(February 24, 2021) UCB taps Microsoft to accelerate drug discovery, clinical trials
UCB and Microsoft have entered into a multiyear strategic collaboration.
The deal will see Microsoft use its capabilities in computational services,
cloud computing and artificial intelligence to support drug discovery and development at UCB.
Belgium’s UCB is also looking to identify other areas of its operation that could benefit from AI and additional computing power.
UCB is yet to name areas it is exploring, saying only that the work will span “every part of the drug discovery and delivery value chain”
and is intended to accelerate the development of life-changing treatments in immunology and neurology.
The partners have set four strategic objectives for the alliance. As well as improving the overall patient journey,
UCB and Microsoft want to better understand the causes of disease, speed discovery using data-driven insights
and accelerate clinical development timelines. The collaboration expands on an existing relationship
between UCB and Microsoft that is focused on COVID-19.
[link to www.fiercebiotech.com (secure)]

(February 24, 2021) Rwanda becomes first in Africa to Trial Air Travel Digital Health Passport
RwandAir will become the first African airline to trial IATA Travel pass,
a digial health pass currently being trialled around the world.
The airline will begin a three-week trial in April for customers travelling between Kigali and Nairobi in Kenya.
The IATA Travel Pass is a digital platform to help passengers easily and securely verify that they comply
with Covid-19 test or vaccine travel requirements, in turn giving governments the confidence to reopen borders.
[link to www.gulf-times.com (secure)]

(February 24, 2021) Malaysia Airlines to introduce Digital Travel Health Pass
National carrier Malaysia Airlines plans to introduce a Digital Travel Health Pass to enable
safer air travel in a post-pandemic era. In a statement today, the airline said the health pass will integrate modules
from the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass,
enabling passengers to create a digital passport on the Malaysia Airlines mobile app.
[link to www.malaymail.com (secure)]

(February 24, 2021) Why we’re suing over the £23m NHS data deal with Palantir
We’ve just issued a lawsuit over their £23m NHS data deal with controversial ‘spy tech’ company Palantir.
We’re taking the government to court because, right before Christmas, they quietly gave this CIA-backed firm a major, long-term role
in handling our personal health information, and in England’s cherished National Health Service.
The government claimed the initial Palantir ‘datastore’ deal, signed last March, was a short-term, emergency response to the pandemic.
But December's new, two-year contract reaches far beyond COVID: to Brexit, general business planning and much more.
And, as the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals today, it comes after years of Palantir lobbying top UK and NHS officials,
courting them in London, San Francisco and Davos – over dinner and watermelon cocktails.
[link to www.opendemocracy.net (secure)]