in the Organ-on-a-Chip, for example, Mimetas BV launched assay ready product line: OrganoPlate Caco-2 which serves customer to receive a fully quality-controlled, ready-to-use tissue model to ADME, safety-, toxicology- and mechanistic studies for drug development, but also in the food and dairy industry.

The key players in Organ-on-a-Chip Global Market include Mimetas BV (The Netherlands), Emulate, Inc. (U.S), TissUse GmbH (Germany), Hesperos, Inc. (U.S.), Insphero AG. (Switzerland), CN Bio Innovations Ltd (U.K.), Nortis Inc ( U.S.), AlveoliX AG (Switzerland), Organovo Holdings, Inc. (U.S.) and others.

Drivers and Opportunities

Restraints and Threats

Companies Mentioned (A-Z)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y1reei

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Read more:

Organ-on-a-Chip Industry Assessment 2019-2026 - Increasing Demand for Personalized Medicine, Emergence of OOC as an Alternative to Animal Testing -...

FEATURES Alternative Medicine: From There to Here Soundtracks a Documentary About the Healing Power of Dance By Annie Zaleski April 28, 2020

Co-directed by Sydney Skov and Janique Robillard, the 2019 documentary From There to Here follows the women who lead Kolkata Sanved: a nonprofit in Kolkata, India, that uses dance as a means to help survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and other forms of abuse, release trauma, develop confidence, and identify their own potentials as human beingsrather than as victims.

To achieve these goals, the women who run the group practice and teach whats called Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). It involves rejuvenating people who might have suffered from some form of trauma or stress, using dance as well as movements, says Sabita Debnath, a senior dance practitioner and founding member of Kolkata Sanved who is currently working as an assistant manager at the nonprofit. If one has undergone sexual violence or any other form of violence, the connection between the soul and body is disturbed and lost. In order to restore and reunite this important connection, DMT is used. It also brings them an opportunity to dream and build their own visionary paths.

Sydney Skov saw first-hand dances ripple effects when she discovered Kolkata Sanved several years ago. Although she was then working in the field of international development, she grew up interested in dance, and couldnt shake the feeling these two seemingly disparate fields could intersect. I had this thought that dance and human rights went together, but I wasnt exactly sure how, she says. I couldnt see how the puzzle pieces fit.

While doing research, she was drawn to Kolkata Sanved which, at that time, was still very small, and had a minimal online presence. I knew thats where I wanted to be, she recalls. I sent them an email saying, Hey, Ive danced my whole life, and Ive been working with this human rights nonprofit. Can I come volunteer? And they sent me one email back that said, Yes, please come.

I didnt really have a plan for how long I would stay, and I ended up staying for about seven months because the work they were doing was so unbelievable, she adds. [For those kids] that ability to move and dance and feel free for an hour was everything.

Skov ended up going to graduate school and received a fellowship that allowed her to return to Kolkata Sanved and make the film with Robillard and her team. Due to her experience with the nonprofit, Skov stresses that the filmmakers, didnt want to impose a narrative or a storyline onto the dance therapy practitioners. To that end, before filming began, she spent eight months in Kolkata working closely with the women to explore movement-based themes and improvisational sequences. They were really in charge of designing what they would share through their movement, says Janique Robillard; Skov adds, I wanted to offer [the film] to them as kind of a blank check of creativity. Like, We can make this thing; heres this resource. What do you want to say?'

The positive impact of DMTas well as dance in generaldominates the film. Not only are there beautiful scenes of women dancing and leading classes, but the footage is paired with scenes of the women talking about what the art form means to them and how its helped them heal both themselves and others.

That the documentary focuses on the women now, rather than the details of the trauma that led them to dance, is a deliberate choice, says Robillard, who also edited and co-produced the film. We want to show a survivor-based story. We want to show what happens next or where you are right nowI dont think that [in documentaries and TV] we see enough of what the surviving part means, what youre doing dailylike, the dance practice that is helping you form community and empowerment and well-being. Thats something thats really important to us in the way that our stories come together.

Editing the film ended up being a time-consuming process. Not only was the team mindful of the narration parameters, but they also worked diligently to ensure that the interviews they did with the women in the film were translated into English as precisely as possible. Highlighting the power of dance was also a priority. It was a lot of figuring out this balance of blending a documentary with dance film and allowing the movement to speak, but grounding it in a context that would connect well to the largest audience possible, says Robillard. Not everybody understands dance; dance is stigmatized, which is something that were tackling in the film.

This stigma isnt just present in India, she adds. Theres lower value placed on it in storytelling even in the U.S. So [it was] finding that way to allow people to see the narrative value in it, and to see the expressive value in it, and how it was part of their story beyond just their words.

However, the lengthy editing process ended up being a boon for the movies score, which was composed by Maxime RobillardJaniques siblingand Milo McBride, and released via Maddjazz Recordings Alternative Medicine series. To compose the music, the duo held regular Friday meetups at Max Robillards studio and used analog synthesizers, an instrument that required patience, McBride notes. The score is layered and dense: minimalist sonic pulses build upon one another in a hypnotic, calming fashion, as rich texturesin the form of subtle field recordings and accents from the Indian stringed instrument the tanpuraadd color.

