Latest news with #TomJohnson
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sober since his mom's birthday in 2013, club pro Tom Johnson is having a blast in first PGA
Sober since his mom's birthday in 2013, club pro Tom Johnson is having a blast in first PGA CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tom Johnson met Rory McIlroy on the putting green and Scottie Scheffler on the range on Wednesday. He had lunch with Justin Rose and then his old college teammate, Luke Donald, joined them. Johnson smiled the smile of a man who is living his best life this week at the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Johnson, 43, is competing in his first PGA Championship, one of the 20 club pros to qualify after finishing T-9 in the 2025 PGA Professional Championship last month. 'This is the ultimate, this was the goal and it's a dream come true,' he said on Wednesday at the practice putting green at Quail Hollow Club. 'I've had so many unbelievable experiences this week that it could end now and it would be awesome and I haven't even hit a shot yet. It's only going to get better.' Johnson has been teaching the game since 2016, currently as the director of instruction at Meadow Club in Fairfax, California, but lived the life of a Tour pro for several years, including in 2007 when he had full status. 'It was what I dreamt of doing but when I got out here I didn't feel like it was a dream.' Johnson suffered from performance anxiety, recording just one top-25 finish ($56,667 represents his largest check for finishing 18th in the 2007 Bob Hope Desert Classic) and finishing 196th on the money list. 'Just imagine the worst kind of butterflies to the point where you think you are going to throw up,' he said. 'I know I'm not alone. I've read how Bobby Jones lost lots of weight when he played.' Dealing with performance anxiety using alchohol, drugs Johnson learned to calm his nerves in unusual fashion. Experiencing yips so severe at the Northeast Amateur when he was 18 that he putted one-handed, he took a shot of whiskey during a rain delay 'that made me feel warm and at ease,' he told the Sacramento Bee in 2015. When he qualified for the PGA Tour at the six-round pressure-cooker known as PGA Tour Q-School, he smoked marijuana before every round and finished in eighth place. He's not the only golfer to ever smoke pot, but he may be the only pro to use it to enhance his performance. 'I thought that worked, I'll do it again,' said Johnson, who has admitted to smoking marijuana before all 70+ rounds he played during the 2007 season. 'It got to be where I was abusing it ever closer and closer to my tee times and I can think of a time I even did it during play, which I'm not proud of, but at that time I really needed something.' Tom Johnson has been sober nearly 12 years Johnson hit rock bottom when he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2013. For her birthday present that year, on July 4th, his mother asked him to get sober. Johnson knew it was time to seek help. He has been drug- and alcohol-free since July 5, 2013. 'That was a major turning point in my life. I went to meetings every day for three years because I knew I couldn't keep sober on my own. That's where I learned the 12 steps and the tools to deal with it. I needed a new operating system. With the help of a lot of people on that same path of sobriety, I no longer feel that way. My life is good.' The other turning point was meeting his now-wife Caitlin in 2016. At the time, he was still competing on the Asian Tour, but he knew he had reached a fork in the road and decided to commit to her and start a family. For a time, he covered sports for the Trinity Journal, the region's weekly newspaper, and was a substitute teacher. Before long, he began teaching golf at Golden Gate Park Golf Course, a par-3 course with a driving range, consisting of hitting into a net 25 yards away. The Olympic Club hired him and he learned under the director of instruction Richard Sheridan. "It's so gratifying to teach, and to give back, and to basically share the gift of golf," he told NCGA Golf Magazine in 2021. Johnson played college golf at Northwestern alongside European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and grew up playing against the likes of James Hahn, Nick Watney and Ricky Barnes, who are still toiling on the pro circuit. When Donald was asked to name his favorite story involving Johnson from his college days, he replied, 'I'm not sure they're appropriate for this audience. We had some fun in college, though, for four years. That's for sure.' Since his touring days, Johnson has been named the Northern California PGA Player of the Year for three straight years running and made the cut in back-to-back years at the Tour's annual stop in Napa. Asked how he deals with his performance anxiety these days, he said, 'I use prayer, meditation and have a better perspective. It's been a spiritual journey.' 'I like the life I'm living right now,' he said. 'I like being home and being a presence in my son's life. I'm grateful that I'm not on Tour, honestly. I'm not trying to rekindle my career out here. I like my life.' But how Johnson has remained competitive with two children under age 3 and a busy schedule as a teaching professional is a story in its own self. 'For starters, I believe that fitness is as important as swing mechanics. If you feel strong, you'll play strong. I get up at 4:45 a.m. three times a week and work out with a neighbor, who happens to be a Titleist Performance Institute Level 3 Certified Trainer and sports chiropractor,' he explained. 'My practice comes during my lunch break, and it typically involves games. I like my practice to be purposeful, competitive and quantifiable, and it can't take longer than 30 minutes. I'm competing against myself, and I keep records of each day's results to quantify my progress.' During his college days at Northwestern, a trainer told him that athletes are motivated to work out by the desire to improve performance, but that goal is fleeting. It eventually will change to managing pain. 'I couldn't relate then, but alas, here I am,' he said. These days, some form of daily workout is a necessity, especially if I expect to play decent golf. I cannot overstate how helpful it is to engage with a fitness professional – even if means a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call!' Another key for Johnson's game holding up after age 40 is the speed training work he has done ever since seeing Matt Fitzpatrick win the 2022 U.S. Open. In a post-round interview, the 5-foot-10, 155-pound Englishman attributed his newly gained distance to the Stack System. 'I find that swinging a heavy club is great for building speed through strength, whereas the benefit of swinging a light club is giving my body permission to rotate as fast as possible,' he said. 'A realistic expectation from speed training would be a 3-5 mph gain of swing speed, or 10-20 yards of distance.' All the hard work has paid off for Johnson, who is finally living a dream that had been deferred.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 2025 Humacyte Inc Earnings Call
