CEOs Say They Are Ready to Lead Beyond Business

 Egon Zehnder’s 2024 survey reveals that a majority of chief executives feel a responsibility to help solve societal problems

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Egon Zehnder, the world's preeminent executive search and leadership advisory firm, today released the results of its latest Global CEO Survey at the Berlin Global Dialogue, which is taking place under the theme "Building Common Ground."

The survey, which polled more than 470 CEOs from around the world, highlights the unprecedented changes business leaders foresee in the coming decade and, more importantly, their responsibility in addressing complex global challenges:

• 95% of CEOs expect significant, systemic shifts in the economy, geopolitics, energy and technology over the next decade.
• 80% of CEOs acknowledge an expanded role beyond leading their companies, positioning themselves as key players in shaping new societal realities.

The majority of CEOs also believe they can find common ground with other stakeholders, with climate change emerging as the top priority (32%), followed by regulating AI (30%) and promoting a fairer global economy (13%).

"Political shifts, including the concerning rise of right-winged movements, are increasingly relevant to CEOs. Promoting dialogue between leaders from business and politics is hence more crucial than ever," said Lars-Hendrik Röller, Founder and Chair of the Berlin Global Dialogue.

When asked about the importance of adaptive skills for the future, CEOs prioritized “cultivating a culture of openness and curiosity” (99%).

"CEOs are embracing a new era of leadership," said Michael Ensser, Global Chair of Egon Zehnder. "They are positioning themselves as key architects of societal progress. As complexity increases, they recognize that fostering curiosity and openness within their organisations will be critical to meeting the challenges ahead."

The full report "The CEO Response" is available for download at: https://www.egonzehnder.com/the-ceo-response

About the Berlin Global Dialogue

The Berlin Global Dialogue unites leaders from business, policy, and academia to develop joint solutions for the most pressing challenges impacting the global economy. Established in 2022, it emerged from the economic, political, and social realities of the twenty-first century. Founded with the mission to strengthen the dialogue between different stakeholders, the annual summit convenes select high-level participants for candid, eye-level exchanges in interactive formats that highlight diverse perspectives and facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. Berlin Global Dialogue is embedded in ESMT Berlin, one of Germany’s leading business schools.

https://www.berlinglobaldialogue.org/

About Egon Zehnder

Egon Zehnder is the world’s preeminent leadership advisory firm, inspiring leaders to navigate complex questions with human answers. We help organizations get to the heart of their leadership challenges and offer honest feedback and insights to help leaders realize their true being and purpose.

We are built on a foundation that supports partnership in the truest sense of the word and aligns our interests with those of our clients. Our 600 consultants across 65 offices and 36 countries are former industry and functional leaders who collaborate seamlessly across geographies, industries and functions to deliver the full power of the Firm to every client, every time.

We partner closely with public and private corporations, family-owned enterprises, and non-profit and government agencies to provide executive search, leadership solutions, CEO search and succession, board advisory, and diversity, equity & inclusion.

Our services include discovering leaders, developing leadership, advancing governance, shaping successions and unlocking transformations. We partner with Mobius Executive Leadership to offer highly experiential, personalized and transformational programs for senior leaders.

We believe that together we can transform people, organizations and the world through leadership.

For more information, visit www.egonzehnder.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

 

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Contacts

 

Media Relations:
Klara Schroeder, Berlin Global Dialogue, Berlin, klara.schroeder@esmt.org
Stacy Drumtra, Egon Zehnder, Chicago, stacy.drumtra@egonzehnder.com
Martin Klusmann, Egon Zehnder, Berlin, martin.klusmann@egonzehnder.com

NetApp Expands Collaboration with Google Cloud to Provide Data Storage for Distributed Cloud Infrastructure

 SAN JOSE, Calif. - Tuesday, 01. October 2024

Google Distributed Cloud architecture integrates intelligent data infrastructure to drive secure AI innovation

-(BUSINESS WIRE)--NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the intelligent data infrastructure company, today announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Google Cloud with the integration of unified data storage and intelligent services into the Google Distributed Cloud architecture. This integration empowers organizations, especially in the public sector and regulated industries, to leverage AI-ready infrastructure while maintaining high standards for security and strict regulatory compliance.

