Glaxo malaria vaccine trials successful - third phase to start
Mumbai: GlaxoSmithKline Biological researchers have reported that their candidate vaccine for malaria protected a significant number of children against uncomplicated malaria infection and several other forms of the disease for at least six months.

And while these global studies are now set to enter clinical trials in the third phase, GSK's Indian arm looks to bring in some of these trials into India.

Clinical trials till date on the vaccine candidate had been done in Mozambique, Africa, as a joint public-private collaboration, he said. About 2,022 children were involved in the trial conducted by CISM (a Mozambique Government health body), GSK Biologicals and Malaria Vaccine Initiative of PATH (a non-governmental organisation promoted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

The malaria vaccine trial efficacy trial has confirmed the vaccines' safety in children between one and four and it was found to be effective even against severe forms of malaria, such as cerebral malaria, said GSK officials.
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CII -AOTS training for corporate managers in Japan
Bangalore: The Confederation of Indian Industry and AOTS (Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship) are jointly organising a two-week training programme on `Corporate management for India (IDCM) for company-wide problem solving' at Aichi, Japan, from March 2 to 15, 2005.

AOTS is a non-profit association run with Japanese Government subsidies from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. It conducts technical and management training programmes in Japan for the people of developing countries.

The two-week programme is designed to provide an opportunity for middle to senior-level management in India to upgrade their corporate management capabilities. The programme will focus on the theory and practices of company-wide problem-solving methods.
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Sona Koyo to pick up 21 percent stake in Fuji Autotech
New Delhi: Auto components maker Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd on has said that it intends to invest euro 5 million (about Rs28.5 crore) in Fuji Autotech, an auto components manufacturing firm in France, as part of its global expansion plans.

Fuji Autotech makes steering columns for automakers such as Peugeot and Renault. Sona Koyo has the option to raise the stake to 30 per cent in three years.

The remaining 79 per cent stake in the French company will be with Fuji Kiko of Japan. Incidentally, Fuji Kiko is an associate company of Koyo Seiko (Japan), which in turn holds a 20 per cent stake in Sona Koyo.

Sona Koyo has the right to increase its stake in Fuji Autotech to 30 per cent over three years at the same price and also to proportionately appoint a director on the company board.

According to Fuji Autotech it would like to use Sona Koyo's quality and low-cost manufacturing base to reduce costs. With Fuji Autotech's growth, Sona Koyo's business in Europe to should experience an upswing. Fuji Kiko Group in Europe and the US are market leaders in the commercial vehicle steering column segment, and Sona Koyo could take advantage of this technology transfer for the growing Indian and South Asian market, according to the company.

Meanwhile, Sona Koyo said the decision to purchase the stake is part of a two-pronged strategy.

Sona Koyo plans to use Fuji technology for making steering columns for commercial vehicles, a product which it does not currently offer.

Meanwhile, the company said its profit in the three months ended September 30 jumped by 33 per cent to Rs 3.89 crore from Rs 2.92 crore in the year-ago period. Sales in the second quarter of this fiscal increased by 24 per cent to Rs 87.53 crore.
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Canon India aiming for Rs.270-crore turnover
Kolkata: Canon India Pvt. Ltd hopes to achieve a turnover of Rs.270 crore during the year ending December 31, 2004. The company recorded a turnover of Rs230 crore during 2003.

By 2007, sales to SMB and SOHO segments would be around Rs125 crore. Currently, the SOHO segment accounts for 18 per cent of Canon India's digital products business. This is expected to go up to 25 per cent by 2007. Within the SME segment, Canon would focus on verticals such as ITES, BPO and exporters.

According to the company the size of the market for digital imaging products has been estimated at Rs1,500 crore at present. The market size was estimated to go up to Rs3,000 crore by 2007.

The company has introduced seven new products that are specifically targeted at the SME and SOHO segments. These include a range of bubblejet fax machines and laser multifunction devices.