Tom Johnson; IR; Lifesci Advisors Laura Niklason; President, Chief Executive Officer, Director; Humacyte Inc Dale Sander; Chief Financial Officer, Chief Corporate Development Officer, Treasurer; Humacyte Inc BJ Scheessele; Chief Commercial Officer; Humacyte Inc Ryan Zimmerman; Analyst; BTIG, LLC Josh Jennings; Analyst; TD Securities LLC Kristen Kluska; Analyst; Cantor Fitzgerald Bruce Jackson; Analyst; The Benchmark Co. LLC Operator Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Humacyte first quarter results conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.I will now turn the conference call over to Tom Johnson with LifeSci Advisors. Please go ahead, sir. Tom Johnson Thank you, operator. Before we proceed with the call, I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made during this call are forward-looking statements under US federal securities laws. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historic experience or present information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ from statements made on this call is contained in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. The forward-looking statements made during this call speak only as of date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Information presented on this call is contained in the press release we issued this morning and in our Form 10-Q, which after filing may be accessed from the Investor page of the Humacyte me on today's call from Humacyte are Dr. Laura Niklason, President and Chief Executive Officer; Dale Sander, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Development Officer; and BJ Scheessele, Chief Commercial Officer. Dr. Niklason will provide a summary of the company's progress for the first quarter and recent weeks, and Dale will review the financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. Following their prepared remarks, BJ will join Laura and Dale for the Q&A session.I will now turn the call over to Dr. Niklason. Laura? Laura Niklason Thank you, Tom, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter 2025 financial results and business update call. Following the landmark success of obtaining FDA approval of Symvess for the treatment of extremity vascular trauma late last year, we're keenly focused on the commercial launch of this groundbreaking the launch is our number one priority, and we're pleased by the traction gained in our interactions with hospitals despite the current volatile economic environment. Based upon our March 2025 financing and some recent cost reductions, we've taken steps to extend Humacyte's cash this extended runway, we'll continue to aggressively expand our commercial launch while creating additional enterprise value from our bioengineering major value drivers that we anticipate include publication of additional clinical results in trauma and in dialysis access and filing an IND with the FDA later this year to enable first-in-human clinical testing of our small diameter ATEV in coronary artery bypass addition, as a result of reaching a major milestone in enrollment in our V012 Phase III trial in dialysis, we're also on track for filing a supplemental BLA for the ATEV in dialysis in today's call, I'll review these developments in more detail before turning the call over to Dale for a review of our financial results. BJ Scheessele, our Chief Commercial Officer, will then join us to help answer your I start the review of the quarter, I want to acknowledge the strong support that we've had from surgeons who have treated patients with Symvess and the resiliency of our team members in the face of some unfounded negative press regarding Symvess and you probably know, we've addressed these critiques in public statements in recent weeks. In short, we believe that these criticisms are ill-informed and without the last two decades, we've worked hard to build Humacyte into what it is today. The body of clinical results supporting the use of Symvess in extremity vascular trauma will be further strengthened by upcoming publication in peer-reviewed medical journals of our long-term patient outcomes. We will continue to combat unfounded attacks with science-based that out of the way, I'm proud to report that Humacyte commenced its commercial launch of Symvess in late February 2025. The first commercial shipments containing multiple units of Symvess were made during the first quarter to 3 Level 1 trauma a reminder, commencement of sales to hospitals for new products typically requires review and approval by a Value Analysis Committee, or VAC, which is a centralized decision-making body within the institution. Only a few months after commercial launch, we're excited that 45 hospitals have already commenced an evaluation of Symvess as part of their VAC approval process, approximately 1/4 of all Level 1 trauma centers VACs of five hospitals have already approved the purchase of Symvess, and we expect this number to grow throughout the second quarter based on current discussions with hospitals. Our commercial launch of Symvess is further supported by publication in March 2025 of our Budget Impact Model in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical publication shows that Symvess provides economic value to the health care system. By reducing conduit infections and limb amputations, Symvess provides a strong opportunity for cost reduction as compared to synthetic conduits and as compared to xenografts and the addition to the civilian market, Humacyte has been working to address the military market for Symvess in extremity vascular trauma. Multiple military treatment facilities have already expressed an interest in purchasing facilitate these purchases, we expect that Symvess will shortly be listed in the electronic catalog, or ECAT, which is an Internet system that provides the Department of Defense and other federal agencies with access to manufacturers' we've previously reported, due to the nature of the VAC process, we have consistently forecast that the majority of first year sales will occur in the second half of the year. We are pleased that the sales and the VAC activity to date is in line with our goals for this early period of market US commercial launch of Symvess this quarter was a major milestone for Humacyte, and we're excited to provide this transformative product to surgeons and patients in need of a new option to save limbs and me turn now to the ATEV indication that is our next priority, which is in dialysis access. As you'll recall, about six months ago, we reported top line results on our prospective randomized head-to-head V007 Phase III trial, which compared our vessel