SBWire

Though the season's hurricanes have been named A to Z, multiple wildfires dominate the west coast, Nancy Pelosi continues to tease stimulus check announcements, and society exhausts from coronavirus vaccine promises, My Love is One author, LeTicia Lee, says, "There's still hope." "Consistent collective fervent mass prayer is more powerful than a hurricane," Lee says. LeTicia Lee should know. Her prayer got her a one on one meeting with the true and living God. At least that's what she tells us in her book and now appropriately named documentary, My Love is One TELL THEM!

Katie Connolly a New York based multi-talented artist and graphic designer has proudly announced the launch of her all-new and one of a kind cookbook. The book is entitled Healthy Herbivores; it is an illustrated ABC cookbook for children and adults alike, and its recipes don't even require an oven.

Back in 2021, AstraZeneca bought Alexion Pharma in a $39 billion deal that was something of a landmark in the industry. It was thought that this acquisition would trigger all kinds of antitrust issues, especially in the light of a threatened renewal in antitrust scrutiny, and yet the deal sailed through in April last year. Now, all of the blood, sweat and tears that must have gone into making that deal happen have all proven to be worth it as the purchase of the Boston biotech hub really starts to pay off for AstraZeneca. That's because the first and only long-acting C5 complement inhibitor in gMG, Ultomiris (ravulizumab-cwvz) has gained approval in the US. Due to the purchase of Alexion by AstraZeneca last year that makes AstraZeneca the owner of the approved inhibitor. Following the successful acquisition last year, a new division was set up in the company and it's thought that this has been the driving force behind the approval.

Clinical operations is an area of recruitment currently experiencing a significant boom, especially when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT). In fact, the latest set of figures shows that clinical operations companies in the US saw the largest growth in IoT roles in the three months ending in February this year when compared to 2021. The numbers show that there are some parts of the world that are funneling more cash into developing IoT infrastructure and ability than others - and North America is right up there, especially in the clinical operations sector. In the three months to February 2021, 46.9% of all IoT clinical trial job ads related to the US. By the end of the same time period this year the percentage figure had increased to 54.6%. The figures show just how dominant the US has become in terms of IoT hiring among clinical operations companies.

A team of researchers from Columbia Engineering and Columbia University Irving Medical Center has solved one of the major issues that has frequently faced researchers when it comes to using engineered tissues for disease modeling and testing drugs. The team has developed a multi-organ chip that is made up of all the essential components of human physiology, from engineered human heart and bone to a vascular flow with circulating immune cells to link everything together. The chip is the size of a microscope slide and can be customized individually to the patient. This will provide researchers with a solution to the biggest issue of medical research, which is that every patient reacts differently. Thanks to the development of this chip, it will soon be possible to personally customize therapy for every patient, taking into account the variations that occur in disease progression and responses to treatment.

There is a new wave of pharma R&D spending happening globally - and particularly when it comes to companies in the US. While there is now limited scope for investing in R&D relating to generic medicines, due to the hot competition around these products, opportunities exist in many other areas, from specialist medicines to biologics. There are many US corporations that have the resources and facilities to focus on this in-house but others don't, which is why we are beginning to see a trend emerging in R&D spending towards outsourcing. R&D and manufacturing processes tend to have a lot of fixed costs, which is why they can be off-putting to handle internally and why there is now enthusiasm to invest in outsourcing them. As a result, companies that specialize in drug innovation and manufacturing are becoming increasingly popular - and this is where a sizable chunk of expanded pharma R&D spending is likely to end up this year.

The Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) market is booming worldwide and forecast to continue expanding thanks to ongoing enterprise solutions growth. In fact, by 2030, the market is expected to be worth $42.6 billion - it was valued at just over $10 billion in 2021. This huge boom is being driven by many different factors, from an increase in cloud adoption in the wake of the pandemic through to the rapid growth in IoT technologies. A spike in the demand for enterprise solutions is also contributing to the positive way in which this market is set to evolve in the coming years. With many of the biggest names in tech - including Google and Verizon - investing heavily in enterprise solutions arms for their business it's clear that this is seen as a sector with huge growth potential. North America is already dominating this market and likely to continue to do so as it expands.

Big data analytics in banking and financial services is a market that has huge growth potential. Already, data analytics are being used by banking institutions to monitor and assess high volumes of customer data so as to be able to improve services and strengthen customer relationships. This includes the personalization and customization element of banking that is becoming so vital and, which simply wouldn't be possible without big data analytics as a tool. These analytics provide a broad spectrum of insights to businesses in the banking sector, including gaining a deeper understanding of customer behaviors based on investment patterns, shopping trends, personal financial background as well as how motivated individuals are to invest. Rapid tech developments in this sector over recent years have made big data analytics even more central to business operations and provided many more opportunities for those in data analytics jobs thanks to high adoption rates and continuing market growth.