Highly regulated organizations such as those in the government, manufacturing, telecom and retail sectors, want to drive innovation by tapping into AI, but emerging regulations such as data sovereignty and consumer privacy laws are creating new hurdles for organizations as they modernize their IT workloads. These organizations need to ensure that they are protecting and governing their data appropriately to overcome these challenges. NetApp’s collaboration with Google Cloud to provide the foundational data storage for Google Distributed Cloud offerings empowers organizations to innovate confidently and manage data effectively, enabling compliance and supporting application development in a secure environment.

Google Distributed Cloud extends customers’ cloud infrastructure and services to the places customers need them, including on-premises data centers and network edges. This enables customers to leverage cloud technology and applications—including AI capabilities—while maintaining more control over their IT environments by bringing the cloud closer to where their data is generated or creating air-gapped environments that limit or eliminate outside connections. Intelligent data infrastructure from NetApp further enhances these environments with its NetApp ONTAP® and StorageGRID solutions which give customers better control over their data to efficiently scale their workloads and leverage AI, while helping maintain security and regulatory compliance. Google Distributed Cloud also leverages these capabilities to support its own services including databases, AI and analytics.

“By working together, Google Distributed Cloud and NetApp are putting AI-innovation in reach, even as organizations navigate new regulatory requirements that make data security and compliance more challenging,” said Cesar Cernuda, President at NetApp. “NetApp is a trusted partner for organizations seeking innovative and compliant data management solutions. With solutions powered by NetApp intelligent data infrastructure, Google Distributed Cloud can offer AI-ready solutions tailored for the public sector and regulated industries.”

With this collaboration, customers can reduce their reliance on disparate solutions across their cloud, data center and edge environments with strong compliance and security. This reduces complexity and increases agility, allowing customers to deploy and manage distributed cloud solutions more easily to keep up with emerging trends and respond to changes in their operating environment.

“Our partnership with NetApp on Google Distributed Cloud has enabled us to provide customers with a platform such that organizations can benefit from localized processing, rapid scalability to meet changing demands, and enhanced security,” said Sameet Agarwal, General Manager and Vice President of Storage at Google Cloud. “These capabilities equip organizations in regulated sectors to effectively address their need for data-driven innovation as they tap into emerging technology like AI.”

Additional Resources

NetApp ONTAP Becomes First Enterprise Storage Platform to Receive Validation from NSA for Security and Encryption

Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) Program

About NetApp

NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, combining unified data storage, integrated data services, and CloudOps solutions to turn a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. NetApp creates silo-free infrastructure, harnessing observability and AI to enable the industry’s best data management. As the only enterprise-grade storage service natively embedded in the world’s biggest clouds, our data storage delivers seamless flexibility. In addition, our data services create a data advantage through superior cyber resilience, governance, and application agility. Our CloudOps solutions provide continuous optimization of performance and efficiency through observability and AI. No matter the data type, workload, or environment, with NetApp you can transform your data infrastructure to realize your business possibilities. Learn more at www.netapp.com or follow us on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

 

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Contacts

 Media Contact:

Kenya Hayes

NetApp

kenya.hayes@netapp.com

Investor Contact:

Kris Newton

NetApp

kris.newton@netapp.com

Ferring Demonstrates Effectiveness of a Treat-to-Target Approach in Mild-to-Moderate Ulcerative Colitis in First Major Study

  SAINT-PREX, Switzerland - Tuesday, 01. October 2024 AETOSWire 

OPTIMISE study found a treat-to-target (T2T) management strategy in people with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (M2M UC) being treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA; mesalazine) utilising faecal calprotectin (FC) home monitoring over 12 months achieved a significantly higher rate of endoscopic and clinical remission compared to a symptom-based approach which did not utilise FC home monitoring.1

These data support clinical thinking that T2T is the preferred management strategy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)2,3 and demonstrates that mesalazine therapy is an integral part of this approach in M2M UC.

Further details of the study results to be shared by Principal Investigators of the OPTIMISE study, Prof Silvio Danese and Prof Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, in an upcoming webinar on 8th October 2024.

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ferring Pharmaceuticals today announces results from the OPTIMISE study showing the first real-world evidence of the effectiveness of a treat-to-target (T2T) approach based on faecal calprotectin (FC) in patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (M2M UC). These results have been published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.1

UC is a chronic, inflammatory bowel condition which can cause recurring bloody diarrhoea, stomach pain and extreme tiredness.4 Of those living with UC, over 85% have mild-to-moderate disease.5,6,7 Usually 5-ASA compounds are the first-line therapy for people with M2M UC, followed by a stepwise treatment approach in case of non-response or intolerance. There is currently limited guidance on timely escalation and de-escalation of therapies.

