Month: January 2023

In partnership with the New Orleans Mayor’s office, Avenues Recovery Center announced today the return of their popular Sober Safe Spot event at the February Mardi Gras parades.

NEW ORLEANS – January 19, 2023 – (Newswire.com)

Last year’s inaugural Sober Safe Spots drew hundreds of revelers committed to the recovery community to the specially marked-off locations along parade routes. The safe spots provided an opportunity for people in active recovery and their loved ones to celebrate the joy and culture of Mardi Gras in a sober and safe environment. An overwhelmingly positive response from the community drove Avenues Recovery to make Sober Safe Spot an annual event and part of the fabric of Mardi Gras.

Sober Safe Spot will be manned by Avenues Recovery alumni, a strong community of recovery heroes who are always willing to go above and beyond to help out others in recovery. 

“One of the most beautiful parts of Sober Safe Spot is that it was conceived and is coordinated by our alumni,” said Ashley Duncan, Alumni and Intake Coordinator at Avenues Recovery of Louisiana. “They have gained so much from their own recovery journeys and are determined to give back.” 

The gathering spot will be set aside from Feb. 10 through 21 and is open to everyone in the community who wishes to support addiction treatment.

“We are excited to once again partner with Avenues Recovery for this important and necessary addition to our ongoing Mardi Gras safety operations,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “My administration remains committed to meeting our people where they are and directly addressing each and every critical need throughout our city. Our ongoing partnership with Avenues Recovery and their Sober Safe Spot initiative gives us a meaningful opportunity to support our community in addiction treatment and recovery, which will aid us in creating a more inclusive, safe, healthy and thriving city.” 

All participants will be given specially made T-shirts and other fun swag, allowing them to proudly display their choice to have fun in recovery. A white flag emblazoned with the Sober Safe Spot logo will fly at the neutral ground at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and St. Charles Avenue, making the gathering place easily identifiable to all interested in joining. More details and information can be found on the Sober Safe Spot page on the Avenues Recovery website. 

“There are no requirements to joining Sober Safe Spot other than staying sober and having fun,” added Duncan. “We hope to see you all there.”

Press availability upon request or at the event.

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Avenues Recovery Centers is a fully accredited substance abuse treatment network founded in 2016 and serving communities nationwide. They are staffed by clinical and medical professionals, focused on creating positive outcomes for their clients.

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Contact Information:

Rachel Alter

Marketing Director
[email protected]

773-562-1457

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Sober Safe Spot at Mardi Gras Returns to New Orleans

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Funds will help improve infrastructure and increase capacity.

Project Open Hand Serving Meals with Love and Meals that Heal to individuals in the…

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DURHAM, N.C. – January 19, 2023 – (Newswire.com)

Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has partnered with the pharmaceutical company Eppin Pharma to provide a Program Related Investment (PRI) of up to $800,000 to support clinical trial activities for the company’s novel short-term, non-hormonal oral male contraceptive pill.

This is the latest PRI from Male Contraceptive Initiative and represents the organization’s continued evolution as it seeks to expand its support of the male contraception research and development community. “We are very excited about adding additional program related investments to our portfolio as a means of accelerating male contraceptive product development through a collaborative, ‘team science’ approach. Returns on these investments will go directly back into supporting research efforts to continue driving the field of non-hormonal male contraception forward,” said MCI Executive Director Heather Vahdat. “Eppin Pharma is a particularly exciting investment opportunity as they have been integral at advancing the non-hormonal male contraceptive field in an effort to revolutionize family planning by providing reproductive equity to men who still have to rely on only two methods of birth control: condoms and vasectomy,” Ms. Vahdat added.

Eppin Pharma’s lead male contraceptive candidate is a small organic compound that binds to EPPIN, a protein on the surface of human sperm, resulting in the loss of the sperm’s ability to properly function. The non-hormonal treatment Eppin Pharma is developing is intended to be fast-acting and does not affect the production of sperm. 

MCI’s investment in Eppin Pharma will be used to establish proof-of-concept of safety and feasibility of their contraceptive method as they prepare for human clinical trials. This is an important first step prior to conducting a larger efficacy study required for gaining regulatory approval and widespread consumer access to the therapeutic. 

“We have been excited about Eppin’s work since 2019, when we provided them with an initial grant to advance their work. Given the success of their science to date, we are pleased to expand our collaboration as Eppin Pharma represents the forefront of pharmacologic, non-hormonal male contraceptive methods,” said MCI Research Director Dr. Logan Nickels. 

“We are grateful to MCI for their dedication to supporting innovation in male contraception and for recognizing the transformative potential of our work,” said Dr. Michael O’Rand, Eppin Pharma’s President & Chief Executive Officer. “At Eppin Pharma, we are dedicated to developing new options for men who desire to take control of their fertility and we look forward to advancing our method to clinical trials in the near future,” added Dr. O’Rand.

With over $10 million invested in product development, MCI seeks to advance male contraceptive research projects to market in order to achieve its organizational vision of “Reproductive Autonomy for All”. MCI’s mission is, “To empower men, and couples, to fully contribute to family planning goals by providing them the resources they need for reproductive autonomy.”

Contact Information:

Kevin Shane

Communications & Design Director
[email protected]

5853072270

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Male Contraceptive Initiative Invests in Eppin Pharma to Support Clinical Trials for a Non-Hormonal Male Contraceptive

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In vitro antimicrobial resistance test enables clinical labs to deliver targeted therapeutic results days faster than the current standard of care, clearing the path for personalized antibiotic therapies

BOSTON – January 19, 2023 – (Newswire.com)

Selux Diagnostics, a biotech startup in Boston whose mission is to combat superbug infections and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its proprietary Next Generation Phenotyping (NGP) System — a rapid antibiotic susceptibility (AST) testing platform that provides targeted therapeutic results days faster than the current standard of care. 

