Israel Scholar To Lead Advancement of Scholarly Communication in Israel

Rehovot, Israel - (5 December 2005) - Quoting the letter sent to Weizmann Institute scientists by Alexei Koudinov of Israel Scholar:

Subject: Please help your colleagues and students notice Israel Scholar mission

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to introduce Israel Scholar, web based independent non-profit educational organization. Run by scholars, it aims to promote and unite global Israel Scholarship. Israel Scholar and its partners across the global academic world are reshaping scholarly communication.

Taking advantage of the modern Internet technology and its' end-user availability, Israel Scholar is setting the Israel Scholar Works Archive, where every Israel and/or Jewish scholar could personally permanently archive his or her creative work, and make it freely available for peers and for the public.

You should know that current scholar publishing models are not economically sound and do not serve the public interest. Academic researchers, faculty and students all over the world have access to a decreasing fraction of relevant scholarship. But new software tools and technologies are being developed, tested and implemented, providing a technical background for Israel Scholar Works.

Therefore, Israel Scholar Works will provide a platform to have Israel scholars rights to regain control over their scholarship realized easily. Additionally, Israel Scholar Communication Scroll aims to educate Israel academics and students about Open Access movement, and help scholars to realize that the responsibility and rights of regaining control of scholarly communication rests with them.

In case you would like your peers, funding agencies, and the general public have no barrier free access to your important contribution, why not to learn the basic facts About Israel Scholar Works benefits and how easy is to Get Ready To Archive Your Works. An interested individual can also register to submit to Israel Scholar Works, so she or he will be automatically notified in early January 2006 when Israel Scholar Works submission system go live. We will also appreciate delivering the message about Israel Scholar and its' mission to your Department members, colleagues and students, perhaps by placing a link to Israel Scholar at your web pages, via email newsletter, and by re posting this email to your departmental, institutional or professional mail list.We believe in your support and interest.

Sincerely,

Alexei Koudinov, MD, PhD
Israel Scholar
Neurobiology of Lipids
Doping Journal

Helpful Links:
Israel Scholar Works: About Israel Scholar Works: Intro Israel Scholar Works: Getting Ready for submission Israel Scholar Works: Register to submit your works Israel Scholar Communication Scrolls Israel Scholar eMail Alerts

Innovative 'in-the-capsule' technology by Jerusalem-based startup Intec Pharma

"Most people have heard of and been amazed by Given Imaging's camera-in-a-capsule - the groundbreaking Israeli technology that has redefined gastrointestinal diagnosis and benefited tens of thousands of patients worldwide.

Well, it must be an Israeli thing, because now Jerusalem-based startup Intec Pharma has come up with its own equally innovative 'in-the-capsule' technology which could likely create the next big splash in the Pharma industry - the Accordion Pill.

An oral drug delivery system, the Accordion Pill may look like an ordinary-sized capsule, but once inside the stomach it unfolds like an accordion and positions itself as a controlled-release platform. This unique technology will enable Intec to be a conduit for major slow release drugs that can be administered once daily cutting out the need for someone to take as many as five pills a day.

Our bodies naturally have a hard time absorbing certain medication into the bloodstream. In some instances a drug dosing may be too sudden - and too much active ingredient enters the narrow absorption window; in other cases, an insufficient amount of drug is absorbed and the active ingredients get quickly flushed outside the body.

The Accordion Pill ultimately solves this problem by retaining the pharmaceutical ingredients in the stomach for as long as 24 hours, compared to a maximum stomach residency of three hours in a regular formulation. It can also be designed to release the ingredients at desired intervals according to a drug developer?s demands. Within a day the small accordion structure biodegrades and passes through the system.

The Accordion Pill targets drugs that need to be absorbed by the bloodstream in a limited area of the upper small intestine known as the 'narrow absorption window', a physical area of the lower stomach and the upper part of the small intestine. Drugs that could benefit from Intec's technology are used for treating a wide variety of conditions such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, hypertension, AIDS, obesity and for pain relief.

The potential market for the Accordion Pill is so large that Intec succeeded in wooing CEO Efi Cohen-Arazi - a vice president of Amgen, the largest biotech company in the world - to its small offices in the hills of Jerusalem.

After just a few months on board, he was able to be part of Intec's latest milestone - last month's successful completion of Phase I clinical trials for a drug platform. The Accordion Pill will pass through further clinical trials depending on what company co-develops active compounds with them.

The study, conducted at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, demonstrated that the Accordion Pill could double the amount of Riboflavin retained in the body. The study was based on cross-over data from thirteen healthy volunteers who received alternate 75 mg. doses of Accordion Pill Riboflavin and regular immediate release Riboflavin following a low calorie meal (280 calories).

The study results showed that the Riboflavin Accordion Pill was retained in the stomach and continued to release Riboflavin to its absorption sites for significantly longer periods of time than regular Riboflavin. The stomach retention time for Accordion Pill Riboflavin was more than 6 hours compared to less than 2 hours with regular Riboflavin; the absorption time for Accordion Pill Riboflavin was 8 hours compared to 3 hours for regular Riboflavin. As a result, the total amount of Riboflavin absorbed by the body was 100 percent greater when the Accordion Pill was used than when it was not.

The study results were presented last month by Prof. Amnon Hoffman of the Hebrew University at the 32nd annual meeting of the Controlled Release Society in Miami, Florida. Hoffman together with Prof. Michael Friedman is co-developer of the Accordion Pill and a member of the Intec Pharma Scientific Advisory Board..."

Source: Karin Kloosterman. Israel's 'Accordion Pill' unfolds according to plan. Israel21C (10 July 2005) [FullText]

Schwartz Endows TAU, U of Manitoba Exchange Program

"WINNIPEG — Gerry Schwartz, one of Canada’s leading businessmen, may live in Toronto now, but he hasn’t forgotten his alma mater.

The University of Manitoba announced last month that Schwartz, who graduated from the university in the early 1960s, has donated $500,000 to establish the Arni C. Thorsteinson International Exchange Program at its I.H. Asper School of Business.

The program will allow undergraduate business students at U of M and Tel Aviv University (TAU) to learn through collaborative exchange programs between the two universities.

The first such program is scheduled for later this summer.

Rob Warren, director of the Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship, said four of his U of M students will be in Tel Aviv from July 30 to Aug. 10, while four students from TAU will be in Winnipeg from Aug. 10 to 20. The students will be studying financial modelling and preparing business plans for a technology venture. On the last day of the program, they will present their business plans to a team of investors.

“This gift shows that Gerry Schwartz has great faith in the ability of the University of Manitoba to deliver world class programs,” Warren said.

Schwartz, who also has a degree from Harvard University, began his business career at a corporate law firm in Winnipeg before joining a company on Wall Street involved in mergers and acquisitions. He returned to Winnipeg to go into business with the late Israel Asper. In 1977, they co-founded CanWest Capital, now known as CanWest Global Corp.

In 1983, after parting ways with Asper and CanWest, Schwartz and two employees founded Onex Corporation, the director of which is his friend and colleague Arni C. Thorsteinson, a long-time business leader in Manitoba. In recognition of Thorsteinson’s work and friendship, Schwartz established the program in his name.

“This program represents a tremendous opportunity for our students to experience the business culture of another country,” Warren said. “Israel is unique in this respect because of its reputation for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial development. Israel is second only to the United States in the number of high tech start-ups. Our students will get a chance to see a lot more biotech and IT stuff in Israel. And Tel Aviv University is a world-class institution with a strong finance program.”

The Thorsteinson program, which is scheduled to run for 10 years, is open to U of M students with high grade point averages who are in their third or fourth year in commerce.

Warren said future exchanges are still in the planning stages."


