Greenlight Consulting and UiPath Host Virtual Hackathon to Solve a Canadian Healthcare Issue During COVID-19
Post-secondary students leveraged RPA technology to create innovative solutions for the in-person check-in process – improving social distancing measures at clinics
TORONTO, March 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Greenlight Consulting, a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and IT services firm in Toronto concluded its first virtual Canadian hackathon with the support and sponsorship of UiPath, a leading enterprise automation software company.
RPA is a technology that enables the rapid design and deployment of software robots, otherwise known as digital workers. The digital workers perfectly emulate and execute repetitive processes, boosting organizational productivity, ensuring compliance, and freeing up valuable time for staff so that they can focus on higher-value activities instead of mundane, time-consuming, repetitive processing tasks. At a time where every minute of staff capacity within our Healthcare system matters, RPA can be a powerful tool that enables medical and support staff to focus on critical tasks and front-line services.
"The goal of the hackathon was to bring together Healthcare institutions, industry-leading RPA technology and Canadian students to solve a real meaningful problem with speed, then to provide that solution at no cost to help ease the burden on the healthcare system. As society looks at how automation technology can fuel efficiency, productivity, and bolster capacity across the workforce, we continue to look for ways we can work together to utilize the technology for the public good," said Shameiz Hemani, CEO of Greenlight Consulting.
In light of the ongoing strain on the Healthcare system, Greenlight partnered with the University Health Network to develop a problem statement that focused on solving the real-world problem of social distancing and flow in clinics. "Designing efficient ways to provide care is more critical than it's ever been. We have so many opportunities in healthcare to automate and eliminate non-value-add steps and get administrative processes out of the way enabling the care providers to focus on what's most important – the patient," said Michael Caesar, Executive Director of Data & Implementation Science at the University Health Network.
Notwithstanding the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, innovation and its ability to transform today's challenges will prevail and continue to thrive among our developers. Last year, it was reported by the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report that the landscape of work will continue to morph.
According to a UiPath study of more than 500 C-level executives and senior managers at large organizations, it found – of those surveyed – they are increasingly requiring employees to have, and seeking new candidates who have, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) skills. When choosing between two similarly qualified job candidates, 73% of surveyed executives said they would pick the candidate with more experience with automation and AI tools, even if the role does not require those abilities.
Post-secondary institutions like George Brown College have specifically designed an RPA program to assist post-graduate students in honing their RPA skills while leveraging the UiPath RPA platform.
"We are excited to introduce Robotic Process Automation to our learners and the wider community," said Tyler Krimmel, Professor in the Computer Science Department at George Brown College. "As an academic institution focused on applied, hands-on learning, George Brown College partnered with UiPath to allow learners to pursue this critically in-demand skill-set that bridges process automation and analysis and RPA development. In a very short period of time, we have seen that these skills have given our graduates a distinctive advantage when competing in the job market. We initially introduced RPA into existing programs, such as our Information System Business Analysis post-graduate certificate. Over the past two years, however, we have seen the industry demand for these skills grow exponentially, and have since launched an RPA Micro-Certificate program available through our college's Continuing Education Department."
There is a consensus between education and private organizations that the demand is there for technological skills.
"We're hearing loud and clear that executives want all employees to have automation and AI skills, and that employees, in turn, demand training to be successful with these emerging technologies. As we continue to work in automation-led work environments, it's absolutely crucial for all employees to have access to automation and AI education," said Sean Hinton, Vice President and General Manager of UiPath Canada. "We're proud to partner with Greenlight on this initiative and congratulate the winning teams on their innovative submissions."
The winning teams are as follows:
Top UHN Solution and Top Overall Solution
Team "6ix Health"
Maha Zeb
Morgan Kaneshakumar
Chanpreet Litt
Sharanya Kanakaratnam
Most Innovative Solution
Team "JARS"
Sagar Varia
Amandeep Thakur
Rebecca Crawford
Jesvin Johnson
Honourable Mention to Parth Girishkumar Dave
About Greenlight Consulting
Greenlight Consulting is a Robotic Process Automation and IT Services company based in Toronto, with a national footprint. Being a boutique IT Consulting and Staffing firm for over 13 years and working with some of North America's largest organizations, we have a proven track record for helping clients solve their Human and Digital resourcing needs.
