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Extreme Solution and HYCU® Advance Digital Transformation Strategy for Global Healthcare Company EVA Pharma

Boston, Massachusetts, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HYCU, Inc., a pioneering enterprise BaaS company specializing in hybrid and multi–cloud data protection as a service, today announced Extreme Solution, a HYCU Cloud Services Provider Program provider, will supply EVA Pharma, an innovation–led, global healthcare company based in Egypt, with its modern technological infrastructure, in order to make significant breakthroughs in various product initiatives. As part of these initiatives, EVA Pharma has been investing in cloud–native solutions to bolster product development and launch support. When the company could not easily carry out disaster recovery (DR) to the cloud with its previous data protection solution, EVA Pharma turned to Extreme Solution. Extreme Solution is a leader in digital transformation and cloud solutions with more than 20 years' experience working with customers across Egypt, the UAE and North America on software development, consultancy, public cloud and critical infrastructure.

EVA Pharma, which operates in more than 40 countries around the world, has partnered with HYCU and Extreme Solution to permanently secure the availability of services and information under even the most difficult circumstances, in addition to providing fully secured backups and DR strategies for its systems, which support the company's digital transformation plans while maintaining the security of data and information, through the partnership with leading data security providers such as a HYCU.

"Providing secured copies of data and information to protect against loss, sabotage or ransomware and increase the availability of electronic services under all conditions is a necessity for digital transformation," said Michael Mounir, Head of IT & Digital Transformation at EVA Pharma. Mounir explained that the cooperation includes solutions to address any sabotage that targets either on–premises or cloud services and may result in data loss, whether an intentional attack or unintended incident.

"We have a strong reputation for delivering on digital success for our customers, to ensure they have the best ROI with cloud–native and DR to cloud solutions. These solutions can help EVA Pharma both grow and scale," said Sherif Kozman, CEO, Extreme Solution. "HYCU's cloud–native data migration, protection and recovery software have helped us to meet our customers' demanding data protection and DR needs."

By deploying HYCU Protg and HYCU Protg for Office 365, Extreme Solution was able to address a cloud DR need that EVA Pharma was unable to accommodate via its previous legacy data protection solution. HYCU Protg licensing covered the cost of all three public cloud platform providers (Azure, AWS and Google Cloud) and removed the need for additional storage costs. With HYCU Protg advanced search, auto–journaling and alerting capabilities, Extreme Solution was also able to address EVA Pharma's stringent industry compliance requirements.

"The work the combined teams from Extreme Solution and HYCU did for EVA Pharma is another strong example of the use cases and solutions we continue to deliver to our growing Cloud Services Provider community," said Colum o'Donovan, Senior Director, Global Cloud Alliances, HYCU Inc. "With HYCU's powerful cloud–native data protection as a service data management solution and Extreme Solution's expertise and know–how, joint customers have a cost–effective and efficient way to handle all their multi–cloud data protection needs."

HYCU solutions have been designed specifically to meet the cloud–native data protection and data management needs of next–generation on–premises and cloud services, managed services, and systems integrators. HYCU's Cloud Services Provider Program allows Extreme Solution to cost–effectively scale growth and their customers' adoption with simplicity and ease of use.

To learn more about the HYCU Cloud Services Provider Program, visit https://www.hycu.com/service–providers/ or contact info@hycu.com.

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About HYCU

HYCU is the fastest–growing leader in the multi–cloud backup and recovery as a service industry. By bringing true SaaS–based data backup to both on–premises and cloud–native environments, the company provides unparalleled data protection, migration and disaster recovery to more than 3,100 companies worldwide. HYCU's award–winning, purpose–built solutions eliminate the complexity, risk and high cost of legacy–based solutions, providing data protection simplicity in a hyper–connected, multi–cloud world. Customers experience frictionless, cost–effective data backup and recovery, no matter where their data resides. Based in Boston, Mass., the company employs 300 people across the globe. Learn more at www.hycu.com.


Entera Bio Announces Formation of Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board and Poster Presentation at ASBMR 2022 Annual Meeting

JERUSALEM, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Entera Bio Ltd. (NASDAQ: ENTX), ("Entera" or the "Company") a leader in the development of orally delivered peptides and therapeutic proteins, today announced the formation of its Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB), consisting of world class experts in bone diseases, endocrinology, and metabolic disorders. In addition, the Company announced today that it will be presenting new data from its 6–month Oral PTH (EB613) Phase 2 Study in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, or osteoporosis at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), which will take place in Austin, Texas from September 9–12, 2022.

