Medtronic Unveils Outcomes Of The Largest Multi-Centric Prospective Stroke Registry On Mechanical Thrombectomy In India (PRAAN)

-First dedicated industry sponsored registry on the use of mechanical thrombectomy devices in patients for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) resulting in great functional and performance outcomes with low mortality rate

-These results corroborate the evidence that Mechanical Thrombectomy is safe and effective treatment for AIS in Indian Population

Medtronic, a global leader in healthcare technology, unveiled results from the Prospective Registry for Assessment of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Treated with stroke Devices in India (PRAAN) at the World Stroke Congress 2024, held in Abu Dhabi. PRAAN is India’s first industry-sponsored dedicated registry on mechanical thrombectomy, collecting real-world data on the use of stroke devices in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by large vessel occlusion.

The multi-centre study evaluates the clinical outcomes associated with market-released stroke devices of Medtronic for AIS patients with large vessel occlusion condition. The PRAAN registry enrolled 200 patients over 24 months, across 14 centers, and demonstrated that mechanical thrombectomy is a safe, effective, as well as cost-effective treatment for AIS in India.

In India, approximately 1.18 million patients experience stroke annually, with around 21% being suitable for mechanical thrombectomy procedures. Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally invasive surgery to remove the brain clot. The current adoption rate of mechanical thrombectomy is less than 0.1% in India, generally owing to lack of awareness and access. The PRAAN study aims to bridge this gap by providing real-world data to healthcare professionals and policy makers, thus enabling them to strengthen stroke management in India by improving accessibility and adoption.

The data from the PRAAN study demonstrated high rates of positive functional outcomes and procedural success of mechanical thrombectomy with a low mortality rate in AIS patients. Additionally, the health economic analysis revealed that mechanical thrombectomy (MT) alone or in combination with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) appears to be cost-effective compared to IV-tPA treatment alone.

Highlights of the outcomes from the PRAAN Study

·       The results from the study are comparable to the global clinical registries and randomized clinical trials.

·       The success rate of revascularization, which means clearing a blood clot and getting blood flowing again in the vessel, is 87.4% after the final attempt.

·       After 90 days following the procedure, 65.8% of the patients had little or no disability.                                    

·       MT treatment is cost-effective as it helps people live better lives following a stroke. Patients treated with MT improved more after 90 days than those who only got IV-tPA treatment

Discussing the PRAAN registry, Mandeep Singh Kumar, Vice President and Managing Director, Medtronic India, said, “Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in India, making it one of the top non-communicable diseases in the country. Medtronic is committed to advancing innovative and effective treatments for stroke, aiming to enhance patient outcomes as part of its mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. PRAAN is a first-of-its kind multi-centric prospective stroke clinical registry in India that tracks and reports on mechanical thrombectomy. We are confident that the data and outcomes from the study will help ignite critical discourse to raise awareness about the dangers of stroke and available treatment pathways and will empower healthcare professionals and policy makers alike in providing the right resources and guidance for the Indian public.”

Dr. Mathew Cherian, HOD Intervention Radiology at KMCH, Coimbatore, said, “A cerebral infarction caused by a blockage in the brain's blood vessels can result in permanent disability or death. However, thanks to mechanical thrombectomy, patients now have a treatment option available that can enable them to regain their mobility and resume their day-to-day activities. A recent multi-center trial conducted in India by Medtronic has once again proven the remarkable effectiveness of this groundbreaking stroke treatment in India.”

Dr. Vikram Huded, Director and Clinical Lead, Interventional Neurology Programme of NH group, Head of Neurology, Narayana Health, Bengaluru, commented,” Stroke is a medical emergency impacting millions of lives. Mechanical thrombectomy is a revolutionary treatment that has increased the treatment window up to 24 hours since the onset of symptoms in stroke. However, it is important to assess the impact of the procedure with the Indian patient pool and for that Medtronic has conducted the PRAAN study in India. The study has demonstrated good clinical outcomes like 65.8% had mRS score between 0-2 at 90 days follow-up which provides us the assurance about the efficacy of MT among Indian patients.”

About Medtronic: 

Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Galway, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people across more than 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic, visit www.Medtronic.com and follow Medtronic on LinkedIn.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results. No statements or comments made in this release may be construed as medical advice and patients need to consult their physicians for the same.