to the gold standard, which is autogenous fistula. This trial met its primary endpoints and showed superior patency at 6 and 12 months as compared to were also able to identify 2 subgroups of patients who could benefit the most from the ATEV, which includes all women and men with diabetes and obesity. These two groups make up more than half of the dialysis access market. We believe that the efficacy and safety results in the subgroups, combined with the approximately 50% failure rate of standard-of-care in these vulnerable populations, means that they are important targets for the marketing of ATEV in dialysis expect that the results from the V007 Phase III trial will be published in a major peer-reviewed medical journal in the near also conducting an ongoing Phase III dialysis access trial in women, which has passed a major enrollment milestone. The V012 study is a small Phase III trial of 150 patients, which compares the efficacy and safety of ATEV to fistula for hemodialysis. A total of 84 patients has already been enrolled in the trial to interim analysis for the V012 trial is planned for April 2026 when the first 80 patients will have reached the 12-month follow-up. Our plan is to submit a supplemental BLA in the second half of 2026, which includes data from the V012 and V007 Phase III pivotal studies, and to add AV access for hemodialysis as an indication for the I'll briefly discuss some of our earlier-stage programs that we're also excited about, our small diameter ATEV for the treatment of coronary artery disease. During the first quarter, we announced plans to file an IND application with the FDA to allow first-in-human clinical testing of the small diameter acellular tissue engineered vessel, which is 3.5 millimeters in diameter rather than the 6-millimeter diameter of the approved Symvess plans for IND filing in 2025 to support a first-in-human trial in coronary bypass are based on the outcome of a recent meeting held with the FDA. To date, only the 6-millimeter configuration of our vessel has been studied in human trials to include AV access for hemodialysis, trauma, and peripheral arterial very pleased to be moving closer to human clinical studies of the small diameter ATEV in coronary artery bypass surgery, and we believe our planned IND filing and initiation of first-in-human study after FDA clearance will be another major milestone for we're off to a good start in 2025, and we look forward to sharing our continued progress with all of you as the rest of the year unfolds. And with that, I'll now turn it over to Dale for a review of our financial results and other business developments. Dale Sander Thank you, Laura. In March 2025, we completed a public offering that provided $46.7 million in net proceeds to Humacyte. Subsequent to the financing, in part due to current market conditions, we implemented a plan to reduce our workforce by approximately 31 employees. We also deferred additional new planned hires and reduced other operation reductions have been done thoughtfully, and we've retained key personnel, resources, and initiatives to meet our corporate goals and milestones. We have undertaken these cost reductions to extend cash runway and better align our organizational structure with our top business objectives include the commercial launch of Symvess, including sales, marketing and manufacturing; completion of the V012 Phase III pivotal trial on the ATEV in dialysis; and the planned filing of a supplemental BLA with the FDA and the filing of an IND to commence human study of the small diameter ATEV in coronary artery bypass grafting, or estimate that we will incur aggregate charges representing onetime cash expenditures for severance and other employee termination benefits of approximately $800,000, of which the majority is expected to be incurred during the second quarter of estimate a net savings due to the workforce reductions, operating cost reductions, and reduced capital expenditures, net of termination, severance, and benefits, totaling approximately $13.8 million in 2025. Net savings are estimated to be as much as $38 million in 2026 for a total estimated savings of over $50 million in 2025 and 2026 relative to our original the first quarter financial results, there was $517,000 in revenue for the first quarter of 2025, of which $147,000 related to the initial US commercial launch of Symvess in trauma. The remaining $370,000 in revenue resulted from a research collaboration with a large medical technology company to evaluate the potential use of our bioengineered human tissue in specific cardiovascular and vascular was no revenue for the first quarter of 2024. Cost of goods sold was $147,000 for the first quarter of 2025 and includes overhead related to unused production capacity, which was recorded as an expense during the first quarter. There was no cost of goods sold for the first quarter of and development expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were $15.4 million, compared to $21.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. The decrease in 2025 expenses compared to the prior year result primarily from decreased material costs as we began capitalizing expenditures for inventory during the first three months ended March 31, 2025, following the commercial launch of Symvess, as well as a reduction in clinical study and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2025 were $8.1 million, compared to $5.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in 2025 expenses compared to the prior year period resulted primarily from the US commercial launch of Symvess in vascular trauma, including increased personnel expenses associated with the sales net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $62.3 million, compared to a net expense of $5.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in 2025 of other net income compared to the prior year resulted primarily due to an increase in the noncash remeasurement of the contingent earnout liability associated with our August 2021 merger with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition income was $39.1 million for the first quarter of 2025 compared to a net loss of $31.9 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in 2025 net income compared to the prior year period was primarily due to the increase in the noncash remeasurement of the contingent earnout liabilities described had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $113.2 million at March 31, 2025. Total net cash provided was $17.9 million for the first three months of 2025, compared to net cash provided of $35.1 million for the first 3 months of 2024. The net cash provided for the first three months of 2025 included the net proceeds from the March 2025 public decrease in net cash provided during the first three months of 2025 compared to the prior year resulted primarily from the receipt of $20 million