Carabao Once Again Named Thailand’s Best Run Firm By Deloitte In Rigorous Judging Process
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
THE NATION
Carabao Group PCL Was Named One Of Thailand’s Best Managed Companies In 2022 By The Global Business Advisory Services Firm Deloitte.
It is the second year in a row that the leading Thai beverage, best known globally for its product, Carabao energy drink, has won the prestigious award that underscores its internationally recognized management system. Mr Kamoldist Smuthkochorn, Deputy Managing Director of Carabao Group, received the award in a ceremony held on August 24 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Bangkok.
Mr Kamoldist said that receiving this prestigious award reflects the determination of everybody at Carabao Group to pursue the vision of “World-class products and world-class brand.” It also speaks volumes about Carabao as a leading Thai business concern proudly positioning itself on the world stage, he added.
‘Thailand’s Best Managed Companies 2022 Awards’ is organised by Deloitte Thailand which has adopted a stringent selection process for awardees with an independent committee made up of representatives from both business and educational institutions who made judgement according to Deloitte’s global guidelines.
The participating companies must pass a skills assessment and management guidelines which consist of analysis on their strategies, business operations, capabilities, innovation, corporate culture, commitments, corporate governance and financial management. There is also a comparative assessment of the framework used by over 1,200 of the best-managed private companies worldwide.
Dow Joins Forces With Thousands Of Volunteers To Collect 6.5 Tons Of Marine Debris On 2022 International Coastal Cleanup Day
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
THE NATION
RAYONG – September 20, 2022 – Dow Thailand Group—Along With The Industrial Estate Authority Of Thailand, Private Entrepreneurs, And Like-Minded Organizations Who Are Concerned About The Environment—Organized A “#PullingOurWeight” Activity On The Occasion Of International Coastal Conservation Day In Rayong Province.
This event has been organized for twenty consecutive years to stop plastic waste from entering the environment and to create awareness around waste sorting at the source. Dow’s volunteers joined forces with over 3,300 volunteers to pick up more than 6,500 kilograms of garbage around the coastal area and put recycling wastes to use according to the circular economy, while aiming to create awareness of sustainable solutions for marine debris.
Dow employees around the world have joined with the Ocean Conservancy to conduct the “International Coastal Cleanup,” which is a global campaign for collecting coastal waste on the 3rd Saturday of September every year, and which is in its 37th year (and 20th year in Thailand). This year, Dow collaborated with the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and other organizations that are concerned about the environment; collecting garbage over more than twenty-five kilometers in the areas of Hat Nam Rin, Hat Phayun, Hat Phla in Ban Chang district, and Hat Suchada, Hat Saengchan, Hat Laemchareon, and Hat Mae Ramphueng in Mueng district, Rayong province—which contain all the important tourist attractions in the province. This campaign aims to drive collaboration among worldwide employees, clients, communities, and partners to reuse and recycle one million tons of plastic waste by 2030.
Chatchai Luanpolcharoenchai, Dow Thailand President, said “Dow aims to build a sustainable society and community, especially to “stop plastic waste” and prevent it from entering the environment. Plastics are too valuable as materials to be disposed of as waste because we can recycle used plastics effectively and repeatedly, recycling them according to the circular economy. Today’s campaign is intended not only to bring back beautiful nature temporarily, but—most importantly—to make the volunteers see how garbage ends up in coastal areas, find solutions on their own, and have the self-determination to go back and sort waste from the beginning. This will lead to sustainable solutions for marine debris.”
Dow’s campaign not only provides opportunities to various sectors for collecting coastal waste, which is a solution for endpoint problems, but also creates awareness of proactively preventing problems at the beginning by supporting waste sorting in households; especially used plastics—reducing contamination through reuse and recycling. The campaign “Separate and Exchange Bags” allows people to bring 125 pieces of polyethylene plastic (e.g., handling bags, ice bags, rice bags, and water bottle-wrapped films) to exchange for a Dow Green Earth Bag at the event. More than 8,000 bags were collected and sent to the youth group “Dow Asar Pa Pai Rak” for further use in the “Green Challenge BKW x Dow” project of Banchangkarnchanakul Wittaya School; producing income by distributing used plastics to recycling factories to be processed into other products.
