Americans claimed 14 medals in international competition while trampoline and tumbling athletes battles it out in Michigan over the weekend In his first year on National Team and his international debut Calif./University of Illinois) clinched gold at the 2025 FIG Baku World Cup in Azerbaijan Dang scored a 14.633 to win the pommel horse title Sunday Zeinolla Idrissov of Kazakhstan was third with a 14.400 Ill./EVO Gymnastics) secured still rings bronze with a 13.766 to give the U.S Nikita Simonov of host-country Azerbaijan won gold with a 14.233 followed by Zhiwei Meng of China who got silver with a 13.800 acro delegation came home with five medals from the 2025 FIG Puurs World Cup and Flanders International Acro Cup (FIAC) in Belgium Winning gold at the World Cup were Yaroslav and Vsevolod Ossolodkov (Beaumont Calif./Incentive – AGT) in the men’s pair final with a combined score of 29.100 The brothers claimed the title ahead of the Spanish pair of Juan Daniel Molina and Jose Moreno in second (28.230) and the Portuguese pair of Goncalo Parreira and Miguel Lopes in third (27.950) women’s pair of Maya Lissenkova (Las Vegas Nev./AGC Las Vegas) and Katie Borcherding (Eureka Mo./Incentive – AGT) earned combined silver in their final with a score of 27.370 ahead of Ines Faria and Beatriz Carneiro of Portugal in third (27.050) Maysae Bouhouch and Silke Macharis of Belgium were first with a 28.240 Also competing in World Cup final was the women’s group of Olivia Green (Silver Spring Md./Xtreme Acro) and Caylei Caldwell (Villa Ridge The group landed just off the combined podium with a 27.590 Alicia Santos and Leonor Carreira won with a 28.750 Calif./Realis Gymnastics Academy) and Andrew Castro (Riverside Calif./Realis Gymnastics Academy) won gold with the mixed pair combined final with a 27.750 ahead of Ella-Louise Sem and Ben De Veirman (26.340) and Martha Vercauteren and Floriaan Van Linden (24.870) The USA’s second gold of the competition came from Radomir Ossolodkov (Beaumont Calif./Incentive – AGT) and Neko Sullivan (Perris Calif./Incentive – AGT) who won the 13-19 men’s pair division with a 26.700 medal count was the 13-19 women’s group of Juli Williams (Columbia Md./Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer) and Aubrie Cunningham (Ellicott City The trio scored a 27.180 to win combined bronze in their division Louise Janssens and Fien Voet was first (27.640) and Zoë Venema Mare Hogenhuis and Aiden Peens of the Netherland second (27.200) Ariz./Aspire Kids Sports Center) and Tyler Berg (Phoenix Ariz./Aspire Kids Sports Center) also made a finals appearance where they placed fourth in the 13-19 mixed pair final with a 24.040 Andrea de la Guia and Mario Leon of Spain won gold with a 26.370 Md./Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer) and Maya Bledzki (Elkridge Md./Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer) also competed in the final and landed seventh with a 26.700 Beatriz Cardoso and Varvára Pastukhova was first with a 27.600 The American junior team of Charleigh Bullock (Spotsylvania Va./Capital Gymnastics National Training Center) Minn./Pacific Reign Gymnastics) and Trinity Wood (Waldorf Md./Capital Gymnastics National Training Center) collected six medals from the International Gymnix Junior Cup in Montreal The team quartet won junior team silver on Saturday with an overall score of 153.300 behind first-place France (156.450) and ahead of host-country Canada in third (146.750) Bullock and Smith were each crowned the junior all-around silver (51.400) and bronze (51.050) medalists Elena Colas of France was first all-around with a 53.850 VanGrinsven claimed the junior vault title with a 13.150 and floor exercise bronze with a 12.466 while Bullock paired her all-around silver with uneven bars bronze (12.833) Champions were crowned across multiple divisions and age groups at the 2025 Winter Classic Invitational this past weekend in Battle Creek Junior and senior elite winners are listed below by division American athletes return to Baku for men’s artistic competition while U.S and T&T athletes compete stateside this weekend Three specialists will take on the 2025 FIG Baku World Cup March 6-9 in Azerbaijan with Winter Cup champion Brandon Dang and 2024 U.S silver medalist Patrick Hoopes competing on pommel horse and 2024 U.S Qualifications on Friday again start at 3 a.m ET and will see Dang and Hoopes on pommel horse The top eight gymnasts on each apparatus will advance to finals ET and the pommel horse Sunday at 4:30 a.m Live scoring will be available on smartscoring.com and streaming options are available on figtv.sport A total of 36 American acrobatic athletes will be in Belgium for the 2025 Puurs World Cup and Flanders International Acro Cup (FIAC) set for March 5-8 Eleven seniors will compete in the Puurs World Cup women’s pair all-around champions Mo Arthur and Ariana Katsov; 2024 U.S 13-19 women’s pair all-around champions Sydney Padios and Willow Noble; 2024 U.S 13-19 men’s pair all-around champions Yaroslav and Vsevolod Ossolodkov; new pair Maya Lissenkova and Katie Borcherding; and 2024 World Championships team members Olivia Green The remaining 25 athletes will see action at the FIAC in both the senior and junior divisions 13-19 mixed pair champions Hailee Wong and Andrew Castro will make their senior debuts at the competition in Belgium Junior competitors in the 13-19 division include 2024 U.S 13-19 men’s pair champions Radomir Ossolodkov and Neko Sullivan; the mixed pair of Annabelle Chew and Tyler Berg; and the women’s groups of Juli Williams In the 12-18 division at FIAC are the women’s duo of Elise Maher and Gracie Deters the men’s pair of Vlad Studwell and Michael Fabila and the three women’s groups of Brooklyn St Ayana Williams and Maya Bledzki; Emilia Roder Jayda Wilkinson and Ksusha Ulyanova; and Leesy Sarria The Puurs World Cup will run from March 6-8 with qualifications at noon ET on Thursday, March 6 and 1 p.m. ET on Friday. All finals will be held on Saturday, March 8 beginning at 1 p.m. ET. The FIAC begins Wednesday Qualifications will kick off competition Wednesday at 11 a.m followed by more qualifying rounds at 2:30 a.m Sunday will begin with the last qualifier at 2 a.m ET and conclude with finals beginning at 5 a.m Complete information of both competitions can be found on their event websites, including streaming options. Live scoring will be available on acro-companion.com Four juniors will compete at the 2025 International Gymnix March 8-9 in Montreal Canada including 2025 Winter Cup junior all-around bronze medalist Addalye VanGrinsven 2025 Winter Cup junior uneven bars champion Charleigh Bullock and 2025 Winter Cup fourth and fifth place all-arounders Kylie Smith and Trinity Wood The event will kick off Saturday, March 8 at 6 p.m. ET with the all-around final. Individual event finals will follow on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Complete information about the competition is available at internationalgymnix.ca More than 850 athletes will converge on Battle Creek Michigan for the 2025 Winter Classic from March 6-9 Headlining the massive lineup are 2024 Olympic replacement athlete Ruben Padilla (Bluffdale 2025 Baku World Cup mixed synchro champion Trevor Harder (Archdale Hawaii/Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy) and Leah Edelman (Holmdel This year’s Winter Classic acts as a qualifier for several events in the trampoline and tumbling season including the 2025 World Championships and World Age Group Competitions in November the 2025 Junior Pan American Games and the 2025 The World Games in August and a collection of World Cups throughout the year Assignments for the 2025 Aere World Cup April 5-6 in Italy and the 2025 Senior Pan American Championships May 16-18 in El Salvador will be determined based on results from Winter Classic Fans can visit the event website for all information on the 2025 Winter Classic. All participants are listed below by event. ​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishECONOMYRestructuring plans threaten jobs at pharma company