With this, Canon's product portfolio for the SME and SOHO segments has gone up to 12 products. According to the company, India has about 18 lakh SOHO and two lakh SMEs.
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Reliance coughs up Rs60 crore to avoid disconnection
New Delhi: Reliance Infocomm has made payments of Rs60 crore to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd as an interim arrangement, pending a resolution of the dispute between the two companies over routing of incoming international calls illegally. The payments were made after BSNL threatened to disconnect the interconnection if the payment was not made immediately.

Sources in Reliance said that the payments should not be construed as an admission of any licence violation as alleged by BSNL. It said that it had decided to make an interim payment to BSNL in the form of an escrow account.

The Department of Telecommunication had earlier said that Reliance Infocomm had been found to be violating licence norms by routing international long distance calls illegally into the country.

BSNL officials said that Reliance was routing international long distance calls into the country and terminating on the state-owned company's fixed line network as if it were a local call in order to escape payment of the access deficit charges to BSNL.
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BEA Systems showcase Beehive
Hyderabad: BEA Systems, an enterprise infrastructure software company, has begun efforts to expand in the region. Recognising the need for an easy-to-use programming model for building J2EE applications, BEA has showcased Beehive, a workshop application framework intended to make Java enterprise development more broadly accessible.
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Four Soft completes acquisition of CargoMate
Hyderabad: Four Soft Ltd, a supply chain and logistics technology solutions provider, has completed the acquisition of CargoMate, a Dutch peer, and has converted it as its European subsidiary. The company has engaged consultants for more overseas buyouts.

The acquisition cost will amount to $1.9 million (about Rs8 crore). As per the arrangement, CargoMate shareholders will receive 87.5 per cent in cash and 12.5 per cent in the form of common stock of Four Soft. The transfer of shares has been completed and the subsidiary has been named Four Soft B.V.

CargoMate is engaged in logistics related services for the past 14 years supporting the shipping and cargo industry in the Europe with about 50 customers. This acquisition enables FourSoft's entry into the small and medium logistics and supply chain management service providers market in Europe.

Four Soft, which had cash reserves of about Rs34 crore after the IPO, continues to scout for more acquisitions.
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Chris Cairns is brand ambassador for Zingaro
Mumbai: Millennium Alcobev has appointed Chris Cairns, the vice-captain of the New Zealand cricket team, as brand ambassador for its flagship beer brand, Zingaro.

The cricketer is arriving in Mumbai shortly to shoot for the new Zingaro campaign. The advertising account is handled by Triton Communications.

According to Millennium Alcobev, Zingaro is targeted as the beverage for tough, daring, outdoorsy and rugged males and Chris Cairns fits in well with the brand values of Zingaro which has just gone in for a massive makeover.
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Lucky draw scheme from Royal Nepal Airlines
New Delhi: Royal Nepal Airlines, along with the Nepalese Tourism Board (NTB), has announced a `holiday prize scheme' which offers its passengers the chance of winning 20 round trip air-tickets to Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

The lucky draw scheme, which offers a chance of winning free air tickets to destinations in South-East Asia, is open to all Indian passengers purchasing a round trip with the airline between India and Nepal. This scheme is to remain in force till December 31 this year and the passenger has to utilise the prize-winning ticket by July 15 next year.

India is an important tourist market for Nepal. The number of Indians visiting Nepal has been steadily increasing and is likely to touch the 1,00,000-mark by the end of the year up from about 86,000 Indian tourists visiting last year.
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Sheetal launches jewellery range
Mumbai: The Mumbai-based Sheetal Manufacturing Co has launched its Kiah brand of diamond jewellery with actress Sushmita Sen as their brand ambassador.

The company will also be investing Rs150 crore during the next two years to set up a retail chain for marketing the products across the country.

The Kiah range includes rings, pendants and necklaces, which range from Rs4,000 a piece for the daily wear collection to Rs10 lakh apiece for the bridal wear collection.

The company is banking on its designs, which would be the USP for the new brand.
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Tanishq unveils festival collection
New Delhi: Jewellery brand Tanishq has announced the launch of a new range of festive collection in 22 carat gold and diamonds.

The Tanishq retail chain currently includes 69 exclusive boutiques in 54 cities.
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