Dow also held an educational exhibition on innovative packaging that is 100% recyclable. Plastic pellets, when combined with 40% of post-consumer recycled resin, can be produced into shrink films that retain properties equivalent to the films made from new plastic pellets. This shrink film is a transparent film for packaging beverages, shampoo, lotion, etc. Other upcycling technologies were showcased such as using recycled plastics for making roads, paving bricks, artificial pallets, etc. Dow also collaborated with Banchang Municipality and the community to organize a workshop on making paving bricks and plant pots from plastic waste and decoupage art from used coffee cups; showing participants how to create value with non-recyclable plastics.
Ruengrit Prakobtham, Ban Chang District Chief, said “As a Rayong citizen, I am proud to see companies, organizations, and volunteers collecting coastal waste together and bringing back the beauty of the beach, which is particularly important for us. Marine debris problems can be solved if we prevent them from the beginning by recycling waste out of the food waste we generate at home—making it convenient for the responsible governmental sector to deal with the garbage. The private sector will solve problems through technology. Everybody has a key role because this world does not belong to a specific person, but to all of us.”
The organizations that collaborated with Dow to organize the International Coastal Day in Ban Chang district this year were Solvay Group, PTT Asahi Chemical Co., Ltd., NS-Siam United Steel Co., Ltd., Hidaka Yookoo Enterprises Co., Ltd., and the Federation of Thai Industries. Even though COVID-19 still requires preventive measures, preserving the environment is also important and can be done together. This year’s campaign was adjusted to arrange for social distancing, wearing masks during the campaign, and with strict screening of the participants to make sure that all volunteers could participate in the activity safely.
Investors Must Think Long Term To Beat Inflation Effects, Says Stocks Guru
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
THE NATION
Investing In High-Credibility Companies That Pay Regular Dividends Is The Key Way For Investors To Beat The Economic Crisis, A Stocks Guru Said On Monday.
Josh Duitz, deputy head of Global Equities at UK-based investment company Abrdn, said there was a 50-50 chance of a worldwide recession this year. All would depend on the effectiveness of the US Federal Reserve’s measures to tackle inflation.
“If the Fed can tackle inflation effectively and people can get back to work, the situation may improve,” Duitz said.
He added that global stocks usually bounced back eventually from unprecedented shocks like the Covid-19 crisis, which has triggered supply disruption and inflation.
He noted that many companies are still able to pay dividends despite the pandemic and rising prices. He also expects dividends to grow by an average of 7 per cent this year and 5 per cent next year.
He advised investing equal sums of money at regular intervals regardless of market fluctuations to generate returns in the long term amid inflation.
“We think investing in companies with high credibility who pay dividends regularly is the best way to go forward,” he added.
Thai Foreign Exchange Reserves Stable Despite Soaring Dollar
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2022
THE NATION
Thailand’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Remain High Despite The Strengthening Of The Dollar, Government Spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri Said On Sunday.
Citing the Bank of Thailand’s data, he said the country’s foreign exchange reserve had dropped from US$278 billion at the beginning of this year to $240 billion as the dollar has strengthened significantly.
However, he said, Thailand is still stable financially and has the 12th highest foreign exchange reserve in the world.
He said Thailand’s foreign exchange reserve accounts for 48 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, and it was three times higher than its foreign debt.
“Thailand has enough foreign exchange in reserve to tackle the current situation,” he said. “Its strong and stable financial market is also bringing in foreign investors.”
Four Banks To Suspend Mobile Services For A Few Hours This Month
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
THE NATION
Customers Of Four Banks Are Advised To Be Prepared And Make Necessary Transactions In Advance As The Banks Plan To Suspend Mobile Services On A Few Days This Month To Improve Security And System Performance.
The four are Bank of Ayudhaya, or Krungsri; Krung Thai Bank (KTB); Government Savings Bank (GSB) and Tisco Bank.
The GSB announced it would suspend services on Wednesday from 11pm to midnight to improve its system.
The following services would be affected:
– MyMo MyCash withdrawals
– GSB debit card services in the country or abroad
– ATM and ADM (automated deposit machine) services
– Fast Funds services receiving money transferred from abroad.
Krungsri said it would halt its mobile and internet banking services for system improvements on Saturday from 2am to 4am and on Sunday from 2am to 4am.