The process was beautifully unconventional, in that we had a kind of template [edit of the] film, and Max and I just spent hours upon hours watching that on loop, and creating sounds and ideas and scenes with our machines and recording them live, McBride says. [We werent] trying to go, Oh, well, heres a scene that deserves this ominous tone, or anything like that. It was more about playing together while watching this footage.

Adds Maxime Robillard: We would tune some things, make some sort of rhythm, make some sort of sound, and then just sit there and listen to what we had and then respond to what was happening, We wouldnt even necessarily be looking at each other. We could just be doing things independently, and then sitting back with it and seeing how it all was coming together.

In addition to the different iterations of From There to Here, the duo had other source material from Janique Robillard, including profiles of the women being featured, as well as the field recordings. [I] asked them to put together a series of phrases, she says, which is cool, because thats also how the dance comes together: brainstorming this series of phrases, seeing what works, putting some together, running with some, moving on from others. It was interesting finding the balance of Kolkata and Bengali instrumentation and rhythms, and finding which bits and pieces of that would fit into the score, she adds. We didnt want to make a traditional or folk score. We wanted something unique to the film.

The music works beautifully within From There to Here, never overwhelming the scenes but emerging throughout to advance the emotional arc. We wanted it to always be as much tied into everything going on in the picture, and not just record things on the side and then think, I like this song, lets just shove it in here,' said Maxime Robillard. We wanted everything to always be in the utmost support of the picture, of the narrativeWe didnt need to show off anything about ourselves. In a way, this has nothing to do with us. We just have to make music that supports what this is.

For Janique, having this musical component also helped her hone in on the essence of From There to Here. When we got to the finishing phase and being able to work with them, they literally brought this whole enormous, wonderful, lovely, great energy to the edit. I credit them and our sound designer Grant Harold for giving me the energy that I needed to really finalize things. Once you work with the composers and sound designer, theres things that you see in your footage that you didnt see beforeor theres things in the story that you knew were in there, but you didnt know the degree to which they resonated with other people.

From There to Here has screened internationally at multiple film festivals in the U.S. and France. The filmmakers and musicians are immensely proud the documentary is finished and out there in the world. As Sabita Debnath looks back, shes particularly proud of the impact her participation in the documentary might have. I want this story of mine to inspire the women who feel they are weak and wont be able to do anything on their own without support, she says. I too have the right to live as an equal with my head held high. So, wherever this story of mine helps to bring such change in ideology of others, I will not be ashamed or shy about it being documented and shown.

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Alternative Medicine: From There to Here Soundtracks a Documentary About the Healing Power of Dance - bandcamp.com

Real Housewives of Beverly Hill's Denise Richards is worried for her family's safety due to her husband's medical career. Denises husband works in alternative medicine and truly believes big pharma is after him.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsare back and became a household name since the hit franchise launched in 2010. The spin-off shows the lifestyle of the rich and famous that inhabit the famous 90210 area code. Some of the women are self-made, actresses, and even married well, but all know how to bring the drama. Richards has been the calm one until this recent season where it seems she is on the outs with the other woman and is hiding a pretty big secret. Brandi Glanville has a storyline with Denise Richards regarding a rumor that they had dated and been sexually involved.

Related: RHOBH: Did Denise Richards Really Have an Affair with Brandi Glanville?

Denise Richards already has enough on her platedue to the stress of her hernia surgery and that dinner party from Hell. Fans were startled when her husband added some more unneeded stress on top before the ladies had made it to dessert. After a rousing truth-telling game that actually turned into Sutton Stracke telling her true opinion to Teddi Mellencamp, hostess, Kyle Richards tried to turn the attention to the husbands having no idea that it would make for a more uncomfortable situation.

Aaron Phypers tried his best to explain what he does for a living as it seemed to viewers it was his true passion but took a turn toward the bizarre. The 47-year-old first explained to the table that everything they had been taught about diseases was untrue. He explained that when he was younger, he had lived near the largest nuclear facility in North America and watched many people die of cancer. Hedove deep into explain how he could not understand how an atom could be split with sound but they could not heal the sick. He lost most of the table when he started to explain the space between saying 99.9 percent is space, but its oscillating at a frequency that appears to be real in our reality. Does that make sense?

The most bizarre part of the conversation was when Phypers told everyone that cancer was in them right now, but his wife quickly shut him down. Explaining in a confessional that her husband gets amazing results and certain organizations do not like those results, implying her family was in constant danger. The couple soon left the party as Richards needed rest but also wanted her family to stay safe as she shared, they are often followed by ominous cars.

Next: RHONY: Why Is It So Hard For Fans To Connect With Luann De Lesseps?

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on Bravo.

Netflix's Witcher: Why Geralt Hardly Speaks (It's Because Of Henry Cavill)

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RHOBH: Denise Richards Fears for Safety Due to Husband's Alternative Medicine Career - Screen Rant

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Traditional medicine is not scientifically proven to combat Covid-19 but the Ministry of Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah didnt rule out that it might have a positive effect for treatments.

