Wockhardt Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Partnership with UK Government

Wockhardt, the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology major today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the UK Government to fill finish COVID-19 vaccines. The manufacturing will be undertaken at CP Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Wockhardt based in Wrexham, North Wales.

As per the terms of the agreement the company has reserved manufacturing capacity to allow for the supply of multiple vaccines to the UK Government in its fight against COVID-19, including AZD1222, the vaccine co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech and licensed by AstraZeneca.

Dr Habil Khorakiwala, Founder Chairman of Wockhardt emphasised, “The pandemic of COVID-19 is a challenge for all and needs a concerted effort to overcome. We are proud to be collaborating with the UK Government to make vaccines available and the arrangement brings in a huge sense of purpose and pride, it upholds our ongoing commitment to fight against such a pandemic of global human importance. As a global organisation, we are focussed and committed to assist in mitigating the worldwide impact of COVID-19.”

Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Government of U.K said, “Ensuring the UK has the capability to research, develop and manufacture a safe and effective vaccine is critical in our fight against coronavirus.

“Today we have secured additional capacity to manufacture millions of doses of multiple Covid-19 candidates, guaranteeing the supply of vaccines we need to protect people across the UK rapidly and in large numbers.”

Speaking about the contract Ravi Limaye, Managing Director Wockhardt UK said, “We are immensely proud to have been selected to partner with the UK Government on this project. In doing so we are taking a lead role in the nation’s fight against pandemic of COVID-19”.

“We have a sophisticated sterile manufacturing facility and a highly skilled workforce. We expect to start delivering the first doses of the vaccine later this year.” He added.

The government has reserved one fill and finish production line for its exclusive use for the next 18 months in order to guarantee the supply of vaccines required to fight COVID-19 in the UK.

Dr Murtaza Khorakiwala, Managing Director and Global CEO of Wockhardt adds, “The arrangement with the UK Government for manufacturing vaccines for COVID-19 showcases our global strength in world class sterile injectable facilities and capacity. With four decades of expertise and experience behind us we are able to quickly scale to manufacture and assist in mitigating the worldwide impact of COVID-19.”

Kate Bingham, Chair of U.K. Vaccines Task Force said, “Never before have we needed to find and manufacture a vaccine at this speed and scale in order to protect the UK population. We have made significant progress in securing a diverse portfolio of potential vaccines and treatments for Covid-19, adding a fourth vaccine candidate from GSK and Sanofi last week. However, discovering a successful vaccine is only part of the solution, we also need to be able to manufacture it. Fill Finish is a critical step in the process to get the vaccine in a form to be given to patients. The agreement with Wockhardt will boost our capability to ensure that from the moment a successful vaccine is identified we will be able to produce the quantities of vaccine required, as quickly as possible, for the people who need it.”

Wockhardt is a global pharmaceutical and biotech organisation that brings affordable, high quality medicines to market. In the UK, Wockhardt is one of the largest suppliers into the NHS for over 20 years, has had a presence in Wrexham for over two decades and employs over 400 people at its 612,000 square feet high-tech manufacturing facility.

About Wockhardt:

Wockhardt is a research based global pharmaceutical and Biotech Company headquartered in Mumbai, India. Wockhardt’s New Drug Discovery programme has focussed on the unmet need of making anti-bacterial drugs effective in mitigating untreatable superbugs. Wockhardt is the only company in the world that has received QIDP Status (Qualified Infectious Diseases Programme) from the US FDA for six anti-bacterial discovery programmes – three of them are Gram Negative and three Gram Positive and are effective against untreatable “Superbugs”. Wockhardt has a dedicated and experienced Drug Discovery team as part of its clinical research organisation.

Wockhardt employs over 7,000 people across 27 nationalities with a presence in the USA, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Russia and many other countries. It has manufacturing and research facilities in India, the USA and UK and a manufacturing facility in Ireland. Wockhardt has a significant presence in the USA, Europe and India, with around 73% of its global revenue coming from international business.

Wockhardt UK specialises in the supply of generic and speciality medicines and is one of the leading suppliers to the NHS. They have a portfolio of over 250 product lines which are available in a wide range of preparations, including tablets, capsules, injections and liquid medicines.