The following services will be affected:
– Krungsri mobile application
– Internet banking via www.krungsrionline.com
– The “Kep by Krungsri” mobile banking service
– Credit card and debit card services at Krungsri’s ATM, CDM and RATM machines.
The KTB meanwhile said it would suspend services on Sunday from 1.30am to 6.30am to improve security.
The following services will be affected:
– Krung Thai ADM
– Krung Thai ATM
– Cash withdrawal cards
– A Money cards
– Nergn Tid Lor cards
– Withdrawals through AEON – Your Cash cards
– Withdrawals via JCB and UPI cards.
KTB added that it would also close its banking system to improve its Krungthai Next application on Tuesday, September 20, from midnight to 3am.
Tisco Bank announced it, too, would stop services on Saturday and Sunday and September 25 to improve system performance and service efficiency.
On Saturday, the bank will suspend services from midnight to 9.30am, which will affect:
– ATM machines, which cannot be used for PromptPay registrations or transfer services
– Tisco My Wealth service
– Tisco PromptPay service.
On Sunday, the bank will suspend services from 1.30am to 7.30am and on September 25 from midnight to 7am.
Huawei Empowers The Digital Startup Ecosystem At The “Spark-Ignite Pitching Day”
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
THE NATION
Helping Thai Startups Become The Driving Force For Digital Transformation
Bangkok, September 21, 2022 – Huawei held the finals of their long-running startup competition, the “Spark-Ignite Pitching Day & Award Ceremony”, at the flagship Spark Founders Summit event, Asia’s fastest growing startup event. The finals were held in Bangkok, Thailand, in conjunction with Huawei Connect 2022, to empower startup capabilities and the Thai digital startup ecosystem through the competition. The winners will receive up to 125,000 USD in cloud credits and professional support from Huawei to help them grow in the market and become a driving force behind Thailand’s digital transformation into a digital hub for the ASEAN region.
Mr Abel Deng, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Huawei Technologies Thailand Co., Ltd. concluded at the event: “I would like to thank all participants for your impressive pitches. You have shown us some truly exciting ideas about the integration of digital technology solutions in business models. Startups have become a force for discovery and drivers of innovation. This is why it has brought us all here today, and Huawei is completely confident in the potential of startups to create more job opportunities and inject new energy into the digital landscape to support post-pandemic economic recovery. Innovation never stops and neither does our commitment to supporting Thailand’s digital ecosystem. We are ready to provide technological expertise and go-to market partnerships for a wide range of startups. I hope Huawei will walk the road of entrepreneurship together for shared successes and to become the driving force of digital transformation in Thailand.”
“Looking into the future, we remain committed to contributing to Thailand’s economy and society, with a special focus on building ICT talents. As a leading ICT partner for digital transformation, as well as a continuous societal contributor in Thailand over the past 23 years, I would like to reiterate our commitment once again to Grow in Thailand and Contribute to Thailand, as well as to bring digitalization to every person, home, and organization for a fully connected, intelligent Thailand,” he added.
Dr Pun-Arj Chairatana, Executive Director, Thailand National Innovation Agency (NIA), delivered the opening speech at the event: “Building a digital startup ecosystem is very important for the development of the country. The NIA would like to thank Huawei for actively supporting and promoting the startup ecosystem in Thailand. Also, thank you very much for organizing this Spark-Ignite Pitching Day competition as well as supporting technologies, business knowledge, startup funding, go-to-market, and the opportunity for Thai startups to have access to fantastic projects like this, in order to encourage any investment in the future. I would like to take this opportunity to recommend Thai digital startups to give priority to practical business models to ensure that your projects are both credible and have the foundation for success in our current digital ecosystem.”
Mr Leo Jiang, Chief Digital Officer, HUAWEI CLOUD APAC, said: “Spark Founders Summit 2022 is a follow-up of last year’s success in Singapore and Hong Kong. We’re coming back bigger and better; having government and industry leaders from the region share important conversations on shaping regional and local startup ecosystems, as well as addressing opportunities and challenges intersecting technology, society, and digital economies.”