Source: Myron Love, Prairies Correspondent. Schwartz endows TAU, U of M exchange program. CJNews.com (14 July 2005) [FullText]

Jerusalem Mayor Says He is Trying to Attract Biotech Companies, With Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Centers the Main Incubators

Leading text: "Uri Lupolianski is the first to admit that he is running a very unusual city - a place considered holy by Muslims, Christians and Jews, who talk about tolerance more than they actually practice it, at least here. Jerusalem has all the problems of big cities - crime, unemployment, public transportation, garbage. But it also has been the prime location for suicide bombings and other attacks on civilians: 90 since October 2000, including 34 suicide bombings that have killed 183 people and wounded 1,454. Then there are the less existential indignities - physical squabbles among Christian clergy over sacred turf, ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on the cross carried by the Armenian archbishop, the demolition of Palestinian houses for zoning irregularities. And Jerusalem is surrounding itself by a wall - a concrete security barrier cut by checkpoints that is, in many places, 10 meters, or 33 feet, high.

But Lupolianski, 54, is almost as unusual as his city, and he represents a growing power here. He is Jerusalem's first ultra-Orthodox mayor, a rabbi who is sometimes accused of favoring Jewish interests over Muslim ones, and of favoring his co-religionists over the interests of more secular Jews, an unknown but noticeable number of whom are leaving Jerusalem for less religiously heated places like Tel Aviv and Haifa. Haifa-born, he is haredi, a Hebrew word for the ultra-Orthodox that has its root in fear, awe or dread. He will not shake hands with women, for example, so his aides carefully, politely, and even gracefully insert themselves to spare female visitors any embarrassment.

He has 12 children and 15 grandchildren - so far - he says. And the haredi make up an increasingly large part of the city's population - about a third of it, roughly the same as the number of Muslims - and representing about half the Jewish population. Currently, Jews make up about 66 percent of the population and Arabs about 33 percent, nearly all of them Muslim. The number of Christians in Jerusalem is tiny, fewer than 3,000, while fewer than 9,000 have no stated religion. In office since February 2003, when Ehud Olmert resigned to join the national cabinet, Lupolianski was elected in his own right to a five-year term in June 2003, beating a wealthy businessman, Nir Barkat, 52 percent to 42 percent. In his campaign, Lupolianski promised fair treatment to everyone, and now he says that is what he is attempting to provide.

"If we take the wrong steps here, we can cause a world conflagration, God forbid," he said in an interview in his office overlooking the milky-tea-colored stones of the Old City. "So people have to behave carefully," he said, in what he calls "a great human mosaic." Speaking in Hebrew, he said: "We have to take care of three religions and their interests. But Jerusalem is not just the capital of the people and state of Israel - it's the heart and soul of the Jewish people." upolianski was recently criticized for trying to stop a gay rights parade in Jerusalem - a parade decried by the leading religious figures of all faiths here, who gathered together at a news conference to denounce the idea. In the end, the Jerusalem District Court ordered that the parade be allowed to take place, and a young haredi man broke it up by stabbing three participants.

Lupolianski is best known in Israel not as a politician, but as the founder of Yad Sarah, a medical charity named after his grandmother, who was murdered in the Holocaust. The charity, with almost 100 branches and 6,000 volunteers, supplies medical equipment to those who need it and runs low-cost dental clinics and centers for disabled children of any religion. The big battles in Jerusalem - over housing, zoning, equal education and land sales - are really small versions of the much larger national struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. And given their nature, some of them are beyond Lupolianski's purview: the health services and the police, for instance, which are run nationally, not municipally. Uniquely, Jerusalem, not the state, administers its own educational system, although the state pays the bills out of national taxes. But there are controversies here, too, with suspicions that the mayor is helping religious education more than bicultural schooling...

The mayor says the city is now investing more in services and infrastructure in East Jerusalem than in the west, even buying narrower garbage trucks to navigate the streets there. And he is proud to be pressing ahead with a light-rail system, to ease congested traffic, that should be running by February 2008. Jerusalem, which can feel small and even suburban outside the walls and sites of the Old City, in fact is sprawling, especially after Israel annexed East Jerusalem after seizing it from Jordanian control in the 1967 war. Few countries recognize that annexation, which is why nearly all countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv, though there are many consulates and representative offices in Jerusalem, both east and west, to cater both to Israelis and Palestinians.

Jerusalem stretches over 126 square kilometers, or 49 square miles, and with a population of 706,300 it is Israel's most populous city, with more than 10 percent of the country's inhabitants - more than Tel Aviv and Haifa combined. It has grown quickly with the state; it had only 84,000 residents in 1948. In East Jerusalem alone there are now about 400,000 people, at least half of them Jews and their descendants who moved there after 1967, and who are considered illegal settlers by the Palestinians and much of the world.

Despite its tourist glitter, now returning to some degree with a period of truce between Israelis and Palestinians, Jerusalem has problems more typical of poor countries than of the modern power that Israel believes itself to be. Jerusalem is growing quickly, with nearly 18,800 babies born here in 2004, more than the next three largest Israeli cities combined. It also has Israel's youngest population - with 53 percent under the age of 25, compared with 30 percent in lively, beachfront Tel Aviv - and widespread underemployment. All these figures hint at Jerusalem's largest quandary: the sizable number of people who are not working. Its large population of ultra-Orthodox Jews includes many who study for a living and do not enter the work force; its many Palestinians from East Jerusalem have endemic problems of joblessness, made worse by security limitations on travel. And both of these communities have high birth rates.

Jerusalem's unemployment rate is 7 percent, which seems fine compared to those in the next three largest cities: 9.3 percent in Tel Aviv, 10.2 percent in Haifa, and 10.5 percent in Rishon Letzion. But given the high percentage of ultra-Orthodox who study and a disaffected Arab population, only 44.5 percent of Jerusalem's adults are active in the labor force, compared with 62.5 percent in Tel Aviv, 54.5 percent in Haifa, and 64.5 percent in Rishon Letzion. About two-thirds of the population pay the minimal level of tax, and there is little industry beyond tourism, which is recovering only now after the past four years of intifada. The tax base is weak, meaning that the secular working class inevitably pays more.

The passion of the haredi, many of whom do not recognize the state of Israel, is one of the glories of Jerusalem, Lupolianski believes.

"For you, he's unemployed, but he studies and his wife works at something," said Jacob Rosen, the mayor's political adviser for international affairs, on assignment from the Foreign Ministry. "And many of them are supported by other haredi who are working in Brooklyn!" But the increasingly religious nature of the city - with very few restaurants or shops open on the Sabbath and many restaurants, like the famous Fink's, forced to become kosher to survive - is also driving more secular Israelis away.

In an interview last year, the Israeli writer Amos Oz, who is Jerusalem-bred, told The New Yorker magazine that he rarely could bear to spend the night in Jerusalem now. "It is hyperactive," Oz said. "Everyone is expecting something, either the messiah or disaster or both. Tel Aviv is becoming more and more Mediterranean, like the south of France, whereas Jerusalem is moving in the direction of, I don't know where, maybe like Qum, in Iran..."

The mayor says he is trying to attract biotech companies, with Hebrew University and Hadassah medical centers the main incubators.

Lupolianski is sometimes surprised by his situation. "It's hard to believe that I have to sit, as a religious Jew, with the representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenians to try to make peace between them," he said. "But I'm their mayor, and they need to be able to come here and talk to me about their problems."

As a city, he said, "we want to help everyone to preserve their traditions in freedom, so that everyone can dance their dance - so long as they don't step on other people's feet."

Source: Steven Erlanger. Jerusalem mayor tries balancing act. The New York Times (11 July 2005) [FullText]

India in talks for R&D deals with US and Israel

"India has set up a corpus fund with Israel to promote collaborative industrial research in five technology areas and is in talks with the US for a comprehensive research agreement covering sensitive areas like clinical trial protocols and export of bio-resources.

Science and technology minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here today that the agreement with the US is likely to be inked during the Prime Minister’s visit to that country later in the year.