SAP's Executive And Supervisory Boards In Bengaluru This Week

Photo Caption: : SAP reinforcing commitment to India, and shaping strategies for a future-ready economy. Seen in the picture, are Christian Klein, CEO SAP; Dr. H. C. Mult. Pekka Ala-Pietilä, Chairman of the Supervisory Board SAP SE; Thomas Saueressig, Head of Customer Innovation Delivery; Muhammad Alam, Head of SAP Product Engineering; Paul Marriott, SAP APJ President;  Sindhu Gangadharan, MD, SAP Labs India and Head, Customer Innovation Services, SAP; and Manish Prasad, President and Managing Director, SAP Indian Subcontinent.

Samsung Announces Biggest Ever Festive Offers On Galaxy Z Fold6 And Z Flip6 In India

* Consumers purchasing Samsung’s sixth generation foldables will additionally get Galaxy Z Assurance worth up to INR 14999 at just INR 999

Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, today announced exciting limited period offers on its immensely popular sixth-generation foldable smartphones - Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6. 

Starting today, consumers purchasing Galaxy Z Fold6 will get the smartphone at as low as INR 144999 along with a 24 months no-cost EMI. Similarly, consumers purchasing Galaxy Z Flip6 will get the device at just INR 89999 with 24 months no-cost EMI as a part of a limited period festive offer. Galaxy Z Fold6 is priced starting INR 164999 and Galaxy Z Flip6 is priced starting INR 109999. Consumers seeking enhanced affordability can take advantage of the convenient EMI options starting as low as INR 2500 for Galaxy Z Flip6 and INR 4028 for Galaxy Z Fold6. 

Additionally, customers purchasing Galaxy Z Fold6 or Galaxy Z Flip6 will get Galaxy Z Assurance at just INR 999 for a limited period. The Galaxy Z Assurance programme, which provides complete device protection was originally priced at INR 14999 for Galaxy Z Fold6 and INR 9999 for Galaxy Z Flip6.  Under the Z Assurance programme, customers can now avail two claims in a year. 

Galaxy Z Flip6 and Galaxy Z Fold6 are the slimmest and lightest Galaxy Z series devices ever, and come with perfectly symmetrical design with straight edges. The Galaxy Z series is also equipped with enhanced Armor Aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, making this the most durable Galaxy Z series yet. Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6 are equipped with the Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, one of the most advanced Snapdragon mobile processors yet, combining best-in-class CPU, GPU, and NPU performance. The processor is optimized for AI processing and offers enhanced graphics along with improved overall performance.

The Galaxy Z Fold6 offers a range of AI-powered features and tools – Note Assist, Composer, Sketch to Image, Interpreter, Photo Assist and Instant Slow-mo – to maximize the large screen and significantly enhance your productivity. Galaxy Z Fold6 now comes with 1.6x larger vapor chamber for longer gaming sessions and ray tracing supports life-like graphics on its 7.6-inch screen that offers a brighter display of up to 2600 nits to deliver more immersive gaming.

The Galaxy Z Flip6 offers a range of new customization and creativity features so users can make the most of every moment. With the 3.4-inch Super AMOLED FlexWindow, consumers can use AI-assisted functions without even needing to open the device. Users can reply to texts with suggested replies, which analyzes their latest messages to suggest a suitable tailored response.

FlexCam now comes with the new Auto Zoom to compose the best framing for shots by detecting the subject and zooming in and out before making any necessary adjustments. The new 50MP Wide and 12MP Ultra-wide sensors provide an upgraded camera experience with clear and crisp details in pictures. Galaxy Z Flip6 now also comes with enhanced battery life and gets a vapor chamber for the first time.

Samsung Knox, Samsung Galaxy’s defense-grade, multi-layer security platform built to safeguard critical information and protect against vulnerabilities with end-to-end hardware, real-time threat detection and collaborative protection, secures Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6.