Mr Vitavin Ittipanuvat, Executive Director of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, a Huawei Spark ecosystem VC partner, believes that: “Through every crisis there’s always an opportunity. We are happy to support Huawei’s Spark Founders Summit event as part of their continuing trust and commitment in the Thai startup ecosystem. There is obviously a lot of work ahead for everyone in the community, but we trust it will be another exciting year for all of us to collaborate and grow stronger together through the challenging times.”
In August, Huawei launched the “Spark-Ignite 2022”, together with depa, NIA, and our partners. The Spark Ignite Thailand startup competition gives Thai startups the opportunity to enter the Huawei Spark Accelerator program, to gain more exposure, and to scale up their potential to an international level. To date, over 1,700 startups in Thailand were directly reached. The Spark Founders Summit bring together key ecosystem players; connecting founders, policymakers, enterprises, and investors to discuss Asia’s digital future, harness thought leadership and best practices, and showcase products and upcoming startups.
The winning team for the Spark-Ignite 2022 competition was Globish, an online English teaching platform focused on speaking skills for corporate clients and schools. In an interview, Ms Chuencheewan Wongsaeree, co-founder of Globish Academia (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said: “Our purpose for joining this project was because we wanted to expand our business to other countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Middle Eastern countries, etc. By joining this project, it will support us in expanding to other countries like these where Huawei is operating. More importantly, we also want to use Huawei’s cloud technologies to collect teaching data and we hope to continue using other technologies to support teaching and learning as well.”
The first runner-up team was Finema, a startup delivering Public Key authentication solutions on mobile devices to prevent identity theft in the digital world. Their technologies are compatible with identity registration systems in various industrial sectors, such as the financial sector, health sector, tourism sector, and education sector, etc. Mr Chatchai Chanvej, Business Development Lead, Finema Company Limited, stated that this competition has helped Thai startups learn more about Huawei’s products, solutions, and management, which will in turn develop Huawei’s products and support their adoption into a range of businesses. Finema soon hopes to use Huawei’s OCR solutions to help verify ID cards, including expanding business connections with Huawei partners.
The second runner-up was BKK Management Group led by Mr Kriangkrai Pipatvilaikul, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of BKK Management Group Co., Ltd., a startup that provides ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions for data collection and rapid reporting to help increase efficiency in manufacturing processes and reduce operational costs. He shared his opinion that the ERP market is currently worth $8 billion in the Asia-Pacific region alone, and thanks to Huawei’s competitive projects, this will give Thai startups the opportunity to access experts and technological knowledge in order to push them to the next level.
The startup teams that won 4th through 8th place were Dynamic Intelligence Asia, Edvisory “We Assess”, Covest, Vecabo “Fleetex”, and Easy Rice. The eight final teams receiving select one-on-one mentorship sessions with top Huawei executives. The 1st place winner will go on to win 125,000 USD in cloud credits and benefit from access to Huawei technologies, expertise, and go-to-market partnerships. The 2nd & 3rd place teams, 4th & 5th place teams, and 6th – 8th place teams will receive 80,000 USD, 20,000 USD and 5,000 USD in cloud credits, respectively, to help their startups grow as well and quickly generate profits. In addition, they will all receive an opportunity to be admitted to the Huawei Spark Program “Accelerate” Tier and “Incubate” Tier, as well as to Huawei Spark Fire and the Spark Go-China program.
Ajinomoto Drives Its “Kamphaeng Phet Factory” As A Greenest Factory Model For Sustainable Environment Through Eco-Friendly Management To Become A Low-Carbon Business
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
THE NATION
Ajinomoto Gears Up A Strategy To Reduce Global Warming By Investing A Budget Worth 1,500 Million Baht In The Construction Of The “Biomass Cogeneration Power Plant”, Aiming To Produce Electricity From Alternative And Renewable Energy Sources To Reduce The Use Of Electricity From Energy Sources That Cause Environmental Impacts.
To respond to the Group’s commitment in 2030 to reducing our environmental impact by 50% and to becoming “Carbon Neutrality” with an effort to achieve Net-zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050, the Kamphaeng Phet Factory, a huge production base of AJI-NO-MOTO® MSG and AJITIDE I+G® products, was piloted as an exemplary “Greenest Factory” of the Ajinomoto Group of companies in Thailand.