Mr Sibal, who discussed the agreement with J Marburger, the US president’s science advisor and director of the office of science and technology, during his visit to Washington last month, said the deal would cover areas like information technology, defence, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Taxation and intellectual property issues are the only outstanding issues to be sorted out. Among the possible agreements are a mutually-recognised protocol for clinical trials. Such a standard recognised by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Controller General of India will avoid the need for repeating in the US, the human clinical trials done here so that those medicines can be approved for the US market.

Transfer of biological material, crucial for biotech research, is also on the agenda. Nano-powders and nano-paints which make a surface dust and stain free are part of the research projects. Nanotechnology refers to building complex materials with special qualities atom by atom.

The other tie-ups being negotiated are between various research institutes in both the countries. This includes the tie-up between the University of Maryland, known for its nanotechnology research, and India’s department of biotechnology. Mr Sibal said the $2m corpus fund with equal contribution from India and Israel will later be stepped up to $50m after getting Cabinet approval.

One of the projects being considered for soft loan or grant under this fund is manufacturing of India’s indigenously-developed battery run car Reva in Israel. One entrepreneur from Israel is partnering with another from India for this.

The joint industrial research between the two countries would cover biotechnology, nanotechnology, space, science and technology and aeronautics, alternative sources of energy and water technology. Israel’s Weizman Institute of Science and India’s Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology will jointly do stem cell research.

Mr Sibal also inked research deals with countries like Brazil, Columbia and South Africa earlier this month. India, Brazil and South Africa will jointly research cures for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria. Biotechnology, oceanography and nanoscience are the other areas of co-operation."

Source: India in talks for R&D deals with US and Israel. DefenceIndia.com (5 July 2005) [FullText]

Israeli Consulate Seeks US Partners for Israeli Biotech Firms

" The Israeli consulate is creating a business forum to stimulate commerce in Greater Miami. The Israel-Florida International Business Forum's mission is to match start-up telecommunication and biotechnology companies from the Middle Eastern country with US businesses. "We are looking for distributors and investment partners. We want to fill a vacuum in Florida, one of the biggest economies in the world," said Assi Haim, Israel's director of economic affairs in the Miami consulate.

He said what sparked creation of the forum was a slow period in the Israeli chamber of commerce in Miami and the need to rekindle business activity. Mr. Haim, coordinating the forum alone, said the initial plan was to attract volunteers and establish a steering committee to develop a think tank. After the steering committee is created, he said, the forum will be divided into smaller committees to "make it more effective."

The next step will be to set up joint ventures between Israeli and American companies, especially in biotechnology. In its first months, the business forum will be in the Israeli consulate, 100 N Biscayne Blvd. "The purpose of this forum is to pursue business opportunities for Israeli companies in South Florida," said Richard Bernstein, who is with the Greenberg Traurig law firm and assists Israeli companies. Mr. Bernstein said Israel has tremendous expertise in four areas: security, biotechnology, water-related services and agro-tech. The country already provides agro-tech knowledge to Central American nations and the Dominican Republic. One goal of the forum, Mr. Bernstein said, is to unite business people on a quarterly basis and have networking events.

"We are still thinking of how we can make this project attractive to develop economic activity," he said. At first, we are inviting volunteers to join the steering committee." One initial plan is to host a specific event on biotech in late September or early October, bringing 10 Israeli multinationals to Florida to showcase some of their projects. "We want to make presentations to the Scripps Research Institute and other biotech firms in Florida," Mr. Haim said. "We hope investors are interested in hearing what these companies have to offer."

Enterprise Florida, the state's private-public partnership, is endorsing creation of the business forum. "We have been working with 150 Israeli companies," said Fred Glickman, managing director of the international offices of Enterprise Florida, who participated in the forum's June inauguration. "Enterprise Florida is very interested in these companies from Israel and the forum will be one of the linking vehicles," Mr. Glickman said. The forum now is predominantly a venture between Florida and Israel. But Mr. Grossman said because of Miami's ties to Latin America, it will inevitably expand south.

Israeli consul Yitschak Ben Gad is also trying to encourage Americans to do business in Israel. "Israel is today is talking business," he said, experiencing 4% economic growth in the past year. "The commitment of new Palestinian leader Abbas is to stop terror and this creates an atmosphere for hope. It is a very good time to invest in Israel."

Details: Assi Haim, (305) 925-9411."

Source: Claudio Mendonça. Israeli consulate seeks investors, distributors for business forum. Miami Today (7 July 2005) [FullText]

Applied Biosystems' TaqMan(R) Genomic Assays to Be Included in GeneCards(R)

"FOSTER CITY, Calif. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 5, 2005--Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, and Xennex, Inc., the exclusive provider of commercial licenses for the GeneCards(R) database of human genes, today announced an agreement whereby Applied Biosystems TaqMan(R) Genomic Assays will be accessible via GeneCards. Under the terms of agreement, Applied Biosystems will provide GeneCards customers direct access to its entire collection of nearly three million genomic assays.

"With access to Applied Biosystems TaqMan(R) Genomic Assays and relevant links to other databases of human genes, the information contained in GeneCards is particularly useful for researchers looking for information about genes of interest in the context of functional genomics and genetic variation," said William V. Murray, Division President of Molecular Biology for Applied Biosystems. "Our three million ready-to-order assays available for gene expression and SNP genotyping studies will allow researchers to quickly advance their gene expression studies, as well as SNP screening, association, candidate region, candidate gene, or fine-mapping studies directly from GeneCards."

GeneCards is a popular searchable database of human genes and their encoded proteins, with major focus on functional genomics and medical aspects including involvement in diseases. GeneCards offers concise information about the structure and function of human genes. It extracts and integrates a carefully selected subset of the gene information, obtained from major data sources, public and proprietary, successfully overcoming barriers of data format heterogeneity.

GeneCards was developed over the last eight years at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel under the direction of Professor Doron Lancet, Head of the Institute's Crown Human Genome Center. More information on GeneCards can be found at http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/genecards/.

"GeneCards users are continually looking for ways to find information of value on specific genes and link to resources that will move their research forward," said David Warshawsky, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Xennex, Inc. "Offering access to Applied Biosystems assay products allows us to provide our commercial and academic users innovative tools that will quickly help them follow promising database search leads with real-world lab experiments."

The Applied Biosystems TaqMan Assays product line includes more than 600,000 gene-specific probe and primer sets for quantitative gene expression studies of human, mouse, rat, Arabidopsis, Drosophila (fruit fly), and more than two million human SNP assays for genome-wide marker coverage. The assays run on Applied Biosystems Real-Time PCR systems, including the 7300, 7500, and 7900HT Systems.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2003. The Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA), located in Rockville, MD, and South San Francisco, CA, is engaged principally in integrating advanced technologies to discover and develop new therapeutics. Celera intends to leverage its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop new therapeutics. Its Celera Discovery System(TM) online platform, marketed exclusively by Applied Biosystems, is an integrated source of information based on the human genome and other biological and medical sources. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of novel diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com/.

About Xennex

Xennex, Inc. (www.xennexinc.com) is a dynamic privately held company that is dedicated to providing Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and other life sciences companies, as well as organizations dealing with biotechnology intellectual property, the highest level of services and tools to enhance their gene-based research. Xennex' products help such organizations to optimize their efforts to develop innovative medical products and services. Xennex operations worldwide are carried out from its offices in Massachusetts, USA. Xennex' customers include many of the world leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies, located in North America, Europe and Japan. Xennex' products are used in hundreds of commercial and academic organizations by thousands of users around the globe.

Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "plans," and "should" among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation's current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Applera Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on the development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) sales dependent on customers' capital spending policies and government-sponsored research; (3) Applied Biosystems' dependence on the operation of computer hardware, software, and Internet applications and related technology; (4) unproven use of genomics information to develop or commercialize products; and (5) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

Copyright(C) 2004. Applera Corporation. All rights reserved. Applied Biosystems is a registered trademark and Applera, Assays-on-Demand, Celera, Celera Diagnostics, Celera Discovery System, and Celera Genomics are trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. TaqMan is a registered trademark of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. GeneCards is a registered trademark of Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures."

Source: Applied Biosystems' TaqMan(R) Genomic Assays to Be Included in GeneCards(R). Businesswire.com (5 July 2005)[FullText]

Israel Biotech Showcase: Pharmos LTD

Organization: PHARMOS LTD. , Contact: Name: Prof. Haim Aviv , Chairman & CEO

Address: Kiryat Weizmann Rehovot ISRAEL, 76326 , Telephone: 08-9409679 , Fax: 08-9409686 , Email: pars@pharmos.com , WEB site: www.pharmoscorp.com

GENERAL INFORMATION

Established: 1990 , Type: Industry , Ownership: Private , Parent: Pharmos Corporation , Employees: 55

Core business: Therapeutics for treatment of a range of neurological disorders such as stroke, neuropathic pain, Parkinson's disease and other CNS and peripheral neuro-inflammatory indications.

Overview: Pharmos Corporation is a bio-pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes products for the central nervous system (CNS), neurological and other key healthcare markets.

Untill recently the leading product in development was dexanabinol, but the drug failed the international Phase III
clinical study for the treatment of severe TBI in over 45 centers in 8 European countries and Israel.

With the aid of computational chemistry, Pharmos has constructed a library of dextrocannabinoid compounds comprising two major chemical groups. The first is the tricyclic family of compounds, of which dexanabinol is the prototype. These compounds have the generic ability to inhibit NMDA receptors and to block COX-2, cytokines and chemokine activation, thereby acting as powerful anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agents against diseases
such as stroke, neuropathic pain and other neuro-inflammatory indications.

The second group is the bicyclic family of compounds, which specifically bind to CB2 receptors. Because CB2 receptors are present in all cells of the immune system, Pharmos is evaluating the potential of bicyclic dextrocannabinoid compounds as modulators of the immune system and for their affect on
auto-immune diseases.

Pharmos is actively studying compounds from its dextrocannabinoid library in pre-clinical programs targeting various CNS and peripheral disorders, including stroke, neuropathic pain, Parkinson's disease, renal ischemia and others.

AVAILABLE R&D CAPABILITIES:

Expertise: R&D objects: Development of neurological pharmaceuticals, using innovative drug design technologies.
R&D markets: Neurological disorders Sci. discipline: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacology, Clinical trials.

Available R&D facilities: Annual R&D expenditure (MU$): 5,000 ; R&D employees: 43 ; R&D professionals: 21

Source: Pharmos LTD: Invitation for technological cooperation. Matimop.org.il web site

$6b foreign investment in Israel expected in 2005

"Direct foreign investment in Israel totaled $2.1 billion in January-April 2005, and is expected to reach $6 billion by the end of the year, Investment Promotion Center director Rachel Roei reported today. Foreign investment totaled $6.1 billion in 2004, including $1.8 billion in direct investment. Investors are interested mainly in high-tech, communications, and information technology; life sciences; and homeland security. Following the rise in direct investment by foreign companies, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor is formulating a plan for aid in expanding development centers and other tools for marketing Israel as a preferred investment target. The plan offers foreign investors aid for R&D centers, based on the new Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment, and the reform in the Encouragement of Industrial Research and Development Law (5744-1984). The amendment allows know-how developed with aid from the Office of the Chief Scientist to be exported in exchange for enlarge royalties. Roei said that the plan was designed to cause multinational companies to prefer locating their development centers in Israel to other countries, mainly India, China, and Eastern Europe. In addition, the Investment Center is developing tools for marketing Israel as an investment target, including a promotional film, an Internet site, and a booklet, focusing on success stories of international companies in Israel. With the help of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor's professional units, the Investment Center has recently advised interested foreign companies in communications, life sciences, and information security from the US, Italy, France, and Asia. Interested companies included Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies, Samsung and SK Corporation from South Korea, and Russian information technology company Kaspersky Lab. The Investment Center is also preparing for a visit to Israel by representatives from Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), following meetings by Minister of Industry, Trade, and Industry Ehud Olmert with Sony chairman and CEO Nobuyuki Idei in Japan last month. Sony representatives were invited to consider investing in Israel technology companies."

Source: Hadas Manor. $6b foreign investment in Israel expected in 2005. Globes Online (27 June 2005) [FullText]

Israel's leadership in clean water technologies

Bob Rosenbaum is among the initial founders of the Israel Water Forum and a consultant to the Israel National Nanotechnology Initiative (INNI), a key stakeholder in the Forum. He is also director of the Small Advantage Consultancy and a frequent contributor to ISRAEL21c

"Progress for Israel's water technology toolkit is a strategic requirement. Providing environmentally sound, efficient means to maintain and develop sources of clean water is among the greatest challenges facing Israel and the world in the new millennium. Water remediation presents us with tremendous opportunities as well as challenges. As an acknowledged leader in this field, Israel stands to become a global hub for innovation in water treatment, a role that can provide crystal clear economic, social and political benefits. As well, water technology development can become a compelling focus for building a local water industry that is more cohesive, more capable and more productive. Over the past year, it has become evident that true progress in water business development is beyond the scope of a single, or even several, independent organizations. The water industry is complex and multi-disciplinary. In fact, our future success in water remediation requires the commercialization of new technologies based in nano-science, biology and microelectronics, as well as marketing Israel's unique R&D capabilities in these and other fields. These efforts demand a dramatic, paradigm-level shift in our approach. Regardless of the technologies used and the profoundly different vocabularies and skills demanded by each field, we must address the overriding need for ongoing, fruitful interactions among all members of Israel's water community, and we must adopt the global business-oriented approach that has resulted in such outstanding successes for Israeli telecoms, networking, biotech and other industries. Water is high tech now. In March, a handful of leading executives from Israeli industry, academia and government formed the Israel Water Forum to help make water technology and water business development a winning national priority. Only two months later, in a meeting attended by over 40 stakeholders, a Forum steering committee was established, together with specific objectives for success. We have made an excellent start. With such broad partnership and support from Israel's major water research institutes and large water industry firms, we can actively engage the participation of both established and new water technology businesses, labs and organizations in Israel, as well as interested partners outside of Israel. We must further broaden our Forum to include clean water technology buyers, high tech industry developers and venture finance interests. Our work is not to replace existing efforts and organizations, but to supercharge them with unprecedented business influence. Among the Forum's goals: to triple Israel's share of the global water technology market to US $4 billion annually, to increase Israeli entrepreneurial and start-up activities in water technology related businesses by 15% annually, and to secure $100 million in funding for Israeli water technology R&D and higher education. The Israel Water Forum program will include both traditional business activities such as professional meetings and an annual conference, and newer proactive communications channels such as Internet portals, industry research reporting and public relations campaigns. Special task forces will be created to promote market awareness, improve understanding of key technology and environmental issues, and generate beneficial collaborations among academic and industry interests, both locally and globally. Entrepreneurial programs will be used to foster innovation for Israel's existing water industries, and promote growth for new water-related industries. The Forum is a membership-based organization, managed primarily by a voluntary board of directors with vested interests in the progress of Israeli water technologies as well as the profitability of Israeli water industries. The Forum program, and the Forum itself, are being implemented in measured phases to ensure its ongoing effectiveness and value. We already have the infrastructure, the know-how and the motivation to make Israel's clean water technologies a global presence. With creation of the Israel Water Forum, we now have the means for unified focus, synergy and marketing that are imperative to our success in the global water business. We invite you to benefit from this effort by becoming a contributing Forum member. For more information, please email our coordinator, Hagai Langstadter."