Galaxy Z Fold6 is available in three stunning colours- Silver Shadow, Navy Blue and Pink whereas Galaxy Z Flip6 is available in Silver Shadow, Mint and Blue. Both the devices are available across all leading online and offline retail stores.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the world of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For latest news on Samsung India, please visit Samsung India Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com/in. For Hindi, log on to Samsung Newsroom Bharat at https://news.samsung.com/bharat. You can also follow us on Twitter @SamsungNewsIN

Rural Markets Continue To Surpass Consumption In Urban India: NielsenIQ

* Consumption-driven value growth (5.7%), price growth (1.5%) remains flat

* Rural value growth at 6.7% continues to stay ahead of Urban at 5.0%

* Staples led Food recovery (3.4%) while Home & Personal Care (HPC) volume stabilizes at 6.0%

NielsenIQ (NIQ), the world's leading consumer intelligence company, released the FMCG Quarterly Snapshot for Q3’24 (JAS’24). According to the report, Indian FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) industry has experienced a 5.7% growth in value, reflecting industry's resilience on a 1.5% price growth and 4.1% volume growth.

Roosevelt Dsouza, Head of Commercial – India at NielsenIQ, stated, " The Indian FMCG industry shows resilience with steady value growth and marginal price increase. Rural volume growth at 6% continues to surpass urban markets, despite softer consumption in both regions this quarter. Small manufacturers are rebounding after recent decline, while major players trail in value growth.” 

Market Dynamics: Rural continues to outpace urban

In Q3 2024, both urban and rural markets showed a sequential recovery in consumer demand. Urban consumption growth in Q3’24 is 2.8%, while rural growth increased to 6.0% from 5.2% in the previous quarter, 2X faster growth than Urban. Notably, rural areas continue to surpass urban areas in volume growth across most regions of India. Traditional Trade volumes grew by 4.1% in Q3 2024, compared to 3.0% in Q2 2024. Despite the slowdown, Modern Trade manages to outpace urban growth.

Festive signs emerging: Food volume growth led by staples and impulse    

FMCG saw slight improvement in volume growth in Q3 2024. Food consumption growth increased to 3.4% in Q3’24 compared to 2.1% in Q2’24 (refer to Chart 3). This uptick in volume growth is attributed to Staple categories – Edible oils, Packaged Atta, and Spices despite price growth. In HPC categories, the consumption growth stabilizes at 6.0% in Q3’24 compared to Q2’23 at 6.7%. This stabilization in consumer demand for HPC categories is observed in both Urban and Rural.

Over the Counter categories like Rubefacient, Analgesics exhibited a growth in value sales to 11.7% in Q3’24 backed by price growth.

Small players rebound

Large players continue to demonstrate stronger performance compared to small, mid players, and giants. Small manufacturers recovered from consumption decline of last 3 quarters & grew faster than giants this is led by sharp recovery in volume growth in Food for small players. Giants grow slowest in terms of value growth; and volume growth drops compared to AMJ’24.

Magicbricks Survey Shows 35% Buyers Eye Ultra-Luxury Properties

Magicbricks' latest survey across 13 prime cities reveals a robust customer sentiment towards luxury real estate. The survey highlights that 25.5% of prospective buyers are considering properties priced above ?1 crore, with significant interest in the ?3.5–5 crore segment.

Interest in luxury and ultra-luxury homes has surged dramatically, with 35% of respondents expressing high intent, nearly double the 18% recorded in the previous quarter. This notable shift reflects growing confidence in the luxury housing market.

The survey also underscores a strong preference for larger living spaces. Around 45% of respondents are seeking homes above 2,000 sq. ft., driven by post-COVID lifestyle changes and rising disposable incomes. Additionally, 56% of buyers favor configurations of 3BHK or larger, emphasizing a demand for more spacious and functional homes.

These insights underline a dynamic shift in consumer preferences, reinforcing the luxury segment’s prominence in India's real estate landscape.

Magicbricks is India’s No.1 property site

As the largest platform for buyers and sellers of property to connect in a transparent manner, Magicbricks has monthly traffic exceeding 2 crores and an active base of over 15 lakh property listings. Magicbricks has metamorphosed into a full stack service provider for all real estate needs, with services including home loans, interiors, and expert advice.

With 17+ years of experience and deep research-based knowledge, Magicbricks also presents a repertoire of insight-driven platforms like MBTV- India’s leading online real estate YouTube channel, and other proprietary tools so that home buyers can access all information related to price trends and forecasts, locality reviews and more.

FADA Releases Oct'24 Vehicle Retail Data For The State Of Karnataka

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) today released Vehicle Retail Data for Oct'24 for the State of Karnataka.