Dr. Speranza Dolgetta's move to new role as Bellwood's Medical Director inspired by the loss of a friend
TORONTO, March 9, 2021 /CNW/ - "What would Shamek do?" Dr. Speranza Dolgetta had to ask herself, when she was offered the position of Medical Director at Bellwood Health Services.
As the Director of Medical Care at EHN Canada's Sandstone facility in Calgary at the time, she had been instrumental in its opening, development, and day-to-day operations.
Of her tenure there, Dr. Dolgetta says, "I had been at Sandstone since we opened. I have such a profound attachment to Sandstone. It's the little rehab centre that could. We faced challenge after challenge. We built this amazing thing in Calgary. I really love building and fixing. I am an Italian peasant girl at heart. My dad was a contractor. That's what we did: we built and we fixed."
Prior to Sandstone, she worked in her private medical practice, specializing in complex care, minor surgery, mental health, and addictions. Dr. Dolgetta had completed her medical degree and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Calgary. She was also a Philosophy professor at Mount Royal University teaching healthcare ethics.
But Shamek was not a philosopher, at least not one she lectured about in her classroom. He was, in fact, Dr. Dolgetta's best friend. Przemyslaw Shamek Pietucha, a doctor himself at Toronto's CAMH facility, a Canadian Olympic swim team member, and accomplished poet, tragically passed away in 2015 at the age of 39.
Shamek had long been an inspiration for the kind of compassionate care Dr. Dolgetta was offering to her patients, often challenging cases that no other doctor wanted to treat.
She says, "For me, it all starts from a place of compassion and lack of judgement. This is inspired by Shamek. He was the sort of person who knew you, or made an effort to know you, from the inside out. And I think we translate that into care. And, as a result, we get much better outcomes."
Across EHN Canada's treatment centres, this holistic, whole-body approach to care, and a collaborative team of caregivers, has been a big part of their success with recovery. It's an aspect that drew Dr. Dolgetta in the first place.
"It has to be a whole person approach," she emphasizes. "Towards that end, I'm very collaborative, I'm very humble in my approach. Everybody on the team—from the support workers, to the nurses, to the clinicians, to the security—they all have something to contribute to understanding an illness and helping a person heal."
Which brings us back to her offer from Bellwood and the question: What would Shamek do?
"My best friend, my kindred spirit, my platonic soulmate begged me for years to move to Toronto," Dr. Dolgetta remembers. "He was all about the moment, and all about experience. So when this opportunity presented itself, I knew he would've said: 'Speranza, it's time.' "
Last week, Dr. Dolgetta arrived in Toronto and began her new role as Bellwood Health Services' Medical Director, a position she is approaching with her signature enthusiasm, spirit, and energy.
What does she hope to bring to Bellwood in this new capacity? "I have some exciting new ideas, new treatment modalities, ways that we can keep up with what's happening in the world of addiction. And I want to create a team, to foster an environment where everybody feels professionally fulfilled, and we're offering world-class medical care to people who so desperately need it."
She breaks from her solemn tone, before letting out a smile, and laughs: "I am so excited!"
ABOUT EHN CANADA EHN Canada is the nation's largest network of industry-leading mental health, trauma, and addiction treatment facilities, each with a passion for providing quality treatment for Canadians. We are committed to both caring for our patients and supporting their loved ones. With over 75 years of collective experience, our inpatient, outpatient, and online programs are offered across the country, providing essential compassionate care to patients wherever they are.
Feeling Forwards: Learn How to Harness the Infinite Energy of Your Emotions
"Feeling Forwards helps you find the power within to overcome unbelievable challenges and take a quantum leap forwards." — TONY ROBBINS
New York, NY, March 9, 2021 — Everything you need to transform your life is already within you, asserts bestselling author and personal reinvention coach Elizabeth Gould. Her empowering new book, Feeling Forwards: How to Become the Person Who Has the Life You Want, can help you say farewell to negative habits, release painful beliefs and tap into your full potential by harnessing the infinite energy generated by your emotions.
“Feeling Forwards is a thinking and feeling revolution. It’s not about writing to-do lists or visualizing every step toward a goal,” Elizabeth says. “Feeling Forwards is about living life as the complete person you’ve forgotten you already are and not as the person who’s just waiting to shine.”