Novartis' Belgian site 15 January 2025 Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced a restructuring plan that could affect 192 jobs at its Belgian site in Puurs This is the latest round of restructuring at the site Union representatives have described it as an "annual tradition" and expressed concern about repeated job cuts The company attributed the decision to declining volumes in its eyecare portfolio and external cost pressures such as energy prices and labour costs Novartis has signalled its confidence in the future of the site by committing to invest 40 million euros in the Puurs site by 2025 to expand biologics production capacity and attract manufacturing for other companies' products The restructuring process has entered the consultation phase under the Renault Law a labour law introduced in 1998 to regulate collective redundancies This law requires employers to enter into a consultation period with trade unions before implementing redundancies and sets out provisions for redundancy payments It was introduced following the controversial mass redundancies at Renault's Vilvoorde plant in 1997 Novartis said it would work closely with the social partners and keep employees informed throughout the process as well as offering support for mental health and well-being acknowledging the investment as a positive step but lamenting the impact on the nearly 200 affected employees and their families especially as Novartis is a highly profitable company," said union representative Danny Absillis which employs 1,160 of Novartis' 1,750 employees in Belgium will face weeks of intense discussions as unions and management seek solutions to minimise job losses and provide clarity for those affected #FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO BELGIAN FREELANCE Copy linkGet updates in your mailboxYour email addressSubscribeBy clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy rapid and high-quality information 24 hours a day from Belgium and abroad to all Belgian media not to mention entertainment and lifestyle our journalists and press photographers produce hundreds of photos and news stories Since the end of March 2022 English has been added as a language businesses and various organisations that need reliable information Belga News Agency also offers a comprehensive range of corporate services to meet all their communication needs www.belganewsagency.eu relying on chemotherapy medicine hydroxyurea said Stifel analyst Dae Gon Ha on Thursday.Sickle cell disease affects an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. most of whom are Black.The withdrawal is the latest headwind for Pfizer and its CEO Albert Bourla Investors have punished the company as it navigates sharply dropping sales for its COVID vaccines and drugs a weaker-than-hoped launch of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and disappointing clinical data for an obesity pill it was developing.Pfizer's shares were marginally down on Thursday The stock is trading at around half its pandemic highs.Oxbryta was the centerpiece of Pfizer's $5.4 billion buyout of Global Blood Therapeutics in 2022 one of a number of deals bankrolled by the pandemic-era windfall It also picked up two other experimental sickle cell treatments according to Pfizer's website.In patients with the disease red blood cells become sickle or crescent shaped and can cause strokes as well as debilitating pain crises.Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Krishna Chandra Eluri Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri hurt by a stronger pound and lower sales of its painkiller Panadol in Australia and the Middle East.($1 = 0.8199 pounds)Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee and Anandita Mehrotra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot which is unresponsive to the BCG vaccine.Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta David Thomas reports on the business of law, including law firm strategy, hiring, mergers and litigation. He is based out of Chicago. He can be reached at d.thomas@thomsonreuters.com and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150. ​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishECONOMY, INNOVATIONGlobal eye care leader invests 35m euros in two Flemish sites24 June 2024 Alcon is investing 35 million euros in two Flemish sites A new warehouse will be opened in Bornem and the production facility in Puurs will be expanded Alcon is a Swiss-American medical company specialising in eye care products it focuses on making surgical packs for eye surgery Hospitals and doctors can then assemble these packs themselves Worldwide distribution of the surgical components starts in Bornem and the packs go from there to numerous European hospitals Alcon will build a new warehouse at Bornem doubling the area of the site from 16,000 to 32,000 square metres Both Bornem and Puurs are in Antwerp province “Belgium is an important hub for us,” said Alcon vice-president of global supply chain Hakan Erdemir #FlandersNewsService | A surgeon prepares a patient before performing an eye operation © PHOTO PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP Pfizer has committed a second €1.2 ($1.25) billion investment into its Puurs facilities A day after announcing plans to expand a biomanufacturing site in Ireland Pfizer has committed a second €1.2 ($1.25) billion for its Puurs The site in Puurs, Belgium became central in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine network, and underwent an expansion during the pandemic to install additional manufacturing and filling lines Now the Big Pharma firm has committed a further €1.2 billion to the site over the next three years to expand production capacity “Pfizer Puurs played a crucial role in the production of our COVID-19 vaccine, directly supporting our efforts to fight COVID-19 worldwide,” Mike McDermott, chief global supply officer at Pfizer said in a translated Flemish press release “I am very pleased that with this investment we can further support the production of vaccines and medicines and strengthen our pipeline we recognize the importance of the site in the production of breakthrough medicines that change the lives of patients.” which specializes in aseptic production and packaging of injectable drugs and vaccines having been established in 1963 by future Pfizer acquisition Upjohn and a further 250 jobs will be added through this investment The announcement came a day after Pfizer gave the green light to an equal €1.2 billion investment at its Grange Castle biomanufacturing site in Dublin, Ireland Journalist covering the international biopharmaceutical manufacturing and processing industries.Founder and editor of Bioprocess Insider a daily news offshoot of publication Bioprocess International with expertise in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors regulatory affairs and business development.From London UK originally but currently based in Montpellier France through a round-a-bout adventure that has seen me live and work in Leeds (UK) Ins & Outs: Biopharma players shuffle c-suite ranks American made: Companies continue to emphasize US manufacturing Transforming Protein Production: Lonza’s Comprehensive Solutions for Therapeutic Innovation Registered in England & Wales with number 01835199 Management at the pharmaceutical company Novartis in Puurs (Antwerp Province) has started collective redundancies proceedings The announcement was made at an extraordinary meeting of the company’s Works’ Council on Wednesday 1,160 people work at Novartis’ Puurs factory The Christian trade union ACV says that Novartis’ Puurs factory was long seen as being “exemplary” for reasons that included the presence of Alcon a former subsidiary of the Swiss multi-national that was specialised in providing surgical packs for eye operations Hospitals and doctors were able to choose what was in the packs according to their specific needs in 2019 Alcon spilt away from Novartis and is now quoted as an independent company on the stock market The unions say that this hasn’t been a good thing for Novartis In 2022 the company announced a global restructuring plan Then just a few dozen jobs were lost at its sites in Flanders In a press statement Novartis announced that it plans to invest more than 40 million euro from this year in production capacity for biologicals at its Puurs plant The investment aims to “Strengthen the competitive position of the site and to adapt to changing production needs” Novartis’ management wishes to make the company “more competitive” will be lost either through redundancy of contracts not being renewed Around 1,750 people work for Novartis in Belgium its Belgian HQ in Vilvoorde (Flemish Brabant) and a European relations office in Brussels the Pharmaceutical company that became famous for its COVID-19 jab that it produced in Belgium is to axe 255 jobs at its Puurs factory in Antwerp Province The company says it has made a ‘global operational efficiency exercise’ No forced redundancies are planned in Puurs ‘The reduction of the workforce will be achieved by natural wastage,’ Pfizer explains ‘People leaving the company will not be replaced People will also be moved internally.’ A total of 255 jobs are disappearing as a result of the ‘international operational efficiency exercise’ ‘A lot of temporary staff were recruited because extra capacity was needed for example to produce the corona vaccines,’ says Paul Schoeters of the Christian trade union ACV ‘People took risks and hoped for a future at Pfizer They are now getting this negative message that they have to leave and cannot look forward to a permanent job at the company.’ ‘We understand that fewer people are needed because volumes are falling but it doesn't seem logical to impose a worldwide measure that means every site has to make cuts,’ Schoeters adds we - in Puurs - apparently do not meet the management's expectations That seems like an upside-down world to us.’ The investment plan for Puurs - the €1.2 billion proposed in 2022 - remains intact you see a lot of construction work in progress There are still a lot of projects that are ongoing So there is no question of stopping projects for reasons of economy There are no worries about the continued existence of the factory in Puurs but it is a heavy blow for a lot of people who see their future at Pfizer going up in smoke.’ Pfizer in Puurs employs nearly 5,000 people After Pfizer and BioNtech signed a letter of intent in March 2020 to work together on a vaccine two Pfizer facilities were swiftly selected for developing the processes and manufacturing the product at an industrial scale and the equipment to get to work right away and Europe positioned them well for global distribution we didn’t know yet how big the pandemic would be Many people believed this was going to be over in a few months like a flu pandemic,” says Luc Van Steenwinkel Vice President Pfizer Biotech Operations and Site Lead of Pfizer Puurs But there was no time for debate. If there was one thing that everyone felt down to their core, it was the ticking of the clock. “From CEO Albert Bourla through the organization and the decision-making was really streamlined,” says Patrick McEvoy Senior Director of Operations and Engineering with Pfizer “We really didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on it.” the teams at Puurs and Kalamazoo ordered equipment and vessels they thought they’d need and produce the first batches of what they hoped would be an effective vaccine - one that could The teams started changing existing filling lines building formulations booths and new filling lines constructing packaging lines and a “freezer farm,” while recruiting and training new colleagues that’s the bet we took,” says Van Steenwinkel they had space in three small rooms in a new building they used an existing formulation area that was already being used to produce two lifesaving medications Before they could use that area for the vaccine they went into overdrive to produce those two medications so they didn’t run into any shortages during the construction phase the team decided to manufacture multiple investigational COVID-19 vaccine formulations in tandem both facilities would also hire and train new colleagues to help accomplish the monumental task Protections were put in place to keep workers safe and to minimize downtime Relying on video calls to communicate and operating at all hours of the day and night the two teams alternated working on different engineering steps and learning from each other “We didn't have the time to develop a Kalamazoo process and a Puurs process We had to focus on creating one process we could both use,” says McEvoy they worked to formulate lipid nanoparticles - a notoriously tricky process - that would protect and guide the mRNA which programs cells to produce antibodies to fight off COVID-19 by introducing a protein found on the surface of the virus.1 They collaborated on methods to purify the RNA using a process called tangential flow filtration They embarked on a sterilization process to make the vaccine safe for injection And they established a filling process to place the vaccine in vials which were then labeled and placed in boxes in the freezers they’d bought for this very task Puurs would go on to purchase nearly 1,000 deep freezers and Kalamazoo would buy nearly 600 freezers that are larger in size they worked to conduct the numerous safety and quality tests needed.  when the Pfizer-BioNTech team selected the vaccine candidate that appeared to be the most promising the manufacturing teams were ready to ramp up production for clinical trials while also building stockades for real-world use in hopes of success when they learned of the vaccine's efficacy in the midst of clinical trials But people around the world were still dying to make the impossible possible is so energizing,” says Van Steenwinkel who at the time served as Vice President of Pfizer Intercompany Operations and his team were hard at work figuring out how they would get the vaccine quickly and efficiently to people all across the world The team relied on 40 years of experience as professional problem-solvers to address what would be the biggest professional challenge of their life: developing the plan for the distribution of a vaccine that didn’t yet exist to locations that were yet to be determined “The vaccine had been developed and produced in record time and that's what we had to do as well with the design and execution of the first shipment from an end-to-end perspective,” says Hendrikse was that the vaccine would need to be kept at a colder temperature than any other product they'd worked with “We knew we’d need to ship a vaccine at minus 75 Celsius which we have never done before,” says Hendrikse In less than six months, the team designed a thermal shipping box the size of a carry-on suitcase that would keep the vaccine ultracold when packed with dry ice the team implemented an end-to-end process with real-time monitoring loggers that track the precise temperature and location and communicate that information in real time to control towers that operate 24 hours a day the internal and external control towers can look at a screen and know exactly where every shipment is and how cold it is a supply chain capable of shipping the vaccine from the plant directly to the point of use where it will be used without stops along the way “We are able to deliver that vaccine at a success rate of 99.998 percent which is unseen in the industry,” says Hendrikse While establishing these new processes has been a feat the teams work on refinement while continuing to ramp up production Both facilities have increased the number of batches they make as well as the batch size to produce more than 100 million doses a month they’ve built two additional formulation suites using 13,000 square feet of modular rooms that were shipped from Texas Grange Castle (Ireland) and Zagreb (Croatia) will contribute to the worldwide supply of the vaccine they've continued partnering with contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to further increase production as they work toward their goal of 3 billion doses in 2021. “Adding flexibility and increasing volume has been key. Meanwhile we continued to manufacture our more than 400 million units of other vaccines and injectables per year for millions of patients around the world,” underlines Van Steenwinkel.  