Latest news with #UICC
Times of Oman
11-07-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
UAE deepens innovation ties with India through high-impact MoU at Mumbai start-up event
Mumbai: The UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC), in collaboration with the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in India, hosted an exclusive Start-up Sundowner at the St Regis Mumbai, an official statement said. The event spotlighted the opportunities for Indian founders and start-ups to participate in the newly launched UAE-India CEPA Start-up Series, a high-impact platform designed to fast-track cross-border growth, collaboration, and market access, the statement said. In his opening remarks, Abdulnasser Alshaali, the UAE Ambassador to India, reaffirmed the UAE's vision for fostering dynamic, innovation-led collaboration between the two nations. He emphasised that India's entrepreneurial energy as a vital force in the bilateral partnership. A highlight of the evening was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UAE-India CEPA Council and the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), the technology business incubator of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). The MoU formalises a partnership to identify and support high-potential start-ups from the SINE ecosystem and alumni network for participation in the Start-up Series. Following the signing, Ahmed Aljneibi, Director of the UAE-India CEPA Council, delivered an insightful overview of the Start-up Series, detailing the platform's strategic design to support Indian start-ups in scaling into the UAE. "The Start-up Series is a another step forward in transforming the UAE-India partnership into a launchpad for next-generation entrepreneurship and cross-border innovation," Aljneibi said. Guests were then introduced to the official trailer for the UAE-India Start-up Series, which outlined the initiative's vision, opportunities, and roadmap. The video spotlighted the upcoming flagship pitch event in New Delhi, where selected ventures will gain access to an exclusive UAE soft-landing package, including incubation, licensing, mentorship, and investor exposure. The Start-up Series builds on the strong economic momentum between the UAE and India, offering a new platform for start-up-led collaboration. In FY 2023-24, bilateral trade reached USD 83.64 billion, marking a nearly 15 per cent year-on-year increase since the CEPA came into effect. India's non-oil exports to the UAE surged by over 20 per cent, while UAE foreign direct investment (FDI) into India tripled, rising from USD 1.03 billion in FY 2021-22 to USD 3.35 billion in FY 2022-23, making the UAE India's fourth-largest investor, as per the statement. The event was featured live across the UAE-India CEPA Council's social media handles. A post-produced video and event gallery will be published soon on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
Forbes
26-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Cancer Patients Face Silent Crisis From Superbugs, New Research Shows
Over the last six months, several major studies have laid bare the threat posed by antimicrobial ... More resistance (AMR) to cancer patients. In the past 20 years, cancer medicine has been revolutionized by an array of new treatments, ranging from monoclonal antibodies to novel immunotherapies like CAR T-cell therapy, and targeted therapies like tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Some have played such a major role in improving survival rates that they have now been added to the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. But in parallel, a silent crisis has been brewing, one which threatens to reverse much of the progress that has been achieved. Over the last six months, a couple of major studies have laid bare the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to cancer patients. Published by the Cancer AMR Consortium - a new partnership between the AMR Action Fund, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and medtech company Becton Dickinson – these studies have revealed that infections are the second leading cause of death in cancer patients, often driven by drug-resistant bacteria. In particular, hospitalized cancer patients are also 1.5-2 times more likely to have infections caused by various gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria, which are resistant to multiple antibiotics, than hospitalized patients without cancer. (Full disclosure, I sit on the board of the AMR Action Fund, a global initiative that aims to bring two to four new antibiotics to patients by 2030.) Antimicrobial resistance has been a known health threat for some time, with studies suggesting that such bacteria have claimed one million lives each year since 1990. But as Michael Satlin, Clinical Director of the Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program at Weill Cornell, points out, cancer patients are particularly vulnerable as both the nature of their illness and many treatments actively suppresses the immune system, making infections more likely. Chemotherapy, for example, can destroy the protective lining of the gut wall, making it more likely that drug-resistant pathogens will end up circulating in the blood, while patients are often fitted with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line) to deliver drugs or nutrition, something which also comes with a raised infection risk. 