The official opening ceremony of the “Biomass Cogeneration Power Plant” was recently held and presided over by Mr Ichiro Sakakura, President of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., honorably attended by Mr Chawalit Sang-uthai, Provincial Governor of Kamphaeng Phet, together with Dr Orathai Pongruktham, Technical Advisor of Thailand Environment Institute and Secretariat of Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development (TBCSD), Mr Rongphet Bunchuaidee, Deputy Executive Director, Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization), and a group of media to visit Ajinomoto’s greenest factory in Kamphaeng Phet Province.
Mr Ichiro Sakakura said that “the Ajinomoto Group is striving to work for climate resilience by conducting business in line with the Bio-Circular-Green Economy concept to reduce environmental impacts, starting from the procurement of raw materials, the production of products, as well as the development of eco-friendly technology, including actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, alternative or renewable energy usage, waste management, and efficient use of water resources. In 2001, the company established FD Green (Thailand) Co., Ltd as the first “Green Business Model” of the Group of Companies in Thailand to manage the “Co-products” derived from the MSG production, which were developed into many agricultural products. The company also continuously invested in developing advanced technologies to support CO2 emission reduction, such as implementing “biomass boiler technology” that uses rice husks as the biomass fuel to generate the steam for the production process, which helps reduce the fuel oil usage, installing a “solar rooftop” inside the factory, etc., resulting in lower CO2 emissions of approximately 130,000 tons a year. In addition, the company has invested a budget worth 1,500 million baht to construct the “Biomass Cogeneration Power Plant”, a project that follows the Clean Development Mechanism with a capacity of 9.9 MW that has already started producing electricity since last August. This will additionally support reducing CO2 emissions by 50,000 tons a year, which enables us a reduction of CO2 emissions by 180,000 tons in total per a year, or the equivalent of carbon dioxide absorption by over 20 million trees.”
Mr Takumi Kazarimoto, Vice President of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. added that “the operation of this Biomass Cogeneration Power Plant allows us additionally reduce greenhouse gas emission by 40% compared to year 2018. Besides, every Ajinomoto’s factory and business establishment also strictly adhere to the policies and practices on environmental conservation, such as maximizing the use of resources in accordance with the 3R principle (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), including the management of waste and waste water treatment by using modern technology, which results in a higher quality outcome than the standard required by law. The Ajinomoto Group aims to become a “solution-providing group of companies for food and health issues” by working to reduce environmental impacts by following “The Ajinomoto Group Creating Shared Value (ASV)” as a conceptual framework for the Ajinomoto Group’s work worldwide.”
Dr Orathai Pongruktham, Technical Advisor of Thailand Environment Institute and Secretariat of Thailand Business Council for Sustainable (TBCSD) stated that “TBCSD was established by the collaboration of organizations that are leaders in sustainable development. Ajinomoto became a list member in 2021 and has been driving its business along with social responsibility. This Biomass Cogeneration Power Plant will be one of the key factors to support the national agenda in line with the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG model) that will lead Thailand towards sustainability goals.”
Regarding all efforts, the factory has received many outstanding awards. For example, in 2008, Thailand’s Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (Public Organization) certified that the biomass project from using the rice husks in replacement of fuel oil can lower carbon dioxide emissions significantly. The factory has also earned the award of ISO14001 for quality environmental management, including the Green Industry Award Level 4 and many other environmental awards. Mr. Sakakura also stated that the factory is committed to operating the business in compliance with laws & regulations and environmental care within the community, following our intention that “Ajinomoto always grows with Thais.”
Thai Fight Investing THB2 Billion To Promote Muay Thai
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
THE NATION
Sports Event Organiser Thai Fight On Tuesday Announced Two Big Projects Worth More Than 2 Billion Baht In A Bid To Promote Muay Thai Among Foreigners.
The first project involves making Muay Thai the theme at Thai Fight Hotel in Surat Thani’s Samui Island, Thai Fight CEO Nopporn Watin said.
The luxury hotel on a 5-rai (0.8 hectare) land near Lamai beach consists of three buildings, 50 rooms and four pool villas in modern Thai style.
He said the Muay Thai theme will be applied to all hotel rooms to enable visitors to feel as if they are Muay Thai masters.
He added that many services will be available at the hotel, such as Muay Thai gym “Thai Fight Physports” where visitors can receive training from several fighters, and a massage that is a combination of Thai martial arts and sports science.