And the work has been as memorable as anything could be When McEvoy considers the effect on his personal life it was a matter of life or death,” he says Knowing that they all received the vaccine makes him immensely proud “There aren't many projects in the history of mankind that have had this scope and to be a small part of that is incredibly rewarding.” the time he’s dedicated to the vaccine hasn’t felt like a job “You’re working actually to save the world When you see on the news how many people die every day there is no bigger motivator to work on something,” he says Van Steenwinkel says he feels grateful to have played a role and you see that pride and honor throughout the whole organization,” he says “People are so proud that they can work for Pfizer that they can contribute to making this happen and today that is more visible than ever.” Read more from the Shot of a Lifetime series: 1. Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has not been approved or licensed by FDA but has been authorized for emergency use by FDA under an EUA to prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for use in individuals aged 6 months through 11 years of age The emergency use of this product is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of the medical product under Section 564(b) (1) of the FD&C Act unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner Receive the latest news from Pfizer in our monthly The Breakthrough newsletter and email alerts on a variety of topics This information—including product information—is intended only for residents of the United States The products discussed herein may have different labeling in different countries PUURS, Belgium — The future of the world depends on a Belgian town so small that its parking lot is named Dorpshart a town of 17,000 in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders that America's Pfizer will manufacture a coronavirus vaccine created with Germany's BioNTech that is now hailed as one of the front-runners to liberate the world from lockdowns Don't feel too bad if you've never heard of Puurs. Within Belgium, it is mostly known for its skull-splittingly potent Duvel beer which according to an urban legend owes its name to someone calling it "a true devil" thanks to its alcohol percentage of 8.5 percent Thanks to the crisis, there's no chance of meeting the mayor, Koen Van den Heuvel, for a bottle of Duvel in De Vierklaver, the pub opposite the town hall, so we meet in his office where he now spends his days dealing with international media requests from Norwegian television to Britain's Daily Mail. They all have one question: Why did Pfizer pick this town (together with its Kalamazoo site in Michigan) to produce the vaccine Van den Heuvel doesn't mind telling the story over and over, proud as he is of the spotlight on his town. He has been the mayor for 24 years, and his name is so intertwined with the town that his center-right party participated in the last local elections under the name #teamkoen He takes evident relish in talking about the town's pharmaceutical boom. It allows him to take the focus off less pleasant aspects of life there, like handling the fall-out from recent extreme-right protests When Flanders' hot-button migration issues rocked the usually quiet town Van den Heuvel even briefly had police protection because of threats against him talking about the Pfizer plant and the country's industrial heritage allows him to discuss a big Belgian success story He kicks off at the end of the 19th century when Puurs was just farmland and felt like "the end of the world" — his words That all changed when the town was connected to the port city of Antwerp by train and by a string of new roads in the middle of the 20th century thanks to which Puurs is now in a sweet spot between Brussels Airport and the port of Antwerp you can export products from here by ship and by plane in a fairly quick way which is a major asset if you're producing something that's exported globally," said Van den Heuvel the Belgian government launched a series of laws to make the country more attractive for foreign investments investments from foreign medical and chemical companies such as Alcon and Upjohn started to pour into the region in 1963 eventually led to Pfizer Puurs becoming one of Pfizer's largest production and packaging sites worldwide More than 400 million doses of vaccines and medicines are produced in Puurs every year and the number of employees has doubled in the last 10 years Once the production volume of the vaccine increases that number might rise further in the coming months according to Pfizer spokesperson Koen Colpaert the company continues to invest in Belgium thanks "to the high-tech expertise and training of its staff and the high level of academic research." Pfizer Puurs is part of a bigger pharma ecosystem in Belgium The country ranks in the EU's top three for the export of pharmaceuticals Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline all go back to a long tradition in pharmaceuticals in the country both in production as in research and development who helped discover the Ebola virus and is now a special adviser on the coronavirus to the European Commission president; and Bruno Holthof who leads the Oxford University Hospitals which is also close to a breakthrough on a coronavirus vaccine with AstraZeneca "The pharma sector is definitely thriving," said Flemish Economy Minister Hilde Crevits who pointed out the increase in jobs and in research investments in the sector "We invest a lot in higher education and research which leads to high-educated staff and academic hospitals with which pharmaceutical companies can work together on clinical trials .. We also have a beneficiary tax system for scientific research and the use of patents." Industry organization Essenscia agrees that the government's policies have helped the pharmaceutical sector to thrive, for example by setting up the Institute for Biotechnology. "The government's efforts have helped create an important ecosystem in which companies universities and spin-offs help each other grow," said Beckx Belgium's location in the heart of Europe obviously helps Brussels Airport was one of the first to be specifically certified by the International Air Transport Association for cargo transport of pharmaceuticals Half of the production of Belgium's pharmaceuticals is exported outside the EU While Van den Heuvel acknowledges his town has been lucky to have been initially chosen as a production site for Pfizer he also makes sure that the Americans are eager to stay "The internal competition in these kind of multinationals is murderous and Belgium has a clear downside: high wage costs," Van den Heuvel said "That's why I make sure relations between the town and the company are as good as they can be and over time we have created a positive dynamic The expertise and the high focus on quality has led to new investments time and time again." Van den Heuvel has been known as a business-friendly politician That also applies to his local policy: When Pfizer asks for something A road was even sold to the company so that it could connect two of its sites When the company wanted to install two wind turbines in 2013 as was a recent hulking parking tower — an eyesore when driving into the town "This is a very densely populated area," said Steven Prinsen who represents the Greens in the town council "The back of the Pfizer plant is adjacent to a residential neighborhood in which residents have some noise nuisance from the wind turbines." But both Prinsen and his fellow opposition leader Jan Van Camp from the Flemish nationalist N-VA party have to admit that overall there is huge support for the pharmaceutical companies in the town The unemployment rate in Puurs is one of the lowest in the province of Antwerp Almost everyone in the town knows someone that works for one of these companies Van Camp's father's first job was with Upjohn "I've received some occasional criticism that we're too willing to give in to Pfizer's needs," said Van den Heuvel "But for such an icon that provides jobs for so many of our families And the success of this vaccine has not just made our entire town proud There is just one downside: Even if the vaccine gets the green light from health authorities the local production does not mean better access to the vaccine for those in the town a leading Belgian entertainment company [which also has its headquarters in the province of Antwerp] residents had early and cheaper access," said Van den Heuvel "I've already received some demands asking whether I can arrange something similar with Pfizer But pulling strings will be near impossible this time." This article is part of POLITICO’s premium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email [email protected] for a complimentary trial. The European Commission president has pledged to boost the EU’s ability to compete with the U.S. and China. Some leaders have called on new European Council President António Costa to help rein her in. The former Portuguese prime minister faces a difficult job in bridging EU disagreements while France and Germany remain distracted by domestic concerns. Wopke Hoekstra vows to keep EU climate targets despite Trump and populist pushback, but admits Europe can’t go it alone. including treatments for ulcerative colitis and migraines as well as its vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)."Our portfolio is strong and requires an expansion of our network to accommodate these new products that will really make an impact," McDermott said.The new products produced at the plants will cover various therapeutic areas including rare diseases he said.The expansion in Ireland will add around 400 to 500 jobs and allow it to double the amount of drug substance it makes at the site which produces material for complex biologic drugs and vaccines.In Belgium Pfizer is expanding the Puurs site's capacity to finalize and bottle doses of drug substance It is also expanding its packaging and cold storage capabilities there.The new projects will result in an additional 250 jobs at the Belgian plant whose workforce has grown to 4,500 people from 2,800 before the pandemic.Pfizer has also been spending significantly to expand its manufacturing capacity in the United States The New York-based drugmaker has announced plans to expand its Kalamazoo plants.It has also said it will spend close to $1 billion to boost its ability to produce gene therapies at sites in Massachusetts and North Carolina.($1 = 0.9530 euros)Reporting by Michael Erman in Maplewood The addition aligns with TekniPlex's goal of cleanroom film and bag production capacity expansion Global healthcare packaging company TekniPlex Healthcare has added a new multilayer blown film manufacturing line in a cleanroom environment at its facility in Puurs The new production line has been installed in response to the growing demand for higher-order barrier solutions in the healthcare industry.  It will further help TekniPlex to expand its existing cleanroom film and bag production capacity.  The new cleanroom-housed blown film line is expected to begin operations in the second quarter (Q2) of this year with full-scale commercial production to follow soon after The addition of the multilayer line complements the existing monolayer lines within the ISO Class 7 cleanrooms at the Puurs site which are dedicated to the production of cleanroom bags This expansion further aligns with the shift among healthcare market players towards pharma-grade resins produced under good manufacturing practice cleanroom conditions as opposed to food-grade resin-based bags.  Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis TekniPlex said that its customers have indicated a need for packaging solutions with enhanced barrier properties necessitating multilayer film and bag capabilities TekniPlex Sales and Marketing vice-president Bryan Wesselmann said: “There is a growing demand for films extruded and bags sealed in cleanroom environments across various healthcare categories “The introduction of cleanroom production for multilayer blown films and bags at our Puurs Belgium facility demonstrates our dedication to acquiring more extensive This expansion aligns with our goal of increasing capacities and market share for our existing solutions portfolio.”  Last June, TekniPlex announced its plans to open a new 200,000ft² production facility in Wisconsin Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network An inspection of shops in Bornem and Puurs-Sint-Amands (Antwerp Province) led to the discovery at one store of large quantities of snus Pouches containing powdered tobacco leaves are placed under the lip to allow nicotine to be absorbed through the oral membrane police and customs found 143 boxes of snus in the form of nicotine bags you can stick under your lip It was last Saturday that local police performed checks at newsagents and other stores The operation was staged in cooperation with the national social security office and Belgian customs The illegal snus was found in a shop in Puurs-Sint-Amands The small bags of tobacco leaves allow you to ingest nicotine without smoking It’s a practice that can be particularly addictive but its sale is banned in all EU states bar Denmark A total of five shops in Bornem and Puurs-Sint-Amands were checked During the inspections officials encountered several people doing undeclared work He is now under the jurisdiction of the immigration department in Brussels 2019 Maia World Cup women’s pair bronze-medalists Emily Davis and Aubrey Rosilier are third in the rankings for the dynamic routine at the Puurs (Belgium) World Cup Competition continues tomorrow with the second routine 2019 – 2019 Maia World Cup women’s pair bronze-medalists Emily Davis and Aubrey Rosilier duo posted a 27.410 for their dynamic routine Portugal’s Rita Ferreira and Ana Teixeira earned the top mark at 27.700 with Russia’s Vliia Salakhova and Diana Tukhvatullina second at 27.550 Russia’s Victoria Aksenova and Kirill Startsev topped the mixed pair dynamic score men’s pair Angel Felix and Braiden McDougall received a 26.400 for their balance routine Russia’s Timofei Ivanov and Maksim Karavaev’s 29.080 was the event’s best women’s group of Elanor Chang of Columbia who train at Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer placed ninth for their balance routine at 26.940 Britt Vanderdonckt and Charlotte van Royen grabbed a 29.700 and the top spot Team groups and pairs are competing in the Flanders Flanders International Acro Cup which is held in conjunction with the World Cup at the Sporthal De Vrijhals The World Cup schedule is: qualifications – April 13 at 4:15 p.m.; and finals – April 14 at 6 p.m For the detailed Flanders International Acro Cup schedule, click here The general schedule is below times; are local to Puurs For more information on both events, visit the event’s official website Participating gymnasts can earn World Cup points based on their performances that count toward the coveted Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup Series champion which will be determined this fall at the conclusion of the series each pair or group will perform balance and dynamic routines The pairs and groups that advance to the finals perform a combined routine Acrobatic gymnastics combines the beauty of dance with the strength and agility of acrobatics Routines are choreographed to music and consist of dance Pyramids and partner holds characterize the balance routine while synchronized tumbling and intricate flight elements define the dynamic exercise The acrobatic gymnastics events are: men’s pair An acrobatic gymnastics pair consists of a base and a top A women’s group is comprised of three athletes – a base middle and top partner – while a men’s group has four athletes USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures Former gymnast and business executive Li Li Leung is the new president and chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics) The first doses of the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine are on their way to the United Kingdom the earliest western country to grant emergency authorization The vaccine is manufactured by the U.S pharmaceutical giant Pfizer but most of the 1.3 billion shots Pfizer hopes to deliver in 2021 will be produced in the tiny factory town of Puurs Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy the first Western country to grant emergency authorization Trucks are carrying the temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccine to the U.K where it is being manufactured on a massive scale It's a process which began hours after the vaccine was authorized by U.K health regulators; 800,000 doses will arrive in the coming days The first shipments mark a milestone for scientists at BioNTech and are now at the forefront of a medical and scientific breakthrough We started this program at the end of January And just seeing the beginning of November actual product leaving the factory destined for use in people to start protecting them against this virus The vaccine was manufactured on the outskirts of this quiet town in Northern Belgium was best known for its notoriously strong Duvel beer Puurs' mayor is proud of his town's pharmaceutical success We say now that the hope of the world is here in Puurs you can export products worldwide in a fairly quick way Pfizer began its operation here in the mid-1960s when postwar investment flooded into Belgium It now employs one in 10 people in the town and has recruited extra numbers to cope with demand caused by the pandemic the work force here has been concentrating on the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine In the plant behind me is a sports stadium-sized facility packed with freezers ready to store hundreds of thousands of doses at minus-94 degrees Locals are stunned to find themselves at the center of a global vaccine race The Puurs plant will produce most of the 1.3 billion shots Pfizer hopes to deliver in 2021 globally But living next door to a major pharmaceutical hub doesn't guarantee better access to a shot The only thing that's good for me or for this town is that they give a lot of job opportunities for the people around here We realized from the other day people are coming from all over it's like the whole world discovered Puurs all of a sudden Brussels Airport is preparing for its role as a key distribution hub A United Airlines flight has already flown from here to Chicago with the first mass air shipment in preparation for impending approval The Pfizer vaccine requires extremely cold storage temperatures Pfizer has already slashed its original rollout targets due to obstacles in the cold chain With each vaccine having different requirements in terms of transportation maintaining the right transport temperature to protect the packaging against temperature shocks is extremely important throughout the whole logistical supply chain And we have more than 30,000 square meters of temperature-controlled rooms at the airport The U.K.'s decision to approve Pfizer's vaccine has put pressure on other countries' health agencies to follow suit A decision is expected from the European Medicines Agency and the FDA within days We have been manufacturing doses abreast in our factories before approval in order to ensure we can deliver almost immediately to these trading blocs or countries and Europe share a hope to begin administering the first vaccines by the end of this year prioritizing front-line health workers and the most vulnerable expects to receive a total of 40 million doses from Pfizer and competitor Moderna by the end of this year That's enough to vaccinate 20 million people The vaccines are one of four that could be rolled out globally by spring 2021 offering hope for an end to the pandemic that has already claimed 1.5 million lives For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lucy Hough in Puurs © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins West Coast Training Center’s Morgan Sweeney of Danville won the bronze medal Sunday at the Puurs (Belgium) World Cup 2017 – West Coast Training Center’s Morgan Sweeney of Danville Maren Merwarth and Jessican Renteria both of San Antonio finishing fourth in the women’s pair competition Sweeney and Waterson qualified to Sunday’s final in second place after scores of 27.570 they earned a 26.410 for their combined routine to take the bronze medal Veranika Nabokina and Karina Sandovich won the gold medal and Alina Petrova posted a 27.870 for second Merwarth and Renteria qualified to the final in second place with a total of 55.830 for their dynamic (27.680) and balance (28.150) routines Belgium’s Noemie Lammertyn and Lore Vanden Berghe took the top spot at 28.760 followed by Israel’s Mika Lefkovtis and Roni Surzon (28.510) and North Korea’s Kum hwa Jong and Yun ae Pyon (28.460) are second in the rankings for the all-around heading into tomorrow’s finals at the Puurs (Belgium) World Cup duo posted a 54.950 for their two-event score routine to slip by the Ukraine’s Yuliia Plypiak and Olksandra-Mariia Tabachynska’s 54.880 pair’s two routine scores were 27.530 for balance and 27.410 for dynamic Portugal’s Rita Ferreira and Ana Teixeira earned the top mark at 56.370 remained in 15th place at 49.540 (25.780/23.760) Russia’s Victoria Aksenova and Kirill Startsev topped the mixed pair ranking at 59.260 received a 53.060 for their two-routine mark (26.400; 26.660) Russia’s Timofei Ivanov and Maksim Karavaev are first in the event’s two-routine ranking at 57.020 placed 10th for two routines at 54.090 (26.940; 27.150) Britt Vanderdonckt and Charlotte van Royen snared a total of 57.710 for the top spot Team groups and pairs competing in the Flanders Flanders International Acro Cup and those competing in the finals are listed first and have an “*” The scores listed are for two events (balance and dynamic) combined The finals schedule is below; times are local to Puurs For more information on both events, visit the event’s official website. Participating gymnasts can earn World Cup points based on their performances that count toward the coveted Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup Series champion, which will be determined this fall at the conclusion of the series. At every World Cup, each pair or group will perform balance and dynamic routines. The pairs and groups that advance to the finals perform a combined routine. Alison Frankel has covered high-stakes commercial litigation as a columnist for Reuters since 2011. A Dartmouth college graduate, she has worked as a journalist in New York covering the legal industry and the law for more than three decades. Before joining Reuters, she was a writer and editor at The American Lawyer. Frankel is the author of Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World’s Most Valuable Coin. It will continue working on a once-daily version.Reporting by Manas Mishra and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila Europe and US create vast facilities for Covid-19 vaccine but poorer nations lack infrastructure Two vast football-pitch-sized facilities equipped with hundreds of large freezers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Puurs, Belgium, will be the centres of the huge effort to ship the coronavirus vaccine, developed by US drug giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech Nick Doyle, the managing director of the risk consulting firm Kroll, said: “It’s going to be a monumental challenge. We do have a duty of care for international populations. The poorer countries in the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Asia, are going to find this challenging.” Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, said news of the vaccine was exciting, but that it “presages significant cold chain challenges for African countries”. Toby Peters, a professor of cold economy at the University of Birmingham, echoed those comments, saying: “The problem is particularly acute in the global south where many rural villages don’t even have a working vaccine fridge.” Once they have amassed more data from clinical trials, Pfizer and BioNTech plan to apply for emergency approval for the vaccine from the US and other regulators this month and expect to start shipping the vaccine to other countries in December. Read moreThere will be 100m doses going to the US Countries in South America and the Asia-Pacific region have also preordered the vaccine Pfizer plans to supply 50m doses globally this year The centres in Kalamazoo and Puurs have already been making hundreds of thousands of doses of the vaccine are on standby to provide extra storage capacity the vaccine will be transported in suitcase-sized storage boxes packed with dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) that have been specially designed by Pfizer Each reusable box can hold between 1,000 and 5,000 doses at ultra-cold temperatures for up to 10 days Pfizer said its vaccine can be kept for up to five days at fridge temperatures of 2-8C will allow Pfizer to ship the vaccine faster – it expects a combined 24 lorries a day will be transporting them from Kalamazoo and Puurs to airports The problem is particularly acute in the global south where many rural villages don’t even have a working vaccine fridgeToby Peters, University of BirminghamThe logistics companies UPS, FedEx and DHL are also getting ready to handle vaccines that need cold storage to house a total of 600 deep-freezers that can each hold 48,000 vials of vaccine at temperatures as low as -80C and FedEx has been adding freezers and refrigerated lorries Germany plans to set up 60 special vaccination centres equipped with ultra-low-temperature freezers the Department of Health and Social Care said it had provided GP practices with an additional £150m to support the vaccine rollout over the coming months Other coronavirus vaccines in development will not need to be stored at ultra-cool temperatures including the one from the US firm Moderna Vaccines that are being developed by Johnson & Johnson of the US AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford and France’s Sanofi and the UK drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline are expected to be stored and shipped in an unfrozen state said Unicef and the WHO had installed more than 40,000 fridges to store vaccines in low-income countries Unicef has also bought hundreds of millions of syringes and is storing them in Unicef-controlled warehouses ready to be shipped to countries once Covid-19 vaccines are available The Covax alliance of governments, global health organisations and businesses wants to deliver 2bn doses of coronavirus vaccines around the world by the end of 2021. ​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishGENERAL, WORLDBarack Obama welcomed by Belgian royalty ahead of speech at Flemish tech event17 March 2024 King Philippe and his daughter received former US president Barack Obama at the Castle of Laeken on Sunday Obama will travel to Puurs Sint-Amands in Antwerp province to give a speech at a technology conference King Philippe previously welcomed Obama to the palace in 2014 as part of a state visit that was followed by his participation in the G7 summit Obama is expected late on Sunday afternoon at the Studio 100 pop-up theatre in Puurs-Saint-Amand for a talk entitled An Evening with President Barack Obama as a prelude to the Supernova technology festival organised by Flanders Technology and Innovation (FTI) The FTI Festival is an umbrella term for festivals in six cities Obama will "take part in a moderated discussion about the challenges we face and his vision for the future" The Antwerp festival will also feature speakers from technology and innovation companies such as IDEO Strict security measures are in place In Puurs-Sint-Amands Drones will be banned in the vicinity of the theatre from 12.00 to 22.00 on Sunday Mayor Koen Van den Heuvel said the temporary drone ban was at the request of security forces to ensure the safety of the airspace during the event Obama will arrive at the venue with a police escort and the venue will undergo a security sweep before his arrival and now all we can do is wait in suspense," the mayor said #FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO BELGIAN ROYAL PALACE ON X Text description provided by the architects. The new fire station for the city of Puurs is build on a new plot next to the highway, emphasizing one of the key points in the design: speed. A Fire station is the build reality of speed and efficiency, a heroic building standing tall in the surrounding chaos, forming a beacon for the city of Puurs. © Stijn BollaertThis machine à travailler, home to around 60 firefighters, is designed to suite the high safety rules necessary to efficiently perform their tasks. Overview, cleanness and order throve the design to it’s build form. © Stijn BollaertThe station measuring 35x72m and with a usable surface of approx 2160 sqm can be divided in 3 zones: apparatus bay/vehicle storage In the large central hall the intervention vehicles are hibernating behind the transparent gates… While the firemen socialize in their living room with a view on their fire trucks from the internal window bay This Central belly of the beast divides the building in a humane section for all representative functions (administration etc) and a post intervention area designed for maintenance of all equipment On the lateral sides of the station a five-meter wide canopy literally frames the building in de surrounding landscape acts as a vertical entity and forms a lighthouse prominent and ready for action at any time of the day You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Puurs is a modest Belgian city with a population of 17,000 that is mostly invested in agriculture Puurs is known to come alive and busy on the weekends when tourists flock into the city to visit World War II’s Fort Breendonk Puurs started welcoming dozens of journalists and media broadcasters who made for the city after US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that its main factory there will be manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer will be manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech and distributing it across Europe The first batch of the vaccine has already been delivered to the UK last Thursday A spokesperson from Pfizer confirmed that the company expects to globally produce up to 50 million vaccine doses by the end of this year Correspondents from British media began arriving in Puurs after Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that the final green light was given to rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and that the UK will begin distributing it as of Tuesday Pfizer's decision to set up its main European factory in Belgium dates back to the early 1950s Most major US pharmaceuticals were attracted to Belgium’s long-standing expertise in chemical industries and geographic location which is strategically nestled at Europe’s center Locals at Puurs who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat have expressed pride in Pfizer’s achievements after deciding to go into full-throttle on production to meet Europe’s vaccine demand Pfizer added 300 employees to its original 3,000 at the Puurs facility who has been the Mayor of Puurs for the past 24 years said locals feel a great sense of pride that something that could save millions of lives is being manufactured in their town "I feel the pride of the inhabitants and we say now that we are going to save the world!" Van Der Heuvel told Euronews I hope that our town can have one of the 50 vaccination centers because for me it is very important that people can go near their home for a vaccine." the town is home to a cluster of pharmaceutical companies The Pakistan military said on Monday it had conducted a second missile test since a fresh stand-off with India over the disputed region of Kashmir