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Archive for August, 2011|Monthly archive page

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Rick Siskey on the Importance of Giving Back to Your Community

In Finance on August 30, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Rick Siskey

Rick Siskey

A longtime proponent of angel investing, Siskey Industries’ chairman Rick Siskey is a firm believer in giving back to one’s community. “The belief that it’s more important to make things better – not bigger – has been a foundational principle to everything I do,” Rick Siskey explains.

While Rick Siskey has worked hard to build his companies, including Wall Street Capitol and Siskey Industries, he firmly believes in following a dream. But dreaming involves more than success in work. “I want to live my life with as few regrets as possible,” Rick Siskey notes. And for Rick Siskey, that involves giving back as much as possible. With great success comes great responsibility and Rick Siskey works hard to make sure he helps others achieve their dreams.

Part of that work involves angel investing.  Rick Siskey points small businesses to the TV show Shark Tank as an example of what angel investors are looking for. “It’s essential that a small business owner understands that money from an angel investor is an investment with a needed return, and that it’s not just a loan,” explains Rick Siskey. While investors certainly hope to gain from this kind of risk taking, Rick Siskey points out that it is still the small start-up company that benefits the most. For those pursuing a dream, angel investors can be a great way to get the start-up capital that can make or break a small company. While many ideas never quite get off the ground, having someone who believes in you can make a huge difference between success and failure.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on at Siskey Industries is our ability to to help build their actual business,” Rick Siskey says. Siskey Industries also provides coaching and advising to help small businesses through good and bad times.

Over a span of three decades, Rick Siskey has become recognized as a premier investor and advisor to entrepreneurs and businesses.  Possessing “an uncanny ability to discern situations in advance,” Rick Siskey knows what it takes to start, build, finance and sell companies. Following a successful career in the financial markets, Rick Siskey established Wall Street Capitol to service the types of financial needs expected by high net worth clientele.  Today Wall Street Capitol performs at a level not easily matched for entrepreneurs and individuals of financial means. Rick Siskey is also the Chairman of Siskey Industries, LLC, offering traditional and alternative sources of capital funding, strategic advisory solutions and alternative investment opportunities.  Through Siskey Industries, Rick Siskey joins his expertise to a network of industry professionals in the arena of private equity investing. For more information, visit http://www.siskeyindustries.com

???  Can something be added about the YMCA branch named for Siskey?  Also regular supporters of St. Judes, Charlotte Catholic Charities, etc. among other things.  This also speaks to giving back to the community.

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Unilife CEO Alan Shortall: Working to Improve Patient Care and Save Lives

In Health and Beauty on August 17, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Unilife Alan Shortall

Unilife Alan Shortall

Presentation Solutions recently sat down with the CEO of Unilife, Alan Shortall, to discuss the growing company.  Unilife supplies customized delivery devices to the pharmaceutical industry.  Originating in Australia in 2001, Unilife’s move to the United States between 2008 and 2010 was spearheaded by Alan Shortall.  This included the redomiciliation by Alan Shortall of Unilife into a Delaware registered Company, and its listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange (NASDAQ:UNIS) in February 2010. Unilife also continues to trade on the Australian Stock Exchange (UNS:ASX).

Presentation Solutions:  We realize that serving as CEO of Unilife, Alan Shortall, you are a busy man.  Thank you for taking the time to speak with our readers.

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  You are welcome.

Presentation Solutions: Knowing your time is short, I will get straight to the point.  What separates Unilife from the competition?

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Excitement—involved in an entrepreneurial company that is changing the marketplace that isn’t commodity-driven but that they can actually contribute and do something that is going to make a significant difference to saving millions of lives potentially but also actually having a specific input and direction in where the market is going.

Presentation Solutions:  Exciting times.  Let’s step back for our readers and describe just what it is that Unilife does.

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Unilife was founded in 2002 in Australia.  We’re an advanced drug delivery systems business. We manufacture the device that helps pharmaceutical companies take their products to market.  Since [2002] we have actually transitioned the company where we’ve developed a string of technologies.  We relocated our corporate headquarters to central Pennsylvania in 2008. In 2010 we actually listed on the NASDAQ exchange.