in proceeds under a draw from our funding arrangement with Oberland Capital, which occurred in 2024 but did not reoccur in that, I will turn the call back over to Laura. Laura Niklason Thank you, Dale. The approval and the launch of Symvess is a powerful example of our commitment to delivering truly transformative regenerative medicine solutions to improve patient outcomes. Humacyte continues to deliver on our promises to physicians and patients. With our strong commercial execution, our promising pipeline programs, and our dedicated team, we're confident in our ability to continue (technical difficulty). Operator Please stand by one moment. Once again ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for your patience. Please stand by. We will resume momentarily. Laura Niklason (inaudible) Operator You're now rejoined. Laura Niklason Hello operator, we're ready to take questions now. Operator (Operator Instructions) Ryan Zimmerman, BTIG. Ryan Zimmerman Oh, thank you, can you hear me. Okay? Laura Niklason Yes, we can hear you. Ryan Zimmerman Okay great thanks for taking the questions. Congrats on the first sales of Symvess. Maybe on those 3 sites that have purchased, Laura, I'd love to understand what their experience has been since they've purchased, whether you service those cases, how you're servicing those cases, et then as we think about the uptake of Symvess this year, I appreciate your commentary about it being second half loaded. I'd love to understand how those 45 or so sites are running through the process and how you expect that maybe to translate into initial sales after you've now had a lot of back experience under your belt. Laura Niklason Well, I'll take the first part of the answer to this question, and then I'll ask our Commercial Officer, BJ Scheessele, to weigh in as well. So as far as the 3 commercial sites we have, we have performed our first at that particular site, our sales rep was able to be there for the implant. Although I will say that at many of the sites that have used the vessel before, having a sales rep in the OR is certainly not necessary. In addition to the clinical trial experience that a lot of surgeons have had, we have also been conducting hands-on training in hospitals where our sales executives have approached surgeons and VACs to get on the it's certainly not necessary to have a sales representative in the OR for the initial cases, although sometimes we do, do far as our experience with the VACs, we have had a fairly good conversion rate of VAC approvals. I would say that there was a little bit of a headwind that was imparted by the New York Times article, particularly during April, but that seems to be receding as the facts of the clinical experience become clearer to surgeons and to we also expect that publication of long-term data will also further improve our position there. The health economic model that we published in March is also a huge help because it shows pretty clearly that on a per patient basis, the total cost of the initial admission for patients who are treated with Symvess should be lower than the total cost of the initial admission for patients who are treated with a synthetic graft. And this is independent of any NTAP I think that the growing number of publications and the growing factual story around the conduit is helping us get traction. But I'll let BJ weigh in here as well. BJ Scheessele No, Laura, I think you covered things well. Yes, Ryan, I would add that we're not only where those 3 institutions have acquired product, but even of the VAC submissions is a good mix of hospitals and surgeons that have known us, known us from our clinical studies, but others that have no experience with us. So I think that that's a good in terms of the VAC submissions and the sales funnel, feeling good about that, we're laying the groundwork now. We have a full sales funnel with the 45 submissions. We continue to add those on a regular basis. As Laura mentioned, we had some quick the other side, absolutely, the New York Times article with a couple of the VACs, some pushback for us that we've now had to respond to, to get back on track. I think also the tough economic environment we're in has pushed out some of the VAC reviews and added in additional financial reviews. Under to bring in a new product to still see this as a three- to six-month VAC process for the majority of the ones that we're facing and that we've submitted to. And as Laura mentioned, the early feedback from those where we have had the formal VAC review, the conversion to approval has been strong now with the five approvals and obviously looking to build upon it's now building momentum currently, and we absolutely expect to see in the back half of the year the full impact of that. Ryan Zimmerman Yeah, that's very helpful and I appreciate that and on the ECAT and some of the government hospitals or the federal hospitals, whatever you want to call them, is the process similar? I'm curious, once you get on the ECAT, can VA hospitals, or whoever within that, order Symvess as needed? Or is there more hurdles to go through on that side of things? Laura Niklason Well again BJ Scheessele Oh, go ahead. Laura Niklason I'm sorry. Yes, BJ, I'll ask you to weigh in, too. So the ECAT process, which we're nearing completion on, does technically allow military hospitals and VAs to order the product. However, typically, certainly in military institutions, there also has to be surgeon we've -- in addition to working with civilian hospitals, as I mentioned, our sales executives have been working closely with some military institutions. And we, in fact, have previous relationships in some military care facilities who participated in our clinical trials and our compassionate use we are building out that sort of surgical support for the product. Military hospitals tend not to have a formal VAC process. I'm not sure if that's true in all really having surgeon champions and being on the -- having the correct distribution and being on the ECAT are really key inputs there. And I'll let Dale -- I'm sorry, I'll let BJ correct me where I'm wrong. BJ Scheessele No, I think that's exactly right. In parallel with building surgeon advocacy, which we -- back to clinical studies, to our sales efforts, you obviously absolutely have to jump through those procurement hoops, and soon getting on the ECAT is going to be a big milestone and ability to order. And yes, we've been fortunate, we've actually been working with an outside DoD procurement partner to help in that regard, given their expertise and connection. So I think that gives you a sense of where we're at in this particular. Ryan Zimmerman That's very helpful, BJ, and just last one I'll sneak it in. Do you have to expand the sales force? Or can you service the military hospitals with your existing sales force right now, as well as the 200 or so Level 1 trauma centers? BJ Scheessele Yes. I would say now our current sales force feel comfortable being able to cover the sales targets for the geographies that we have, those hospitals, and submitting to those VACs. And again, you kind of get a sense of the full sales then, certainly, [early interest] from the military treatment facilities match up well with where we have our sales reps and sales force deployed. I think as we increase success, both civilian and military, we'll look to add to our sales force at that time. Ryan Zimmerman Okay, thanks for taking my question. Operator Josh Jennings, TD Cowen. Josh Jennings Congrats on the progress with the US Symvess launch. Laura and Dale, you guys were gracious enough on the last earnings call to just comment on where Street estimates stood for 2025. And just wanted to check back in after the last 1.5 month of the experience and the progress you've made. Do those estimates still seem reasonable or in the ballpark of kind of the internal expectation for the revenue ramp here? Laura Niklason I think we remain in the same place with our expectations, but I'll let Dale comment further. Dale Sander Yeah, I agree. I think we gave some guidance, Josh, on the first -- I'm sorry, it seemed like a first quarter call, but that was our year-end call that happened in March. Based on the traction we're seeing, the number of hospitals that are involved in the VAC process, as BJ mentioned, we're still comfortable with the guidance. And again, as Laura mentioned earlier in the call, due to that VAC ramp, we expect most of those revenues to come in, in the second half. But we're not seeing anything currently that would suggest we need to move off those estimates. Josh Jennings And just wanted to ask about V012 and you guys are enrolling that nicely. I was hoping for just a review on in terms of how the clinical development team or your team has applied the learnings from other Phase III studies. Clearly in the patient selection and the subgroups you guys are going after is one. But just I think, what are the learnings that are being applied? Anything from just the procedural technique to anything else that you want to comment on in terms of helping us think about the potential for success for V012? Laura Niklason Yeah, Josh. So we certainly have -- we've treated a lot of dialysis patients. And as you know, this is a complicated and sick population, and we have benefited from our prior clinical experience. So there are a couple of key outputs that I think we're following. One is, it's not just that the surgical implantation of the conduit. What happens to the conduit in the dialysis center and in the hands of various interventionalists for these patients is very important to the outcome of the so we're paying close attention to how the dialysis centers are handling the conduit and how the dialysis centers are adhering to the clinical trial protocol. And we're doing the same thing with interventionalists because our surgeons do a great job of sewing the vessel what's important for the execution of the clinical trial is that we follow up on these later healthcare providers who are also working with patients. So we're paying a lot of attention to that. And again, I think that the female population struggle so poorly -- struggle so much with fistula, we do anticipate that the results of this trial will be positive. Josh Jennings Great. Maybe just one follow-up on the access indication. Just in terms of the partnership with Fresenius, the investment there, have there been any changes? And then I guess the second layer is how involved are they in the V012 and in terms of the design of the trial, anything else that you can share? Laura Niklason Yeah, So the partnership with Fresenius remains strong. I think that the Fresenius leadership, we're particularly encouraged by the wonderful results that we had in V007. Fresenius is also fully aware that women, in particular, but also patients with obesity and diabetes, not only have trouble with their access, but they're very expensive to care in some cases, Fresenius, as a holistic healthcare provider for these patients, has to bear those costs. So as I think I've mentioned in previous calls, we have been working with Fresenius to quantify the added costs that are incurred in patients who have an access that isn't working or in patients who are forced to remain on catheter. And those costs are significant, and we believe there's going to be a strong health economic case.I think I also pointed out on the last call that dialysis access centers used to be penalized for not having a sufficient number of fistulas, but the reimbursement penalty now has been altered so that if centers have too many patients on catheter, their reimbursement is penalized. And so I believe that Symvess in the dialysis access space, which has the potential to get so many patients off of catheter really aligns with the reimbursement objectives and the business objectives of Fresenius. Operator Kluska from Cantor Fitzgerald. Kristen Kluska Hi, good morning, everybody. At your Analyst Day two months ago, you gave us a very early review, and we heard from some surgeons directly. So now that you've added about 20 more hospitals since that time, I'm just curious on the VAC questioning, if you're hearing that it's fairly consistent. It sounded like at that event that the surgeons were alluding that it was pretty straightforward. Sometimes they were asking about how often the products would be used and cost. But has anything changed since you've added more hospitals? Laura Niklason Yeah, I'll let BJ answer this as well. But I would say that, no, the dialogue and the talk track is pretty similar. The clinical data that we published in JAMA Surgery in November are very strong. And the label is really not -- I mean, that just doesn't come up as an issue very do have to talk about the price point. And so leveraging our published Budget Impact Model that came out in March, I think, is going to continue to be important. When we get in front of VACs and when we present the Budget Impact Model, our success rate is very high. BJ, do you have anything to add? BJ Scheessele No, I think that covers it well. Yes, strong clinical belief and understanding based not only our clinical data, but their personal experience, questions on price value. But again, as Laura mentioned, our published BIM and the data from that, again, showing that the cost to offset fewer infections, fewer amputations, more than offset the upfront cost of our product versus a synthetic or versus an allograft or a then I think just the other piece of the equation is, obviously, we're working on our NTAPs. And so the proposed ruling was put out by in the process of putting our response back due mid-June, and then ultimately you hear in August, and then hopefully enacted in October. So that's obviously a piece of the equation, too, the