Australia provides the backdrop for our latest international filming assignment.

As part of our partnership with world wide animal health company, Ceva, we are creating videos looking at a variety of subjects including products to improve sheep production and a successful campaign to help improve the health of Australia’s population of iconic koalas.

Ceva is recognized as an expert in the field of small ruminants reproduction. Innovation has been the driver for Ceva when developing products for small ruminant veterinarians and producers. The use of melatonin (Regulin®) as a reproductive tool was one of the latest contributions of Ceva in this field and we will be filming a video report in connection with the work being carried out in as part of this process in Australia.

Regulin® is designed to reduce the number of dry ewes.  This occurred in 96% of the trials conducted. Trials have shown that there is a reduction in the number of non-pregnant ewes by over 30%. In the absence of other identifiable fertility problems, the lower the lambing percentage, the more potential Regulin offers to reduce dry ewes.

A further benefit is there is less variability in lambing percentages.   Increased twining also is a result of Regulin.  These are from ewes that would have produced twins had they been joined in Autumn.

Australian koalas are being successfully cured of a life-threatening disease, chlamydia, and released back into the wild, thanks to the help of global animal health company, Ceva Santé Animale.

Between 30 and 50 per cent of the Australian koala population in the wild were suffering from chlamydia. There were fears that the sexually transmitted disease, which causes infertility, blindness and even death, could eventually wipe out the entire koala population.

Ceva Australia had stopped manufacture of chloramphenicol, an older type of antibiotic, when they learned that it was the primary drug used to treat chlamydia in koalas.  Dr. Finola McConaghy, Ceva’s Technical Services Manager, was in contact with fellow veterinarians at the world famous Australia Zoo in Brisbane and offered to manufacture a new batch of the medicine to help combat the problem. Now other animal centres in Australia are treating their own koalas affected by the disease.

We will be travelling to Brisbane to update the story of Ceva’s role in helping to combat a growing problem of chlamydia, which has been threatening the health of the famous marsupials.

Australia Zoo senior vet Amber Gillett says Ceva’s intervention had been vital in tackling the chlamydia problem:

“I can’t emphasise enough how vital this drug is for treating chlamydia in koalas. We’ve tried multiple different drugs, and there is simply nothing as effective as this is. We’re eternally grateful for Ceva coming on board and agreeing to manufacture a large batch of this drug for us.”

Martin Mitchell, Group Communication Director of Ceva Santé Animale says: “When we learned of this problem we were delighted to react and play our role in safeguarding this iconic marsupial. Ceva is committed to combatting disease in animals to protect their welfare, not only is this the right thing to do, in the end we also help protect ourselves and importantly our environment.” 

AnimalhealthEurope (formerly, IFAH) has gone live with our video roundup of their recent Congress in Brussels, which launched their new identity and strategy for the next five years and more video messages will be following on social media to tie in with today’s international One Health Day.

See the video by clicking here.

Good Call Media’s Nik Wood presents a comprehensive overview of the event and also interviews several key players, including the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis, who addressed the organisation’s gala dinner.

AnimahealthEurope’s 2017 conference explored solutions to turn the One Health vision into action. A central platform for the animal medicines industry, the One Health approach prioritises quality of life for people and animals and recognises that healthy animals mean healthy people and a healthier planet. Entitled “One Health: more than a buzzword? Animal health for society from vision to action” the conference, held on 12 October at the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels, was solution-oriented. Speakers from industry, EU Institutions, academia and veterinary and public health bodies addressed an audience of some 120 stakeholders and looked to identify tangible steps that each must take in realising One Health improvements.

Setting the scene, the European Commission outlined the EU’s policy on One Health and its wide-reaching successes in terms of disease control. The World Organisation for Animal health (OIE) outlined the role of animal health within the One Health triad, highlighting the need for continued cooperation when it comes to disease preparedness at both European and global level. Several case studies presented served to illustrate the role of healthy animals beyond disease management, highlighting important societal impacts such as supporting food safety and sustainable food production, as well as the many social benefits of animal companionship. AranLIFE, a part EU-funded project, highlighted the role of healthy animals in maintaining biodiversity and the landscape, and how it supports the local economy. Two speakers from DG SANTE and DG AGRI detailed initiatives being taken by the European Commission to support the One Health vision.