OPTIMISE was the first major study to investigate whether a T2T approach based on monitoring of non-invasive parameters, such as clinical symptoms and FC, can provide a significantly higher benefit for patients with M2M UC versus an entirely symptom-based approach. “The OPTIMISE study represents another milestone in the management of M2M UC and demonstrates Ferring’s continued commitment to science and improving the lives of people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD),” said Pierre-Yves Berclaz, Chief Science & Medical Officer, Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

Results from OPTIMISE, a pragmatic, randomised controlled study, showed that people who had their 5-ASA/mesalazine treatment optimised (with or without steroids) by following the T2T approach had a 17–22% advantage at achieving combined endoscopic and clinical remission over a symptoms-only based approach. For the primary endpoint of Mayo Endoscopic Score (MES)=0 at 12 months, no significant difference was found, however it was noted by the investigators that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the amount of evaluable data.1

“OPTIMISE has provided the first real-world evidence that a T2T approach can help people living with IBD to achieve long-lasting remission and have a greater quality of life,” said Kristine Paridaens, Senior Medical Director, Gastroenterology, Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

A T2T approach has been advocated by the International Organisation for the Study of IBD (IOIBD). In their Selecting Therapeutic Targets in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (STRIDE) Consensus they recommended resolution of clinical signs of disease activity and endoscopic remission as the optimal targets.2 This was further refined in STRIDE-II to include symptomatic relief and normalisation of serum and faecal markers as short-term targets for all therapies.3

The OPTIMISE results coincide with an international expert consensus focusing on the practical management of M2M UC, which was published in Expert Review of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.8 Professor Silvio Danese, a co-author of the Consensus and Principle Investigator of the OPTIMISE study, said, “The OPTIMISE study provides real-world evidence of the effectiveness of a T2T approach based on FC monitoring and how its implementation in clinical practice will allow clinicians to tightly monitor disease activity and promptly adapt treatment, helping to avoid complications and disease progression and enabling patients to achieve better disease control.”

To learn more, register here to attend the free ‘New avenues in mild-to-moderate UC treatment optimisation’ webinar on 8th October, 2024. Principal Investigators of the OPTIMISE study, Prof Silvio Danese and Prof Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, will provide an expert overview of the results and the implications for clinical practice. The webinar is intended for healthcare professionals only.

About the OPTIMISE study1

OPTIMISE was a European-based, multi-centre, randomised (1:1) controlled study of 250 patients with M2M UC (global Mayo score 2–6) treated with ≤2.4g/day 5-aminosalicylic acid that compared the effectiveness of two management strategies with (T2T arm) and without (reference arm) FC home monitoring over 12 months follow-up. Treatment was optimised (escalated or de-escalated) in the T2T arm using FC values and clinical symptoms (PRO-2), whilst the reference arm used only PRO-2. In both arms, therapy was optimised in line with current ECCO guidelines for UC, including maximal doses of 5-ASA (oral and rectal).

A total of 193 patients completed the study despite the acknowledged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all clinical studies conducted during that time. Reduced patient contact during the COVID-19 period also affected the availability of data for analysis. For the primary endpoint of MES=0 at 12 months, there was no significant difference between arms, when patients with missing values were classified as non-responders. A subsequent analysis using Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) imputation found a numerical advantage for the T2T arm over the reference arm for the primary endpoint (37.0% vs 33.4%, respectively). The secondary endpoints, including clinical symptomatology and quality of life, were similarly impacted by missing data, but again displayed numerical superiority for MES≤1, RB=0 and SF≤1 at 12 months when using MCMC imputation.

A logistic regression analysis pooling results for MES, SF and RB at 12 months, using data derived from MCMC imputation, found a statistically significant advantage for the T2T arm over the reference arm (p<0.001). When these endpoints were combined in a fixed effects meta-analysis, the combined endpoint of MES=0, RB=0 and SF≤1 at 12 months was achieved at a significantly higher rate in the T2T than the reference arm (effect size [ES]: 0.17, 95% CI 0.02, 0.32; p<0.05). A similar result was obtained for MES≤1, RB=0 and SF≤1 at 12 months (ES: 0.22; 95% CI 0.07, 0.37; p<0.05).