He said, although they cant cure the disease, alternative therapies such as acupuncture or herbal medicine might be able to complement these treatments.

Commenting on Malaysia authorities collaborating with their Chinese counterparts, Dr Noor Hisham said discussions revolved around learning from Chinas experience in handling the virus.

He also said that they will conduct an exit meeting on 1 May to identify the best practices from understanding how the country dealt with the disease and how Malaysia can improve.

Get the latest COVID-19 updates on TRPs Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Unkempt in both stories and appearance, Hakim loves tech but tech left him on read, previously he used to write about tall buildings and unoccupied spaces that he cant afford, and legend has it that he still cant afford it to this day

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Alternative Medicine Wont Cure Covid-19 But Might Help Treatment, Says Health DG - The Rakyat Post

A controversial alternative medicine magazine has been pulled from the shelves of Coles and Woolworths after a radio host slammed it as dangerous and misleading.

2GB host Ben Fordham took issue with the April-May 2020 edition of What Doctors Dont Tell You, describing it as full of dangerous information, dodgy medical advice and conspiracy theories.

The magazine, which focuses on holistic medicines and complementary therapies, has only been available on the Australian market since August 2019.

The UK-based publication began life as a newsletter in 1989 and purports to bring its readers world-leading research and groundbreaking news.

On Twitter, Fordham shared an image of the latest editions front cover, which includes headlines about healing spines without surgery, how to stay protected from Wi-Fi and 5G, and how to heal diabetes with a keto diet.

Fordham also accuses the magazine of downplaying the dangers of coronavirus and linking vaccines to autism.

On Tuesday, both Coles and Woolworths confirmed they were pulling the magazine from sale nationwide.

This magazine was ranged as part of a two-week trial of new magazine titles under an arrangement with our supplier, Coles said in a statement.

Coles does not endorse the content of the magazine and it is now being removed from sale and will not be part of our range going forward.

Coles encourages all Australians to follow the advice of government health authorities on all health matters including COVID-19.

More on 7NEWS.com.au

Woolworths followed suit, saying it appreciated customers concerns about the magazine.

Weve informed the supplier well be removing the magazine from sale, the company said in a statement.

As always, we would encourage our customers to seek and follow expert medical advice.

The magazine was stocked in the aisles, rather than at the checkout, of approximately 100 Woolworths supermarkets around the country.

The supermarket added a caveat that the decision to stock a magazine does not mean we endorse the editorial views it holds.

In the video below: Swedish backpacker slammed for comments on coronavirus restrictions

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Controversial alternative medicine magazine pulled from the shelves of Coles and Woolies - 7NEWS.com.au

R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY

Despite a lack of evidence that vitamins are effective against the novel coronavirus, adoctor with a history of making misleading claims says they are being used as a treatment for the virus.

An April 7 article by Dr. Joseph Mercola headlined Vitamins C and D finally adopted as coronavirus treatment claims that vitamins C and D are now (finally) being adopted in the conventional treatment of novel coronavirus.

Mercola is a doctor of osteopathy who promotes alternative medicines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued Mercola at least three warning lettersover the years, accusing him of making false or misleading claims about products he has promoted on his website. For years, medical experts have also criticized Mercola for sharing dangerous information.

The information hes putting out to the public is extremely misleading and potentially very dangerous, Dr. Stephen Barrett told Chicago Magazine for a 2012 article about Mercola. Barrett runs QuackWatch.org, a medical watchdog website. He exaggerates the risks and potential dangers of legitimate science-based medical care, and he promotes a lot of unsubstantiated ideas and sells (certain)products with claims that are misleading.

Mercolas claim about vitamins and the coronavirus cites a New York Post article from March 24 thatdescribes the use of vitamin C by Northwell Health, a New York hospital system, to treat patients with coronavirus.

Northwell spokesperson Jason Molinet confirmed to USA TODAY that vitamin C was one of many therapies employed at the discretion of physicians in our health system.

Molinet declined to answer follow-up questions about how widespread the use of vitamin C was, what the results of the treatment were and what studies or data Northwell relied on when deciding whether to use vitamin C as part of COVID-19 treatment. He also declined to make a doctor available to speak about the treatment, saying that thats the extent of our statement on this.

More: Fact check: Are governors' stay-at-home orders bad for your health?

Dr. William Schaffner, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt Universitys School of Medicine, said hes heard claims that vitamins C and D can be used either to prevent disease or to treat it.

I sure wish they were true, but theres no evidence to support either of those vitamins being an effective either preventive or treatment in any dose. If that were true, believe me it would be headline news and we would all be recommending it, he said.

More: Coronavirus: Search 4,000 nursing homes with COVID-19 cases

Specifically, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases states its a myth that extra vitamin C will prevent COVID-19.

There is no evidence that taking extra vitamin C will fight against COVID-19. In fact, the body can only absorb a certain amount of vitamin C and any excess will be excreted, the organization says in a graphic available on its website.