The FDA clearance is for Selux Diagnostics’ in vitro antimicrobial resistance test, which determines a bacteria’s susceptibility to 14 specific antimicrobial agents on the Selux Gram-Positive Panel. Selux’s NGP Gram-Negative panel is currently under review by the FDA. 

“This clearance represents a significant advance in infectious disease care and the fight to address antibiotic resistance. Our groundbreaking Selux NGP System holds the potential to save lives and decrease overreliance on broad-spectrum antibiotics, a key factor contributing to the rise of superbugs. We thank all our employees, partners, and advisors who contributed to this tremendous accomplishment,” said Steve Lufkin, CEO of Selux Diagnostics.

“We have been waiting for true innovation in AST technologies to deliver rapid results that are accurate according to the latest FDA guidelines and include newly approved antibiotics,” said James S. Lewis II, PharmD, FIDSA, co-director of antibiotic stewardship at Oregon Health and Science University, and chair, CLSI Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee. “I am enthusiastic that the Selux NGP System addresses these critical needs and will become an essential tool for directing personalized therapies for infected patients.”

Experts predict that without a significant change in today’s treatment options, deaths from superbugs will surpass deaths from cancer by 2050. Selux is confronting this global health crisis head-on by redefining the speed and performance of AST, the critical diagnostic test that informs personalized antibiotic therapy.

For more information on the Selux NGP System, visit www.seluxdx.com.

Acknowledgment

This platform has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under contract number HHSO100201800013C.

About Selux Diagnostics 

Selux Diagnostics is transforming patient care by accelerating the selection of personalized antimicrobial therapy for all Infectious Disease patients. This advance will save lives, shorten hospital stays, and combat the growing antibiotic resistance epidemic by decreasing the overuse of broad-spectrum agents. Learn more at www.seluxdx.com.

Contact Information:

Andrea LePain
[email protected]

617-894-1153

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FDA Clears ‘Selux NGP System’ for Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

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GREENVILLE, S.C. – January 18, 2023 – (Newswire.com)

AGFA HealthCare is proud to announce that it has been named to the Leaders Category in the IDC MarketScape: U.S. Enterprise Medical Imaging 2022-2023 Vendor Assessment (doc #US48168021e, November 2022). According to the IDC MarketScape report, vendors should:

“Consider AGFA when you are a medium-sized to large healthcare provider looking for a platform-based solution with a differentiated level of intelligence that promotes a more collaborative medical imaging work environment.”

AGFA HealthCare has been recognized by the IDC MarketScape for the following strengths:

Converged Platform
Enterprise Imaging Platform builds on AGFA’s long-standing domain experience in medical imaging IT. The solution combines connected (cross) enterprise care, converged multispecialty support, an adaptable automated workflow, and disease-oriented augmented intelligence across the platform. The resulting capabilities (e.g., real-time collaboration and communication, multidisciplinary imaging for 15+ service lines, anytime-anywhere access, AI-enabled rules-based workflow automation, modular deployment) differentiate AGFA’s solution. One customer said, “I took a trip a few times to RSNA and HIMSS, and AGFA was the only vendor at the time that seemed to understand the concept of enterprise imaging.” This perception of AGFA having a robust, vendor-neutral platform with capabilities that can scale with modern-day requirements stood out in interviews.

Augmented Intelligence
AGFA’s RUBEE for AI embeds “augmented intelligence” capabilities (advanced visualization, workflow orchestration, automated triage, smart hanging protocols, automated reporting, critical finding notifications, and specialty imaging packages) into the solution. Combining AI-driven automation with disease-oriented AI analytics helps customers generate more insight and practice better evidence-based medicine than traditional imaging workflows.

Ecosystem Integration
AGFA’s XERO modules help enable enterprisewide collaboration between local healthcare professionals and external stakeholders. The XERO Exchange Network (XEN) allows image and report sharing at any time, which promotes regional and local collaboration between stakeholders (e.g., clinicians, patients, and other providers).

Furthermore, the solution is FHIR-enabled and has an open API ecosystem, which simplifies the ability for the vendor and its customers to integrate and improves interoperability. AGFA also holds many alliances and partnerships, which extend its ecosystem orientation even further, including with Microsoft Azure, AWS, Oracle, and Google, in addition to hardware OEMs (Dell, HPE, and Barco) and others (Philips Forcare, Qaelum, TOMTEC, Ascend, Cordiana, and MediReport).

About AGFA HealthCare

AGFA HealthCare is transforming the role of medical imaging into a high-impact, data-driven enterprise-wide information flow – supporting health professionals across the globe with secure and scalable imaging data management.  

AGFA’s preeminent product, the Enterprise Imaging Platform, creates an Imaging Health Record™, or IHR, to align with and fulfill a health system’s EHR.  The IHR provides an unobstructed flow of patient imaging information to help clinicians achieve their clinical, operational, and business strategies.

AGFA HealthCare is a division of the AGFA-Gevaert Group and traded on Euronext Brussels (AGFB).

For more information, visit www.agfahealthcare.com, and on LinkedIn.

About IDC MarketScape 

IDC MarketScape vendor assessment model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.

Contact Information:

Miriam Ladin

Marketing and Communication Americas
[email protected]

+1 978 284 7777

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AGFA HealthCare Positioned in the Leaders Category in the IDC MarketScape: U.S. Enterprise Medical Imaging 2022-2023 Vendor Assessment

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