References

1 Danese S, Fiorino G, Vicaut E, et al. Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Two Patient Management Strategies in Mild to Moderate Ulcerative Colitis – the OPTIMISE study. J Clin Med 2024;13:5147.

2 Peyrin-Biroulet L, Sandborn W, Sands BE, et al. Selecting Therapeutic Targets in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (STRIDE): Determining Therapeutic Goals for Treat-to-Target. Am J Gastroenterol 2015;110:1324–38.

3 Turner D, Ricciuto A, Lewis A, et al. STRIDE-II: An Update on the Selecting Therapeutic Targets in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (STRIDE) Initiative of the International Organization for the Study of IBD (IOIBD): Determining Therapeutic Goals for Treat-to-Target strategies in IBD. Gastroenterology 2021;160:1570–83.

4 NHS. Ulcerative colitis. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ulcerative-colitis/. Last accessed: September 2024.

5 Raine T, Bonovas S, Kucharzik T, et al. ECCO Guidelines on Therapeutics in Ulcerative Colitis: Medical Treatment. J Crohns Colitis. 2022;16(1):2-17.

6 Fumery M, Singh S, Dulai PS, et al. Natural History of Adult Ulcerative Colitis in Population-based Cohorts: A Systematic Review. 2018;16(3):343-356.e3.

7 CCDS Pentasa All formulations. Version 18. 10 December 2022.

8 D'Amico F, Magro F, Dignass A, et al. Practical management of mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis: an international expert consensus. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2024;18:421–30.

© 2024 Ferring. Ferring and the Ferring Pharmaceuticals logo are trademarks of the Ferring group of companies.

 

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Contacts

Matthew Worrall

Director, Corporate Communications, Ferring

+44 7442 271 811

Matthew.Worrall@ferring.com

Datalec Precision Installations Appoints Peter Cole as Executive Vice President for APAC Region

SINGAPORE - Tuesday, 01. October 2024

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Datalec Precision Installations (DPI), a provider of world-class data centre design, supply, build, and managed services delivering seamless and integrated end-to-end solutions for data centre operators, today announced the appointment of Peter Cole as Executive Vice President for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Based in Singapore, Cole will spearhead DPI's expansion and strategic growth initiatives across APAC's dynamic data centre market, expected to nearly double to $150.59 billion by 2029.

Bringing over four decades of experience in the electrotechnical and digital industry, Cole brings a wealth of expertise to his new role. He will oversee all aspects of DPI's APAC data centre business, including strategic planning, operations, and business development.

"Peter's extensive experience and deep understanding of the APAC market make him the ideal leader to drive our growth in this critical region," said Danny Keeper, Group Director of DPI. "His proven track record in delivering large-scale, complex projects and building high-performing teams aligns perfectly with our commitment to operational excellence and innovation."

Cole's appointment comes at a crucial juncture as DPI aims to strengthen its position in the rapidly expanding digital infrastructure landscape, with reports of a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.60 percent by 2033. His leadership will be instrumental in meeting the increasing demand for data centre capacity driven by cloud computing, AI, and digital transformation initiatives.

"I am pleased to take on this exciting opportunity to lead DPI's data centre business in the APAC region," said Cole. "With the demand for digital infrastructure growing exponentially, this is a pivotal time for the industry. I look forward to leveraging my experience and collaborating with our talented teams and partners to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions that will shape the future of data centres in the APAC region."

Throughout his career, Cole has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability, quality, and safety in data centre operations. As Executive Vice President, Cole will be crucial in setting and executing regional growth strategies, managing key client relationships, and optimising operational efficiency. He will work closely with DPI's global headquarters in Hertfordshire, UK, to ensure alignment with the company's overall objectives and to drive sustainable growth and profitability in the APAC market.

Learn more about Datalec Precision Installations (DPI): https://datalecltd.com

About Datalec

Datalec Precision Installations provides world-class data centre design, build, and installation services that leverage unique technical expertise, including technical and critical cleaning, electronic security, and managed services. Our 'One Call, One Team' service ensures a seamless end-to-end solution, achieving the highest levels of performance and efficiency. DPI's rigorous project management benefits customers by minimising risks and reducing costs. In addition, our proactive and flexible approach guarantees the delivery of customised solutions that exceed customer requirements. For more information, visit: https://datalecltd.com.