Oct'24 Retails

Commenting on how Oct'24 performed, FADA Karnataka State Chairperson, Mr Dharma Teja G said, “October 2024 witnessed two major festivals, Navratri and Diwali, in the same month. These festivities traditionally account for huge portion of annual auto sales, so the industry's focus was keenly on how October would unfold. With dealers entering this crucial period fully hope, the month did not disappoint!

 Overall retail sales grew by 28% YoY. All categories showed positive growth, with 2W up 31%, 3W up 32%, PV up 25%, Trac up 16% and CV up 6% YoY. The festival period was preceded by a good Monsson and harvest. With the continuing of marriage season, we hope for a positive growth story in Nov 24 also.”

About FADA India

 Founded in 1964, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), is the apex national body of Automobile Retail Industry in India engaged in the sale, service and spares of 2 & 3 Wheelers, Passenger Cars, UVs, Commercial Vehicles (including buses and trucks) and Tractors. FADA India represents over 15,000 automobile dealers having 26,500 dealerships including multiple Associations of Automobile Dealers at the Regional, State and City levels representing the entire Auto Retail Industry. Together we employ ~4 million people at dealerships and service centres.

FADA India, at the same time also actively networks with the Industries and the authorities, both at the Central & State levels to provide its inputs and suggestions on the Auto Policy, Taxation, Vehicle Registration Procedure, Road Safety and Clean Environment, etc. to sustain the growth of the Automobile Retail Trade in India.

Marriott International Announces Global Launch Of Connect Responsibly With Marriott Bonvoy Events

* New program to offer meeting planners a meeting impact report and access to select carbon offset projects

Marriott International, Inc. (Marriott) today announced the launch of Connect Responsibly with Marriott Bonvoy Events (Connect Responsibly), a program designed to help meeting planners embed sustainability into their events at participating hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Connect Responsibly plans to offer meetings and events customers access to detailed Meeting Impact Reports to measure the environmental impact of their events and select options to purchase carbon credits.

The program is anticipated to go live at managed and franchised properties from participating brands globally by the end of October. As part of the global launch, Connect Responsibly is expected to be available in nearly 133 hotels in India, and nearly 500 properties in Asia Pacific Excluding China.

“There is nothing like connecting in person, and doing so responsibly makes it that much better. With the Connect Responsibly program, we are giving our meetings and events customers options to better understand the impacts of their meetings as we collectively strive to create a more resilient future for travel,” said Erika Alexander, Chief Global Officer, Global Operations, Marriott International.

Fueled by growing demand for meeting solutions that address sustainability and informed by research and consumer insights from its global pilot program, Marriott is focused on offering a Meeting Impact Report through the Connect Responsibly program. Available following an event, the user-friendly Meeting Impact Report is intended to capture event details, property-specific sustainability practices implemented for the event, and the event’s carbon and water footprints, calculated through established hospitality industry methodologies. Marriott expects the Meeting Impact Report to be available in 11 different languages based on location. 

In collaboration with South Pole, a carbon asset developer and climate consultancy, Marriott plans to offer meetings and events customers the ability to access select carbon offset projects. Through the Meeting Impact Report, these customers will have the option to utilize the South Pole online shop to choose from a range of carbon offset projects – verified by independent third-party organizations – that can be purchased as part of their event.

“Meetings and events are important business for Marriott. Our customers are eager to participate in sustainability efforts. Connect Responsibly expands ongoing initiatives and strengthens our efforts focused on sustainability in hospitality,” said Tammy Routh, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Marriott International. “We are excited to build on our sustainability reporting capabilities to provide our meetings and events customers with detailed Meeting Impact Reports and offer access to a select portfolio of verified carbon offset projects, through our collaboration with South Pole.”

This announcement is part of Marriott’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at properties and in the supply chain. As of April 2024, Marriott is the largest global hospitality company to receive approval from the Science Based Targets initiative for both near-term and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets (SBTs). To drive progress toward its SBTs, Marriott launched the company’s Climate Action Program (CAP), which includes property-level carbon reduction goals and actions.

Connect Responsibly supports Marriott’s Sustainability and Social Impact Platform, Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction. For more information on the company’s Serve 360 initiatives, visit http://www.marriott.com/Serve360.

About Marriott International, Inc.

Marriott International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of approximately 9,000 properties across more than 30 leading brands in 141 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy®, its highly awarded travel program. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on X and Instagram.