The UK manufacturing site based in Wrexham, North Wales manufactures a number of sterile injectable products covering a wide range of therapy areas including diabetes, anticoagulation and pain management. The products are available in many forms such as vials, cartridges and ampoules including lyophilised (dry powder) products. In addition to their own Wockhardt branded products, they also provide contract manufacturing services for companies all around the world.

5paisa.com Launches India’s Only Multi-Lingual Markets App for 5 Million Users

India’s fastest growing discount broker 5paisa.com has launched the country’s only multi-lingual stock markets app for over 5 million users, as part of its efforts towards providing opportunities to regional investors across the country.

5paisa.com offers the investing app in Hindi, Marathi and Guajarati besides English as of now and will launch Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali versions soon to allow most Indians have access to stock markets, mutual funds and other investment options irrespective of their language.

Prakarsh Gagdani, CEO, 5paisa.com said, “So far stock market and most other forms of investing could be accessed only by users who know English, this has resulted in regional users staying completely away from many forms of investing and wealth creation.”

“We have significant participation from tier 2 and 3 cities and there are an increasing number of investors who are new to capital markets who find it more comfortable to interact in their own language. Almost 30% of our daily active users are already using language options other than English. We wish to add more four languages covering entire south India soon.”

5paisa.com expects with availability of smartphones and of high-speed internet across India, the multi-lingual app will allow investors choose wisely instead of relying on spurious investing solutions provided many unscrupulous elements.

5paisa.com recently turned profitable after seventeen quarters since inception making it the only listed profitable discount broker in India. The firm has over 7 lac active users and offers equity investing at zero brokerage, mutual funds, insurance, and loans among others on its platform.

 

About 5paisa Capital

5paisa Capital Limited (NSE: 5PAISA, BSE: 540776) is engaged in providing financial products through its online technology platform and mobile applications. It is registered with SEBI as a stockbroker, depository participant and research analyst, and with AMFI as a mutual fund distributor. Its services are targeted at retail investors and high-volume traders who actively invest and trade in securities markets and seek DIY (Do-it-Yourself) services at a low cost.

The Company provides an online technology platform to clients through internet terminals and mobile applications for trading in securities in NSE and BSE; advisory services through the research undertaken by a team of fundamental and technical research analysts; and depository related services as part of its integrated services offering.

5paisa Capital is a technology driven company having mainly an online presence. The Company remains focussed on innovation, based on understanding customer behaviour, and constantly strives to achieve tech superiority as is visible through the developments of its robust trading platform, advanced mobile app, an Artificial-Intelligence powered Robo-Advisory platform, and the paperless account opening process.

PNB MetLife Broadens its Product Portfolio with Three Unique Offerings for Retail Customers

Portfolio

* A guaranteed savings plan, which allows customers the flexibility of pay-out as a lumpsum or supplementary income

* A combined plan, assuring life and health insurance protection, with coverage against Covid-19

* A new Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP), which offers whole life cover along with tailor-made solutions for wealth creation

PNB MetLife Insurance is expanding its product portfolio with three new unique offerings: PNB MetLife Guaranteed Future Plan; Mera Mediclaim Plan and PNB MetLife Smart Platinum Plus. At PNB MetLife customer centricity is the cornerstone that binds all functions. These offerings complement the Company’s concept of “Circle of Life”, which assesses the needs of the customers and offers them with solutions on varied financial needs including - Child Education, Family Protection, Long Term Savings and Retirement.are testament to this approach and was designed keeping in mind the evolving needs of customers across different segments. 

PNB MetLife Guaranteed Future Plan, a guaranteed savings life insurance plan that offers dual advantages of long term guaranteed benefits and financial protection to the family in case of adversities. The plan offers complete control to customer and helps customize the savings schedule based on customer’s needs and affordability. It allows customers the flexibility to choose their future guaranteed pay-out as a lumpsum, income or a combination thereof which will help meeting financial requirements for various goals.

The company, in partnership with Religare Health Insurance, has launched - Mera Mediclaim Plan – that combines benefits of health and life insurance under a single policy. The new solution gives customers access to quality healthcare, cashless hospitalization, along with life insurance coverage.

Additionally, the company has also received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to launch PNB MetLife Smart Platinum Plus, a whole life savings-oriented unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP). The plan also offers life insurance cover to protect ones family in case of an unfortunate demise as well as provides with tailor-made solutions to achieve ones goals, including an option where wealth creation doesn’t take a back seat even during critical illness.