Gardasil has proven to be in great demand - a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine made by Merck & Co that has been a game-changer in terms of prevention. However, there have been issues with supply over the past few years, especially in 2018 and 2019. As a result, Merck has now revealed that it invested $1 billion to tackle the issues of supply when they arose - and the business is now reaping the rewards of that investment in terms of increasing market dominance. The company now plans to push its Gardasil capacity even further with a 225,000-square-foot API plant at its site in Durham, North Carolina, as well as expansion earmarked for the packaging facilities in Wilson nearby. Over the past few years Merck & Co has been steadily increasing the capability it has for producing Gardasil and expects to be able to double HPV vaccine supply by 2023.

Global Tech is the fastest growing team at the retail giant Walmart, and expanding even further in 2022 thanks to a recruitment drive across the whole company. Walmart is currently hiring 5,000 new team members, with much of this human firepower to be directed at enterprise solutions expansion. Walmart has a history of working with innovative tech and has now firmly established itself as a world-class enterprise service organization providing solutions to more than 2.3 million Walmart and Sam's Club associates. The recruitment drive taking place throughout 2022 is focused on this key area of expansion at Walmart. In particular, the retailer is looking to fill positions such as data scientists, software engineers, technical program managers and project managers, as well as cyber security professionals. Walmart is expanding geographically too, and planning to make Atlanta and Toronto the new locations for its increasingly vital tech hubs, with thousands of new jobs created in each.

The demand for expert façade engineering advice and support is on the rise, as expectations around building envelopes become higher, whether that relates to complexity or efficiency. Eckersley O'Callaghan, a firm with a global reputation for engineering innovative glass structures, is responding to the call from clients by launching a new façade engineering group. The new group will expand on the existing reputation that the firm has built by providing support across a broad spectrum of fields, including thermal and solar analysis of façade systems and a strategic approach to maintenance and access. Structural design, as well as replacement and refurbishment and providing detailed understanding of the available materials will also be part of what the new Eckersley O'Callaghan group does. Eckersley O'Callaghan is a consultancy with extensive experience on many different large and medium-sized projects and will be able to meet specific growing needs among clients with the launch of this new team.

Every year the FinTech Innovation Lab New York provides emerging companies with the opportunity to collaborate with top financial services and venture capital executives. The 12-week program was established by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City and is designed specifically for early and growth-stage enterprises that would benefit from support with respect to product and business development. This year's participants come from more than 200 global applications and represent emerging tech companies focused on some of the industry's most pressing issues today. From transparency around cryptocurrencies to meeting ESG outcomes and security and compliance challenges, these up-and-coming enterprises are pioneering where some of the biggest unknowns exist. Evercity, for example, is a blockchain-based sustainability measurement and investment platform while Mark Labs helps asset managers define impact metrics. Many of the tech companies taking part in NY Innovation Lab are data-driven, including Draivn, which collects device data from fleets and converts it into real time analytics for insurers and brokers.

R&D pipelines and new product launches reached record levels last year with sustained growth throughout the pandemic creating very positive figures for 2021. This is according to a new report that showed 5,500 planned new clinical trials began in 2021, a 14% increase on the year before. Not only that but the total volume of products that were actively being developed last year peaked at more than 6,000. This is a huge increase on previous years - for example, it's 68% more than in 2016. The report also revealed that emerging pharma companies are increasingly having an influence over new pipelines and projects. In 2021, new companies were responsible for 65% of the molecules in the R&D pipeline. In 2016 this figure was below 50%. In fact, almost all the indicators are up when it comes to pharma R&D, which shows just how much the life sciences have expanded over the past couple of years.

There are many more opportunities in biotech than there have ever been today. This is, in part, thanks to the many start-ups that have begun to dominate the sector, bringing agile working models as well as innovative products and services. Newly founded companies provide options for different ways of working, and moving away from the stereotypes that might have dominated the industry in the past. For those who are willing to take on the uncertainty that can come with working for such a new company, there are options in biotech that go beyond academia or the big pharmaceutical or biotech giants. Biotech start-ups can offer a lifestyle change, and may be much more likely to hire on the basis of aptitude and enthusiasm, as opposed to a list of credentials that has been set in concrete. The number of start-ups in biotech is also rising by the week so the range of opportunities available is getting increasingly broad.