'Antimicrobial resistance disproportionately impacts patients with cancer, because many have weakened immune systems that make them completely reliant on effective antibiotics,' says Satlin. According to Shalini Jayasekar Zürn, Senior Advocacy Manager at the UICC, the growing burden of resistant infections is also making it harder to treat many people with cancer. For example, when patients undergo surgery to remove a tumour, they are often given prophylactic antibiotics to prevent post-operative infections. But if those drugs do not work so well, this can greatly delay recovery. 'You can also have people living with cancer, on treatment with chemotherapy, but if they develop a multi drug-resistant infection and require an extended hospital stay, their treatment is delayed, giving the cancer time to progress,' she says. 'Sometimes you get patients who actually die of the infection before the cancer.' New Antibiotics and Greater Recognition The oncologists interviewed for this article said that while AMR has long been recognized as a public health threat, the impact on cancer care has yet to be acknowledged by many of the leading cancer organizations and conferences. Zürn says there are many cases where a drug-resistant infection has directly caused the fatality, but the cause of death is still listed as cancer. Yehoda Martei, an oncologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, described this phenomenon as an example of the damaging silos that often exist in medicine. 'Oncologists send blood samples to be cultured all the time, and see patients infected with multiple AMR organisms, so the issue is very apparent on an individual patient level,' she says. 'What's missing is a global acknowledgement that a crisis of AMR is a crisis of cancer care delivery.' But in addition to acknowledgment, what can be done to better combat this threat? Scientists feel that the data released by the Cancer AMR Consortium points to an urgent need for better diagnostics to quickly identify an infection, relay information about drug resistance, and determine which medications are more likely to work. 'Right now, this can take days or longer in most labs,' says David Greenberg, professor of infectious diseases and microbiology, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. 'With resistance rates increasing, this time delay means the chances that I put a patient on the wrong antibiotic only increase. So speeding up this process and finding new ways to detect antibiotic resistance is critical.' There is also a grave need for new antibiotics, a pipeline which has long been notoriously sparse. It has often been highlighted that the last time a novel class of antibiotics reached the market was back in 1987, with one of the primary reasons being a lack of commercial incentives for drug developers. Several countries have begun experimenting with creative ideas like subscription models, a concept dubbed 'Netflix for antimicrobials,' in which national health services pay a subscription fee to pharmaceutical companies in exchange for access to new antimicrobial drugs. Zürn says that more of these ideas are needed. 'Right now, developing antibiotics is a loss-making venture for many companies, which is why the sector has lacked innovation,' she says. 'Although progress is being made, much more is needed. We need stronger incentives and clearer pathways that not only encourage development but also ensure equitable access to these medicines, with a focus on addressing pressing public health needs.' Ultimately solutions must be found, as otherwise high-income countries like the U.S., Germany, and the U.K. could find themselves in a drastic situation where oncologists are not able to safely administer lifesaving treatments such as CAR T-cell therapy, because the risks of contracting a deadly infection are simply too great. 'In parts of Africa and other low and middle-income countries where there isn't good infection control or access to antibiotics, doctors can't do bone marrow transplants, because they can't support those patients adequately through their period of immunosuppression,' says Martei. 'If AMR continues to increase, and the pipeline of antibiotics and other antimicrobials isn't being replenished, we could end up in a similar situation where we have to rethink how we treat patients, and what therapies we can actually administer safely.' Let this new research galvanize policymakers to reform the broken policy incentives for antibiotic-resistant medications so that biopharma will invest in replenishing the pipeline. Cancer patients – and so many others -- are you to David Cox for additional research and reporting on this article.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
UAE Ambassador to India Launches Landmark Start-up Series to Power Cross-Border Innovation