Ashish Kumar Srivastava, MD & CEO, PNB MetLife, said “At PNB MetLife, we believe in “Customer Centricity’ and continuously work towards providing solutions in line with our mantra. As a part of our ‘Circle of Life’ approach, which has been conceptualized to deliver need-based solutions that provide financial wellbeing to the customers during their lifetime, the new products will address the need for life and health protection as well as wealth creation.  PNB MetLife also declared bonus for its participating polices which remains consistent even in these uncertain times. We will continue to invest our efforts in product innovations and introduce more products that will serve the life-stage needs of our valued customers.”  

PNB MetLife Guaranteed Future Plan offers four different options to create a corpus to meet one’s financial goals. The plan comes with a guaranteed income ranging from 103% to 245% of the annualized premium.  Annual premiums higher than Rs.30,000 also receive High Premium Reward ranging from 4% - 12% of annualized premiums.  Besides one can opt for Income plus booster options that will give them an additional income pay-out at specified intervals ranging from 30%-406%. The plan allows customers to time the receipt of maturity amounts on special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. The policyholder will also be eligible to avail income tax benefit on premiums paid and benefits received under 80 (c) and 10(10d).

Mera Mediclaim Plan offers coverage for comprehensive health and hospitalisation insurance along with life insurance.  The plan features cashless hospitalization cover across Religare Health Insurance’s network of more than 7,500 hospitals. The plan also covers more than 540 Day Care Treatments, alternative treatments such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy and offers a no claim bonus which helps cover to increase upto 220% over two years and 250% over five years. This unique plan provides a cost-effective solution for customers by offering a discount of 7.5% on both life and health insurance premiums, plus dual tax benefits under both section 80 (c) and 80 (d)

PNB MetLife Smart Platinum Plus is a whole life protection and savings oreinted Unit Linked Insurance Plan.  The plan features an unique Care Benefit which helps customers secure their goals against health exigencies and the insurer pays all future premiums in case of diagnosis of any of the listed five critical illnesses. The plan provides additional allocations through features like Return of Fund Management charges of 1st 5 years and Fund booster which is paid at the end of 10th year which enhance the fund value and also incentivise the customers to stay invested for longer. This holistic plan offers the policyholder with the freedom to choose from the benefits, duration of premium payment, the sum assured multiple and also maximise their wealth creation potential through a choice of portfolio strategies and variety of funds. It also offers flexibility of switching between different fund depending on the risk appetite and partially withdrawing money from the fund value after the lock-in period.  The company so far has 22 unit-linked funds in its portfolio of which PNB MetLife Virtue Fund II and PNB MetLife Virtue Fund has been ranked amongst the top 10 in the Insurance Large Cap Category (as of June 30, 2020) by Morningstar, a leading independent investment research organization. This ranking is testimony to the company’s strong fund management prosess and reaffirm the commitment to deliver value accretive growth to its customers investing through market-linked products. 

This trio of products launched by PNB MetLife holistically fulfils the advanced needs and demands of the consumer. Amongst the three products, Mera Mediclaim Plan and PNB MetLife Guaranteed Future Plan are available across PNB MetLife’s bancasurance, agency as well as online channels. As the masses settle to the new normal where protection of health and life and wealth creation have assumed a level of importance like never before, PNB MetLife strives to serve its customers at every new juncture of their lives through its dynamic and ever-evolving approach to customer satisfaction.

About PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) has as its shareholders MetLife International Holdings LLC. (MIHL), Punjab National Bank Limited (PNB), Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited (JKB), M. Pallonji and Company Private Limited and other private investors, with MIHL and PNB being the majority shareholders.

Godrej & Boyce Sees Growth in Precision Engineered Equipment as “Make in India” Policy Gathers Momentum

Make in India

* Delivers critical equipment to help India’s biggest indigenously developed nuclear power project achieve key operational milestone

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej group said that there is likely to be rapid increase in the demand for precision equipment and larger opportunities for growth in bespoke engineering systems and equipment offerings as the country’s “Make in India” mission gathers greater momentum.

A strategic partner of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for over 20 years, Godrej Precision Engineering was integrally involved in supplying mission critical equipment to NPCIL for the Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-3 - the first indigenously built 700 MWe Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) in India that achieved criticality recently.

Godrej Precision Engineering delivered the Fueling Machine Bridge & Carriage for Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-3 which are installed in the critical zone of the Nuclear Power reactor.