Global healthcare advisory and technology company Alira Health has taken steps to strengthen its operations with a key acquisition. The company announced in April of this year that it had acquired Sourcia, which is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) that delivers services for Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials. Sourcia was established in 2012 and the business' focus is on medical devices, biotech and digital therapeutics. It is headquartered in Europe - The Netherlands - and has offices in many different European locations, including Munich in Germany. The integrated outsourcing model that Sourcia provides for clients to manage clinical trials with greater efficiency and trust is well established - and it is this that motivated Alira Health to make Sourcia part of its group with the acquisition. The team at Sourcia is also renowned for being innovative and very experienced and, as Sourcia is such a strong player in the European CRO market, it will give Alira Health's clinical operations a considerable boost.

Construction is an industry that has weathered the storm over the past few years and now there are green shoots emerging. In states such as Ohio, commercial real estate prices have reached new highs and expansion is forecast across all areas of the sector. This includes growth trends in water supply, transportation and S&WD. Of course, there have been some more challenging trends too, including the labor shortages that have affected the construction sector nationwide, as well as the supply chain issues that many industries have struggled with. Another key trend is the growth in demand for skilled construction workers - job postings are up 43%, which means that the need for workers is currently higher than the supply. This is a trend that looks set to continue for some time, as there is a mismatch between the skill sets that many workers have available and the qualification levels required. Construction activity, especially in areas such as mining in locations like Ohio, looks set to continue to grow throughout the year.

Atlanta, Georgia is to be the location of a new enterprise solutions hub for the biotech company Moderna. The business has revealed that the new hub will be similar to the one that it opened in Poland in 2021 and will deliver a number of different functions, including finance, procurement, human resources and digital. Over the next couple of years, the US-based premises will employ up to 200 people and is part of Moderna's overall goal to establish itself with centralized enterprise solutions hubs worldwide. The Atlanta location is due to open in the second quarter of 2022 and is a firm indication of how important ongoing expansion is at Moderna. The company experienced a year of incredible growth last year and the need to support its biotech talent with robust business service activities has been underscored by its expansion - it's likely that this will be just the first step towards further growth at Moderna.

Drones are being increasingly welcomed into many sectors due to their convenience and usefulness. Although New York has so far seen only limited use for this tech when it comes to façade inspections (due to restrictive local ordinances) that is all about to change as a new report has identified how drones could be used more when it comes to façade engineering inspections in the future. The report from the New York City Department of Buildings identifies drones as a useful tool. It says that, when combined with traditional hands-on examinations, the drones could potentially make future inspections more thorough and comprehensive. Right now, there are significant restrictions in place when it comes to flying drones over New York City - and only specific locations where it's legal for them to take off and land - but this could soon be about to change if the recommendations of the Department of Buildings report are widely accepted.

Digital capabilities are being pushed further up the agenda for organizations across industries, as the global recovery continues. From driving innovation to uncovering key marginal gains, digitization has a lot to contribute to progress, especially in a sector like manufacturing. Data analytics is potentially especially valuable but there are few organizations that are really optimizing the opportunities that exist in data and advanced analytics. These range from simplifying supply chain relationships to streamlining costs. Manufacturers today are beginning to realize the value of data analytics when it comes to designing the factories of the future. While most would acknowledge that they lack data fluency, there is also a clear and pressing need to start adapting environments so that data can have a real, tangible impact on the production line. With the right tools and the right support factories of the future can be leaner, more productive and better-resourced thanks to the impact that data analytics can potentially have.

Despite the obvious supply chain issues of the past 12 months, there has been positive news for US construction, with spending surging more than 8% on previous figures at the start of this year. Outlays on single-family homebuilding and private nonresidential structures provided a particular boost to the numbers, which showed an increase in both the figures from the year before as well as those for December. Although the rise in spending is positive, the reality of higher prices for building materials is obviously still having an impact. This is especially so with respect to materials such as framed lumber. Spending on public construction projects also saw a small increase of 0.6% during the same time period. In terms of local and federal spending on construction, the numbers couldn't be more different, with outlay on federal projects increasing by 13.8% while local and government construction projects saw a reduction in spending of 0.5%.

Multinational pharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers Squibb has created a single R&D research campus in San Diego, California that will consolidate all its teams in the area. The move by the firm will result in a 427,000 square foot complex where the company will be able to host all its research talent in the region. The idea behind the consolidation is to "foster a flexible working ecosystem" and help to boost collaboration among all those who are working on R&D for the pharmaceutical company in this part of the country. The building, which has some impressive space and features, is also part of a talent retention strategy at Bristol Myers Squibb, and a push to find the best people to come and apply their minds on the new campus. The new facility is part of a wider development that has a wealth of facilities, including a wellness and fitness center and an organic eatery.