The UAE-India CEPA Council ( UICC ), in partnership with the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in India, launched the UAE–India CEPA Start-up Series in New Delhi. The initiative delivers on a key commitment under the UAE–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to promote innovation-led collaboration and support the internationalisation of Indian start-ups. In his special address, Dr Abdulnasser Alshaali, the UAE Ambassador to India, underscored the UAE's commitment to entrepreneurship and cross-border innovation : 'Start-ups are central to the UAE–India economic corridor. Through this Series, the UAE-India CEPA Council seeks to connect India's brightest entrepreneurial minds with the UAE's world-class ecosystem, supporting their scale-up journeys while enriching our bilateral innovation landscape.' The launch comes amid a period of strong economic momentum between the UAE and India. In FY 2023–24, bilateral trade reached USD 83.64 billion, marking a nearly 15% year-on-year increase since the CEPA came into effect. India's non-oil exports to the UAE surged by over 20%, while UAE foreign direct investment (FDI) into India tripled, rising from USD 1.03 billion in FY 2021–22 to USD 3.35 billion in FY 2022–23, making the UAE India's fourth-largest investor. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 23.7% Returns in last 5 years with Shriram Life's ULIP Shriram Life Insurance Undo These gains further reinforce the UAE's enduring commitment to championing India's dynamic start-up ecosystem. Since 2000, UAE-based investors have channelled an estimated USD 20 billion into the Indian economy, fuelling innovation, accelerating growth, and cementing the UAE's position as a key strategic partner. Building on its efforts to deepen collaboration with India's innovation ecosystem, the launch event featured the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the UICC and prominent academic and entrepreneurial institutions, including PRIME Meghalaya under the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (M.B.M.A.), IDEATE Lab @ O.P. Jindal Global University, and Jamia Hamdard. Live Events The event concluded with a presentation by Ahmed Aljneibi, Director of the UICC, who unveiled the bold vision and strategic framework of the Start-up Series. He outlined how the initiative will culminate in a high-profile pitch event in New Delhi, where five exceptional start-ups will be selected to receive an exclusive UAE soft-landing package—including incubation support, business licencing, tailored mentorship, and direct access to leading investors, innovation hubs, and free zone networks across the Emirates. The event drew over 100 participants from across the start-up, investment, policy, and media landscape. Attendees witnessed the unveiling of the official Start-up Series microsite and the premiere of a promotional trailer calling for applications from high-potential Indian ventures. The launch was covered live across the UICC's social media handles. A permanent gallery is now available on Instagram and LinkedIn, and a post-produced video of the event will be published on YouTube. Start-ups can now apply through the official microsite. The application window will remain open until 31 July 2025. (
India Gazette
24-06-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
UAE Ambassador to India launches Start-up Series to power cross-border innovation
New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): The UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC), in partnership with the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in India, launched the UAE-India CEPA Start-up Series at a high-level event hosted on Tuesday. The initiative delivers on a key commitment under the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to promote innovation-led collaboration and support the internationalisation of Indian start-ups. In his address, UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali underscored the UAE's commitment to entrepreneurship and cross-border innovation. 'Start-ups are central to the UAE-India economic corridor. Through this Series, the UAE-India CEPA Council seeks to connect India's brightest entrepreneurial minds with the UAE's world-class ecosystem, supporting their scale-up journeys while enriching our bilateral innovation landscape,' he said. The launch comes amid a period of strong economic momentum between the UAE and India. In FY 2023-24, bilateral trade reached USD 83.64 billion, marking a nearly 15 per cent year-on-year increase since the CEPA came into effect. India's non-oil exports to the UAE surged by over 20 per cent, while UAE foreign direct investment (FDI) into India tripled, rising from USD 1.03 billion in FY 2021-22 to USD 3.35 billion in FY 2022-23, making the UAE India's fourth-largest investor. These gains further reinforce the UAE's enduring commitment to championing India's dynamic start-up ecosystem. Since 2000, UAE-based investors have channelled an estimated USD 20 billion into the Indian economy, fueling innovation, accelerating growth, and cementing the UAE's position as a key strategic partner. Building on its