Boththe Centers for Disease Control and PreventionandWorld Health Organizationstate the only way to minimize the chances of contracting the virus is to take preventative steps against becoming infected.

Social distancingfrom other people, frequent handwashing and cleaning of often-used surfaces are the only techniques on which there is expert consensus that theyminimize the likelihoodof contracting the novel coronavirus.

More: Fact check: What's true and what's false about coronavirus?

A research team at Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan, China,began a study on vitamin C treatments for COVID-19on Feb. 14. The program is expected to be completed at the end of September. No findings have been published.

Clinical trials of various treatments for COVID-19 are underway to gain a more accurate understanding of their effectiveness, but many of those trials will not be completed for months. Those trials will provide additional evidence about the likely benefits and likely risks of such treatments, Schaffner said.

Theres no such thing as a drug or treatment program thats free of side effects, he said.

A recent study of one drug, remdesivir, showed it could modestly improve recovery times for patients with COVID-19, although the study's findings have not been peer-reviewed.The FDA issuedan emergency approval for the drug on Friday.

"The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday.

Schaffner said many COVID-19 patients are being treated based on anecdotal evidence as doctors consult with patients and their families about the risks on a case-by-case basis.

It does not surprise me that here or there a physician, a patient, or maybe even a hospital, would include these vitamins as part of therapies. But theres no evidence that theyre better than nothing at all, he said.

While vitamin C is being used, at least in one New York hospital system, to help treat some patients on a case-by-case basis, there is no evidence to suggest that it is effective. And occasional use of vitamins C or D in COVID-19 treatment at the discretion of a patient and their doctor is not the same as saying they are being adopted in the conventional treatment of the coronavirus, as Mercolas article states.

Stephen Gruber-Miller can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/05/02/fact-check-coronavirus-covid-19-vitamins-c-d-treatment-joseph-mercola/3058491001/

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Fact check: Vitamins C and D are not used in 'conventional treatment' of coronavirus - USA TODAY

The report on the Complementary and Alternative Medicine market provides a birds eye view of the current proceeding within the Complementary and Alternative Medicine market. Further, the report also takes into account the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the Complementary and Alternative Medicine market and offers a clear assessment of the projected market fluctuations during the forecast period. The different factors that are likely to impact the overall dynamics of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine market over the forecast period (2019-2029) including the current trends, growth opportunities, restraining factors, and more are discussed in detail in the market study.

For top companies in United States, European Union and China, this report investigates and analyzes the production, value, price, market share and growth rate for the top manufacturers, key data from 2019 to 2025.

The Complementary and Alternative Medicine market report firstly introduced the basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the Complementary and Alternative Medicine market report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

Get Free Sample PDF (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Market Report @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2601857&source=atm

The major players profiled in this Complementary and Alternative Medicine market report include:

The key players covered in this studyColumbia NutritionalHerb PharmHerbal HillsHelio USADeepure PlusNordic NaturalsPure encapsulationsIyengar Yoga InstituteJohn Schumachers Unity Woods Yoga CenterYoga TreeThe Healing CompanyQuantum Touch

Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoBotanicalsAcupunctureMind, Body, and YogaMagnetic InterventionMarket segment by Application, split intoDirect ContactE-trainingDistance Correspondence

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaCentral & South America

The study objectives of this report are:To analyze global Complementary and Alternative Medicine status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.To present the Complementary and Alternative Medicine development in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, market and key regions.

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Complementary and Alternative Medicine are as follows:History Year: 2015-2019Base Year: 2019Estimated Year: 2020Forecast Year 2020 to 2026For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2019 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.researchmoz.com/checkout?rep_id=2601857&licType=S&source=atm

Key Market Related Questions Addressed in the Report:

Important Information that can be extracted from the Report:

Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Industry [emailprotected] https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2601857&source=atm

Excerpt from:

COVID-19: Potential impact on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2019-2033 3w Market News...

The literature on self-estimated intelligence (SEI) extends back 50 years and finds, overall, that men consistently estimate their IQ higher than women do. A new study, published in the Journal of Intelligence, replicated this finding and offers additional insight into the psychological processes underlying SEI.

The study wanted to examine how SEI would relate to other self-beliefs, namely physical attractiveness, health, and emotional intelligence. The researchers suggest that self-rated IQ is but one component in a general self-esteem factor.

The idea, the authors explain, was that most self-ratings are positively correlated into an overall self-concept and self-esteem measure, with people feeling more or less positive about themselves.

Researchers were also interested in how SEI would relate to certain general beliefs, such as religious belief and belief in alternative medicine.

Previous work showed that those who held more religious beliefs and less belief in science tended to give themselves lower SEI, possibly because they were indeed less intelligent or else less convinced of the scientific credibility of IQ tests.

An initial study was conducted, where 517 men and women completed questionnaires asking them to estimate their intelligence, emotional intelligence, physical attractiveness, and physical health. They also rated their religious belief, their belief in alternative medicine, and the extent to which they were an optimist.