Presentation Solutions:  So Unilife manufactures devices that pharmaceutical companies need to take injectable drugs to market.  What is your business model?

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Our model for success is our insatiable desire to service our customers. We listen to what they want; we give them what they need. In doing so we absolutely bowl them over by delivering far in excess of what their expectations are.

When you take that element of our business strategy and then you put it in place where pharmaceutical companies are lined up outside our front door asking us to help them come up with solutions for their unmet needs, to be able to actually inject or deliver complex biologics into patients and allow them to get regulatory approval in some cases as well.

Presentation Solutions:  So clearly you are becoming more and more intertwined with the pharmaceutical industry?

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Yes.  And the beauty for our shareholders going forward is that once our device gets regulatory approval as part of the device-drug combination, it means we are locked in with that pharmaceutical company into long-term supply agreements for potentially the lifecycle of the drug. That gives us a very robust financial model going forward.

Presentation Solutions:  And yet you recently stated that, and I quote, “Unilife is more than just a syringe or device story and company.”

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  That is correct. I did and we are.

Presentation Solutions:  Help our readers understand just exactly what you mean by that.

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  For centuries people have rallied around causes. What Unilife is doing in many ways is an actual cause. It’s attracting high quality people. The quality and caliber of people is attracted in many ways because of our ability to not only be innovative and creative and have fun and the excitement of doing something worthwhile but the idea of being able to actually leave a worthwhile legacy behind. What we are doing is going to help save a lot of lives.

Presentation Solutions:  And you already have evidence of great success?

Unilife – Alan Shortall: Sanofi-Aventis paid us $40M for the five years exclusive rights to negotiate, to purchase the Unifill prefilled syringe from us to June 2014. That gives them first position in two therapeutic classes: anti-thrombosis and vaccines. Apart from those two classes, we can supply the Unifill product to any other pharmaceutical company

Presentation Solutions:  And there is more, correct?

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Yes, we are currently in discussions with over twenty top-tier pharmas with regard to accessing the Unifill product.

Presentation Solutions:  And this all began with doing what was deemed the “impossible” by the industry?

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Yes, indeed it was.

Presentation Solutions:  Can you briefly explain what made your devices so “impossible”?

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Recently we commenced initial production of the Unifill pre-fill syringe which is the world’s first and only fully integrated, retractable pre-fill syringe.  It was deemed impossible because in order to get regulatory approval for using the pre-fill syringe to deliver a drug into the market, a pharmaceutical company must demonstrate that the drug can stay in the syringe for over two years without any negative impact on the drug inside.  Conventional thinking has been that if I was to introduce any kind of a safety mechanism into a pre-filled syringe it would require me putting new components, and therefore new materials, into the fluid path. Pre-filled syringes are made of glass because plastic leeches.   So it would be impossible, nearly, to actually develop a mechanism inside a pre-filled syringe not using plastic.  That’s why I say it was impossible to do.

Presentation Solutions:  And clearly you did that.

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  We did.  We are developing a fully diversified portfolio of other advanced drug delivery systems in direct response to unmet market needs.

Presentation Solutions:  Unilife CEO Alan Shortall, thank you for your time today.

Unilife – Alan Shortall:  Thank you.

Unilife Corporation is a U.S. based developer and manufacturer of a diversified portfolio of advanced drug delivery systems. Since CEO and Executive Director Alan Shortall founded Unilife in 2002, he has been a principal driving force behind the company’s rapid global expansion. At Unilife, Alan Shortall has led the Company in the development, patent-protection and diversification of its broad device portfolio, which includes a best-in-class technology platform of safety syringes. As the leader of Unilife, Alan Shortall has also attracted world-class experts from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries to the Board and executive management team.

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How STD testing works at ANY LAB TEST NOW

In Health and Beauty on August 15, 2011 at 8:48 am
ANY LAB TEST NOW

ANY LAB TEST NOW

ANY LAB TEST NOW®, a private laboratory testing facility, has the capacity to screen for a multitude of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). These include HIV, syphilis, Herpes I and II, gonorrhea, Chlamydia and Hepatitis B or C. These ANY LAB TEST NOW tests can be completed on an individual basis, or clients may opt for the ANY LAB TEST NOW Comprehensive STD Panel.