With approval of 10 new 700 MW nuclear power projects, competent and committed partners with necessary experience in design, engineering & manufacturing, backed by significant scientific knowledge and technical prowess, will be one of the key drivers of the government’s ‘Atma-Nirbhar’ initiative. 

“At Godrej & Boyce, we have been investing for over 50 years in building strong engineering and machine-building capabilities and partnering with Indian institutions to deliver complex equipment for key strategic industries like Nuclear Power and Defence”, said Mr Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej & Boyce.

“Our strong experience of mission-critical systems and an integrated framework for design, manufacturing and testing will help accelerate India’s journey towards industrial self-reliance”, Mr. Godrej added.

“Our ability to innovate and execute has helped us partner with our customers and the equipment has been ‘made in India’ for the first time”, said Kaustubh Shukla, Chief Operating Officer, Industrial Products Group, Godrej & Boyce.

Godrej Precision Engineering manufactures custom-built equipment for complex and sophisticated systems for several mission-critical applications in nuclear power, land based and naval systems for Defence and for other industries like Steel, and Wind Energy. Besides equipment for Nuclear Power, the business unit executes orders for defence land systems like Brahmos Missile Launchers, Missile carriers and Naval systems like Diving and Surfacing Systems, Hull Equipment, Life Raft Container Ejection Systems, Steering Gear and so forth.

Each high precision, custom-built equipment is developed, manufactured and tested according to stringent quality requirements of our customers.

About Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Godrej & Boyce (‘G&B’), a Godrej Group company, was founded in 1897, and has contributed to India’s journey of self-reliance through manufacturing. G&B patented the world’s first springless lock and  since then, has diversified into 14 businesses across various sectors from Security, Furniture, Aerospace to Infrastructure and Defence. Godrej is one of India’s most trusted brands serving over 1.1bn customers worldwide daily.

Trend Micro Cloud-Powered XDR Drives Monumental Business Value

Trend Micro Incorporated, the leader in cloud security, today shared the significant business value driven by cloud-powered XDR and Managed XDR offerings, which optimize threat detection and response across all critical vectors. In a recent survey commissioned by Trend Micro and conducted by ESG, organizations surveyed experience faster detection and less alert fatigue as a result of intelligently using data from all their security controls (including those covering endpoints, email, servers, cloud workloads and networks). 

According to the recent findings from ESG*, previewed here with a white paper to publish in August, 85% of organizations claim that threat detection and response is getting harder due to an exponentially more sophisticated threat landscape and a lack of highly skilled security experts over the last two years. 

Trend Micro's XDR solution is both a SaaS-based offering as well as a managed service with the "X" referring to the most extensive sets of data from more protection points, which is critical to find hidden threats. It was recently named by Forrester as a Leader in enterprise detection and response and achieved the highest initial detection in the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework. 

City of Tyler, Texas CIO and Trend Micro customer, Benny Yazdanpanahi said, "Our citizens and employees have a right to expect that their data and public services are secured from cyber-threats, but our small IT workforce can't do everything, so we turned to Managed XDR. Finding a strong, committed partner with knowledge and expertise we don't have was a game-changer for us. Our city motto is 'We are called to serve,' but the same could equally be said of Trend Micro. They care about their customers." 

Today's organizations are faced with sophisticated threats that may bypass even advanced protection. However, most current detection and response approaches are siloed, incomplete and overwhelm limited security teams with disconnected alerts that lack actionable information. Security practitioners currently report being able to find critical alerts but not necessarily having the clarity to resolve the issue due to lack of additional details.  

In fact, ESG found that only 30% of organizations are confident that their threat detection and response functions can perform at the speed needed to keep up with threats over the next 12-24 months. Additionally, on average, organizations and overtaxed IT teams ignore 32% of security alerts. 

Trend Micro XDR was the first solution to launch that offers correlated detection beyond the endpoint: collecting and analyzing data from email, endpoints, servers, cloud workloads, and networks to more effectively hunt, detect and contain threats. It amounts to greater context, greater understanding and faster, more accurate incident response. ESG found that organizations that employ automated data aggregation techniques, like those enabled by Trend Micro XDR, enjoy improved security outcomes. For example, they are generally able to restore in hours vs. days by a ratio of 83% vs. 66%. 