Source: Bob Rosenbaum. Ensuring Israel's leadership in clean water technologies Israel 21 C (26 June 2005) [FullText]

Ernst & Young to host annual Israeli conference for venture capital funds and entrepreneurs of emerging growth companies

The conference serves as a meeting place for leaders of the high tech, telecommunication medical device, biotech and venture capital industries in Israel

"Tel Aviv, Israel, June 27, 2005 -- On September 15, 2005, Ernst & Young ( www.ey.com ) will host its 9th Annual Journey 2005 Conference - the annual Israeli conference for venture capital funds and entrepreneurs of emerging growth companies. The conference, which will takes place at David Intercontinental Hotel, Tel-Aviv, Israel, serves as a meeting place for leaders of the high tech, telecommunication medical device, biotech and venture capital industries in Israel.More than 2,000 participants are expected to attend the Journey 2005 conference, including general partners of foreign and Israeli venture capital funds, global private equity investments funds and international investment banks. Keynote Speakers at this upcoming event include Mike Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital and Joe Schoendorf, Partner at Accel Partners. Moritz, who will focus on information technology investments, is currently a Director of Flextronics ( FLEX ), Google ( GOOG ), RedEnvelope ( REDE ), Saba Software ( SABA ). Schoendorf, a member and strategic partner of the World Economic Forum, joined Accel in 1988. Previously he was the Vice President of Marketing for Apple Computer ( AAPL ). This year?s agenda will cover topics such as Doing Business in Asian Markets, Developing a Globalized Workforce Strategy, Working with Venture Capitalists, IPO?s in London Stock Exchange and many more. Additionally, Ernst & Young have included a separate track which will focus entirely on the Healthcare industry. The conference encompasses separate parallel tracks including plenary sessions, panels and workshops which cover all burning issues of high tech management for small business startup, emerging growth companies and more matured companies. ?In today?s business world, being innovative and creative are not just sayings but principal engines of economic growth?, said Yoram Tietz, partner for high-tech at Ernst & Young ( Israel ). ?There has never been a better time to create new opportunities for your company and to prepare for the next big thing.?This well known Journey Conference provides the most updated professional data about trends, developments and future outlook regarding the global technology industry, and serves as a platform for knowledge sharing and networking. It is designed to offer added value to entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity investors, commercial and investment bankers, financing sources, biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies, corporate strategic investors, and institutional investors.For any questions regarding the Conference, please email Carmit Harel from Ernst & Young Israel, at carmit.harel@il.ey.com or call 972-3-5680992. For additional information about the Ernst & Young 9th Annual Journey 2005 Conference, please visit the website at www.journey2005.com"

Source: http://i-newswire.com/pr27162.html (27 June 2005)

Teva, Active Biotech submit investigational new drug application

Based on the results of US and European studies, phase III clinical trials of the MS therapy are planned for 2006.

"Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and Active Biotech AB (Stockholm: ACTI.ST) announced today the submission of an investigational new drug application (IND) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a clinical trial in the US with laquinimod to assess drug-drug interaction. Laquinimod is a novel orally administered immunomodulatory substance, developed by Active Biotech and recently licensed to Teva. The companies believe that Laquinimod has the potential to be the first orally-administered disease modifying treatment for multiple sclerosis, both as a single agent therapy and in combination with Teva's Copaxone. A double-blind, placebo-controlled multi center phase IIb clinical study is currently ongoing in several European countries, in which the effects of laquinimod, administered orally, once-daily, at dose levels of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/day, are compared to those of placebo over nine months of treatment. Based on the results of the US and European studies, the phase III clinical program to confirm the efficacy and safety of laquinimod in relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) is planned to start in 2006. Teva president and CEO Israel Makov said, "This IND filing is an important step towards the initiation of pivotal studies with laquinimod which, along with Teva's development of an oral form of Copaxone, enhance the likelihood that Teva will be the first to market an oral treatment. This further demonstrates our commitment to developing new and improved therapies for multiple sclerosis patients in order to help treat their disease and improve their quality of life". Active Biotech president and CEO Sven Andreasson said, "We are very pleased to see how Teva's development program is diligently progressing towards starting phase III studies in the US and Europe.""

Source: Teva, Active Biotech submit investigational new drug application. Globes Online (28 June 2005) [FullText] [Related Report]

OrbiMed Advisors partner Jonathan Silverstein beleives in Israel Biotech

OrbiMed Advisors partner Jonathan Silverstein: This is just the beginning

"OrbiMed Advisors, a private equity and venture capital fund founded in 1989, manages $5 billion, all of which is designated for investment in life sciences companies. OrbiMed is one of the world's largest venture capital funds in this field. The firm has raised fifteen funds to date, the most recent of which has $500 million under management. Since 2001, OrbiMed has invested in Israeli companies Given Imaging (Nasdaq: GIVN; TASE: GIVN), Predix Pharmaceuticals (since its first financing round), and in superDimension?s fifth financing round, which raised $27 million, and closed three weeks ago. Five partners manage OrbiMed: Michael Sheffery, Carl Gordon, Jonathan Silverstein, founder Samuel Isaly, and Sven Borho. Silverstein is in Israel as part of a senior Global Capital Associates biotechnology delegation. Silverstein concentrates on private equity and deals involving biotechnology and medical equipment companies. Before joining OrbiMed, he was a director of life sciences in the investment banking department at Sumitomo Bank. Silverstein said today that the main purpose of his visit was to find more companies worthy of investment. OrbiMed is the world's largest fund in its field. So far, we have invested $40 million in three Israeli life sciences companies, and we hope to continue investing. We're fervent believers in the Israeli biotech industry.? Silverstein says that OrbiMed invests in companies at all growth stages. For example, we invested in Predix at an extremely early stage. Predix founder and CSO computational development Oren Becker came to our office with a computer presentation, and we decided to go for it, Silverstein recalls. He hopes that the delegation will enable him to be exposed to a large number of companies. OrbiMed is an unusual fund. US venture capital funds in this field are in no rush to invest in Israeli start-ups. You have to understand the industry. Only five out of 500 public biotechnology companies are profitable. If you examine the private companies, only 1% are profitable. These figures pose a huge challenge to investors in the field from Europe and the US. In this case, the geographic distance is significant, and most investors prefer to invest in companies that are closer to them. We think that there are interesting opportunities in Israel,? Silverstein explains. "Globes": Geographic distance doesn?t deter US high-tech investors. Silverstein: ?The Israeli biotechnology industry is just beginning. I believe that it will prosper, but it takes time. I'm convinced that more investors from the US will show interest in Israeli companies. There?s more available money in the US market, and investors are looking for opportunities.? "

Source: Batya Feldman We believe in Israeli biotech: OrbiMed Advisors partner Jonathan Silverstein: This is just the beginning. Globes.com (27 June 2005) [FullText]

Israel Congress Bio-tech 2005: Investors converge on Israel for bio-technology meet

Today foreign companies and investors cannot ignore the enormous potential that Israeli Life Science offers.

"Two male waiters clad in black take a deep breath to steady their feet before hoisting a huge fruit bowl onto the bar. Onlookers dart to the cherries and watermelon while others content with sipping their martinis on barstools nibble away at sushi.

If it weren't for the small talk focused on cancer research and cures for diabetes, one could easily imagine Israel's Fourth Annual Bio-Tech Conference and Exhibition at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv was an exclusive Mediterranean summer party.

Gentlemen in pinstripes from England could be overheard networking with Israeli venture capitalists, while Italian businessmen in twos and threes strolled through the biotech marketplace featuring new Israeli technology and medical advances.

One in three conference registrants came from abroad this year, a fourfold increase from 2004, making it clear that international biotech companies are positioning to invest and collaborate with Israel more than ever before.