Once a consumer decides on a particular ANY LAB TEST NOW test, the next step is to complete the necessary paperwork, and indicate how you wish to receive your ANY LAB TEST NOW test results. At the ANY LAB TEST NOW location most convenient to you, and on a walk-in basis, you may now provide the urine or blood sample, which will be collected by a trained specimen collector.

Most lab test results at ANY LAB TEST NOW are available within 24-48 hours. Once you get your ANY LAB TEST NOW test results, you can review them. Most test results from ANY LAB TEST NOW are given as positive or negative, indicating that either you have an STD and need to seek treatment or you do not have an STD. If your ANY LAB TEST NOW test results are ‘abnormal’ or ‘out-of-range’ from the normal, you should contact your primary care physician. Only licensed physicians are qualified to interpret the findings of any laboratory test.

One of the most popular STD tests, reports ANY LAB TEST NOW, is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) test. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. There are two parts to the HIV test at ANY LAB TEST NOW. Because having one STD increases your risk of becoming infected with another STD, you may wish to upgrade to an ANY LAB TEST NOW  Comprehensive STD Panel. This screens for several other STDs in addition to HIV.

Confidentiality can be a concern to those undergoing ANY LAB TEST NOW screens for STDs, and ANY LAB TEST NOW understands that. ANY LAB TEST NOW neither charts nor tracks test results, ensuring client privacy is strictly maintained. For more information, visit ANY LAB TEST NOW online at http://anylabtestnow.com

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About ANY LAB TEST NOW

ANY LAB TEST NOW® is a nationwide franchise of walk-in labs offering medical, drug and alcohol, DNA and other standard laboratory tests. The mission of ANY LAB TEST NOW is to provide consumers with direct access to professional, convenient and cost-effective medical laboratory tests that have historically been either unavailable to the general public or prohibitively expensive. ANY LAB TEST NOW was founded by David Perlow, M.D. in 1992, in Alpharetta, Georgia. A franchise model followed soon thereafter, with the vision of having an ANY LAB TEST NOW outlet in every community across America. Each ANY LAB TEST NOW complies with all state laws as well as the terms of The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

With 133 locations across the nation, ANY LAB TEST NOW was named the second fastest growing franchise in the U.S. in the April 2010 issue of Franchise Times. The success of the ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise proves the market demand for convenient access to lab testing solutions. ANY LAB TEST NOW offers a diverse range of lab tests and screening panels, which includes literally thousands of medical tests in addition to drug and alcohol testing, forensic DNA and toxicology as well as occupational exposure screening. ANY LAB TEST NOW clients represent a real cross-section of society that include individuals taking control of their own health to government agencies and private employers requiring drug screens and attorneys seeking legally admissible DNA tests.

Although ANY LAB TEST NOW employs certified medical assistants and trained specimen collectors, ANY LAB TEST NOW does not make diagnoses or treat conditions. Test results are for information only and only licensed physicians are qualified to interpret the findings of any laboratory test. If the test taken is due to a health concern, the ANY LAB TEST NOW result should be taken to the client’s physician to discuss potential treatment options.

ANY LAB TEST NOW was created with customer convenience foremost in mind, in line with Dr. Perlow’s vision to “give consumers and businesses direct, affordable access to powerful diagnostic tools.” In addition to convenient hours and locations purposely chosen close to public transportation, as well as walk-in and even online service at the ANY LAB TEST NOW website, the speed and accuracy of ANY LAB TEST NOW lab results are available is a matter of pride. Some results may be had within 15 minutes, if ANY LAB TEST NOW rapid testing is ordered, while standard test results are available in 24-48 hours from the date of the test.

Client confidentiality is another matter taken seriously at ANY LAB TEST NOW.  ANY LAB TEST NOW does not track customer information, and ensures privacy is strictly maintained. The staff at ANY LAB TEST NOW does not chart or track test results. Because the services offered by ANY LAB TEST NOW are limited to performing tests and distributing results from those tests, the complete confidentiality of each and every ANY LAB TEST NOW client is guaranteed.