A second study looked to replicate the first one and additionally explored how SEI relates to belief in conspiracy theories. This study had 475 adults complete the same self-ratings as the first study, and additionally rate their belief in popular conspiracy theories. Subjects also participated in a general knowledge intelligence test.

Results from both studies were in line with previous research showing that men tended to estimate their intelligence higher than women did. The authors relate this to past research saying, This male hubris effect is found in a very wide range of self-assessments of ability and attractiveness, suggesting that intelligence may not be particularly special.

Both studies supported the researchers hypothesis that SEI is related to other self-beliefs. SEI was positively associated with estimates of emotional intelligence, health, and attractiveness.

Nearly everyone believes they are more intelligent than average. Males tend to show hubris, females humility. There is only a modest correlation between actual and estimated intelligence, said study author Adrian Furnham, a psychology professor at Norwegian Business School.

Whilst he mechanism or process of this is unclear, the authors say, it supports the vast self-concept literature, now extended to the SEI literature.

Researchers had expected beliefs in religion and alternative medicine to be correlated with lower SEI, given that previous studies show that those with higher IQ tend to be more skeptical about these topics. Findings from the first study, however, seemed to contradict this idea. No relationship was found between belief in alternative medicine and self-rated IQ. Belief in religion was found to be positively related to SEI.

The second study, on the other hand, provided support for the idea that less belief in science is associated with lower self-rated IQ. While no relationship was found between religious belief and SEI, those who believed in alternative medicine or conspiracy theories showed lower self-ratings of IQ.

The authors conclude that their findings support the idea of a general self-concept underlying self-estimated intelligence. As for future research, they say, The question remains as to what self-ratings of specific skills (i.e., negotiation, presentation) or other attributes (i.e., strengths like courage, kindness) are also positively associated with SEI and why.

The study, Correlates of Self-Estimated Intelligence, was authored by Adrian Furnham and Simmy Grover.

Excerpt from:

Men rate their IQ higher than women do and this may be due to differences in general self-concept - PsyPost

Global Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market Size, Status and Forecast 2020-2027

The Global Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market report mainly elaborates market size, share, trends, and growth analysis on the basis of different parameters. The Global Complementary And Alternative Medicine Industry analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status on the definition, types, applications and major players of the Complementary And Alternative Medicine market in detail.

The report represnts tables and several other graphical data elements, the Complementary And Alternative Medicine market report makes for an insightful data repository that is a valuable source of direction and guidance for managers, decision makers, business strategists, and all those who are interested in the overall development of the global Complementary And Alternative Medicine market.

Get sample copy of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market report@ https://www.absolutemarketsinsights.com/request_sample.php?id=314

Top Key players: Some of the players operating in Brazil Complementary and Alternative Medicine Market are Optum, Inc., Ach, Quantum-Touch, and Herboflora.

Our new sample is updated which correspond in new report showing impact of COVID-19 on Industry

The report scrutinizes different business approaches and frameworks that pave the way for success in businesses. The report used Porters five techniques for analyzing the Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market; it also offers the examination of the global market. To make the report more potent and easy to understand, it consists of info graphics and diagrams. Furthermore, it has different policies and development plans which are presented in summary. It analyzes the technical barriers, other issues, and cost-effectiveness affecting the market.

Global Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market Research Report 2020 carries in-depth case studies on the various countries which are involved in the Complementary And Alternative Medicine market. The report is segmented according to usage wherever applicable and the report offers all this information for all major countries and associations. It offers an analysis of the technical barriers, other issues, and cost-effectiveness affecting the market. Important contents analyzed and discussed in the report include market size, operation situation, and current & future development trends of the market, market segments, business development, and consumption tendencies. Moreover, the report includes the list of major companies/competitors and their competition data that helps the user to determine their current position in the market and take corrective measures to maintain or increase their share holds.

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What questions does the Complementary And Alternative Medicine market report answer pertaining to the regional reach of the industry

The report claims to split the regional scope of the Complementary And Alternative Medicine market into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America & Middle East and Africa. Which among these regions has been touted to amass the largest market share over the anticipated duration

How do the sales figures look at present How does the sales scenario look for the future

Considering the present scenario, how much revenue will each region attain by the end of the forecast period

How much is the market share that each of these regions has accumulated presently

How much is the growth rate that each topography will depict over the predicted timeline

A short overview of the Complementary And Alternative Medicine market scope:

Global market remuneration

Overall projected growth rate

Industry trends

Competitive scope

Product range

Application landscape

Supplier analysis

Marketing channel trends Now and later

Sales channel evaluation

Market Competition Trend

Market Concentration Rate

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This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics

It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market growth

It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow

It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future

It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors

It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments

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COVID-19 Impacts on Complementary And Alternative Medicine Market Growth Ratio Analysis with Top Players Optum, Inc., Ach, Quantum-Touch - Bandera...

Telemedicine offers alternative to office visit in the age of COVID-19

General Physician PCs Dr. Ripple Marfatia, who has offices in Castile and Attica, confronts the threat of COVID-19 every day he comes to work. His primary care offices both have a steady stream of older patients, many with underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19.