The first half of Feeling Forwards is a fascinating deep-dive into the science proving the true power of our emotions, enabling them to travel forward and backward in time, influence pre-programmed computer outcomes, reverse aging, impact crime rates, fast-track personal reinvention and much more. After understanding the effects that our emotions can truly have on our lives, Elizabeth offers practical applications of the strategies in Feeling Forwardsusing real-life examples of those who’ve successfully integrated the principles into their lives.
Woven throughout are Elizabeth’s candid, personal stories of embracing these principles to thrive through several life-threatening events and dramatic personal upheavals.
The result is a refreshingly relatable, actionable guide to help you create the life you genuinely want to live. Feeling Forwards teaches you how to become the person who has the life you want … today. As Elizabeth reveals, “Today is the past of your future.”
About the Author
A bestselling author and founding member of Randi Zuckerberg’s global leadership school at the Zuckerberg Institute, Elizabeth Gould experiences the joy of working with people around the world to unlock their potential. She has spent decades interviewing thousands of successful professionals to understand how they behave to achieve what they want. Her work is endorsed by world-renowned life and business strategist, Tony Robbins. Feeling Forwards is her third book.
Faith and Tenacity Continue to Drive 91-Year-Old Founder of Boston Area Homeless Shelter
Boston, MA, March 9, 2021 — Sylvia Anthony firmly believes that life is a gift from God, and she’s been using her gift to impact more than a thousand homeless women and children through her nonprofit, Sylvia’s Haven, which she launched in 1987. At 91 years young, Sylvia remains steadfastly involved with Sylvia’s Haven, and hopes to inspire others to overcome life’s challenges and pursue their passions.
“When we do the right thing with the right motives, there is no limit to how far we can go with the help of God,” she writes in her poignant memoir, Till the End of Time. “My advice to you is never give up, whatever comes your way; it is all worth it.”
Sylvia had endured a difficult childhood that included an abusive father and a disinterested mother. Sylvia married young and remained in an abusive marriage until a divorce that left her alone to support her three children. Through her ambition and strength of character, Sylvia persevered, building a life for herself and her kids. After raising her children, Sylvia remarried — still, there was a void. She felt a calling to help young women, and her husband, Rick, encouraged her to follow her heart. Initially designed for homeless pregnant women, her shelter opened on January 25, 1987. Sadly, her husband lost his battle with cancer on March 30 of the same year, telling Sylvia before he died to “go get the girls.” And she’s been giving new hope to young, homeless women ever since.
Hers has been a lifetime woven with tragedy and triumph, but at Sylvia’s core burns a powerful source of courage and tenacity. She shares her remarkable story in Till the End of Time, which chronicles her early days as an unwanted child, born at the onset of the Great Depression; through her turbulent first marriage, which blessed her with three children; to finding love and discovering her divine purpose later in life. The book includes a chapter with testimonials from women who have been helped by Sylvia’s Haven, underscoring the impact of her unwavering dedication to others. Till the End of Time is the ultimate love story, woven with heartwarming memories, inspirational anecdotes and life lessons that will inspire readers to share their own God-given gifts with others.
Author Sylvia Anthony was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame on June 15, 2020. Invited to their museum in Seneca Falls, New York, she drove more than 350 miles for the appointment! Shortly thereafter, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who's Who.
A woman of faith, courage, tenacity and love, Sylvia firmly believes that the “golden years” are a time to get busy. As the founder and president of Sylvia’s Haven, a shelter for women and children near Boston, she has helped transform over 1,100 lives in the past three decades. Sylvia refers to her organization as her “magnificent obsession.” Life hasn’t always been easy for Sylvia, but she believes that God not only gives her courage during times of hardship, but also keeps her healthy so that she may realize her dream to open up Sylvia’s Haven locations in all 50 states.
Till the End of Time rose to No.1 in four different categories when it was launched on Amazon and has received 5-star reviews.
Broken and Beautiful: Let God Turn Your Mess into a Masterpiece
Seattle, WA, March 9, 2021 — If you have a past of brokenness—abuse, dysfunction, addiction or other trauma—it doesn’t have to define your future. There is hope for a brighter path forward if we let God lead the way.