The inaugural members of Entera's CSAB include:

Professor John P. Bilezikian: Vice–Chair, Department of Medicine for International Research and Education; Chief, Emeritus, of the Division of Endocrinology; Director, Emeritus, of the Metabolic Bone Diseases Program at Columbia University Medical Center

Professor Maria Luisa Brandi: Professor of Endocrinology, FIRMO Foundation, Florence, Italy

Professor Bart Clarke: Professor of Medicine and Consultant, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Mayo Clinic

Professor Felicia Cosman: Professor of Medicine, Emerita, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Endocrinology; Co–Editor in Chief of the journal Osteoporosis International

Professor William Fraser: Professor of Medicine and Deputy Head of Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia and Consultant in Metabolic Medicine at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, UK

Dr. Roger Garceau: Former Chief Medical Officer and EVP at NPS Pharmaceuticals and Shire plc (Natpara ); with previous senior management roles at Sanofi Aventis and Pharmacia

Professor Sophia Ish–Shalom: Vice President of the Israeli Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Diseases (IFOB), Endocrine Clinic Elisha Hospital; prior Head of Bone and Mineral Metabolism Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus , Haifa Israel

Professor Socrates Papapoulos: Emeritus Professor in Diseases of Bone & Mineral Metabolism, Advisor Center for Bone Quality, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands

"We are honored to be working with this distinguished group of thought leaders and appreciate their support and guidance of our clinical development strategy," said Miranda Toledano, Entera's Chief Executive Officer. "Their extensive clinical and scientific experience in late–stage clinical trials have been invaluable to the advancement of our core osteoporosis and hypoparathyroidism programs." Arthur Santora, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Entera said, "We have been working collaboratively to advance Entera's proprietary oral pipeline and the support of our CSAB provides phenomenal validation to our efforts. We look forward to benefitting from their collective expertise as we continue to move toward our mission of delivering oral therapeutic options to patients high unmet medical needs."

The title of the abstract accepted for presentation at the ASBMR 2022 National Meeting and current schedule for presentation follows:

Abstract Title: A Six–month Phase 2 Study or Oral PTH (EBP05) in Postmenopausal Women with Low Bone Mass "" Dose Proportional Absorption and Effect on Lumbar Spine BMD

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Session: Poster Session II & Poster Tours
Session Date/Time: Sunday, September 11, 2022 from 1:00 pm "" 3:00 pm
Presentation Time: 1:00 pm "" 3:00 pm

Location: ASBMR Discovery Hall

About EB613 (a.k.a. EBP05)

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an 84–amino acid hormone and the primary regulator of calcium and phosphate metabolism in bone and kidney. EB613 is an oral formulation of synthetic hPTH (1–34), (teriparatide), a peptide consisting of the first 34 amino acids of PTH which represent the functional region. Subcutaneous Forteo (teriparatide injection) has been the leading anabolic treatment of osteoporosis since 2002. EB613 utilizes Entera's oral drug delivery platform which promotes enteric absorption and stabilizes teriparatide in the gastrointestinal tract. Entera's Oral PTH formulations have been administered collectively to a total of 225 subjects in two Phase 1 studies and 3 phase 2 studies (including 35 in 2 phase 2 hypoparathyroidism studies). The most recent study was a dose ranging Phase 2 study in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. This study met primary and key secondary endpoints and was presented in a late–breaker oral presentation at the ASBMR 2021 conference. For the primary efficacy endpoint: a statistically significant increase in P1NP (a bone formation marker) at 3 months was achieved. A significant dose response was observed for 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 mg oral PTH doses on P1NP, Osteocalcin and bone mineral density (BMD). Subjects receiving the 2.5 mg dose of EB613 showed significant increases in dose–related BMD at the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck at 6 months. Subjects receiving the 2.5 mg dose of EB613 daily for 6 months had a significant placebo adjusted increase of 3.78% in lumbar spine BMD (p<0.008) which is similar to the 3.9% increase in lumbar spine BMD seen with Forteo in clinical studies reported in the literature1. Increases in total hip and femoral neck BMD were greater than those previously reported with Forteo . EB613 exhibited an excellent safety profile, with no drug related serious adverse events. The most common adverse events included mild nausea, moderate back pain, moderate headache, and moderate upper abdominal pain.