Biopharmaceutical clinical research organization, Celerion, has this year announced a considerable expansion that involves adding extensive research capacity and services. The company is adding significantly to the resources that it has for early phase clinical research, including upgrading pharmacy compounding suites and opening a new Screening and Return Center. This new capacity comes in the form of development at existing sites, including a new 40,000 square foot facility in Phoenix, Arizona that will add 350 beds to the company's capacity. The new facility is not just about expanding resources but has also been designed with participant experience in mind. Expanded pharmacy capabilities are intended to provide a fast and cost-effective way for clients to begin clinical trials, without the need for extensive CMC investment in the early stage of development. Celerion is renowned for its combination of clinical operations and medical expertise, pioneering new options for its clients in drug development.

AiM Medical Robotics is well known for being a leading developer of MRI-compatible intraoperative robotics for neurosurgery. The innovative company is taking huge strides in the development of neurosurgery thanks to the work that it has done with precision robotics. This includes improving outcomes for patients with functional brain disorders who are going through the process of neurosurgery. Some of the conditions that benefit from the company's research include epilepsy and Parkinson's. It has now been announced that AiM Medical Robotics is going to be returning to the Life Science Intelligence (LSI) USA '22 Emerging Medtech Summit as a presenting company. This is the event's third year and the summit has become renowned for providing an annual glimpse into the future of life sciences technologies and the most up-to-date market intelligence. AiM Medical Robotics will be a great fit for the summit as a presenting company.

The market for pharmaceutical R&D expanded significantly in 2021, its valuation increasing to $183.62 Bn. The US is currently the largest market for pharmaceutical R&D in the world and accounts for almost half of spend. In recent years costs in the R&D market have risen thanks to factors such as greater technological complexity and greater specificity in disease targets. However, small firms tend to receive access to knowledge and resources that are designed to help ensure a more equal playing field. The market overall is thriving and forecasts indicate that it will expand to a valuation of $289.64 Bn by 2027. One of the big trends to define the pharmaceutical R&D market recently has been contract manufacturing outsourcing for both clinical and commercial stage manufacturing. This is being driven significantly by the necessity of cutting-edge processes and production technologies.

Antibiotics have come to underpin evolution in human healthcare - and the market is set to grow dramatically in the coming years. Increasing numbers of bacterial infections have meant demand for antibiotics has soared, whether that is treating skin infections, Urinary Tract Infections or something like tuberculosis. Infectious diseases have also been driving the need for greater pharma R&D to find new solutions to diseases such as pneumonia, malaria and lower respiratory infections. This increasing disease burden is making it even more important for governments to invest in vital R&D initiatives to help fuel the development of novel antibiotics and improve the regulatory environment to speed up research and approvals. With all this under the spotlight, it's no surprise that forecasts for market growth are high - the global antibiotics market size is set to increase to $45.4 billion by 2028. This represents a significant increase from the value of $38 billion in 2021.

Challenges have been plentiful for the construction sector over the past year, whether they relate to politics or the pandemic. However, not every part of the industry has been negatively affected, in fact, some have gone on to thrive. As a result, there are a lot of construction projects to watch in 2022. Progress on the ground-breaking HS2 in the UK, for example, has gathered momentum and looks set to speed ahead in 2022, especially at the Old Oak Common site, the only stop along the HS2 in the capital. Sizewell C is a large-scale nuclear energy project that could be one of a number of nuclear developments to receive Treasury funding. According to EDF, construction at Sizewell C could begin before 2024. The former US Embassy at 30 Grosvenor Square in London is going to be the site of another major piece of construction. The £400 million project will convert the former embassy into a 139-room luxury hotel that will be part of the Rosewood group.

The East Coast is a key hub for the biotech industry and some major pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations and institutions are located in this part of the US. For a biotech recruiter that makes this a particularly important location, especially as hiring in this location is forecast to remain strong throughout 2022. Massachusetts is a prime example of the strength of East Coast biotech, as it's a state with robust collaboration between government, industry and academia, as well as large waves of talent entering the sector here, including a 50% increase in graduates from biotech programs in the past 10 years. New York is also a key contributor to the strength of East Coast biotech recruitment, thanks to 50+ hospitals, 9 academic medical centers and a $1 billion initiative to create 40,000 new jobs and establish the city as a global leader in the industry. Then there is New Jersey, which is home to 14 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the country and 3,200 life sciences companies.