Many of my patients are worried about leaving their homes, Marfatia says. They are taking social distancing seriously, but they also need their medical care.

Realizing the growing need to treat such patients, General Physician PC expanded its telemedicine service to better serve its patients navigating this new frontier of life under social distancing rules.

Patients are surprised at how easy the video calls are, Marfatia says. I can ask all of the same questions I would during an office visit, examine the patient and diagnose a number of different conditions.

He says there is some apprehension among his patients at first, but once they have had a video visit, they appreciate the care without the potential risk of leaving home during the pandemic.

People are used to medicine the way they have always experienced it, he says. This will take a little getting used to, but it is an excellent way to ensure our patients are still getting the care they need during these times.

The growth in telemedicine predates the arrival of COVID-19. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, telemedicine is offered through more than 50 major health systems in the United Stated. Most importantly for patients, many insurance companies are covering video visits at the same cost they would a traditional office visit.

One of the biggest obstacles to widespread implementation has always been accessibility. Now, with more than 80 percent of Americans owning smartphones, telemedicine has become a much more viable option. For physicians such as Marfatia, telemedicine has offered patients an added sense of peace of mind.

Just because we have COVID-19 doesnt mean people arent getting sick or presenting with other medical needs, Marfatia says. We had to find a way to safely, effectively care for those patients, as well as our COVID-19 cases, without putting anyone at risk. Telemedicine is a wonderful solution to that challenge.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Washington Post, another major obstacle doctors report is patients who are uncomfortable with video visits because it is so opposite of what they have always known. Marfatia says many people feel comfortable with their doctor and want to see them face to face.

Many of my patients have been coming to me for years, and that is true for doctors across our organization, he says. We dont operate our offices where you take a number and get whichever physician is available, he says. My patients know me, and they have come to trust me with their health.

In the end, according to Marfatia and his team, video visits are the safest alternative to traditional visits during this global pandemic.

We are able to take care of most of your needs from home, so it is safer for you right now, he says. It will allow us to maintain your health, while decreasing the chances of you contracting COVID-19.

To learn more about video visits, or to find a General Physician PC office near you, visit http://www.gppconline.com.

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Telemedicine offers alternative to office visit in the age of COVID-19 - The Daily News Online

Health experts have debunked President Donald Trumps idea to potentially use sunlight to treat coronavirus patients. But some social media users say the president is onto something.

An April 24 Facebook post shows an image of what appears to be someone hooked up to an IV that is emanating blue light. The caption claims it shows a "UV radiation" treatment.

"For all you dummies that have absolutely no idea what trump is talking about... INTERNAL DISINFECTANT aka Ultraviolet Radiation is administered into the body as a disinfectant to kill bacteria and viruses and this has been used for a while now," reads the post.

This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

(Screenshot from Facebook)

During an April 23 press briefing, Trump floated the idea of using light to treat COVID-19 patients after a Department of Homeland Security official presented a preliminary study that found sunlight kills the coronavirus on certain surfaces. We found no evidence to suggest such a treatment would work on patients, but we wanted to take a closer look at this recent Facebook post.

While the exact origin of the image in the post is unclear, its central claim that some health care providers inject UV light into patients to kill bacteria and viruses is inaccurate. We reached out to the original poster for evidence, but we havent heard back.

We used a reverse image search to scour the internet for the source of the photo in the Facebook post. While we couldnt find the source, we did find several tweets from the same day that included the image.

One user who shared the photo claimed it shows ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI). The treatment involves drawing a patients blood, then exposing that blood to an external light box before returning it to the body. It was popular in the mid-20th century before the development of antibiotics and was used to treat conditions including pneumonia, tuberculosis, arthritis and asthma..

Now UBI is mainly used in the alternative-medicine community. But UV light is not "administered" into patients bodies, as the Facebook post claims, and experts who have experimented with the treatment say there is no scientific evidence that it kills bacteria or viruses.

Dr. Edzard Ernst, an emeritus professor of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, said the research into UBI and related methods has been limited in scope.

"Yes, there are quite a few papers on UBI and related methods. But most of them are in-vitro studies, while robust clinical trials are missing completely," Ernst wrote in an April 25 blog post. "Needless to say also that UBI is an invasive treatment where lots of things might go badly wrong."

RELATED: Why Trumps comments on using disinfectants, sunlight to treat COVID-19 are wrong

There are three types of UV light: UVA, UVB and UVC. The first makes up the majority of radiation that reaches the Earth, the second can cause sunburn and skin cancer, and the third destroys genetic material.

Applying UVC light to rooms and surfaces has helped some hospitals cut the transmission rate of diseases like MRSA, which can linger in rooms after patients are discharged. The light waves kill bacteria and viruses by disrupting their DNA.

But applying UVC light directly to the body would damage genetic material and cause burns within seconds, experts told PolitiFact. Physicians do sometimes use UVA or UVB light to treat skin lymphoma, but they avoid giving patients too much, as it could increase their chances of developing skin cancer later in life.