 

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Media Contact
Ilissa Miller
iMiller Public Relations
Email: datalec@imillerpr.com
Tel: 1.914.315.6424

SICPA world leader in fuel marking by volume, with over 60 billion liters marked per year

 (BUSINESS WIRE)--In less than a decade, SICPA has become the global market leader in turnkey fuel marking services, now providing fraud detection capability and revenue optimization for over 60 billion liters of petroleum products annually.

Since 2016, SICPA has been successfully deploying its Fuel Integrity Solution (FIS) in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. FIS is a robust integrated fuel marking solution that provides traceability, monitoring and fraud detection capabilities throughout the supply chain. It answers a serious challenge: according to the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research, with more than USD 130 billion worth of fuels stolen worldwide every year, it is the largest smuggled natural resource.

SICPA’s highly resilient forensic markers are introduced into fuel products at all points of entry in a territory. Inspection vehicles equipped with mobile field analyzers can precisely quantify the markers’ level in fuel products, in less than 5 minutes, all along the supply chain. Strategic data reporting provides key information on fuel consumption and risk patterns related to fraud detection.

SICPA has acquired solid technological experience through its fuel marking contracts, helping governments achieve their ambitious goals, such as safeguarding and optimising tax collection, combating illicit activities throughout the supply chain, ensuring that consumers receive the product quality they expect and reducing air pollution caused by adulteration with substandard products.

SICPA’s FIS enables governments to effectively combat illicit trade by tackling various types of fraud such as smuggling, under declaration, diversion, dumping, adulteration, or dilution. In the Middle East for example, FIS helps authorities to prevent the illegal export of domestic fuel to neighbouring countries as well as its misuse in the domestic market.

SICPA also benefits from a global strategic partnership with Swiss company SGS, the global leader and an unmatched partner for fuel marking operations, field inspection and testing services. SICPA and SGS have a proven track record of successful collaboration ensuring the performance, stability, and robustness of their joint fuel integrity programs.

“SICPA’s FIS benefits are recognized by governmental authorities worldwide. Based on a century of combined cutting-edge innovations in material, digital and data science domains, we provide public authorities with ultra-fast forensic detection capabilities on the field, allowing court-admissible evidence. Our system also enables governments to manage their strategic oil reserves, preserving their energy independence and helping to maintain national security by avoiding fuel shortages,” explains Omar Messlem, Head of Fuel Segment at SICPA.

About SICPA

SICPA is a Swiss technology company that supports the effective governance and long-term prosperity of nation states.

Our platform of sovereignty enables our customers to authenticate and secure their vital assets, through custom solutions based on a century of combined cutting-edge innovations in material, digital and data science domains.

At the center of every SICPA solution is a custom crafted molecule, unique to each nation. Acting as a single source of truth, these unique markers are deployed across the full value chain to generate actionable and trustworthy insights in real time.

Established in 1927 and headquartered in Switzerland, SICPA is best known for safeguarding the majority of the world's banknotes. With operations across five continents, today our platform delivers sovereignty solutions mainly across revenue mobilisation, identity verification, healthcare security, and brand protection.

About SGS

We are SGS - the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 99,600 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.

 

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Curtis Vaisse, Strategic Intelligence & Communications Director

sicpamediarelations@sicpa.com

Best's Market Segment Report: MENA Reinsurer Performance Benefits from Pricing Environment, Higher Interest Rates

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reinsurers domiciled in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region continued to benefit from positive pricing momentum over the recent renewal periods, albeit to a lesser extent than the global reinsurance market, according to a new report from AM Best.

The Best’s Market Segment Report, “MENA Reinsurer Performance Benefits from Pricing Environment, Higher Interest Rates,” forms part of AM Best’s look at the global reinsurance industry during the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo. Additional reports, including AM Best’s annual analysis of the world’s largest reinsurance groups and in-depth looks at the insurance-linked securities, life/annuity, health and regional reinsurance markets, have been published during August and September.

“The performance of MENA’s reinsurers has been adversely impacted in recent years by an increasing volume of natural catastrophe losses and several single, large loss events,” said Emily Thompson, senior financial analyst, AM Best. “Following greater incidences of weather-related losses, such as flood events (particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries), reinsurers in the region are having to further adapt pricing and modelling capabilities to ensure these exposures are appropriately factored into underwriting decisions and risk appetites.”