"Three years in Israeli biotech terms is a generation," says Margaret Parton, program manager of the UK-US Bioscience Collaboration Program, back in Israel after a three-year lull. Parton has long established roots in the Israeli biotech community and has worked hand-in-hand with companies like Clal Biotech to help develop joint Israel and UK projects.

Although her new job, focused on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, keeps her posted in Texas, when collaboration potential calls Parton is on a plane following the best science in the world. In Israel, she is most excited about the tissue engineering products that Raphael Gorodesky of Hadassah is developing and hopes that the Israel embassy will present to a stem cell network in London.

On her agenda is finding partners for Framework 6 - a European Union funding body which finances Life Science. Framework 6 contributes to European research by improving integration and coordination of research within Europe and at the same time strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy.

Parton hopes to be a matchmaker in the field of cell therapies and has come to see if Israel, wedged between Europe and the Middle East, will suit the call. "If we want to survive we have to collaborate," she says, explaining that commercializing biology today relies on multi-disciplines and a lot of equity.

Parton was thrilled to have business back in Israel and noticed that Israeli scientists had lost none of their gusto. "I see that Israelis are getting better at communicating to the outside world," she told ISRAEL21c. "Today, the bad news is less bad and the good news coming out of Israel is overtaking."

Other visitors from around the world who came by way of Asia, North America, Africa, Europe and Australia were able to meet executives from Teva Pharmaceuticals, the Weizmann Institute of Science and Hadassah Medical Organization under one roof. Visitors were also able to take stock of fresh Israeli startups like Optimata, Pharmos and Brainstorm, while notable keynote speakers were flown in from institutions like Yale, NASA, Boston University and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"The conference was a sensation!" says Rafi Hostein, CEO of Hadassah's research and development company, Hadasit, a week after the event concluded. As vice-chair for Biotech 2005, he is aware that Israel biotech is on the upswing and foreigners are coming to take a look.

The first biotech event five years ago generated very little foreign interest, Hostein says, but today foreign companies and investors cannot ignore the enormous potential that Israeli Life Science offers. As participants returned home, Hostein received calls and email from all parts of the world by participants energized by the contacts encountered at the three day event which included a talk by Israel's Dr. Aaron Ciechanover, Laureate of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

This year, medical devices and traditional biotech areas were combined and brought together around four major health problems: respiratory disease, central nervous system disorders, metabolic disorders and cancer. A significant part of the program was given by an Italian delegation under the heading: Italy and Israel: Natural Partners in the Life Sciences.

It was through an existing relationship to Professor Zvia Agur, founder of Optimata, that Dr. Paolo Baroldi, the VP of corporate drug development at Chiesi Farmaceutici, Italy came to Israel. By the time the delegation approached him in his home country, he had already heard wonderful things about Israeli biotech through Agur.

Baroldi told ISRAEL21c that he came to the event to expand his company's collaboration horizons.

Chiesi, a mid-sized pharmaceutical company has revenues of about $670 million which puts Baroldi's executives in a position to invest almost 15 percent of that in new ventures.

"I was absolutely impressed with the overall level of quality and variety of technology that Israeli companies were exposing. Technology spanned from traditional drug development to small molecules at Teva, up to cutting edge biotech initiatives," he said.

Baroldi was particularly impressed by meetings with Weizmann Institute executives and, upon returning to Italy, began working to find channels of potential business matches in the area of pulmonary drugs.

"Israeli companies are looking to commit themselves to developing potential drugs and are taking part in the risk of this endeavor. This is a fantastic model for medium-sized companies like ours," he said.

The European consortium of biotechnology incubators, NATIBS, also came to Israel for the first time as the guest of Israel's Rad BioMed incubator. Fifty European incubator managers and biotech heads were present from France, Germany, Spain and Sweden taking a look as Israel exhibitors displayed their wares in the form of medication, computerized drug discovery and bioinformatics to name a few.

Guillaume Bruleboise, the business development manager at Oncodesign, France, was looking for more clients to grow his cancer testing compounds. Bruleboise believes Israel is a very promising market for his company's expansion. "People in Israel are reactive, and venture capital is much more active than in Europe," he said.

Japanese participants included Makoto Sawada, representing Cath Lab, a medical device import company from Japan mainly working with Germany and France. He consults device and technology companies in Israel and was at the event looking out for innovative technology in cardiology.

On the Israeli side, Guy Malchi, the CEO of Optimata was thrilled that he could meet personally with FDA vice-commissioner Murray Lumpkin. Malchi found the foreign input and lecture given by Lumpkin highly relevant to the development process of his startup company.

"Attendance from the outside was impressive," said Malchi. "I feel there is a change underway in Israel now that we are able to interact directly with investors from abroad on our own turf."

While Malchi was pleased to have the chance to speak with the FDA, other startup executives were able to brush elbows with top pharmaceutical giants from Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Infinity and Merck.

This is a big deal for companies which normally have to travel to Europe and the US to vie for such an opportunity. "Last year if a VP from Merck came to Israel it made the country's headlines," said Bernard Dichek, publisher of BioIsrael, Israel's biotech industry news. "This year I am barely able to keep track of foreign delegations sweeping in and out looking for investment potential," he added.

If foreign interest is an indicator of Israel's stance in the world biotech marketplace, this year's Biotech 2005 Conference and Convention has only set the stage for what is yet to come."

Source: Karin Kloosterman. Investors converge on Israel for bio-technology meet. Israel 21 C. (26 June 2005) [FullText]

Israel's Rosetta Genomics - Cracking the RNA Code

"Rosetta Genomics - Our approach is innovative in that it identifies genes by computer, and only afterwards verifies their existence in a biological laboratory.

The historical Rosetta stone was found by French soldiers near the town of Rosetta in northern Egypt, in 1799. It was a basalt tablet inscribed in 196 BCE with a decree of Ptolemy V of Egypt in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek). French scholar Jean-Francois Champollion used it to derive a key for translating Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Since that time, Rosetta has been used as a term for the ability to crack previously indecipherable codes. The name truly suits the Israeli biotech startup Rosetta Genomics, which has developed a new discipline: discovering microRNA, which until recently, was considered an unimportant part of DNA. Just like the historic hieroglyphics from which the company drew its name, everyone saw it, but for a long time, no one could decipher it.

Rosetta Genomics kicked off Israel's 57th Independence Day celebrations a day early with a reception and conference called 'Leading the MicroRNA Revolution' last week. Held at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, the conference brought together scientists and investors interested in learning about the developments and discoveries of the company which until recently, had been kept confidential.

The young, Rehovot-based company has good reason to celebrate. Rosetta has now discovered and identified more micro RNAs (gene regulators) than any other research center in the world. The company has identified specific microRNAs associated with prostate cancer and lung cancer (currently engaged in pre-clinical animal studies), Epstein Bar Virus, HIV, and Herpes Simplex Virus.

"From the start, our goal was to achieve a scientific breakthrough that would lead to the development of products for diagnosis and treatment of disease in humans," said Dr. Isaac Bentwich, founder and CEO of Rosetta.

Most genomic research has been concerned with proteins, and the genes that encode proteins and turn them into cells of a certain type. The DNA region that encodes these proteins, however, constitutes only 2% of DNA. Up until two years ago, the other 98% of the genome was considered to serve no function. It was even known as 'junk DNA'.

"For 40 years, research has focused on protein encoding DNA, because it was assumed that all the rest was just there, serving no purpose," said Bentwich. "We focused our attention on a field that was rather neglected. The basic idea was to look for a new group of genes that did not encode proteins. The amazing thing is that we found them."

Bentwich calls what followed "a scientific earthquake."

"All of a sudden, it turned out that what were thought to be useless genes were of decisive importance. They are far from being junk DNA. A series of discoveries proved that extensive regions of junk DNA (that do not encode proteins) are produced by the cell, and preserved throughout its evolution. This is evidence that they have a function."

