“Heaven-sent” was the feeling last year as winter rains filled Israel’s reservoirs and the inland lake, the Sea of Galilee.
But 2014 has been a different story, as a severe drought was declared by February.
Israel is 60 percent desert, and for the last 60 years it is has braced itself for dry winters like this one, possibly the driest ever. Yet except for growers of non-irrigated crops, Israel isn’t worried. Since 1948, Israel has planned, forecasted and built infrastructure, policies, research and technologies to withstand drought.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently offered to help California overcome its extreme drought –– affecting about two-thirds of its 38 million residents — using Israeli science, water conservation and desalination technology.
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A new study shows that it’s profitable to do business with Israeli companies. More than 200 companies with connections to Israel contributed $6.2 billion to the Massachusetts economy last year, reports a study conducted by the consulting firm Stax and supported by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston.
“Massachusetts has become a home away from home for Israel’s innovation economy,” Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick was quoted as saying by JTA.
The study says the businesses range from information technology to life sciences and software. The companies employed more than 6,600 people in 2012.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and the UK’s Cancer Research Technology (CRT) have signed a multi-project alliance agreement to research and develop first-in-class cancer drugs that modulate DNA damage and repair response (DDR) processes in cancer cells.
DDR plays a key role in protecting cancer cells from the damaging effect of chemotherapy – creating an in-built antidote to the toxic effects of the anti-tumor drug. As the cancer cells that are best able to repair the DNA damage caused by the cancer treatments survive, they replicate, naturally selecting for the mutation with the enhanced repair capability – leading to recurrence and resistance to treatment.
“For cancer patients, it is important that we maintain the momentum of progress that has been made in oncology in recent years,” said Dr. Michael Hayden, President, Teva Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer. “Cancer Research UK, CRT, and their outstanding academic partners, are a driving force in the improved understanding of cancer and its treatment. This research collaboration will build on our understanding of how cells repair DNA damage, help us identify possible points of therapeutic intervention, and lead us onto a pathway to improve clinical outcomes for cancer patients.”
The alliance now provides Teva with the opportunity to research and develop selected and differentiated novel treatments targeting DDR processes.
Autotalks, founded and headquartered in Israel, has become a world leader in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology, which enables, for example, traffic lights and other infrastructure to respond to an emergency vehicle’s needs.
In 2008, Israeli entrepreneurs Nir Sasson and Onn Haran founded Autotalks to fill a need in the automotive industry. They implemented a sophisticated wireless technology in a smart chipset that allows cars to exchange data.
Sufferers of Crohn’s and other diseases, including obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and iron deficiency anemia, will benefit from the US Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) clearance Tuesday of the next generation PillCam, SB 3, created by Israeli capsule endoscopy developer Given Imaging, which is listed on the Tel Aviv and Nasdaq stock exchanges. The new cameras will be marketed in the US starting in the fourth quarter of this year. In a statement, Given Imaging president and CEO Homi Shamir said, “With more […]
“If you look at Israeli success stories in agro technology, there are Netafim [drip irrigation] and [seed companies] Zeraim Gedera, Hazera Genetics and Hishtil,” says Gideon Soesman, a co-founder and managing partner of GreenSoil.
“You see these success stories from Israel, yet no one has really focused on that area. There is a wide gap in the market; there is a global need and Israel has an answer but there were no funds going there. We want to help the world and help Israel while offering a business opportunity. It’s a no-brainer,” he says.
Israeli-American Stratasys, the leader in 3D printing and production systems, recently announced that it has been selected by The UPS Store to provide 3D printers in its test program for retail 3D printing services.