For more information, visit ANY LAB TEST NOW online at http://anylabtestnow.com


Catherine Case Szarwark Supports the New York Junior League

In Sports on August 11, 2011 at 3:27 pm

Case Szarwark

Catherine Case Szarwark is always glad when someone asks her about the New York Junior League (NYJL), because it gives her the opportunity to discuss one of her favorite causes. According to Catherine Case Szarwark, the NYJL is a collective of women dedicated to community action and the development of the innate potential of women everywhere. According to Szarwark, the NYJL works at the community level to cultivate leaders and organize knowledgeable volunteers. The NYJL’s objective, explains Catherine Case Szarwark, is to promote education and charity while reaching out to women of all religions, creeds, races and national origins.

Catherine Case Szarwark calls the New York Junior League an inspirational and powerful organization with a diverse population of members who are committed to volunteerism. For Catherine Case Szarwark and thousands of other dedicated women, volunteering for the NYJL is an opportunity to affect real positive change through direct community involvement. Szarwark lists some of the “signature initiatives” for which the New York Junior League has garnered significant renown. The Financial Literacy program, says Catherine Case Szarwark, is a volunteer-powered initiative teaching people how to proactively manage their finances and gather the valuable knowledge necessary to establish true long-term financial stability. Catherine Case Szarwark also heartily endorses the Playground Improvement Project, a tireless effort to beautify and renew dilapidated playgrounds, giving young children more places to play, as well as develop their social, motor and mental skills.

Catherine Case Szarwark points out the significant contributions of the NYJL’s Community Health Access Model Program (CHAMP). In fact, notes Catherine Case Szarwark, the national Junior League ranges much farther than New York. Currently the Junior League’s membership base is constituted of more than 155,000 active women volunteers in Canada, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom. Catherine Case Szarwark is a proud member of this worldwide volunteer organization, dedicated to the betterment of the human condition through the community action of conscientious women.

About Catherine Case Szarwark

For Catherine Case Szarwark, accomplishments came early in life. While friends were hoping to adapt to middle school, Catherine Case Szarwark found her passion. Szarwark started fencing in the sixth grade when a mini-fencing class was offered for physical education. She discovered that she loved it and possessed a rare talent.  Catherine Case Szarwark’s parents were supportive and her path to success began.

Catherine Case Szarwark spent six years at the Nashville Fencing Academy where she developed into one of the finest fencers in the country.  While attending Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, Catherine Case Szarwark rose to the highest-ranking American epee fencer in the under-17 age category.  Her fencing for the American team took Catherine Case Szarwark to Italy and Germany, and Szarwark spent time at the United States Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she trained alongside Olympic hopefuls from all over the United States.

Upon graduation from high school, Catherine Case Szarwark elected to attend Penn State University where she fenced under the legendary Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov.  There, Szarwark compiled a record of 149 wins against only 35 losses, for an 81.0% winning percentage.  This remains the sixth-best in the storied history of fencing at Penn State University.  Catherine Case Szarwark earned all America honors three times, and was the captain of the Women’s Epee team in 2006-2007 when Penn State University won the NCAA National Championship. In speaking of this team, Coach Kaidanov singled out Catherine Case Szarwark for her leadership and dedication.

Catherine Case Szarwark also earned All Academic Big Ten honors, and finished with a 3.4 grade point average at Penn State University.  Szarwark now lives in New York City and has taught fencing at the New York Athletic Club. She works at NYU School of Medicine and is involved in Junior League of New York.

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Kyle Thomas Glasser Serves in Central America with the International Service Learning Program

In Health and Beauty on August 8, 2011 at 8:25 pm

Kyle Thomas Glasser

St. Marguerite Catholic Church has yet another member of which to be proud.   Kyle Thomas Glasser, 21, can now add mission trips to a list of many community service activities.  Kyle Thomas Glasser made the trip of a lifetime in May of 2010 when he packed up, said goodbye to his parents, and left his comfortable suburban Georgia home for Central America.

With the dream of someday becoming a doctor, Kyle Thomas Glasser saw first-hand what a huge impact basic medical care can have on the far reaches of Costa Rica’s poorest areas.  His trip to San Jose with the International Service Learning Program brought Kyle Thomas Glasser face to face with poverty beyond anything found in the US.