About Entera Bio

Entera is a leader in the development of orally delivered macromolecules therapeutics including peptides and other therapeutic proteins, for use in areas with significant unmet medical need where adoption of injectable therapies is limited due to cost, convenience and compliance challenges for patients. The Company's proprietary, oral drug delivery technology is designed to address the technical challenges of poor absorption, high variability, and the inability to deliver large molecules to the targeted location in the body through the use of a synthetic absorption enhancer to facilitate the absorption of large molecules, and protease inhibitors to prevent enzymatic degradation and support delivery to targeted tissues. The Company's most advanced product candidates, EB613 for the treatment of osteoporosis and EB612 for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism are in clinical development. The Company recently completed the phase 2 study for EB613 and has a Type C meeting scheduled with FDA with respect to its Phase 3 program in H2 2022. Entera also licenses its technology to biopharmaceutical companies for use with their proprietary compounds and, to date, has established a collaboration with Amgen Inc. For more information on Entera Bio, visit www.enterabio.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Various statements in this press release are "forward–looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements (other than statements of historical facts) in this press release regarding our prospects, plans, financial position, business strategy and expected financial and operational results may constitute forward–looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to, "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "expect," "estimate," "design," "goal," "intend," "may," "might," "objective," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "likely," "should," "will," and "would," or the negative of these terms and similar expressions or words, identify forward–looking statements. Forward–looking statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks, changes in circumstances, assumptions and uncertainties. Forward–looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and may not be accurate indications of when such performance or results will be achieved.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in Entera's forward–looking statements include, among others: changes in the interpretation of clinical data; results of our clinical trials; the FDA's interpretation and review of our results from and analysis of our clinical trials; unexpected changes in our ongoing and planned preclinical development and clinical trials, the timing of and our ability to make regulatory filings and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our product candidates; the potential disruption and delay of manufacturing supply chains; loss of available workforce resources, either by Entera or its collaboration and laboratory partners; impacts to research and development or clinical activities that Entera is contractually obligated to provide, such as those pursuant to Entera's agreement with Amgen; overall regulatory timelines; the size and growth of the potential markets for our product candidates; the scope, progress and costs of developing Entera's product candidates; Entera's reliance on third parties to conduct its clinical trials; Entera's expectations regarding licensing, business transactions and strategic collaborations; Entera's operation as a development stage company with limited operating history; Entera's ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; Entera's ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for any of its product candidates; Entera's ability to comply with Nasdaq's minimum listing standards and other matters related to compliance with the requirements of being a public company in the United States; Entera's intellectual property position and its ability to protect its intellectual property; and other factors that are described in the "Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward–Looking Statements," "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of Entera's most recent Annual Report on Form 10–K filed with the SEC, as well as the company's subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10–Q and Current Reports on Form 8–K. There can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by Entera will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Entera. Therefore, no assurance can be given that the outcomes stated or implied in such forward–looking statements and estimates will be achieved. Entera cautions investors not to rely on the forward–looking statements Entera makes in this press release. The information in this press release is provided only as of the date of this press release, and Entera undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward–looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
_______________________

1 Leder BZ et.al. JCEM 2015


Entera Bio Announces Formation of Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board and Poster Presentation at ASBMR 2022 Annual Meeting

JERUSALEM, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Entera Bio Ltd. (NASDAQ: ENTX), ("Entera" or the "Company") a leader in the development of orally delivered peptides and therapeutic proteins, today announced the formation of its Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB), consisting of world class experts in bone diseases, endocrinology, and metabolic disorders. In addition, the Company announced today that it will be presenting new data from its 6–month Oral PTH (EB613) Phase 2 Study in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, or osteoporosis at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), which will take place in Austin, Texas from September 9–12, 2022.

The inaugural members of Entera's CSAB include:

Professor John P. Bilezikian: Vice–Chair, Department of Medicine for International Research and Education; Chief, Emeritus, of the Division of Endocrinology; Director, Emeritus, of the Metabolic Bone Diseases Program at Columbia University Medical Center

Professor Maria Luisa Brandi: Professor of Endocrinology, FIRMO Foundation, Florence, Italy

Professor Bart Clarke: Professor of Medicine and Consultant, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Mayo Clinic

Professor Felicia Cosman: Professor of Medicine, Emerita, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Division of Endocrinology; Co–Editor in Chief of the journal Osteoporosis International

Professor William Fraser: Professor of Medicine and Deputy Head of Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia and Consultant in Metabolic Medicine at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, UK

Dr. Roger Garceau: Former Chief Medical Officer and EVP at NPS Pharmaceuticals and Shire plc (Natpara ); with previous senior management roles at Sanofi Aventis and Pharmacia

Professor Sophia Ish–Shalom: Vice President of the Israeli Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Diseases (IFOB), Endocrine Clinic Elisha Hospital; prior Head of Bone and Mineral Metabolism Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus , Haifa Israel

Professor Socrates Papapoulos: Emeritus Professor in Diseases of Bone & Mineral Metabolism, Advisor Center for Bone Quality, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands

"We are honored to be working with this distinguished group of thought leaders and appreciate their support and guidance of our clinical development strategy," said Miranda Toledano, Entera's Chief Executive Officer. "Their extensive clinical and scientific experience in late–stage clinical trials have been invaluable to the advancement of our core osteoporosis and hypoparathyroidism programs." Arthur Santora, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Entera said, "We have been working collaboratively to advance Entera's proprietary oral pipeline and the support of our CSAB provides phenomenal validation to our efforts. We look forward to benefitting from their collective expertise as we continue to move toward our mission of delivering oral therapeutic options to patients high unmet medical needs."