"There is a modified version of this in which a drug can be injected ahead of time to increase cell sensitivity to externally applied UV, but in general its not possible to inject UV light itself," said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, an associate research scientist at Columbia Universitys Center for Infection and Immunity, in an email.

Health care providers also sometimes treat donated blood or plasma with radiation before performing infusions to prevent certain diseases, but most American blood banks use gamma rays or x-rays. Thats different from using UV light to treat blood or plasma thats still inside a patient.

"There is no evidence that injecting UV light into the body will kill bacteria or viruses," said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University, in an email. "We irradiate blood that has been taken out of the body, but that is different than using UV light. I am not sure what that picture is in the Facebook post."

The Facebook post is inaccurate. We rate it False.

Read more:

UV radiation is not a common way to kill viruses and bacteria in the body - PolitiFact

Humour, tenderness, frustration and anger are all contained in Rachel Matlows memoir Dead Mom Walking, about the life and death of her mother, Elaine.

Matlows book is dubbed a "Traumedy," which reflects her even blend of comedy and tragedy to form a uniquely personal narrative. She writes about the approximately six-year period between when her mother was first diagnosed with Stage 1 rectal cancer and the months following Elaines death, in which Matlow seeks deeper insight into the overwhelming question: Why did her mother refuse to follow her oncologists and doctors advice for treatment?

Matlow, who was a longtime producer on CBC Radios Q, first explored her mothers story in an audiocast of the same name that won a 2016 Third Coast award and a 2017 Gabriel Award.

Elaine was never a typical mom to Matlow and her brother Josh. She followed her own desires to travel and explore the world without seeming to experience the guilt many mothers feel about leaving their children.

A teacher at an alternative school in Toronto, Elaine maintains a friendship with her ex-husband, Teddy, while going through a series of boyfriends.

On one hand, Matlow admires her mothers sense of adventure and free spirit. But she also envies others whose mothers behave in a more conventional manner.

Elaine announces her plan to cure her cancer through alternative medicine, including herbal tinctures, a raw food diet and talking to her cancer cells. She reads a number of books about people who were supposedly cured without conventional medical treatment and develops a distrust for what she calls "Big Pharma."

"Listen," she tells Matlow, "if I had faith in Western medicine I would endure its hazards. I wish I could believe in it. But I dont."

While Matlow struggles to convince her mother to listen to the medical experts rather than a bunch of con artists, she also fights to stay sane at work. She details the nightmare she experienced as a producer working with former Q host Jian Ghomeshi. "At work I was busy navigating another persons warped perspective. Jian had his own version of reality and he expected everyone to go along with it."

She describes how Ghomeshi took credit for the work of others, twisting the truth so Matlow and her co-workers felt that they were in the wrong.

While Ghomeshis ultimate dismissal from CBC after he was accused of assaulting three women is well-known, Matlows personal revelations about working with him prior to that are insightful. His public persona, primarily created by Matlows words and those of other producers who wrote his memorable opening monologues, differed so greatly from his true nature.

As Elaines health gradually declines and hopes of finding a cure dwindle, Matlow gives up a personal relationship to move in with her. Mother and daughter enjoy quality time watching movies about Paris and remembering their shared adventures there.

Matlow knows Elaines time has almost run out, but Elaine is still shocked when a doctor tells her that her mother has only weeks to live. She ultimately describes her mothers death in a very realistic, loving manner.

In the time after her mothers death, Matlow keeps busy organizing Elaines "after-party" featuring more than 100 guests. She also has a memorial bench placed on a pathway close to her mothers former apartment building with an inscription Elaine requested. But soon Matlows grief catches up with her ,and she is forced to dig deeper into their relationship.

While most of us dont have a mother like Elaine, we know someone who is likely to reject conventional medicine and gamble on their ability to find a magical cure for their illness. Matlows account of desperately trying to convince her mother to make the right choice while still respecting her right to choose makes Dead Mom Walking a sad but insightful book.

Andrea Geary is a reporter with Canstar Community News.

Andrea GearyCommunity journalist The Headliner

Andrea Geary is the community journalist for The Headliner. Email her at andrea.geary@canstarnews.comCall her at 204-697-7124

Read full biography

Excerpt from:

Memoir muses on mother's final years - Winnipeg Free Press

Health experts have debunked President Donald Trumps idea to potentially use sunlight to treat coronavirus patients. But some social media users say the president is onto something.

An April 24 Facebook post shows an image of what appears to be someone hooked up to an IV that is emanating blue light. The caption claims it shows a "UV radiation" treatment.

"For all you dummies that have absolutely no idea what trump is talking about... INTERNAL DISINFECTANT aka Ultraviolet Radiation is administered into the body as a disinfectant to kill bacteria and viruses and this has been used for a while now," reads the post.

This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

During an April 23 press briefing, Trump floated the idea of using light to treat COVID-19 patients after a Department of Homeland Security official presented a preliminary study that found sunlight kills the coronavirus on certain surfaces. We found no evidence to suggest such a treatment would work on patients, but we wanted to take a closer look at this recent Facebook post.