incremental reimbursement part of the NTAP and the follow-on effect with private insurers. Kristen Kluska Thanks so much and of the 45 hospitals, can you give us a sense of roughly what percent of them were involved in your clinical trials and have prior experience? BJ Scheessele Yeah, it's interesting. I would say it's actually the minority, so less than 50%, we'd have to look up exactly what that is. And so, yes, back to my earlier point, I think there was a lot of understanding and visibility both from publications, the clinical data, the approval, industry conferences, medical education and events that we've held that brought visibility to what we are doing, that gave us a jumpstart when we went into these then obviously, our sales force, through their relationships and being able to communicate the clinical and economic value have brought these surgeons, advocates, and hospitals along through the VAC process. So a good mix and knowing that, that's going to be important going forward because you work through those that you know, but the majority do not and feel good about our conversion rate at this point. Operator The next question comes from Bruce Jackson with Benchmark Company. Bruce Jackson Hi, good morning and thank you for taking my questions. I was hoping to get a little color around the surgeon adoption patterns at the accounts using the product. So usually, you get the surgeon advocate champion who starts doing the first procedures and then the other doctors will follow along. So do you have any anecdotal information on how that's going? Laura Niklason Well, it is truly anecdotal, Bruce. We do have a vascular surgeon who is actually new to the product, who treated a patient at one of our commercial sites and said he had a great experience and, was looking forward to using the product you're right, I think that in most institutions, this will start with 1 or 2 surgeons and then move outward. There's always an early adopter in every crowd, and those are probably the first surgeons who we'll work with. Bruce Jackson Okay great and then. Oh go ahead go-ahead Bruce. BJ Scheessele Oh yeah, no, I would just add, and it's also a mix between vascular surgeons and trauma surgeons, ultimately more vascular than trauma, but trauma, obviously, in some ways, see these patients can be first and also influence on being able to not only treat these patients, but bring in new technologies into the I think we see it as a mix of that. Wherever we get the traction, I think we're able to port over to that other group, be it if you start with a vascular to go to a trauma or trauma go to a vascular. Again, it's early, but we've seen the ability to get that message with one group to the other group and then obviously build upon interest from there. Bruce Jackson Okay, great. And then a question on the pipeline. Is there anything new on the BioVascular pancreas or any upcoming data? Laura Niklason Yes. We have continued primate implants in the BioVascular pancreas. We're also continuing laboratory experiments. I don't have anything new explicitly to report now as compared to our last call six weeks ago, but we are going to publish preclinical results probably later this year. Bruce Jackson Okay, great. Thank you very much you got it. Operator Thank you. At this time, I would like to turn the call back over to management for closing comments. Laura Niklason Yes. Thank you, operator. This has been a great opportunity to share our progress. These are exciting times in the world, as we all know. And with all of the flux going on in the economic markets and in the healthcare markets, we're pleased that despite all of that, we are getting important and substantial traction at Level 1 trauma centers with our first commercial launch. So our fabulous commercial team will continue to work this, and we anticipate more good news going forward. So thank you for your time. Operator Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
CCTV appeal after KFC staff member racially abused at M6 service station
Police have released CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to in relation to an incident at the M6 service stati9on. At around 7.45pm on Monday, April 21, Warrington officers were called to the KFC restaurant at Lymm Services. It was reported that an unknown man entered the fast food chain, purchased food and sat down to eat it. Later, the same man returned to the restaurant and a staff member asked him if he was okay or needed any assistance. At this point the man became angry, claiming the food he had received was not what he had ordered, a spokesperson for Cheshire Police said. READ MORE: M62 LIVE as motorway shut after serious collision between 'two lorries and a vehicle' with severe traffic delays READ MORE: M60 LIVE as 'load spillage' causes heavy traffic - updates When the staff member showed the man that his food matched his order, he became angrier and hurled racial abuse at the staff worker, before throwing the bag of food at him and leaving. Enquiries are ongoing, with officers releasing a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to. Tom Johnson, of Warrington's Northern Area Investigation Team, said: "No one should go to work and expect to have abuse hurled at them when they are simply trying to do their job. 'As part of our enquiries into this incident, we are looking to speak to the individual pictured as we believe he may hold vital information that may help our investigation, so I would urge anyone who recognises him to get in touch. 'I would also urge the man pictured to please contact us.' Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire Police via the website or on 101, quoting IML-2032488. --- Day in day out, our reporters in the Manchester Evening News newsroom bring you remarkable stories from all aspects of Mancunian life. However, with the pace of life these days, the frenetic news agenda and social media algorithms, you might not be getting a chance to read it. That's why every week our Features and Perspectives editor Rob Williams brings you Unmissable, highlighting the best of what we do - bringing it to you directly from us. Make sure you don't miss out, and see what else we have to offer, by clicking here and signing up for MEN Daily News. And be sure to join our politics writer Jo Timan every Sunday for his essential commentary on what matters most to you in Greater Manchester each week in our newsletter Due North. You can also sign up for that here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to see everything we offer, including everything from breaking news to Coronation Street. If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our news desk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it. And finally, if there is a story you think our journalists should be looking into, we want to hear from you. Email us on newsdesk@ or give us a ring on 0161 211 2920.