The title of the abstract accepted for presentation at the ASBMR 2022 National Meeting and current schedule for presentation follows:

Abstract Title: A Six–month Phase 2 Study or Oral PTH (EBP05) in Postmenopausal Women with Low Bone Mass "" Dose Proportional Absorption and Effect on Lumbar Spine BMD

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Session: Poster Session II & Poster Tours
Session Date/Time: Sunday, September 11, 2022 from 1:00 pm "" 3:00 pm
Presentation Time: 1:00 pm "" 3:00 pm

Location: ASBMR Discovery Hall

About EB613 (a.k.a. EBP05)

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an 84–amino acid hormone and the primary regulator of calcium and phosphate metabolism in bone and kidney. EB613 is an oral formulation of synthetic hPTH (1–34), (teriparatide), a peptide consisting of the first 34 amino acids of PTH which represent the functional region. Subcutaneous Forteo (teriparatide injection) has been the leading anabolic treatment of osteoporosis since 2002. EB613 utilizes Entera's oral drug delivery platform which promotes enteric absorption and stabilizes teriparatide in the gastrointestinal tract. Entera's Oral PTH formulations have been administered collectively to a total of 225 subjects in two Phase 1 studies and 3 phase 2 studies (including 35 in 2 phase 2 hypoparathyroidism studies). The most recent study was a dose ranging Phase 2 study in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. This study met primary and key secondary endpoints and was presented in a late–breaker oral presentation at the ASBMR 2021 conference. For the primary efficacy endpoint: a statistically significant increase in P1NP (a bone formation marker) at 3 months was achieved. A significant dose response was observed for 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 mg oral PTH doses on P1NP, Osteocalcin and bone mineral density (BMD). Subjects receiving the 2.5 mg dose of EB613 showed significant increases in dose–related BMD at the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck at 6 months. Subjects receiving the 2.5 mg dose of EB613 daily for 6 months had a significant placebo adjusted increase of 3.78% in lumbar spine BMD (p<0.008) which is similar to the 3.9% increase in lumbar spine BMD seen with Forteo in clinical studies reported in the literature1. Increases in total hip and femoral neck BMD were greater than those previously reported with Forteo . EB613 exhibited an excellent safety profile, with no drug related serious adverse events. The most common adverse events included mild nausea, moderate back pain, moderate headache, and moderate upper abdominal pain.

About Entera Bio

Entera is a leader in the development of orally delivered macromolecules therapeutics including peptides and other therapeutic proteins, for use in areas with significant unmet medical need where adoption of injectable therapies is limited due to cost, convenience and compliance challenges for patients. The Company's proprietary, oral drug delivery technology is designed to address the technical challenges of poor absorption, high variability, and the inability to deliver large molecules to the targeted location in the body through the use of a synthetic absorption enhancer to facilitate the absorption of large molecules, and protease inhibitors to prevent enzymatic degradation and support delivery to targeted tissues. The Company's most advanced product candidates, EB613 for the treatment of osteoporosis and EB612 for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism are in clinical development. The Company recently completed the phase 2 study for EB613 and has a Type C meeting scheduled with FDA with respect to its Phase 3 program in H2 2022. Entera also licenses its technology to biopharmaceutical companies for use with their proprietary compounds and, to date, has established a collaboration with Amgen Inc. For more information on Entera Bio, visit www.enterabio.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Various statements in this press release are "forward–looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements (other than statements of historical facts) in this press release regarding our prospects, plans, financial position, business strategy and expected financial and operational results may constitute forward–looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to, "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "expect," "estimate," "design," "goal," "intend," "may," "might," "objective," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "likely," "should," "will," and "would," or the negative of these terms and similar expressions or words, identify forward–looking statements. Forward–looking statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks, changes in circumstances, assumptions and uncertainties. Forward–looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and may not be accurate indications of when such performance or results will be achieved.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in Entera's forward–looking statements include, among others: changes in the interpretation of clinical data; results of our clinical trials; the FDA's interpretation and review of our results from and analysis of our clinical trials; unexpected changes in our ongoing and planned preclinical development and clinical trials, the timing of and our ability to make regulatory filings and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our product candidates; the potential disruption and delay of manufacturing supply chains; loss of available workforce resources, either by Entera or its collaboration and laboratory partners; impacts to research and development or clinical activities that Entera is contractually obligated to provide, such as those pursuant to Entera's agreement with Amgen; overall regulatory timelines; the size and growth of the potential markets for our product candidates; the scope, progress and costs of developing Entera's product candidates; Entera's reliance on third parties to conduct its clinical trials; Entera's expectations regarding licensing, business transactions and strategic collaborations; Entera's operation as a development stage company with limited operating history; Entera's ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; Entera's ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for any of its product candidates; Entera's ability to comply with Nasdaq's minimum listing standards and other matters related to compliance with the requirements of being a public company in the United States; Entera's intellectual property position and its ability to protect its intellectual property; and other factors that are described in the "Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward–Looking Statements," "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of Entera's most recent Annual Report on Form 10–K filed with the SEC, as well as the company's subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10–Q and Current Reports on Form 8–K. There can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by Entera will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Entera. Therefore, no assurance can be given that the outcomes stated or implied in such forward–looking statements and estimates will be achieved. Entera cautions investors not to rely on the forward–looking statements Entera makes in this press release. The information in this press release is provided only as of the date of this press release, and Entera undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward–looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
_______________________