While the exact origin of the image in the post is unclear, its central claim that some health care providers inject UV light into patients to kill bacteria and viruses is inaccurate. We reached out to the original poster for evidence, but we havent heard back.

We used a reverse image search to scour the internet for the source of the photo in the Facebook post. While we couldnt find the source, we did find several tweets from the same day that included the image.

One user who shared the photo claimed it shows ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI). The treatment involves drawing a patients blood, then exposing that blood to an external light box before returning it to the body. It was popular in the mid 20th century before the development of antibiotics and was used to treat conditions including pneumonia, tuberculosis, arthritis and asthma.

Now ultraviolet blood irradiation is mainly used in the alternative-medicine community. But UV light is not administered into patients bodies, as the Facebook post claims, and experts who have experimented with the treatment say there is no scientific evidence that it kills bacteria or viruses.

Dr. Edzard Ernst, an emeritus professor of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, said the research into ultraviolet blood irradiation and related methods has been limited in scope.

"Yes, there are quite a few papers on UBI and related methods. But most of them are in-vitro studies, while robust clinical trials are missing completely," Ernst wrote in an April 25 blog post. "Needless to say also that UBI is an invasive treatment where lots of things might go badly wrong."

There are three types of UV light: UVA, UVB and UVC. The first makes up the majority of radiation that reaches the Earth, the second can cause sunburn and skin cancer, and the third destroys genetic material.

Applying UVC light to rooms and surfaces has helped some hospitals cut the transmission rate of diseases like MRSA, which can linger in rooms after patients are discharged. The light waves kill bacteria and viruses by disrupting their DNA.

But applying UVC light directly to the body would damage genetic material and cause burns within seconds, experts told PolitiFact. Physicians do sometimes use UVA or UVB light to treat skin lymphoma, but they avoid giving patients too much, as it could increase their chances of developing skin cancer later in life.

"There is a modified version of this in which a drug can be injected ahead of time to increase cell sensitivity to externally applied UV, but in general its not possible to inject UV light itself," said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, an associate research scientist at Columbia Universitys Center for Infection and Immunity, in an email.

Health care providers also sometimes treat donated blood or plasma with radiation before performing infusions to prevent certain diseases, but most American blood banks use gamma rays or X-rays. Thats different from using UV light to treat blood or plasma thats still inside a patient.

"There is no evidence that injecting UV light into the body will kill bacteria or viruses," said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University, in an email. "We irradiate blood that has been taken out of the body, but that is different than using UV light. I am not sure what that picture is in the Facebook post."

The Facebook post is inaccurate. We rate it False.

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PolitiFact: Ultraviolet light not a common way to kill viruses and bacteria in the body - Tampa Bay Times

Nature, it is said, abhors a vacuum. Guess famous herbal medicine practitioner, Prince Akintunde Ayeni has finally grasped the full effect of this Aristotle fact. For so many years, this gentleman bestrode the alternative medicine sector like a colossus to the extent that he became a staple for international media organizations like BBC and CNN, who ran a documentary on his exploits.

But as he turned a pathfinder to so many other interested herbal medicine practitioners, he unknowingly yielded the space and relaxed. While he was quiet, foreign herbal products took over and seized the market. In fact, at a time, there were rumours swirling at the grapevine suggesting that he had quit the business due to competition. But the growing concern on the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus globally, rocking Nigeria inclusive, has jerked Ayeni, who is the National President of the Herbal Society of Nigeria, back into action for a research into a remedy to the virus.

Ayeni , popularly known as Yem-kem, is recognized as one of the few individuals who have put the country on the world map, particularly through the practice of traditional medicine.He is one of the few trado-medical practitioners who have re-invented the trado-medical system of healing. At a point, many had thought that he was out of business, particularly after cutting down on his presence in the media space and also reducing his companys 48 branches to 7 across Nigeria.

But close sources, in chats with Society Watch, have dismissed the claim, saying the famous trado-medicine practitioner is doing well.According to one of the sources, Before now, he was doing consultations across Nigeria. But he later set up a factory in Ogun State, where he now manufactures drugs.

This made him go on a low profile, thereby fueling speculations that he is experiencing a reversal of fortune.Since the break of the deadly COVID-19 virus in Nigeria, the Pathfinder Hotel boss has been charged with the duty of finding a lasting trado-medical cure to the deadly virus.He and his team are said to have gone into a research in partnership with the Arole Oodua, Ooni of Ife, HIM Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

The source further said: Yemkem is getting closer to proffering a lasting solution to the virus with our local herbs.In a few months from now, the company will announce its result to the general public.

He is currently working on herbal formula to find a lasting solution to the pandemic. The vaccine will boost the immunity to fight against the virus. He and his team are close to getting a result and working closely with NAFDAC in trial phase and getting a certification from the board.

In the next few months, the vaccine will be ready for human consumption.All he seeks is a partnership with the government so as to enhance a smooth partnership that works.Society watch also gathered that the well-travelled Ayeni is also partnering with an America-based show promoter and businessman, Otunba Demola Oyefeso, for international distribution of his products.

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Akintunde Ayeni to the Rescue - THISDAY Newspapers