The conference took place the day after AnimalhealthEurope revealed its new name and branding at a gala dinner in Brussels held to celebrate the organisation’s 30th anniversary.

Our expertise in journalism and story telling attracted the attention of the worldwide organisation JEOL and we are just about to enter the first phase of an ambitious filming project with the company.

We have been filming at the company’s manufacturing centres in Tokyo, Japan and also visiting their suppliers, Jastec, in Kobe, Japan and research centres in Yokohama, as part of the project to highlight their expertise in NMR technology. Phase two of the project will involve filming JEOL’s European NMR capability as the company underlines its commitment to expand its NMR production, maintenance and training throughout Europe.

                     Tokyo filming

JEOL NMR equipment

NMR is an abbreviation for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. An NMR instrument allows the molecular structure of a material to be analyzed by observing and measuring the interaction of nuclear spins when placed in a powerful magnetic field.For the analysis of molecular structure at the atomic level, electron microscopes and X-ray diffraction instruments can also be used, but the advantages of NMR are that sample measurements are non-destructive and there is less sample preparation required.Fields of application include bio, foods, and chemistry, as well as new fields such as battery films and organic EL, which are improving and developing at remarkable speed. NMR has become an indispensable analysis tool in cutting-edge science and technology fields.

The JEOL ethos was summed up by the company’s President, Gon-emon Kurihara, in his latest statement:

Our management philosophy pledges that “JEOL pursues the world’s highest technology based on Creativity” and “Research and Development”, thus contributing to progress in both Science and Human Society through its products. ” Our primary mission is to develop the most advanced and excellent instruments that satisfy the market needs and deliver them to the customers in a timely fashion.

However, we recognize that what we should focus on today is not only providing customers with excellent instruments, but also the best complete solutions, to deliver long-term satisfaction throughout the entire life of the product.

With a new concept of “Solutions for Innovation”, we aim to become the “Only One Company” offering solutions that cannot be found anywhere else, will continue our efforts to contribute to scientific technology worldwide.

Nik Wood of Good Call Media, said: “Once again our background in top level business journalism and our ability to create dynamic and engaging video content has resulted in the development of a new partnership with a leading multi-national organisation.”

Watch this space for more JEOL information in the future…

Our work with Volition RX, quoted on the New York Stock Exchange, demonstrates our ability to partner with companies that need help with investor relations and to promote their work at the cutting edge of science and technology.

From humble beginnings, when we interviewed Volition’s President & CEO, Cameron Reynolds, about the company’s financial results, we are delighted to report that we are now working with this fast growing organisation on a variety of levels.

Click here to see Science video

The Volition team at the New York Stock Exchange

Volition is a multi-national company developing simple, easy to use blood-based cancer tests to accurately diagnose a range of cancers. The tests are based on the science of Nucleosomics which is the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream – an indication that cancer is present. Volition’s goal is to make the tests as common and simple to use, for both patients and doctors, as existing diabetic and cholesterol blood tests. Volition’s research and development activities are currently centred in Belgium as the company focuses on bringing its diagnostic products to market first in Europe, then in the US and ultimately, worldwide.
Good Call Media is now helping to promote many aspects of Volition’s groundbreaking work in different areas of the world. As well as regularly featuring the company’s financial performance, we were invited to cover the opening of Volition’s state of the art new laboratories in Namur, Belgium – an investment which is helping to take the company to the next level as it rolls out its blood-based cancer tests to new areas and into new disciplines.

The investment will enable the Company to increase capacity to carry out clinical trials and to expand its scientific team, thereby expediting the large number of trials underway. The new custom-designed facility comprises 9,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 square feet of high quality, purpose-built laboratory space. The facility is located in the Crealys Science Park, Isnes in the Wallonia region of Belgium, an area popular with other leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Jasmine Kway – click here to see interview

Recently we also highlighted Volition’s involvement in a number of high level and events and conferences in the Asian zone where the company is active. This included an interview with Dr. Jasmine Kway, VP of Volition Asia who highlighted the main aspects of Volition’s work in the region. “Asia is a very important market for Volition and we have made significant progress in the region since January of this year,” said Dr. Kway.” Our meetings at APDW and TDDW will give us excellent opportunities to further our conversations and formalize our engagements with key individuals in the Asia Pacific region.”