1 Leder BZ et.al. JCEM 2015


Rising Sea Levels, Drought, Hurricanes and Deforestation Threaten Latin America and the Caribbean

Coastal view from the Kalinago Territory in Dominica. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS

Coastal view from the Kalinago Territory in Dominica. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 26 2022 – The highest deforestation rates since 2009. The third most active hurricane season on record. Extreme rainfall, floods, and landslides displaced tens of thousands of people. Rising sea levels. Glaciers in Peru lost more than half their size. Add the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix, and 2021 was a challenging year for Latin America and the Caribbean.

That’s according to the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021 report, published on July 22. It is the United Nations weather agency’s second annual report.

It states that “sea levels in the region continued to rise in 2021 at a faster rate than globally, notably along the Atlantic coast of South America south of the equator, and the subtropical North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico,” a worrying development for the small island states of the Caribbean and large populations concentrated in coastal communities.

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season brought 21 named storms that included seven hurricanes and was the sixth consecutive above-average season.

It adds that extreme rainfall led to tens of thousands of homes being destroyed or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people displaced

The record-setting drought in Chile continued in 2021, marking the 13th consecutive year of the “Central Chile Mega-drought,” which placed the country at the center of the region’s water crisis.

“Increasing sea-level rise and ocean warming are expected to continue to affect coastal livelihoods, tourism, health, food, energy, and water security, particularly in small islands and Central American countries,” said Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization.

Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Mami Mizutori said as the second most disaster-prone region in the world, Latin America and the Caribbean are proof of how complex risks can be, adding that shocks that affect one sector can create damaging consequences in another, impacting the most at-risk communities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic offers a quintessential example of how interconnected risks can create severe upheaval, particularly when intersecting with climate change impacts. Last year, the fallout from hurricanes Eta and Iota collided with lingering COVID-19 impacts. The result was that 7.7 million people in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua faced high levels of food insecurity,” she said.

While the report outlines the dire impacts of extreme weather and climate change on the region, it is also prescriptive in its calls for long-term regional and national solutions.

One of these is a ‘risk to resilience’ goal.

The UNDRR head says the Bali Agenda for Resilience is a critical instrument in understanding the nature of risks and promoting mitigation and adaptation measures. The document promotes policies to shield communities from climate and other disasters and thwart a predicted global rate of 1.5 disasters a day by 2030.

“First and foremost is the need for risk management to become a shared responsibility across sectors. Getting on track to achieve the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals requires decision makers to adopt comprehensive climate and disaster risk management that puts people first, using current data and timely information.”

The report also recommends the expansion of access to multi-hazard early warning systems (EWS). Investment in these systems has been touted as one of the most powerful tools to adapt to climate change, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has challenged the WMO to present an action plan that ensures all people everywhere are covered by an early warning system in the next 5 years. The WMO is expected to present that plan to the 2022 UN Climate Conference in Egypt in November.

“Altogether, there is a need for a 1.5 billion US dollar investment in the next 5 years to get 100 percent coverage of early warning services and improve basic observing systems. We have major gaps in island states, Africa, and some parts of Latin America, and that needs to be improved,” the WMO Secretary-General said.

The report’s launch coincides with the impending peak of the annual Atlantic hurricane season. According to officials of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), there is no question that countries in the region, particularly the small states of the Caribbean and Central America, remain highly vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate

“2021 was yet another very active season. Many countries experienced major flooding and landslides that were compounded by a volcanic eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, causing major dislocation, damage, and loss, and there was heavy rainfall and floods across Guyana, Suriname, and regions of Central America, affecting housing, fresh water sources and increasing food insecurity,” said ECLAC’s Subregional Office Chief Diane Quarless.

Quarless added that for small states in the region, the post-disaster need to continually source or reassign already scarce resources has eroded the ability of countries to build back better. ECLAC is supporting the call to strengthen and expand early warning systems to improve forecasting and planning for multi-hazards.

The State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report provides science-based, timely information for policymakers on the realities of climate change and weather-related events and the best course of action.

The representatives of the UN agencies involved in sourcing and compiling the report says that the region has the needed data. It is now time to act.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 


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Both UK & Congo Think They’re Climate Leaders – COP26’s Fallout Shows How Far Adrift They Are

Greenpeace activists submitting a petition by Congolese and international NGOs to the DRC presidency. Credit: Greenpeace – Raphael Mavmbu

By Irène Wabiwa Betoko
KINSHASA, Jul 26 2022 – From the fall-out of the pandemic to the interlocking cost of living and energy security crises currently gripping the world, it has been fascinating to see the world’s richest governments bending over backwards to help fossil fuel companies.