New Delhi has blamed Islamabad for backing a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of the divided territory last month sparking a series of heated threats and diplomatic tit-for-tat measures The missile test comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Islamabad on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before heading to New Delhi later this week Araghchi will be the first senior foreign diplomat to visit both countries after Iran offered to mediate between the two nuclear-armed neighbors “We do not want tensions to develop in this region and we will spare no effort to help de-escalate the situation between the two countries," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said The Pakistan military tested a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles) "The launch was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters including the missile's advanced navigation system and enhanced accuracy," the military said the military said it had tested a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometers It did not say where either of the tests took place Sharif said he was satisfied with the military's "full preparedness for national defense" "The successful training launch clearly shows that Pakistan's defense is in strong hands," he said in a statement is divided between Pakistan and India but claimed in full by both No group has claimed responsibility for the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people but rebels have waged an insurgency since 1989 Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last week he has given his military "full operational freedom" to respond and Islamabad has warned it will respond with force to any aggression International pressure has been piled on both New Delhi and Islamabad -- who have fought several wars over the disputed Kashmir region -- to de-escalate US Vice President JD Vance has called on India to respond to the attack in a way "that doesn't lead to a broader regional conflict" he also urged Pakistan to "make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with" Russia called for de-escalation between the two countries with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters on Monday that Moscow was "following with great concern the atmosphere that has developed on the border" "Pakistan is presenting its case to friendly countries," Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters on a visit to Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Monday The two sides have exchanged nightly gunfire for more than a week along the militarized Line of Control a vast manhunt seeking the gunmen continues across the territory while those living along the frontier are moving further away -- or cleaning out bunkers fearing conflict emergency drills have been carried out on playing fields residents have been told to stock up on food and medicine Sharif has postponed an official visit to Malaysia scheduled for Friday Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday hree selected Indonesian lecturers who participated in capacity-building program HigherHeight – Pfizer Biotech Fellowship 2022 visited a Pfizer manufacturing facility in Puurs-Sint-Amands to enhance participants’ medical biotechnology knowledge as well as give them insight into Pfizer’s manufacturing practices and global supply chain The three researchers and lecturers joining the visit are Listya Utami Karmawan chairwoman of the Indonesian Biotechnology Study Program Association and head of Atma Jaya Catholic University’s Biotechnology Program lecturer at Malang State University’s biotechnology program senior researcher at the National and Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and lecturer at Atma Jaya Catholic University’s biotechnology program the lecturers were welcomed by the plant’s Aseptic Manufacturing director Yannick Ancaer and the local team in Puurs The lecturers had a tour of the Puurs facility and engaged in several discussions including on intellectual property protection in the world of scientific research and development Listya said the program would have an impact on the development of biotechnology in Indonesia "As teaching staff and researchers are frontliners in creating the next generation of excellence we really appreciate the opportunity to visit Pfizer’s biotechnology factory in Puurs especially for curriculum development related to medical biotechnology in Indonesia." “We see the HigherHeight - Pfizer Biotech Fellowship as a platform for industry collaboration with universities that can encourage and inspire transformative research assessment and implementation and innovation as well as for further development of Biotechnology curriculum in our institution.” "Our visit to Pfizer's biotechnology factory has inspired us to redouble our efforts in refining and enhancing the quality of Indonesia's human capital in the biotechnology sector and to leverage technology to catalyze transformative innovations that can advance public health.” "We hope that the visit will be a platform to exchange knowledge between the educators and the experts that can inspire the lecturers to further advance medical biotechnology education in Indonesia." Pfizer Puurs manufacturing site is one of the largest production and packaging sites among Pfizer’s global supply network specializing in aseptic production and packaging The Pfizer Puurs facility covers more than 100,000 square meters and manufactures more than 400 million doses of injectable medicines and vaccines every year – excluding the COVID-19 volumes The product physiology ranges from sterile solutions sterile gels and freeze dry products are all packed on site in vials Pfizer Puurs has become the heart of Pfizer’s COVID-19 response efforts globally as it has supplied a few billion of doses of the PfizerBioNTech COVID- 19 vaccine to 175 markets around the world During the capacity-building program of 2022 researchers and lecturers received training and the opportunity to exchange ideas on various topics real-world data to vaccine supply chains with research institutes and the world-class health biotechnology industry The HigherHeight - Pfizer Biotech Fellowship was first held in 2021, attended by 125 students and teaching staff from 11 universities with biotechnology programs nationwide. In 2022, the program focused on the training of trainers for educators, and it was attended by 30 researchers and lecturers from 16 universities. Detailed information about the program can be found at higher-height.com The HigherHeight - Pfizer Biotech Fellowship is a program aimed to accelerate the transformation of national health talents through training and capacity building for medical biotechnology educators and students in Indonesia the theme of the program was Turbocharging Indonesia’s Medical Biotech Education focusing on strengthen the capacity of medical biotechnology lecturers and researchers from 16 participating universities This article is written in partnership with Tenggara Strategics Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small or large—find what’s most comfortable for you Former US president Barack Obama is coming to Belgium in March to give a lecture He will take part in the opening debate for the technology festival SuperNova An Evening with President Barack Obama will take place at the Studio 100 Pop-Up Theater on 17 March as part of the SuperNova technology festival in Puurs SuperNova was held for the first time in 2018 in Antwerp as a combination of a conference with well-known speakers and a technology fair with demonstrations The plan was for it to be a biennial event The second edition of the festival will now take place on March 21 and 22 Obama will participate in “a moderated conversation about the challenges we face and his vision for the future” SuperNova will also feature speakers from high-profile technology companies such as IDEO There will be talks with local entrepreneurs and promising start-ups and scale-ups will have the chance to pitch to a group of international investors