In October 2017 we also travelled to the company’s laboratories in Namur, Belgium, to record a comprehensive update entitled ‘The Science Behind Our Work’, featuring Dr. Jake Micallef, the Chief Scientific Officer of Volition. He gave a detailed explanation of the company’s progress in developing its blood-based tests and also highlighted the possibility of Volition’s engagement in the diagnosis of other types of cancer. The video is available through Volition’s own video gallery.

Volition’s goal is to make the tests as common and simple to use, for both patients and doctors, as existing diabetic and cholesterol blood tests. Volition’s research and development activities are currently centred in Belgium as the company focuses on bringing its diagnostic products to market first in Europe, then in the US and ultimately, worldwide. The Company recently announced its strategy for a new range of Clinical Research Use Only (RUO) kits based on its proprietary Nucleosomics™ technology and the receipt of an order of RUO kits from a large multinational pharmaceutical company.

Chief Executive Officer of Volition, Cameron Reynolds, commented, “This is a very important milestone for Volition as it represents our first revenue from the Nu.Q™ platform. The RUO kits could be used to develop a companion diagnostic to a pharmaceutical company’s therapeutic product, so could represent an additional potential revenue stream beyond the commercialization of our blood-based cancer tests on the same platform of assays. After the initial sale of the RUO kits, a significant licensing arrangement is possible if the assays become a crucial component of another company’s product.”

We followed up our work at the World Veterinary Association Congress in South Korea with a special feature for our clients, Ceva.

Click here to see the video.

The video featured Ceva’s contribution to improving the skills of young vets in developing countries of the world. In Bangladesh, as our film points out, this work can dramatically reduce the mortality rate in chickens being produced for food and so will contribute directly to the improvement of the economy of the country.

              Click to see video report

    WVA Congress, Incheon South Korea

The World Veterinary Association (WVA) has declared its support for Ceva’s avian pathology veterinary post-graduate training course, which is being organised in Dakha, Bangladesh, as part of a partnership agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project could help to significantly reduce the mortality rate in poultry broilers in Bangladesh and improve the   profitability and welfare of the poultry industry in the country.
Ceva signed a collaborative tripartite agreement with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University of Dhaka under the patronage of Her Excellency Mrs Sophie Aubert the former French ambassador to Bangladesh. ENVA, National Veterinary school of       Maisons Alfort is the third party involved in this agreement. Ceva and ENVA have already implemented a similar program in Myanmar which began in 2015.
The Bangladesh project involves establishing a training program to strengthen the autonomy of graduate veterinarians, and develop their operational capacity in field expertise in avian diseases and sanitary management. The training involves 30 participants on four week field oriented courses conducted by several international experts, The basics of poultry diseases and management are approached in a pragmatic manner, taking into consideration local production methods.
Ceva supported the Global Conference On Quality Assurance In Veterinary Education, which was held as part of the 33rd World Veterinary Congress, staged in Incheon, South Korea in August 2017. Guest speaker, Dr. Pierre-Marie Borne, Ceva’s Director of Public Health, Zoonoses and Food Safety, said: “Bangladesh is one of the key strategic countries for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and there is a lack of skilled vets in the area of avian disease. The current mortality rate in poultry broiler production in Bangladesh is currently between 10 and 15 per cent,” added Dr. Borne. “By improving sanitation through the better training of vets, the aim is to bring this down to five per cent.”
Speaking immediately after the Conference on Quality Assurance, Dr. René Carlson, WVA Immediate Past President, said: “Ceva has been extremely supportive of animal welfare as well as veterinary education and I think that their approach provides an opportunity for veterinarians around the world to take their basic competencies to advanced levels and really serve public health.”
In 2015, Ceva received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to roll out three targeted development projects corresponding to Ceva’s area of expertise and the foundation’s strategy to make smallholder livestock more productive, improve nutrition and empower women farmers. These projects include initiatives to boost health and production in the poultry and dairy sectors in Burkina Faso and Bangladesh over three years. Ceva is proud of its partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which supports Ceva’s commitment to work together beyond animal health through feeding the world, tackling zoonoses and strengthening the human-animal bond.