Meanwhile households are battling a cost of living crisis while the climate crisis is raging on, threatening lives and livelihoods everywhere – from north to south.

After oil demand and prices briefly fell during the lockdowns of 2020, we’re seeing Big Oil enjoying unprecedented war-time profits, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drives up prices. Recall BP’s boss Bernard Looney crassly comparing his company to a “cash machine”.

This latest boon for fossil fuel companies makes the pledges from last year’s COP26 climate talks in Glasgow seem like a distant memory. Indeed, a £420m ($500m) deal for the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] has become increasingly useless in protecting its forests, with oil companies set to cash in and eventually paved the way for more forest destruction.

The DRC, home to most territory of the world’s second largest rainforest, prides itself in being a “solution country” for the climate crisis. However, the country, which already sees deforestation rates second only to Brazil, has already stated last year its intention to lift a 20 year ban on new logging concessions.

As of April this year, the DRC is set on trashing huge areas of the rainforest and peatland and – as of this week – it’s set to auction no less than 27 oil and three gas blocks.

Oil exploration and extraction would not only have devastating impacts on the health and livelihoods of local communities, but the oil driven “resource curse” raises the risk of corruption and conflict.

This auction also is sacrificing at least four parts of a mega-peatland complex, often labelled a carbon bomb, along with at least nine Protected Areas (contrary to denials by the Congolese Oil Ministry).

Following the enlargement of the auction this week, it also poses a direct threat (https://www.ft.com/content/5ea6f899-bb55-478f-a14a-a6dd37aae724) to the Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site made famous thanks to a Netflix documentary on a previous campaign to keep the oil industry out of it.

Instead of steering us into a climate catastrophe,the international community must stop serving as the handmaiden of Big Oil. Instead, let’s see them focus on ending energy poverty by supporting clean, decentralised renewable energies. Whether it’s the cost of living crisis unfolding on our doorsteps or climate destruction sweeping the globe – the solutions are the same.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi must abandon the colonial notion of development through extractivism and look at its legacy in Africa, which has only deepened poverty and hardship for Africans. It has only served to enrich a small and closed circle of local beneficiaries and foreign nations.

It is telling that Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria, is also the one with the highest number of people suffering extreme poverty (just behind India) and with the highest number of people without access to electricity. Instead of following an economic model that hurts both people and nature, the DRC should resist pressures from greedy multinationals and prioritise connecting 72 million of its people to the grid.

You can bet Big Oil is salivating at the chance to seize yet more profits from climate destruction. Yet shamefully, none of the eight members who are part of the Central African Forest Initiative that is paying £420m of taxpayers’ money to protect DRC’s forests – the UK, the EU, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea – have uttered one word against this prospective oil auction.

That’s not surprising, given the “forest protection” deal does nothing to prevent oil activity in peatlands or anywhere else.

As Boris Johnson approaches his final weeks in office, his own environmental legacy and that of the COP26 risk being all targets, no action. Speeches are made and press releases are disseminated, while the rights of vulnerable people everywhere are being run over by short-sighted extractive industries.

Instead, I would like to see donor countries like the UK government, as host of the COP26 and one of the chief architects behind the DRC forest protection deal, to work with my country to move beyond the model of destructive extractivism and leapfrog towards a future of renewable and clean energy for all.

IPS UN Bureau

 


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Excerpt:

The writer is the International Project Leader for the Congo Basin Forest, Greenpeace Africa

Africa Taken for ‘Neo-Colonial’ Ride

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 26 2022 – Like so many others, Africans have long been misled. Alleged progress under imperialism has long been used to legitimize exploitation. Meanwhile, Western colonial powers have been replaced by neo-colonial governments and international institutions serving their interests.

‘Shithole’ pots of gold
US President Donald Trump’s “shitholes”, mainly in Africa, were and often still are ‘pots of gold’ for Western interests. From 1445 to 1870, Africa was the major source of slave labour, especially for Europe’s ‘New World’ in the Americas.

Anis Chowdhury

Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa noted “colonised Africans, like pre-colonial African chattel slaves, were pushed around into positions which suited European interests and which were damaging to the African continent and its peoples.”

The ‘scramble for Africa’ from the late nineteenth century saw European powers racing to secure raw materials monopolies through direct colonialism. Western powers all greatly benefited from Africa’s plunder and ruin.

European divide-and-conquer tactics typically also had pliant African collaborators. Colonial powers imposed taxes and forced labour to build infrastructure to enable raw material extraction.