“Muay Thai is considered powerful soft power that attracts tourists worldwide to visit the country,” he said.
He expected the hotel to open in October this year, adding that interested people can reserve hotel rooms at the website www.thaifighthotel.com.
The second project is the creation of a top class Muay Thai venue. Beat Active X Thai Fight at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre in Bangna, Bangkok will be the world’s best and the most modern Muay Thai tournament venue, he said.
The venue will also be a sports centre for 55 types of sports events to meet the needs of all generations of people.
He added that Beat Active X Thai Fight will be opened in the latter part of this year.
In A Recent Interview With The Nation, John Perez, Senior Vice President, Head Of Late Development, Vaccines & Immune Therapies At AstraZeneca, Discussed The Company’s Development Of COVID-19 Vaccine That Significantly Reduces The Disease Severity And Mortality Rate, As Well As Plans That AstraZeneca Has Prepared For Emerging Diseases In The Future.
Q. Do we currently have enough data to foresee what’s next for COVID-19 and the vaccination trend?
A. The pandemic is still not over and there is still a lot of work for us to do. I believe COVID-19 will become endemic, which means it won’t end but will likely become a recurrent seasonal virus which will require vaccinations, or boosters, to main critical immunity across populations.
We need to protect the most vulnerable people in society and to reduce any further impact on healthcare infrastructures and economies, and that means booster vaccinations will be at the centre of future strategies as countries determine how to live with the virus and limit its effect.
Having a booster maintains your immunity to COVID-19 and much like the flu vaccine, it’s likely COVID-19 vaccines will become annual for most people and every 6-months for the more vulnerable groups of society.
And even as much of the world learns to live with COVID-19, there continues to be a significant need to protect vulnerable and high-risk populations like the immunocompromised, who do not respond adequately to vaccination. That is where solutions like long-acting antibodies (LAAB) will come in.
Q. As we are entering the endemic phase, any plans for future vaccine research and development globally?
A. Last year, we established the Vaccines & Immune Therapies Unit at AstraZeneca as COVID-19 has changed the landscape for vaccines and immune therapies, making this an interesting area of focus even as the world transitions to an endemic phase. We have a portfolio of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies which we will announce at the appropriate time.
We believe we can make a difference with our strong capabilities in this area. We have 20 years of expertise with monoclonal antibodies in respiratory infectious diseases, including passive immunization and prophylaxis use, as well as the vaccine capabilities we demonstrated through COVID-19 – building our customer base and scaling manufacturing rapidly.
Q. It seems AstraZeneca might keep us waiting for the next gen vaccine whilst continue support the expansion of booster coverage using already available vaccines. What’s the (medical) reason behind this move?
A. Countries should prioritise boosting their populations with COVID-19 vaccines currently available to them, to minimise any delay in giving people the protection they need. That’s because the risk of developing serious outcomes, such as hospitalisation and death, becomes higher if vaccination programs are delayed while awaiting variant-specific vaccines.
Importantly, numerous global real-world studies have shown that currently available vaccines provide consistent, high levels of protection against severe disease across different COVID-19 variants, including Omicron.
Real world data also demonstrates that booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines already used, including AstraZeneca’s vaccine, may remain the most effective way to boost protection against severe outcomes until the effectiveness of variant vaccines has been established.
Q. For people who are still uncertain to get LAAB, can you provide LAAB efficiency towards Omicron and subvariants?
A. AstraZeneca’s LAAB is authorised for pre-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) of COVID-19 in many countries around the world and for treatment in Japan and Europe. In Thailand, LAAB was granted conditional marketing authorisation for prevention of COVID-19, in a broad population of adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older.
Real world effectiveness studies with immunocompromised patients have shown a consistent benefit against symptomatic and severe disease caused by Omicron variants.
The LAAB has been shown to retain in vitro neutralisation activity against 29 SARS-CoV-2 variants to date, including BA.5, the current globally dominant variant. A growing body of real-world evidence has demonstrated significantly lower rates of symptomatic COVID-19 and/or hospitalization and death for patients receiving LAAB compared to control arms.
Q. As many countries have started procuring LAAB for treatment of COVID-19, could you share reasons for adapting LAAB instead of other medicines?