The solution is also available as a managed service (MDR), to further take the pressure off constrained in-house teams with 24/7 full-threat analysis, threat hunting, response plans and remediation recommendations. 

"There's no such thing as 100% prevention anymore, which puts the focus on effective threat detection and response. With XDR, we've broken the mould with correlated detection across traditional siloes to help stretched IT teams optimize their response to stealthy threats," said Steve Quane, executive vice president at Trend Micro. "I'm proud of the fantastic value our solution offers businesses and of once again delivering on our commitment to secure the connected world. It's a privilege to remain a trusted cybersecurity advisor for our global customers." 

*ESG Research Insights Report, Validating Trend Micro's Approach and Enhancing GTM Intelligence, 2020, to be published August 2020. 

ABB India Opens a New Robotics Facility to Support the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing in India

The new ABB Robotics solutions delivery facility will enable Indian customers to reap the benefits of Industry 4.0 including cutting-edge robotics and digitalization technologies, going at the heart of helping India become a resilient high-tech manufacturing economy in the world.

Spread over 3,600 sq.m at the ABB Nelamangala factory premises in Bengaluru, the new facility will enable ABB India to deliver robotic applications and digital solutions for a variety of Indian industries, including automotive, food & beverage, electronics and other upcoming sectors. The facility houses a state-of-the-art shop floor that can run proof of concepts and factory acceptance tests for 1000 ABB robots every year, which doubles the company’s capacity. This enables rapid innovation, adaption, optimisation and agile delivery of made-to-order robotics applications for Indian customers.

“The new facility harnesses the powers of ABB’s deep global expertise and knowledge of the Indian industrial landscape to support our customer base,” said Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director of ABB India. “Even with increased demand for automation, the penetration of robotics, especially in small and medium enterprises is still low in India compared to the global average. With the help of the new and improved robotics facility, we will be able to share our knowledge and encourage Indian manufacturers to embrace our game changing technologies and become best-in-class manufacturers for local and global markets.”

The facility includes a demonstration center where the latest technologies in robotic welding, gluing and material handling will be showcased and can be used to carry out joint prove-out sessions with customers. ABB will also integrate an ABB AbilityTM Connected Services team that can remotely monitor an installed base of ABB robots to conduct predictive maintenance and high uptime.

A new Customer Experience Center is being set up for customers to learn about the latest in robotics technology and applications, including ABB’s dedicated robot simulation and programming software, RobotStudio. Additionally, the facility will host a paint lab where customers can run simulations of a broad range of industrial painting applications.

ABB is one the leading suppliers of robot, robot systems and machine & factory automation solutions, having shipped over 400,000 robot solutions across the globe. Designed as a complete digital ecosystem, ABB’s factory of the future concept will cater to the growing demand of collaborative automation solutions, by enabling innovation of new robot applications tailor-made to the Indian market.

About ABB Group

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 110,000 talented employees in over 100 countries.

Indian Short-Form Video App Mitron Clocks 9 Billion Videos in a Month

Video App

* Mitron app has been downloaded by more than 33 million users on Google Play Store since launch.

* Strong traction reported from smaller cities and towns

Mitron, a short-form video app, has garnered a massive viewership on its platform with a total of 9 billion videos viewed in one month since the government’s ban on Chinese apps. The company also announced that Mitron app crossed 33 million downloads on Google Store.

Speaking on the development, Shivank Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Mitron said “The idea behind the development of the app was to provide a platform that lets users upload and watch an array of short videos. It is heartening to see the app popularity gained by Mitron within a short span of time. 

It is incredible to see millions of new videos created on the Mitron platform. We thank all our users who have been using this app as their daily dose of entertainment.” 

With a mission to create a short-form video app that reimagines digital engagement and entertainment, co-founders Shivank Agarwal, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, and Anish Khandelwal, an alumnus of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in Nagpur, launched the Mitron app in April, 2020.

“We are seeing strong traction from smaller cities and towns across the country, with towns like Karnal, Hubli, Bhavnagar, Aligarh, Ludhiana and Vijayawada clocking more than 100,000 users”, Shivank added.

Anish Khandelwal, co-founder & CTO said, “While our user growth is very encouraging, we are keenly focusing our efforts on increasing engagement and retention of the users. On an average each user is watching 80 videos per day and with many new product features, we are confident of increasing engagement further".