Racist ideologies legitimized European imperialism in Africa as a “civilizing mission”. Oxford-trained, former Harvard history professor Niall Ferguson – an unabashed apologist for Western imperialism – insists colonialism laid the foundations for modern progress.

Richest, but poorest and hungriest!
A recent blog asks, “Why is the continent with 60% of the world’s arable land unable to feed itself? … And how did Africa go from a relatively self-sufficient food producer in the 1970s to an overly dependent food importer by 2022?”

Deeper analyses of such uncomfortable African realities seem to be ignored by analysts influenced by the global North, especially the Washington-based international financial institutions. UNCTAD’s 2022 Africa report is the latest to disappoint.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

It does not guide African governments on how to actually implement its long list of recommendations given their limited policy space, resources and capabilities. Worse, their proposals seem indistinguishable from an Africa-oriented version of the discredited neoliberal Washington Consensus.

With 30% of the world’s mineral resources and the most precious metal reserves on Earth, Africa has the richest concentration of natural resources – oil, copper, diamonds, bauxite, lithium, gold, tropical hardwood forests and fruits.

Yet, Africa remains the poorest continent, with the average per capita output of most countries worth less than $1,500 annually! Of 46 least developed countries, 33 are in Africa – more than half the continent’s 54 nations.

Africa remains the world’s least industrialized region, with only South Africa categorized as industrialized. Incredibly, Africa’s share of global manufacturing fell from about 3% in 1970 to less than 2% in 2013.

About 60% of the world’s arable land is in Africa. A net food exporter until the 1970s, the continent has become a net importer. Structural adjustment reform conditionalities – requiring trade liberalization – have cut tariff revenue, besides undermining import-substituting manufacturing and food security.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 24% of the world’s hungry. Africa is the only continent where the number of undernourished people has increased over the past four decades. About 27.4% of Africa’s population was ‘severely food insecure’ in 2016.

In 2020, 281.6 million Africans were undernourished, 82 million more than in 2000! Another 46 million became hungry during the pandemic. Now, Ukraine sanctions on wheat and fertilizer exports most threaten Africa’s food security, in both the short and medium-term.

Structural adjustment
Many of Africa’s recent predicaments stem from structural adjustment programs (SAPs) much of Africa and Latin America have been subjected to from the 1980s. The Washington-based international financial institutions, the African Development Bank and all donors support the SAPs.

SAP advocates promised foreign direct investment and export growth would follow, ensuring growth and prosperity. Now, many admit neoliberalism was oversold, ensuring the 1980s and 1990s were ‘lost decades’, worsened by denial of its painfully obvious consequences.

Instead, ‘extraordinarily disadvantageous geography’, ‘high ethnic diversity’, the ‘natural resource curse’, ‘bad governance’, corrupt ‘rent-seeking’ and armed conflicts have been blamed. Meanwhile, however, colonial and neo-colonial abuse, exploitation and resource plunder have been denied.

While World Bank SAPs were officially abandoned in the late 1990s following growing criticism, replacements – such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers – have been like “old wine in new bottles”. Although purportedly ‘home-grown’, they typically purvey bespoke versions of SAPs.

With trade liberalization and greater specialization, many African countries are now more dependent on fewer export commodities. With more growth spurts during commodity booms, African economies have become even more vulnerable to external shocks.

Can the West be trusted?
Earlier, G7 countries reneged on their 2005 Gleneagles pledge – to give $25 billion more yearly to Africa to ‘Make Poverty History’ – within the five years they gave themselves. Since then, developed countries have delivered far less than the $100 billion of climate finance annually they had promised developing nations in 2009.

The Hamburg G20’s 2017 ‘Compact with Africa’ (CwA) promised to combat poverty and climate change effects. In fact, CwA has been used to promote the business interests of donor countries, particularly Germany.

Primarily managed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, CwA has actually failed to deliver significant foreign investment, instead sowing confusion among participating countries.

Powerful Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development governments successfully blocked developing countries’ efforts at the 2015 Addis Ababa UN conference on financing for development for inclusive UN-led international tax cooperation and to stem illicit financial outflows.

Africa lost $1.2–1.4 trillion in illicit financial flows between 1980 and 2009 – about four times its external debt in 2013. This greatly surpasses total official development assistance received over the same period.

Africa must unite
Under Nelson Mandela’s leadership, Africa had led the fight for the ‘public health exception’ to international intellectual property law. Although Africa suffers most from ‘vaccine apartheid’, Western lobbyists blocked developing countries’ temporary waiver request to affordably meet pandemic needs.

African solidarity is vital to withstand pressures from powerful foreign governments and transnational corporations. African nations must also cooperate to build state capabilities to counter the neoliberal ‘good governance’ agenda.

Africa needs much more policy space and state capabilities, not economic liberalization and privatization. This is necessary to unlock critical development bottlenecks and overcome skill and technical limitations.