“We’re going to fail. The truth is, that’s exactly where God wants us to be so that He can grow us,” writes Christine Soule in her inspirational story, Broken and Beautiful. “The key is discovering who you are in Christ — your true identify. And that’s especially significant if you, like me, have a past of brokenness.”
Soule’s life was a jumbled pile of broken pieces. Her father was married seven times; her mother four times. Between her parents’ divorce when she was 5 years old and the day she allowed the power and presence of God into her heart, she watched her sister have an affair with her adoptive father; met 15 siblings she never knew at her biological father’s funeral; turned to drugs and alcohol; got pregnant at 17; had twins less than two years later; and became a victim of human trafficking. She had to break the cycle for the sake of her children. With nowhere else to turn, she dropped to her knees and prayed. And that’s when everything changed.
Broken and Beautiful is Soule’s remarkable story of how God took the pieces of her broken, astonishingly dysfunctional life and transformed it all into a breathtaking mosaic of joy and purpose.
“The places where you feel hopeless are exactly what He wants to redeem and fill with beauty, dignity and strength. He has a plan for your pain. A wonderful intention for your failures. A purpose for your hardest, darkest stories,” Soule writes.
Told with honesty and surprising touches of humor, Soule shares her journey from drug-
addicted stripper to exuberant Jesus lover with a passion for helping others embrace God’s love. Broken and Beautiful is a raw, authentic story of hope, from a place of experience.
Author Christine Soule lives with the love of her life, Mitch Soule, in Seattle. They have five kids and three wonderful grandchildren. She is the founder and CEO of Providence Heights (www.providenceheights.org), a nonprofit created to house women and children in need and to provide counseling, education and jobs.
Vegas Stronger Partners with Lyft to Provide Free Rides for People to Receive COVID Vaccine
March 9, 2021 – LAS VEGAS, NV -- The nonprofit Vegas Stronger, an advocacy group focused on reversing the devastation the opioid epidemic has brought to Nevada, is announcing today they have partnered with Lyft to provide free rides for people who need a ride to a COVID vaccine appointment. The partnership between Vegas Stronger and Lyft is an effort to vaccinate the community for the good of public health.
“As part of our broader helping the community mandate, this is important to us as we want to help speed up vaccinating the community and getting everyone back to work. If getting a ride to a vaccine site is a problem, contact us and we’ll provide you with a Lyft code for a free ride,” said Dave Marlon, Co-Founder & CEO of Vegas Stronger. “We are happy to help in the effort.”
Lyft is able to offer the free ride credits as part of their Vaccine Access programming, also in an effort to help expedite the vaccine process for the local community.
If you are interested in more information on the Lyft Ride Credits please contact Dave Marlon at 702-234-1356, call or text or email david.marlon@vegasstronger.org
About Vegas Stronger
At Vegas Stronger our guiding principle is that the optimal pathway for opioid addicted people to be restored to productive membership in society is the wholistic combination of Medication Management, Psychosocial Therapy, Housing, and Vocational/Occupational Training. We at Vegas Stronger will aim to remove funding constraints and supply every addicted or newly recovering person with oral, injectable or an implant for free. The only caveat will be that the individual has no medical contraindications and each of them must remain active in an approved behavioral counseling course of treatment.
Burt's Bees Launches Campaign to Support Women Facing Breast Cancer
Toronto makeup artist Jodi-Ann Blackwood represents the community
TORONTO, March 8, 2021 /CNW/ - A leading personal care products company Burt's Bees has launched a campaign with Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) to celebrate and support women facing cancer. Jodi-Ann Blackwood, the face of the campaign and a Toronto-based woman who recently underwent cancer treatment, was invited to represent this community across Canada.
Women with cancer often reach the point of no longer recognizing themselves in the mirror. Blackwood has expressed that she feels self-conscious, making it difficult to play with her children, embrace her husband, or go out in public, and many women undergoing cancer treatments express similar sentiments. LGFB workshops help women learn techniques to manage the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment with skincare, cosmetics, wigs, scarf-tying techniques, breast forms and garments, and more. More than makeup, the workshops help them regain self-confidence, self-expression, identity, and a sense of normalcy, and create connection with other women facing similar challenges. As a makeup artist, Blackwood believes in the artistry of expressing oneself through makeup. "Makeup can bring back a sense of oneself as well as just a sense of normality. Even something as simple as applying lipstick can be mood lifting."