Rosetta Genomics has found a way of using advanced computer technology to reveal the encoding genes through the microRNA genes. This is now one of the hottest topics in biology. Published research in the field shows that these genes are linked to, and affect, a variety of diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, anemia, and neurological disorders.

Rosetta Genomics' great innovation is that it has managed to find a large number of genes that couldn't be identified through known technological means, Bentwich says.

The breakthrough has attracted a slew of high profile Israeli investors: Pharmaceutical gian Teva, Leon Recanati and his investment company Glenrock Israel; VCON Telecommunications CEO and former Scitex CEO Yair Shamir; Agis Industries president and chairman Moshe Arkin; Israeli high tech pioneer Uzia Galil; and Prof. Michael Sela, Israel Prize laureate and former president of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Bentwich first got his idea to focus on the role of microRNAs while studying meditation in the Himalayas in 1999.

"I've spent long periods in India," he says, "I studied Tibetan Buddhism and various meditation techniques related to tantra. The inspiration came at the end of four months of studying meditation in the Himalayas, not far from the city of Dharamsala. The idea was linked to a puzzle that has preoccupied me since I was 15 years old. I'm referring to the basic puzzle of biology how every cell in the body has the same DNA, yet different cells are differentiated into various types: muscle cells, nerve cells, brain cells, etc. Science still doesn't know the full answer to the central question of what causes cells to function differently," he told Globes.

He established Rosetta in 2000, with the support of his father, Prof. Zvi Bentwich, an immunologist, and one of the world's leading AIDS researchers. Isaac Bentwich returned to Israel, told his father about his idea, and started to promote it. His father joined the effort, and is currently both chief scientist of the company and chairman of its scientific advisory board.

Speaking at last week's conference, the elder Bentwich proudly gave a brief summary of the scientific discoveries that have marked Rosetta's journey.

"We have discovered 180 microRNAs, and hundreds are in the pipeline. Rosetta is in a position to own 80% of all the known microRNAs," he said.

"The company began looking for microRNAs several years before other scientists believed they existed. It gave us an edge," the younger Bentwich added.

According to him, Rosetta's other edge in the field is its computer system.

"Up until now, the conventional approach was biological, based on the removal of RNA from the cell. Our approach is innovative in that it identifies genes by computer, and only afterwards verifies their existence in a biological laboratory. The success is primarily thanks to Rosetta's teamwork. We are blessed with an amazing group of talented, creative, dedicated young people, computer people and biologists, who have succeeded in tackling the huge technical challenges we faced."

"The computer finds these genes by analyzing the genomic formats. That's what's 'exotic' about our story. Only after finding them in a dry run do we look for biological verification to confirm the discovery."

"Rosetta Genomics has combined scientific disciplines in an original way. The combination of biotechnology and bioinformatics with genetics is innovative and revolutionary. So is the idea of trying use a computer to predict genes, and proving the prediction in a laboratory only afterwards. In the second stage, we're trying to take segments of genes, and link them with diseases. After verification, we can try to devise treatment for the diseases from those segments."

According to Bentwich, the first stage that of gene prediction and verification has been achieved. There are already patents and several dozen genes have already been proven. The company is now linking genes to diseases.

"These treatments will be based on microRNA, which scientists until recently thought were junk genes. It is now clear to everyone that they are goldmines. Rosetta Genomics has reached the applications stage. In this stage, we'll conduct animal trials on genetic splices. We are collaborating with medical companies, and Rosetta Genomics' know-how will be the basis for the medical treatments of the next two decades."

Zvi Bentwich jut returned from a conference in Boston at the beginning of May, and he reported on a rising interest in the field, noting an exponential explosion of articles published on microRNAs since 2001. In the year 2002, Time magazine wrote that microRNAs was one of the ten most important discoveries of the year.

"One scientist [at the conference in Boston] who had said that there were probably only about 255 microRNAs, now admitted that he was wrong. He put the number on the blackboard, and crossed it out. Now the scientific community has accepted the fact that there are a large number of microRNAs," he said.

After keeping their operation secret for a number of years, Rosetta is beginning to make noise with its discoveries. An article on Rosetta?s chip platform has been accepted by the prestigious journal Genome Research, and will be published soon

Showing the relationship between the DNA, RNA, and protein on a slide, the senior Bentwich commented: "MicroRNAs are a small part of the RNA. They connect with the messenger (mRNA) to create protein. All microRNAs come into the world to regulate the process of creating proteins."

"Picking out microRNAs was like finding a needle in a haystack. Bioinformatics was the basis of Rosetta when it was first established. The company also developed a proprietary system to detect and identify microRNA signals (they light up) on a chip, and also a biological system to locate microRNAs in a sequence."

"What can we do with it? When we see that there are 18 times more microRNAs in a diseased tissue as compared to a normal tissue, which can happen in cancer, we have the possibility of intervening."

A recent press release was distributed to participants at the conference last week: Rosetta Genomics scientists found that if they silence one microRNA in a cluster in an EBV infected cell, there is a dramatic reduction in the infection of human cells by EBV.

Prof Bentwich stated: "This is the first proof that viral encoded microRNAs are important for viral replication and has immediate relevance to development of antiviral drugs."

Keynote speaker at the conference was Technion Professor Aaron Ciechanover, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004, and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Rosetta, a position he took before he won the Nobel Prize.

"When I first heard about the company, I was a skeptic; then, I became a believer; and now I am very enthusiastic," said Ciechanover. "When it started off as a small software company in Jerusalem, I said you won't get any place without a wet lab. Now the company is well organized - with a strong bioinformatics branch; and labs that validate their identifications."

Among the guests at the conference was Uzia Galil, a pioneer in industry in Israel. Galil, most of whose investments are in consumer electronics told ISRAEL21c that Rosetta is the only biotechnology company in which he is investing. "It is the most promising."

Dr. Joshua Rosensweig, Chairman of the First International Bank of Israel (and now a member of the Rosetta Genomics Board), commented that when the company first came to him for financial advice, he gave advice and then asked: "How can I invest?"

"We have had a burst of business activity," said Sharon Kaspi, VP Business Development. "The company is currently in the midst of negotiations for several important contracts for commercialization and collaboration."

Weizmann Institute of Science Department of Molecular Genetics director Prof. Doron Lancet, one of the heads of Israel's genome project, had the final word.

"Rosetta Genomics is working in the hot new field of genome research. It is utilizing scientific discoveries that have changed the previous paradigm. That's a revolution."" (Based on a report in Globes)

Source: Sharon Kanon. Israel's Rosetta Genomics - cracking the RNA code. Israel 21C (22 May 2005) Cupertino,CA,USA [FullText]

An Israeli Orsense Introduced New Pain-Free Blood Tester

"Tel Aviv, Israel (14 June 2005, UPI) - An Israeli company has devised a tool for checking the level of hemoglobin in the blood without puncturing the skin.

The NBM-100 developed by Orsense, of Rehovot near Tel Aviv, contains a ring-shaped sensor put on a finger. It measures hemoglobin by combining an optical measurement with pressure, similar to the instrument used to measure blood pressure.

The Magen David Adom first aid service (Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross and Red Crescent) said it collaborated with Orsense in developing the instrument and will use it this week during a campaign to increase blood donations.
Orsense's vice president for products, Gideon Fostick, told United Press International the results are as accurate as one usually gets in testing capillary blood by pricking a finger. It is less accurate than results obtained in laboratory tests when blood is drawn from a vein."

Source: InkSure Technologies Inc. Web Site PRNewswire-FirstCall

Israeli R&D Firm Specializes in Comprehensive Security to Protect High Profile Brands and Documents

"Projects are Expected to Generate Recurring Revenues in Second Half of 2005 and Future Years

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (14 June 2005) - InkSure Technologies Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: INKS), a leading provider of covert security solutions for the prevention of counterfeiting, fraud and diversion involving high profile brands and documents, today announced the receipt of the largest equipment order in the Company's history, which is expected to be supplied by the end of 2005.