efforts to deepen collaboration with India's innovation ecosystem, the launch event featured the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the UICC and prominent academic and entrepreneurial institutions, including PRIME Meghalaya under the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (M.B.M.A.), IDEATE Lab @ O.P. Jindal Global University, and Jamia Hamdard. The event concluded with a presentation by Ahmed Aljneibi, Director of the UICC, who unveiled the bold vision and strategic framework of the Start-up Series. He outlined how the initiative will culminate in a high-profile pitch event in New Delhi, where five exceptional start-ups will be selected to receive an exclusive UAE soft-landing package--including incubation support, business licensing, tailored mentorship, and direct access to leading investors, innovation hubs, and free zone networks across the Emirates. The event drew over 100 participants from across the start-up, investment, policy, and media landscape. Attendees witnessed the unveiling of the official Start-up Series microsite and the premiere of a promotional trailer calling for applications from high-potential Indian ventures. (ANI)
NZ Herald
03-06-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Vaping has created a toxic monster: Here's what it does to your body and how to quit
He highlights the rise of vapes with a refillable pod which 'look exactly the same as the disposable [products] and maintain a lot of the features which are appealing to kids, including the different colours, crazy flavours, design and pricing'. He therefore believes the impact on youth vaping will be 'minimal' as many simply turn to the reusable products instead. Before the ban even began, researchers from University College London (UCL) believed disposable vape users were already switching to refillable and rechargeable devices in preparation, instead of giving up. Doctors and scientists are continuing to explore the long-term effects of vaping. 'There is growing evidence that e-cigarettes are harmful to health because some include carcinogens such as formaldehyde, [and] some have higher concentrations of nicotine than the cigarettes they are attempting to replace,' says Dr Cary Adams, the chief executive of the UICC. 'Nicotine is also highly addictive, which makes users more susceptible to dependency, and more likely to smoke throughout their lifetime.' What are the risks? People who vape as well as smoke have a greater risk of: Cardiovascular disease Stroke Chronic lung disease Asthma Oral disease While vaping is still significantly better for your health than smoking, charities are particularly concerned because research is suggesting that a significant proportion of people both smoke and vape. According to the Action on Smoking and Health organisation, 39% of current vapers in the UK also smoke. 'It's estimated that electronic cigarettes are 95% less harmful than conventional cigarettes,' says Dr Silvano Gallus, the head of the Laboratory of Lifestyle Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. 'But studies are showing that a significant proportion of electronic cigarette users are dual users, and data suggests this leads to a greatly increased risk of disease.' Last year, a major study in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine called for a reassessment of the widely held assumption that vaping can prevent cigarette-related diseases, largely because of the risk of people becoming addicted to both. The study found that dual users had a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic lung disease, asthma and oral disease compared with people who just smoked. Gallus and others feel that because of this, there is a need for better strategies for helping people transition away from all forms of nicotine, including vapes. How can you quit? So how can you go about quitting vaping? Last week, the first ever Cochrane review – a systematic examination of randomised controlled trials – was published, looking at the evidence for helping people quit nicotine-containing vapes, which is admittedly rather limited. 'From the data, it seems that it's easier to stop vaping than it is to stop smoking, which is good,' says Sairah Salim-Sartoni, a health psychologist who spent 16 years working clinically in NHS stop smoking services. 'But we still don't have any official guidance. I'd love to be able to give a blueprint for how to help people quit vaping, but we don't have those studies yet.' However, from tapering and distraction to apps and drug treatments, there are a number of strategies which can be used to try and break a potent vaping addiction. 1. Tapering While many smokers use vaping as a way of transitioning away from conventional cigarettes, Salim-Sartoni says that it is possible to become completely nicotine-free. 'A lot of the smokers I know do want to get rid of their dependence on using anything, and it takes time to do that,' she says. 'The number one thing which people can try is to slowly reduce their nicotine strength.' She describes one particular patient who went from smoking to vaping and then eventually nicotine-free, through tapering down in steps, for example from 20mg/ml nicotine to 18mg/ml, 12mg/ml, 9mg/ml, 6mg/ml, 3mg/ml and then to zero. 