"We've proudly partnered with LGFB since 2014 to help women feel like themselves again" Ann-Marie Cicuttini, Business Unit Director of Burt's Bees.
"Given how cancer can rob a woman of her sense of self, it is very impactful when beauty brands support Look Good Feel Better's mission. By sharing Jodi-Ann Blackwood's story, this campaign powerfully illustrates the common experience of not recognizing yourself while undergoing treatment and how simple acts of self-care can help lift a woman's spirit and emotional well-being," Dee Diaz, President and CEO, LGFB.
The Burt's Bees campaign sheds light on this lived experience. It aims to subvert typical beauty marketing by working backwards through the journey of a woman with cancer putting on makeup. By moving backwards, we're able to communicate how cancer is capable of stripping women of their identities, while showing how beauty can help women take them back.
"The purpose of this video is to show the power of beauty and makeup in restoring self-confidence for women facing cancer. The reverse time lapse illustrates the loss of identity many of these women experience but ends in real time to show how Look Good Feel Better helps women reclaim some sense of normalcy," said Natalie TomYew, Vice President, DentsuMcgarryBowen.
Please see the campaign video and ad creative for reference via this link.
Interviews are available with:
Jodi-Ann Blackwood, the face of the campaign
Dee Diaz, President & CEO of LGFB
Ann-Marie Cicuttini, Business Unit Director at Burt's Bees
Natalie TomYew, Vice President at DentsuMcgarryBowen
ABOUT BURT'S BEES:
Burt's Bees has been offering natural personal care and beauty care products for over 30 years. From a beekeeper's backyard in Maine to the leading edge of natural, Burt's Bees has always been an authentically natural and sustainable brand. Formulated without petrolatum, phthalates, parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate. Never tested on animals.
ABOUT LFGB:
Look Good Feel Better is Canada's only national charitable program dedicated to helping women manage the appearance-related effects of cancer and its treatment. At the heart of the program are four complimentary online workshops which provide critical information and advice on Skincare and Cosmetics, Wigs & Hair Alternatives, Breast Forms & Garments as well a dedicated workshop for teens. Led by expert volunteers, in a small group setting, the workshops offer a supportive and welcoming environment. This vital programming in supportive care encourages positive mental health and well-being. Women facing cancer are welcome to register for all or one online workshop at lgfb.ca or by phone or 1-800-914-5665.
SOURCE Burt's Bees Canada
Mithra and Searchlight Pharma Announce Nextstellis® Approval in Canada
First E4-based product approved internationally
Canadian regulatory approval is the first in the world for the novel combined oral contraceptive Nextstellis®
Innovative product developed by Mithra containing the unique native estrogen Estetrol (E4) and drospirenone (DRSP)
Approval supported by two large multinational Phase 3 studies conducted in 3,725 women
Commercial launch in Canada anticipated mid-summer 2021
LIEGE, Belgium and MONTREAL, March 8, 2021 /CNW/ - Mithra and Searchlight Pharma announced today that Health Canada has approved Nextstellis®, the first and only combined oral contraceptive (COC) product based on the unique native estrogen estetrol (E4). Once launched, E4 will be the first new estrogen in a COC in the Canadian market in over half a century, and will be the only COC alternative to ethinyl estradiol-based COC pills in Canada.
"Combined oral contraceptives continue to be the most common method of hormonal birth control in Canada and worldwide," said Dr. Dustin Costescu, MD, MS, FRCSC, Associate Professor and Family Planning Specialist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at McMaster University. "That is why it's so important to continuously innovate and develop products that meet the current needs of patients and their families. From the time The Pill was invented, there was recognition that convenience and contraception comes with a small risk from venous thromboembolism [blood clots]. Science has been able to reduce the dose, but we can only go so low. It's time to change the hormone."
Developed by Mithra, Nextstellis® is composed of 15 mg Estetrol (E4) and 3 mg drospirenone (DRSP) in a 24/4 dosing regimen. E4 is a naturally occurring native estrogen produced in the human body, with a unique mechanism of action that displays tissue selective activity. E4 shows agonist activity on the vagina, the uterus and the endometrium, the bones and the brain, and antagonistic activities in breast tissue. Neutral impact on lipids and a distinct metabolic and hemostatic profile provide further differentiation based on its unique mechanism of action. E4 is synthesized from plant-based sources and represents the first native estrogen available in any contraceptive product in Canada.