The international order, from the Company's strategic marketing partner, Sun Chemical Group B.V., the world's leading manufacturer of printing inks, calls for the utilization of InkSure's security solutions in a number of projects involving the packaging of consumer products. Authentication of the packaging of hundreds of millions of individual product containers will involve hundreds of field SignaSure(TM) readers and a number of high-speed production line SortSure(TM) quality assurance systems.

"The award of this contract confirms InkSure's position as a leader in the emerging product authentication industry," stated Elie Housman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of InkSure Technologies, Inc. "We expect to begin recognizing equipment revenues from this order relatively soon, and revenues arising from project consumables are expected to be significant and recurring in the second half of 2005 and future years. Our record first quarter and backlog from U.S. customers, along with this order, form a solid foundation of recurring business that should facilitate continued revenue growth."

InkSure Technologies Inc., with its corporate headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and its R&D center in Science Park, Rehovot, Israel, specializes in comprehensive, covert security solutions designed to protect high profile brands and documents of value from counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. The Company's sales and marketing activities target a number of market opportunities, including financial, pharmaceutical, branded products, transportation, and government/institutional, on a global scale.

The Company's common stock is listed on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "INKS." Additional information on the Company is available on its website at http://www.inksure.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Although InkSure (the "Company") believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include the Company's need to obtain substantial additional capital (through financings or otherwise) to fund its operations, the progress of development, government and regulatory approvals and licensing/commercialization of the Company's technologies, and other factors noted in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved.

By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release."

Source: InkSure Technologies Inc. Web Site PRNewswire-FirstCall

Israel Technology Noted in India

Excerpt: "Eddy Segal, Sales Director Asia-Pacific for the Israel-based solutions provider, NICE showcased a dazzling array of technologies which can monitor entire call centre traffic, look for 'red flag' words like "not satisfied''; detect when emotions are raised; analyse the call queueing time and harness all this to retain customers, keeping them satisfied the next time around. "

Source: Next opportunity lies in home market, BPOs told. Hindu - Chennai,India (8 June 2005) [FullText]

Interest in Biotechnology: Phoenix City Councilman Travels to Israel

"Phoenix City Councilman Greg Stanton was part of a delegation of 25 that traveled last week to Ramat-Gan, Israel, a new sister city to Phoenix that could build on the city's interest in biotechnology. "I think we'll have a long-term relationship and one that will be fruitful for Phoenix and Ramat-Gan because of the exchange of ideas," Stanton said.

A city of about 150,000, Ramat-Gan is regarded as a leader in biotechnology, said Stanton, adding that Phoenix's T-Gen program makes for a logical fit. "They are doing a lot of biotech research," Stanton said. "It will be an opportunity for research and exchange with scientists." Stanton also cited the city's experiences in dealing with water conservation issues as well as its approach to airport security as further reason for the partnership.

Ramat-Gan is the latest and 10th municipality to be a Phoenix Sister City. The Phoenix City Council approved the addition to the program in May. The delegation on the trip included airport and city officials and representatives of a group that lobbied for the Israel city's inclusion into the program.

Stanton said the trip was paid for through fund-raising. Stanton paid for his wife, Nicole, to accompany him."

Source: Nedra Lindsey. Stanton travels to Israel. The Arizona Republic (9 June 2005) [FullText]

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Speech at the Rehovot Conference for Science and Technology

"I am happy to be here tonight and commend the initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology and of all those who assisted in organizing this conference. I regret that in light of all my other tasks I was not able to spend more time with you and learn more about the achievements and requirements of science in Israel.

Lately, I have been investing most of my time in the Disengagement Plan. I ensure you that the Disengagement Plan will be implemented. It is the right and best possible step for the State of Israel.

I also believe that following this step, which is a very difficult and painful step, security in Israel will increase, and I also believe that investments will grow and the level of interest in Israel's technological and scientific know-how will go up. I am also confident that the need for scientists will increase and I am certain that you will all have much more to do. I hope that it will go as smoothly as possible and we will be able to advance towards a political agreement, and following that, G-d willing, also towards peace.

It is good to see that while we are engaged in the implementation of the Disengagement Plan, there are those who are occupied with something which is no less important - the scientific advancement of the State of Israel and the entire human race. I am confident that, as all citizens of Israel will enjoy a better security and economic situation following the Disengagement Plan, so will the scientific community enjoy its benefits. I also hope that we will soon see the time in which the Prime Minister of Israel will be able to spend more time in scientific conferences and conventions and less time in political and security discussions.

The story of science in Israel is also that of a far-reaching vision. The leaders of the Jewish community in Israel, headed by Chaim Weitzman, understood at the beginning of the last century, that the future was science. And indeed, among the first, large factories established by the Zionist movement, were institutions of science and research - the Technion in Haifa, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Ziv Institute - which later became the Weizman Institute.

This investment soon paid off, when Israeli science, which flourished at their institutions - and at others which followed - made an unprecedented contribution to the people of Israel and its society. The accomplishments of Israeli science place Israel at the forefront of advanced countries in the world. Despite its small size, Israeli scientists publish approximately 6,000 scientific articles every year, and are placed third among scientists in the world at the rate at which they write articles.

The scientific and technological infrastructure built here over dozens of years allowed for the impressive success of Israeli high-tech firms, which places Israel in the global elite in this field. The knowledge-based industry contributed greatly to Israeli growth in the last 15 years, and today constitutes half of our industrial exports.

However, in a world in which science develops and renews itself at a dizzying pace, we must not rest on the laurels of yesterday's accomplishments nor even those of today. I am certain that you do not do so, and continue your efforts. Therefore, in order to preserve its national strength, Israel must continue nurturing its scientific might.

Israel must serve as a magnet for scientists - certainly Jewish scientists - from around the world. It must be a melting pot of breakthrough ideas and the birthplace of innovative technologies. It must continue investing in scientific infrastructures which will allow us to add scientific accomplishments in the future. In the next decade, Israel must establish its position as one of the leading countries in the field of nanotechnology and biotechnology, improve the national ability in the various engineering fields and develop fields of research vital to the future of Israel and the future of the planet - such as environmental science, planetary science, health and space.

I view it as a national duty to invest not only in research and academic institutes, but also in strengthening the connection between science and the community. It is our duty to promote science and technology education among the broadest possible public, primarily in peripheral areas and in population sectors in which access to science is unnatural and not self-evident - in order to bring youth and adults closer together as one, in the world of science.

This Conference, the Rehovot Conference for Science and Technology - at the initiative the Ministry of Science and Technology - which is gathering together all the officials in the fields of science and science policy in Israel - serves to lay the groundwork for the formulation of a comprehensive, national science policy.

This policy must take into account the human potential and financial ability of Israel and its economic, security and social needs. It must ensure the continuing advancement of science in Israel and the recruitment of government funded research and development to promote subjects and fields which are at the forefront of science today.

I am certain that the Rehovot Conference for Science and Technology will create a process in which all the relevant authorities are partners. And I expect that, at the next Conference which will, G-d willing, take place in another year, all the relevant authorities will present their stands regarding the national science policy. Of course, I would be happy to participate in your next conference.

Only cooperation - based on fruitful dialogue, deep examination and critique and agreement as to national goals - can lead to the formulation of a science policy which will steer the State of Israel to success in the years to come.

Our goal must be clear: to advance Israel to new horizons of scientific excellence and technological developments, which will assure the improvement in the quality of life in Israel, strengthen national security, increase the rate of growth and reinforce equal opportunities for all strata of the country's population.

Thank you, good luck and a happy Shavuot to all of you."

Source: Ariel Sharon. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Speech at the Rehovot Conference for Science and Technology - Weizmann Institute. Prime Minister Office Web site - Briefing Room - PM Speeches (9 June 2005) [FullText]