IPS UN Bureau

 


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ERC Granted FDA Fast Track Designation for Sitoiganap in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma

ISNES, Belgium, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ERC Belgium S.A. (ERC), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to Sitoiganap (Gliovac or ERC1671) ERC's cell–based immunotherapy for the treatment of glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs and vaccines intended to treat or prevent serious conditions and address unmet medical needs. The purpose is to get important new drugs to the patient earlier. The FDA stated, "That Sitoiganap, combined with GM–CSF and cyclophosphamide and bevacizumab, for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma to improve overall survival meets the criteria for Fast Track designation." Fast Track addresses a broad range of serious conditions.

Apostolos Stathopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., ERC Belgium President and CEO commented, "Receiving Fast Track designation from the FDA reinforces ERC's belief that our cell–based immunotherapy for the treatment of serious cancers represent a major breakthrough. We are pleased that the FDA's decision reinforces the observation of improved median overall survival (mOS) in these patients as well as continued improvements in functionality and quality of life in the patients who responded to Sitoiganap treatment. Furthermore, Fast Track makes Sitoiganap eligible for the FDA's Accelerated Approval process and Priority Review."

About Sitoiganap/Gliovac/ERC 1671

Sitoiganap is an advanced immunotherapy derived from brain tumor tissue that is surgically removed from patients with rGBM. Such tumor tissue is then processed to obtain inactivated intact cells and disrupted lysed cells from different patients. For treatment, each patient receives repeated intradermal injections of this material (autologous component), along with the same material derived from three different other cancer patients (allogeneic component). This complex mixture of own and foreign material serves as a strong stimulant of the patient's immune system and mounts a reactive immune response against the residual tumor cells, leading to their destruction.

Sitoiganap is for patients suffering from a grade IV glioma (glioblastoma and gliosarcoma) when all other traditional treatments have failed. The indication for Sitoiganap is independent of the tumor's genomic profile; because of the vaccine's complex composition, the immune response it triggers is targeted at a great variety of tumor epitopes and minimizes the development of treatment resistance. In the United States, the vaccine is currently undergoing a randomized, placebo–controlled Phase 2 clinical trial as part of combination treatment for recurrent glioblastoma and gliosarcoma.

About ERC

Epitopoietic Research Corporation (ERC–Belgium SA) is a clinical–stage, emerging biopharmaceutical company developing a safe, highly effective approach for the treatment of cancer, particularly cancers of the brain. The company headquarters are based in Belgium, with subsidiaries in the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia, along with an international presence throughout the world and country–specific agreements within Europe and Latin America. ERC has assembled a network of leading neuro–oncologists in many countries, in order to propel its immunotherapies through clinical development and to market. While the company's vaccine has shown great promise in patients suffering from recurrent glioblastoma, this therapeutic approach may be considered a platform application, as it potentially could be applicable to many other types of difficult–to–treat cancers. As such, it has the potential to bring new hope to patients with otherwise dismal prognosis.

To learn more, please visit http://erc–immunotherapy.com.

Contact:
Jules Abraham
JQA Partners, Inc.
917–885–7378
jabraham@jqapartners.com


Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group Announces Addition of Vaporizer Manufacturing Facility in Houston, TX

TEMECULA, Calif., July 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group ("Group"), a part of the Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japan) group of companies, is proud to announce yet another expansion of their manufacturing capabilities. This expansion represents their commitment to and support of their domestic industrial gas and clean energy customers.

Their new Houston, Texas, facility is now equipped to manufacture and deliver ambient vaporizers, bringing their products and support much closer to the East Coast, and Mexico markets, allowing for shorter turn–around times and reduced shipping costs for these growing markets.

Nikkiso Cryoquip Houston is already operational and ramping up to full production of the ambient air vaporizer product line, with customer deliveries already underway.

"We are excited to be able to increase our support of this important region and provide significant benefits to our customers," according to Chris Colizzi, President of Nikkiso Cryoquip. "This expansion provides a strong support structure for future growth."

The addition of the Houston facility also allows expanded capacity in the Group's Murrieta, California, facility to further support their growing customer base across the Industrial Gases and Energy market segments.

ABOUT CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES
Cryogenic Industries, Inc. (now a member of Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) member companies manufacture and service engineered cryogenic gas processing equipment (pumps, turboexpanders, heat exchangers, etc.), and process plants for Industrial Gases, Natural Gas Liquefaction (LNG), Hydrogen Liquefaction (LH2) and Organic Rankine Cycle for Waste Heat Recovery. Founded over 50 years ago, Cryogenic Industries is the parent company of ACD, Nikkiso Cryo, Nikkiso Integrated Cryogenic Solutions, Cosmodyne and Cryoquip and a commonly controlled group of approximately 20 operating entities.

For more information, please visit www.nikkisoCEIG.com and www.nikkiso.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Anna Quigley
+1.951.383.3314
aquigley@cryoind.com