Clinical safety data
Health Canada's approval of Nextstellis® is based on two multinational, multicentre Phase 3 clinical studies of 3,725 women who were 16 to 50 years of age, and who had a Body Mass Index (BMI) up to 35kg/m2. Nextstellis® demonstrated contraceptive efficacy across all evaluated age and BMI ranges. The studies also demonstrated good bleeding profiles, cycle control, and tolerability, and with low rates of adverse reactions.
"Although contraceptive choice is improving for women in Canada, we still have more limited contraceptive choices compared to other developed countries," said Dr. Amanda Black, MD, MPH, FRCSC, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of Ottawa. "For this reason, the approval of an additional novel contraceptive option in Canada is incredibly welcome. Beyond just having an additional choice that further empowers women, there is a lot of enthusiasm to introduce potentially safer contraceptives to the market, and Nextstellis® is one such product. An abundance of clinical safety data should be reassuring to physicians and patients alike."
First approval in the world
The approval in Canada is the first marketing authorization for Nextstellis® in any jurisdiction, anywhere in the world. Regulatory reviews remain ongoing in the United States and European Union, with expected marketing authorizations in H1 2021.
"Our teams are both proud and excited to see the outcome of so many years of research finally made available to women", said Leon Van Rompay, CEO of Mithra. "This approval is the first and is highly symbolic since it is being announced on International Women's Day. We congratulate Searchlight Pharma on becoming the first partner worldwide to achieve regulatory approval and are supporting them fully to ensure a Canadian market launch in the summer of 2021. As one of the most important global markets, the Canadian approval unlocks the opportunity to introduce a product we believe represents a new era in Women's Health and contraception in particular. We look forward to obtaining the next approvals in Europe and the United States expected in the first half of 2021."
"We are excited that Canada is the first market globally to approve Nextstellis®, and that Searchlight Pharma can now move forward with its commercial launch and making this new contraceptive option available to Canadian women," said Mark Nawacki, President & CEO of Searchlight Pharma. "The introduction of Nextstellis® represents a major advancement in the contraceptive options available, and we are proud to have played a part in helping to support healthcare providers and women in their contraceptive choices."
Currently, the Canadian hormonal contraceptive market is worth approximately CAD $348 million a year, with combined oral contraceptives accounting for about 66% of the market1. Nextstellis® will complement and deepen Searchlight Pharma's industry-leading women's health product portfolio which includes Addyi® (flibanserin), a first-in-class medication in Canada for the treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) in both pre and post-menopausal women up to age 60, as well as market-leading brands such as Mona Lisa® IUDs for contraception, and menopausal treatments such as Divigel® and Estragyn™ Vaginal Cream.
About Nextstellis®
Nextstellis® is Mithra's novel combined oral contraceptive (COC) product based on Estetrol (E4)15 mg and drospirenone (DRSP) 3 mg. E4 is a native estrogen that is produced by the human fetus, passing the maternal blood at relatively high levels during pregnancy. The E4 used in Nextstellis® is derived from plant sources. In two phase III clinical studies conducted in nearly 3,800 women, Nextstellis® showed positive top-line results against primary efficacy and safety endpoints and achieved positive secondary endpoints including good bleeding profile, cycle control, and tolerability. Mithra has signed 15 licensing deals for Nextstellis® with a number of leading women's health companies covering Canada, United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, Russia, Brazil, Middle East, North Africa, Southern Africa, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.
About Mithra
Mithra (Euronext: MITRA) is a Belgian biotech company dedicated to transforming Women's Health by offering new choices through innovation, with a particular focus on contraception and menopause. Mithra's goal is to develop products offering better efficacy, safety and convenience, meeting women's needs throughout their life span. Its three lead development candidates are built on Mithra's unique native estrogen platform, Estetrol (E4): Nextstellis®, a new era in oral contraception, PeriNesta®, the first complete oral treatment for perimenopause and Donesta®, the next-generation hormone therapy. Mithra also develops and manufactures complex therapeutics in the areas of contraception, menopause and hormone-dependent cancers. It offers partners a complete spectrum of research, development and specialist manufacturing at its technological platform Mithra CDMO. Active in more than 100 countries around the world, Mithra has an approximate headcount of 300 staff members and is headquartered in Liège, Belgium. www.mithra.com
About Searchlight Pharma Inc.