New York Times
02-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
You Can Bring Your Old Wood Furniture Back to Life
So far in our D.I.Y. series, we've hung things on walls, patched the holes we've made, and fixed squeaky floors. It's time to have a little fun. This month, we'll bring some old furniture back to life. You probably have a piece of furniture that's in need of a little T.L.C. — a family heirloom, or a favorite table that's looking a little battered. The desk I'm restoring here was a curb rescue, and it really was in poor looks when I found it — all the worse after spending a night in the rain. But as soon as I touched it I could tell it was wonderfully well made, and I loved its simple lines and balanced proportions. To revive it, I had to go through all four steps of a complete furniture restoration: clean, repair, recolor and refinish. And there's no getting around it: It took some time and patience. But it didn't take any particular skill or specialized tools. I'm confident you can do it. And you can break up the work to fit your schedule. The good news is, few restorations require nearly so much effort. Most need nothing more than a thorough wipe-down, a few touch-ups with stain to conceal minor damage, and a bit of wax to bring back the original luster. In fact, if there's one lesson to keep top of mind during any restoration project, it's that going too far is the fatal mistake. Old furniture is beautiful because its shows its age. Tabletops fade to gold in the sun. Chair arms darken where hands have touched them. My desk was originally a uniform amber tone; its rich patina came from decades of service in New York classrooms. Had I gotten rid of that, I'd have gotten rid of what makes the desk wonderful. So I didn't try to make the finish uniform again. I just harmonized its elements by hiding splotches and stains that jarred the eye. I think of it like tuning a piano: You're not making the keys sound alike. You're getting them to play together. Most of what I know about furniture restoration I learned from Tom Johnson, a master of the craft whose soft-spoken YouTube videos are a treasury of practical instruction. He closes every project the same modest way: 'I think it looks pretty good.' Words to work by. Let's gather the tools. The tools and finishing products I chose can all be used inside a home or apartment — no loud machinery or noxious fumes. You may need to visit a specialty store or order online for some of them. Let's get started. 1. Clean and Repair There's no special trick to cleaning furniture, but there are some don'ts. Don't use oil soap (sorry, Murphy), which leaves a greasy residue. And don't use those lemony aerosols (sorry, Pledge), which leave a silicone residue. If you need to do any repairs to the wood, water-based wood filler is more pleasant to use than solvent-based because it gives off fewer fumes. (Water-based fillers will be labeled as such; I've had success with Goodfilla and Famowood.) Use it to fill in cracks, gaps and nail holes, pressing it in with the putty knife and scraping away the excess as you go. Wipe away with a damp rag what the scraping doesn't get. If you're filling long gaps between boards like I did on the desktop, masking them off with painter's tape greatly reduces the cleanup time. When the filler is dry (usually an hour or less), carefully sand it flush with the surface, taking care not to remove much of the surrounding finish. 2. Recolor With the wood clean and smooth, you're ready to address blemishes in the color. Stain pens are invaluable in any furniture restoration. The fine-tipped Mohawk graining pens I used can recolor fine scratches without staining the wood around them. You can also use them to dye wood filler to match the furniture's color and to re-create grain patterns to disguise bleached areas. As you work, step back from the piece regularly and look at it from across the room. Your eye needs distance to distinguish between natural color variations that should be left alone and blotches that need treatment. The pens I used contain alcohol-soluble dyes (not oil-borne pigments), which have a useful property: The more layers you apply, the more saturated the color gets. That lets you creep up on the color you're aiming for. A set of three pens comprising a yellow shade (a.k.a. pine or amber), a red (mahogany, cherry), and a brown (walnut, Van Dyke) will let you match almost any wood color by layering. Work carefully, though: Dye stains are permanent. 3. Refinish Wood finishes seal the wood, protect it against spills, and give it a uniform sheen. There are many varieties, so I picked two that are easy to apply and that I've used with great results. For the legs, frame and drawer fronts of my desk, I used Howard Feed-N-Wax. It's an all-purpose wood conditioner and protectant, and is essentially a thin paste of orange oil, mineral oil and natural waxes. It's meant for reviving furniture whose original finish is still present but has begun to look faded, and it's all many D.I.Y. restorations will need. You just wipe a layer on, let it soak in for 15 or 20 minutes, then wipe off any excess and buff with a rag. It leaves a soft, satiny sheen and gives lovely depth to wood grain. For the top of the desk, I used Osmo Poly-X, a so-called hard wax oil. Made of vegetable oils, wax and a mild solvent, hard wax oils are only applied to bare wood, not over existing finishes. (The top of the desk had been completely stripped before I found it — a layer of adhesive vinyl sheeting was someone's attempt to protect the bare wood.) They are easy to apply, create a durable, stain- and water-resistant finish, and are easy to repair if damage does occur: You just wipe another dab on the damaged area. The initial coat of Poly-X revealed some patches where the wood had lost all of its natural color over the years, so while the Poly-X was still wet, I quickly brushed the bleached areas with thin layers of two alcohol-soluble dyes that I'd mixed up — specifically, W.D. Lockwood red mahogany and TransTint honey amber. This brought their color to a close match with rest of the top. A second coat of Poly-X, applied a day later, sealed the color in. Here's the finished desk. I think it looks pretty good, though it's definitely not perfect. I didn't address several deep stains on the top of the desk, for example. That would have meant using oxalic acid to remove an iron stain and a strong solvent to draw out an ink spill. Neither technique is dangerous, but they push the limits of an indoor, weekend project. I may try them next time, though. Which, for me, will come soon — because I didn't just find one desk on the curb. Lucky me, I found a matching pair.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
A different April 3 storm caused panic in 1974