To access the full copy of this market segment report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=347253.

For additional global reinsurance reports, please visit Best’s Research.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2024 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

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Emily Thompson

Senior Financial Analyst

+44 20 7397 0291

emily.thompson@ambest.com

Richard Banks

Director, Industry Research – EMEA

+44 20 7397 0322

richard.banks@ambest.com

Jessica Botelho-Young, CA

Associate Director, Analytics

+44 20 7397 0310

jessica.botelho-young@ambest.com

Edem Kuenyehia

Director, Market Development & Communications

+44 20 7397 0280

edem.kuenyehia@ambest.com

Cancer Therapy: AOP Health Investigates a New Approach Targeting Cancer Stem Cells

 VIENNA - Tuesday, 01. October 2024 AETOSWire 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH (AOP Health) in collaboration with Leukos Biotech has achieved a key milestone. The first patient was included in the phase I clinical trial SERONCO-1, in which a substance with a new and unique mechanism of action (first-in-class) is being investigated. The drug candidate is being studied in patients with solid tumors and lymphomas. This development program builds on AOP Health’s proven success in delivering cancer stem cell targeting agents that address patients’ unmet medical needs.

Focus on a promising target

The new compound, AOP208, targets and blocks a protein on the surface of the cancer stem cell, the serotonin receptor 1B, which may prove to be critical to treat the root cause of the disease. The compound is given orally and was designed and initially developed by Leukos Biotech based on research performed at the Josep-Carreras Leukemia Research Institute.

Ruth Risueño, Chief Scientific Officer at Leukos Biotech, explains: “We wanted to find a new way to attack cancer stem cells, as they are responsible for the initiation and maintenance of the tumor. Our work showed that the serotonin receptor is key to this process. Since no suitable molecule that could block the receptor existed, we invented a new one. Now we are thrilled to start a clinical trial and take our compound to the next level.”

AOP Health has licensed AOP208 and holds further development rights and exclusive global commercial rights including USA, Europe, Korea and Taiwan with the exclusion of mainland China.

First patient treated with AOP208

SERONCO-1, a first-in-human trial on AOP208, has started enrolling patients with solid tumors (including metastatic cancer) and lymphomas, and the first patient worldwide has received treatment. The single-center trial, led by Dr. Irene Braña, is being conducted in collaboration with Leukos Biotech at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) with partial funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Public-Private Partnership Program (CPP2021-008715).

Treatment of the first patient with AOP208 in the trial represents a significant step towards understanding the safety and tolerability of the drug. SERONCO-1 will also explore the activity of AOP208 regarding tumor proliferation.

Research on novel approaches in cancer therapy is desperately needed, emphasizes Christoph Klade, Chief Scientific Officer of AOP Health: "AOP208 targets a receptor on cancer stem cells which has not been in the center of attention in cancer therapy so far, making it a first-in-class investigational drug in oncology. This pathway may have a role in several types of leukemia but importantly also various solid tumors including breast and lung cancer.”

Complementing the SERONCO-1 trial, a second clinical trial on AOP208 will be conducted by AOP Health in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer that currently has a dismal prognosis.

Martin Steinhart, CEO of AOP Health concludes: “We are committed to AOP Health's founding idea of creating solutions for unmet patient needs in rare indications. We take this idea seriously, demonstrated by our investment of 25 million euros a year in research and development. “

About AOP Health

The AOP Health Group incorporates several companies including AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH with its seat in Vienna, Austria (“AOP Health”). The AOP Health Group is the European pioneer for integrated therapies for rare diseases and in critical care. Over the past 25 years, the Group has become an established provider of integrated therapy solutions operating from its headquarters in Vienna, its subsidiaries and representative offices throughout Europe and the Middle East, as well as through partners worldwide. The claim “Needs. Science. Trust.” sums up the foundation of the Group’s success: establishing trust through a continually high level of investment in research and development and a highly consistent and pragmatic orientation towards the needs of all stakeholders – especially the patients and their families as well as the healthcare professionals treating them.

 

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Contacts

DI Isolde Fally

Isolde.Fally@aop-health.com

+43-676-500 4048

https://www.aop-health.com