A. Despite progress in vaccination efforts, there continues to be a significant need for tolerable and effective therapies that can be used to treat the disease early and help prevent poor outcomes in high-risk patients such as the immunocompromised, older adults and those with co-morbidities.
AstraZeneca’s LAAB has already made a big impact preventing infection in vulnerable populations, such as the immunocompromised, and now has the potential to play an important role in COVID-19 treatment.
According to results of the TACKLE Phase III treatment trial, LAAB provided clinically and statistically significant protection against progression to severe COVID-19 or death from any cause compared to placebo, in patients at high risk of progression to severe disease, and with earlier treatment leading to improved efficacy.
The best way to treat COVID-19 is to prevent infection in the first place. However, for high-risk patients who have not achieved protection, where authorised, the LAAB is now a new option that can both treat the infection and provide continued, long-term protection. Also, after treatment with LAAB, high risk patients remain vulnerable to reinfection so the LAAB will provide prophylaxis in addition to short term treatment.
Q. Since the Covid-19 pandemic has catalyzed public awareness of vaccine technologies (i.e., Viral vector vaccines, mRNA vaccines, Inactivated vaccines etc.), do you think this knowledge will transform or affect the public attitude toward vaccines and other medical treatments, as a whole?
A. This is an incredibly exciting time for the healthcare sector as innovation and technology advances at a rapid pace to bring life-saving diagnostics, treatment and medicines to people who need it the most.
We have a real opportunity now to build on the global collaboration we witnessed during the pandemic to future-proof our health systems and bridge the medical divide.
In terms of transforming public attitude, for now we hope people ensure they stay protected against COVID-19 with booster vaccinations as that remains the most effective way of avoiding the most serious outcomes from the virus.
Q. What will the healthcare industry look like in the post-pandemic world?
A. If there is one thing COVID-19 has taught us, it is the power of partnership when it comes to saving lives and delivering equitable healthcare and this is something we will see much more of in the industry.
One strong example of this is the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience, or PHSSR, which is now active in more than 20 countries and allows us to work with local stakeholders to build knowledge and improve the sustainability and resilience of healthcare systems.
Our goal is for AstraZeneca to be a leader in sustainability and for others to join us in our commitment to having zero carbon emissions from operations in the short-term and in the longer term, working towards the goal of ensuring our entire value chain is carbon negative. The developments in healthcare are astonishing – from the creation of precision medicines to the use of AI to help us design smarter trials and match patients with the right clinical trials through to online access to hospitals and doctors, allowing us to reach a greater population and reduce existing pressure on services.
Seven Airlines See Passenger Numbers Soar This Year
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
THE NATION
Seven Airlines Under The Thai Airlines Association Are On Cloud Nine, As Increasing Passenger Numbers And An Improving Pandemic Situation Fuel Recovery This Year.
Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Thai Smile Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet have all seen passenger numbers shoot up by around 50 per cent of the level in 2019, before the pandemic appeared and went on to cause global havoc.
Association president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said on Tuesday that he estimated the seven airlines would bounce back to the same level of 2019 by the fourth quarter of 2023.
“Domestic flights are now back to around 80 per cent, and should be fully restored in the second half of next year as airlines expect more foreign tourists to visit the country and travel across provinces,” said Puttipong.
According to him, no member airlines have immediate plans to hike airfares, as the industry needs to attract more passengers during the recovery phase and therefore must keep prices competitive.
Airlines also need to control operational costs amid unstable factors such as rising fuel prices, inflation and the currency exchange rate, so that their ticket price structures are not affected, he added.
Speaking as CEO and president of Bangkok Airways (BA), Puttipong said BA is discussing with 27 partner airlines resumption of a codeshare agreement that had been suspended due to the pandemic.
He said BA’s current international passengers are only 20 per cent of the number before Covid-19, since about 70 per cent of its international passengers are from codeshare flights.
“BA is now flying 20 planes from our total fleet of 37. All of our domestic flights are now resuming, while international flights have been opened to 50 per cent of destinations, such as Phnom Penh, Rangoon, Maldives, Singapore and Danang,” he said.
“The next international flight scheduled for this high season is Bangkok-Luang Prabang.”
Bangkok Airways is eying 2.2 million passengers in 2022, after passing the 1-million milestone in the first six months. The airline’s average load factor this year is estimated at 70 per cent.
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