Quite a few Pulaskians spent Thursday hoping that history didn't repeat itself. It didn't escape the attentions of many around the area that this week's severe storms happened to fall on the 51st anniversary of one of the most destructive tornado outbreaks North America has ever seen. Over the course of April 3 and 4, 1974, there were 148 confirmed tornadoes throughout the U.S. and Canada – tracked and cataloged by Ted Fujita himself, the creator of the Fujita scale for measuring tornadoes. According to his study, there were 30 F4 and F5 tornadoes during that outbreak. All told, the outbreak caused 335 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries. And Pulaski County contributed to those statistics. In the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) report on the outbreak, it stated that Kentucky saw 'at least 26 vicious tornadoes' strike between 3:40 a.m. and midnight on April 3. (The report uses Central Daylight Time (CDT) for all of its records.) Buried within that report, NOAA states, 'Pulaski County, in south-central Kentucky, was struck by three separate tornadoes during the evening. The first of these (74) touched down near Mt. Victory at 7:55 p.m. CDT and moved into Rockcastle County before lifting. This storm killed six and injured 30 in Pulaski County. '… The second tornado (73) moved into southern Pulaski County shortly after 9 p.m. after killing 2 and injuring 16 in eastern Wayne County. The storm hit Alpine at 9:20 p.m. CDT and caused 29 injuries in Pulaski County. The County apparently was struck by Kentucky's final tornado of the outbreak (64) between 11:30 and midnight, as the storm moved from Piney Grove Church near the Russell County Line through Nancy and Bobtown to Level Green (In Rockcastle County).' Pulaski's official total of deaths was eight – the six that were killed on Piney Grove Ridge and two from Alpine who would later die of their injuries. The Commonwealth Journal covered dozens of stories in the aftermath of the storms. The April 4, 1974 edition didn't shy away from the devastation. One story read: 'All of the fatalities in Pulaski County occurred in the Piney Grove community, north of Nancy in the western part of the county. Listed as dead are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Johnson and Mr. And Mrs. Clifford Weddle, all of the Piney Grove community. Robert and Tom Johnson are brothers. The two Johnson families lived about two miles apart, according to Coroner J.B. Morris. The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Weddle reportedly were found beneath the debris of a demolished house. He was 62 and she was 58. They were discovered and brought in to City Hospital several hours after the other four were found. The Johnsons were taken to Somerset Undertaking Company. The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Weddle were taken to Bernard Funeral Home in Russell Springs.' There was also a story from State Trooper Jim McWhorter about members of a community finding a baby – alive – that had been blown out of her home. 'The child's mother and father were injured when their mobile home was whisked away by the tornadic winds,' the article read. 'Trooper McWhorter said he was on his way to Science Hill to check on additional storm damage when he received a radio call that a baby was missing at Towering Hills. 'Neighbors found the infant just as the officer arrived at the scene. The child rested quietly in a small cavity created when a piece of furniture was lifted and dropped by the great blow. ''If the baby was hurt at all, I couldn't tell,' smiled McWhorter. 'It's amazing,' he added. 'The entire trailer blew away and the baby was protected.'' The late Bill Mardis, who was editor at the time of the outbreak, spent years after that compiling even more stories about that day. 'This reporter left work at the Commonwealth Journal shortly after 4 p.m., went home, ate supper, and left for the Briar Bowl,' Mardis said, writing about himself in the third person, in several articles that reflect on the storm. '… On the way to the bowling alley, I noticed a small dip momentarily from the base of a shelf cloud in the southwest. It disappeared quickly; I thought no more about it. 'A short while later, someone came in the bowling alley and said a tornado had struck Alpine and people were hurt. Then, I remembered, the shelf cloud, the sudden cone-shaped dip. That was the tornado that hit Alpine. I chilled. 'I'm late on the story,' I thought. 'I put my bowling ball in a locker and left the Briar Bowl, hurrying to the Commonwealth Journal newsroom.' Mardis recalled that then-publisher George 'Jop' Joplin III asked Mardis to go by the Somerset Hospital, located on Bourne Avenue, to check on injuries. 'The storm still raged,' Mardis wrote. 'Lightning was more intense. Thunder rolled, and sirens wailed. The emergency room was a madhouse with injured on stretchers. It took just moments to learn a tornado had roared across Piney Grove Ridge, leveling relatively new brick homes and killing six people. 'One patient was dead upon arrival at the hospital, nine were admitted and 18 treated and released as hospital doctors and staffers worked through the night. Roads were blocked by fallen trees and ambulance and rescue squad personnel had to cut fences along the recently opened Cumberland Parkway to bring injured to the hospital. Searches continued for the dead beneath the storm's rubble.' Of all the chaos of the evening, Mardis recalled that nobody noticed when WHAS in Louisville reported that there was an earthquake in the area around 9 p.m. that evening. 'There was too much devastation; an angry sky was shaking the ground,' Mardis said. These days, Pulaskians and people living all over the country have improved technological resources for predicting and warning of potential deadly tornadoes. Many experts point back to the storm of April 1974 as being one of the reasons that technology was sought. As an article on the NOAA website points out, 'Better communication with all sectors involved in hazardous weather preparation and emergency response, notably mass media and emergency management, was borne of the outbreak, helping to preserve life and property up to the present and beyond. 'The outbreak also highlighted the need for enhanced weather and storm observing capabilities across the U.S. and beyond, spurring the funding and development of new technologies in radar and satellite meteorology, many of which are still in use in the (National Weather Service) to this day.' The outbreak also helped to expedite the passage of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, passed by the U.S. Senate just a week after the tornadoes. That act, according to news reports of the day, was notable for not only providing assistance to tornado victims, it also overhauled how federal agencies respond to disaster relief.