'That is very feasible, and there's different ways you can do that,' she says. 'You could either vape less often, or go to a nicotine pouch or a nicotine replacement therapy gum, and then slowly reduce your intake.' However, she says that it's important to make sure that as you reduce your nicotine strength, for example through switching to lower strength vapes, you're not vaping more often. 'Unfortunately sometimes when people try and reduce their nicotine strength, they just vape more and more because they're [subconsciously] still trying to get to the level they had before, and they actually end up consuming more nicotine,' she says. 2. Identify your triggers Dr Sharon Levy is a Harvard Medical School associate professor who also heads the addiction medicine division at Boston Children's Hospital. She says the initial symptoms of nicotine withdrawal persist for somewhere between two and four weeks after completely stopping vaping. However the cravings last significantly longer, up to two months for most people, although they tend to fade over time. 'Making it through the first three months after quitting is a major milestone,' says Dr Levy. 'Though unfortunately people are not entirely out of the woods at that point because they are still at risk of being triggered if they are stressed, in a situation that they'd previously associated with nicotine use, or if they see other people using nicotine.' Because of this, Levy recommends meeting with a behavioural therapist to help identify triggers which you can recognise and avoid, as well as working on healthy stress management techniques. 'When someone becomes addicted to a substance, it's as if their brain mistakes the substance use as a behaviour that's critical for survival,' she says. 'So it takes a lot of money and energy for them to prevent themselves from defaulting to using it. Behavioural health counsellors can help people to unlearn this automatic defaulting.' Some vapes contain more nicotine than traditional cigarettes. Photo / 123RF 3. Set boundaries A key component of behavioural management is not only identifying your triggers but setting boundaries. 'They're very similar tactics you would use for stopping smoking that you can apply to vaping as well,' says Salim-Sartoni. 'You can set rules for where you do and do not vape, so basically saying I'm only using my vape when I'm outside, but the home and car, I do not vape. Lower the nicotine, extend the time between vaping and set rules for where you do and don't vape.' Because this isn't always easy, Salim-Sartoni says that finding 'a buddy' who is also attempting to quit vaping can provide a vital support network which can make the whole process of setting boundaries much easier. 4. Distraction Finding a way to distract the brain is a key aspect of breaking any substance addiction. Salim-Sartoni says that there are all kinds of methods you can use to disengage your brain from the nicotine cravings, such as going to drink water, going to the toilet, playing a game on your phone or going for a walk. One surprisingly effective means of distraction is having a boiled sweet. 'The glucose receptor is very close to the nicotine receptor,' says Salim-Sartoni. 'And so the nicotine receptor feels that it's had something. The science steadily emerged to show this, but in our stop smoking clinics, we realised early on that people were eating a lot of sweet stuff when they were trying to quit, and this is why.' 5. Try apps or text message interventions According to the recent Cochrane review, some trials have found that text message-based interventions, which provide regular support and advice on quitting vaping can be effective. One study which examined a text message-based quit-vaping programme showed that users who used the programme were 35% more likely to quit vaping nicotine within seven months. As well as text message services, Levy says that there are a number of freely available apps and chatbots such as This is Quitting, which provide regular tips and encouragement, which have been shown to be effective in increasing quit rates. 6. Drug therapies For more powerful nicotine addictions, there are also pharmacological therapies such as the prescription drugs varenicline and cytisine. Varenicline binds to the nicotine receptors in the brain and blocks them, preventing the nicotine in vapes from binding to them, and so reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Cytisine mimics the effects of nicotine and so tricks the brain into thinking it has ingested nicotine, which also reduces cravings. Finally, Salim-Sartoni emphasises that the most important thing of all for people looking to quit vaping, particularly ex-smokers, is that they don't return to smoking cigarettes again. 'Smoking is uniquely deadly, and some people can't stop nicotine or don't want to,' she says. 'If that's the case, then it is much better that they switch to e-cigarettes, particularly with the Government's ambition to reduce smoking rates in the UK to 5% or less by 2030.'