Searchlight Pharma Inc., headquartered in Montreal, aspires to become a leading Canadian-based specialty healthcare company through best-in class execution of the search, acquisition, commercialization, and focused development of innovative and unique specialty healthcare products that improve life-long human health and wellness. With a core focus on women's health, urogynecology, and urology, our team is committed to improving people's lives by bringing the right products to market. Follow us, learn more about what we do, and get to know our product portfolio at www.searchlightpharma.com.
Important information
The contents of this announcement include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "believes", "estimates," "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "plans", "continue", "ongoing", "potential", "predict", "project", "target", "seek" or "should", and include statements the Company makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.
1 IQVIA 2020
SOURCE Searchlight Pharma Inc.
Health Canada Approves KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) as First-line Treatment for Adults with Metastatic Microsatellite Instability-High or Mismatch Repair Deficient Colorectal Cancer
Approval Based on Significant Progression Free Survival Findings from Phase 3 KEYNOTE-177 Trial
KEYTRUDA® is an anti-PD-1 therapy that works by helping increase the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumour cells.1
An estimated 26,900 Canadians were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2020, with an average of 73 Canadians diagnosed daily.2
KIRKLAND, QC, March 8, 2021 /CNW/ - Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that Health Canada has approved KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, for the first-line treatment, as monotherapy, for adult patients with metastatic microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC).3
"This approval offers a new first-line treatment option for patients with MSI-H/dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer," said Dr. Ron Burkes, Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto and Medical Oncologist, Mount Sinai Hospital.
Colorectal cancer, one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Canada, occurs when abnormal cells in the colon or rectum develop into benign tumours that, over time, transform into cancerous tumours that can spread to the blood and lymph vessels and metastasize.4,5 In 2020, an estimated 26,900 Canadians were diagnosed with CRC, with an average of 73 Canadians diagnosed daily.6 In Canada, it is the second leading cause of death from cancer in men and the third leading cause of death from cancer in women.7 Approximately three to five per cent of CRCs are associated with a hereditary cancer predisposition related to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency. Mismatch repair is a process that corrects mismatches generated during DNA replication, recombination, and damage. Deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) causes an inability to correct DNA replication errors, allowing mutations to continue throughout the genome, particularly in regions of repetitive DNA known as microsatellite, which can lead to MSI-H.8
"This is excellent news for colorectal cancer patients with MSI-H/dMMR tumours," says Barry D. Stein, a colon cancer survivor and president of Colorectal Cancer Canada. "This drug is encouraging because it can help some patients achieve a better quality of life and more time with family and loved ones. Innovative treatment options, like this one, are helping to make a difference for Canadians facing this particular colon cancer."
About KEYNOTE-177 Trial
Health Canada's approval for CRC is based on findings from the Phase 3 study KEYNOTE-177, a multicenter, randomized, open-label, active-controlled trial conducted in 307 patients with previously untreated metastatic MSI-H or dMMR CRC.9Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive 200 milligrams (mg) of KEYTRUDA® intravenously every three weeks or chemotherapy regimens given intravenously every two weeks.10
The results of KEYNOTE-177 showed that KEYTRUDA® demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progression free survival (PFS) compared to patients treated with chemotherapy.11 The median PFS in patients treated with KEYTRUDA® was 16.5 months compared to 8.2 months in the chemotherapy arm (HR=0.60 [95% CI, 0.45-0.80]; p=0.0002).12 The average objective response rate (ORR) for the KEYTRUDA® arm was 44% compared to 33% in the chemotherapy arm, and the average duration of response at 24 months was 83% in the KEYTRUDA® arm versus 35% in the chemotherapy arm.13
"The approval of KEYTRUDA® as a first-line treatment for metastatic MSI-H or dMMR colorectal cancer marks its nineteenth indication, reinforcing Merck's ongoing commitment to science and to the research and development in immuno-oncology," says AnnA Van Acker, President, Merck Canada. "We hope that this new treatment option will have a meaningful impact for those Canadians who live with MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer. We are devoted to our straightforward mission and to continue all relentless efforts to help more Canadians living with cancer."
About Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer occurs when the cells lining the rectum or colon become abnormal and begin to divide rapidly, resulting in the development of benign tumours.14 Over time, the DNA of the benign tumours can change, causing the tumours to become cancerous.15 This can result in the cancer spreading to the blood and lymph vessels, further allowing it to metastasize and reach other organs such as the lungs or liver.16 Since there is no clear border between the colon and rectum and they are made of the same tissues, they are categorized together as CRC.17 As most CRC cases are related to aging, over 90% of cases occur in patients over the age of 50.18 Over half (56%) of CRC cases are expected to occur in Canadians who fall within the age covered by Canadian screening guidelines (50 to 74 years), while approximately 7% of colorectal cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in people younger than 50 years of age.19
About KEYTRUDA®
KEYTRUDA® is an anti-PD-1 therapy that works by helping increase the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumour cells.20 KEYTRUDA® is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumour cells and healthy cells.21
KEYTRUDA® was first approved in Canada in 2015 and currently has 19 indications in several disease areas, including advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), bladder cancer, non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).22
Merck's Research Program
Merck has the industry's largest immuno-oncology clinical research program. There are currently more than 750 trials studying pembrolizumab across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings. This clinical program seeks to understand the role of pembrolizumab across cancers and the factors that may predict a patient's likelihood of benefitting from treatment with this medication, including exploring several different biomarkers.
Our Focus on Cancer
Our goal is to translate progressive science into innovative oncology medicines to help people with cancer worldwide. At Merck Oncology, helping people fight cancer is our passion and supporting accessibility to our cancer medicines is our commitment. Our focus is on pursuing research in immuno-oncology and we are accelerating every step in the journey — from lab to clinic — to potentially bring new hope to people with cancer.
About Merck
For more than 125 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals — including cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases — as we aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world. For more information about our operations in Canada, visit www.merck.ca and connect with us on YouTube and Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co. Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).
Speaker and Brain Health Expert Shares Ways to Alter the Brain’s Reaction to Fear and Stress
Chattanooga, TN, March 8, 2021 ― Hi, I’m your brain. And 2020 wreaked havoc on my chemical makeup. Forced social isolation, job loss, loneliness and other anxiety-inducing uncertainties continue to activate my stress pathways — thereby increasing your body’s inflammatory factors, diminishing immune response and increasing your vulnerability to viral infections and cancer. Is there anything you can do to rewire the way I react to fear and stress?
The good news is, the answer is yes, and Timothy R. Jennings, M.D., board-certified psychiatrist, master psychopharmacologist and founder of Come and Reason Ministries can explain how.
Dr. Jennings is a much sought-after speaker who regularly addresses non-medical professionals on Spirituality in Medicine, Depression and its Spiritual and Physical Connections, and Alzheimer’s Dementia. He also speaks to medical professionals on the topics of Psychotherapy in Clinical Practice, Major Depression in the Primary Care Setting, and the Neurobiology of Depression — among many others.
He expertly weaves spirituality with brain science to address fear, depression, anxiety and relationship issues. He recently explored at length the damaging effects of social isolation (https://comeandreason.com/index.php/en/blogs-main/903-social-isolation-during-covid-19) and its profound impact on physical and mental health, particularly for those already suffering from chronic conditions.
As for altering the way our brains react to stress, he suggests we can boost our resilience through physical exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting regular sleep, cognitive training, having a healthy relationship with God and spiritual development.
“Healthy spirituality confers resilience in a multitude of ways,” he says. “It develops your higher cortex, which calms your fear circuits.”
As the world searches for a clear path toward physical and mental recovery, Dr. Jennings is uniquely poised to address the very serious subject of brain health from both scientific and spiritual perspectives — a much needed and welcomed approach during these extremely distressing times.
Dr. Jennings operates a private practice in Chattanooga and has successfully treated thousands of patients. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Life-Fellow of the Southern Psychiatric Association.
He is also a prolific author whose books include The God-Shaped Brain: How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life; Could It Be This Simple? A Biblical Model for Healing the Mind; The Aging Brain: Proven Steps to Prevent Dementia and Sharpen Your Mind; and The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God’s Love Transforms Us.
To hear his presentations and to learn more about Dr. Timothy R. Jennings and his approach to brain and body health, please visit: www.comeandreason.com.
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