While in Central America, Kyle Thomas Glasser was able to offer help to men, women and children who, without the kindness of student volunteers like himself, might never receive proper care.  Simple things that Americans take for granted, like the comfort of a simple bandage, is out of reach for these people without groups like the International Service Learning Program and volunteers like Kyle Thomas Glasser.

Kyle Thomas Glasser and a dozen other students gave their time last May to make an impact. And did they ever! On the trip, the group visited an out of the way orphanage in Nicaragua where they rallied attention for a medical clinic that Kyle Thomas Glasser helped to host at the orphanage.  Aside from just medical attention, Kyle Thomas Glasser helped boost the morale of the children by hosting fiesta where the kids were able to forget their troubles and just be kids, even if for only a day.

Another highlight of the trip, recalled Kyle Thomas Glasser, was a visit to Project Abraham. This church driven community reminded him of his congregation at home and helped him stay focused on the task at hand. Kyle Thomas Glasser helped to perform well-child visits, hoping to keep children healthy. Kyle Thomas Glasser also took the time to proactively bring people to the clinic – the area has no Internet so word of mouth was the best way for Kyle Thomas Glasser and the other volunteers to get the people there.

Kyle Thomas Glasser first heard of the International Service Learning Project as a teenager. While most young boys his age were busy fighting acne, Kyle Thomas Glasser was working with this organization to help make the world a community of friends, instead of strangers.  According to Kyle Thomas Glasser, the ISLP was founded on the belief that people should lend a hand up instead of poke fun at the way others must live. Kyle Thomas Glasser has now had the chance to learn by doing, and to see that a kind word and a gentle hand really does make a difference.

Back at home in Georgia, Kyle Thomas Glasser continues to serve by tutoring math to aid struggling students.  Kyle Thomas Glasser is a member of many service-driven organizations, such as the National Spanish Honor Society and Beta Club, the Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership group and is also a member in good standing of the American Medical Student Association.

Kyle Thomas Glasser is the classic picture of what it means to work towards a dream.  In his short life, Kyle Thomas Glasser has demonstrated what it means to remain persistent, hope filled and to never stop reaching. Glasser’s future plans center around the goal of becoming a medical doctor. He dreams of this for one reason – to serve.

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The ANY LAB TEST NOW Franchise: Helping Employees Monitor Diabetes

In Health and Beauty on August 4, 2011 at 4:31 pm
ANY LAB TEST NOW® Franchise

ANY LAB TEST NOW® Franchise

According to a recent ANY LAB TEST NOW® franchise report, the statistics concerning diabetes are stunning. Further details concerning those individuals at high risk of developing diabetes, reveals the ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise, bring about even greater concern. But thanks to your local ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise, businesses can now help employees monitor diabetes.

With such risks come extensive costs, points out the professionals at the ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise.  In 2007, according to ANY LAB TEST NOW, the total cost of diabetes in the United States was 218 billion dollars.  Of that money, notes ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise, 58 billion was attributed to reduced national activity.  In fact, this ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise article points out those individuals with diabetes average 8.3 lost work days per year compared to 1.7 days lost for those without diabetes.  And the medical expenditures, further explains the ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise team, are significantly higher for those with diabetes.  With this understanding, coupled with the current economic factors, what is a company to do?

According to the team at ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise, the Centers for Disease Control partnered with the National Institutes of Health to develop the National Diabetes Education Program.  Through this program, four guidelines to assist business were developed, according to the professionals at ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise.

First, according to ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise, it is important to develop a supportive work environment.  By doing this, ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise explains, employees with diabetes feel comfortable assuming and living out the behaviors necessary to control their diabetes. Second, your ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise believes that companies should “provide encouragement and opportunities for all employees to adopt healthier lifestyles.”  A third guideline for business is to coordinate all corporate efforts in the area of diabetes control efforts, explains the ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise team.  The fourth step is to demand the highest quality medical care for people who are dealing with diabetes.  This is where your local ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise can offer assistance.

The medical professionals at your local ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise can administer the Diabetes Maintenance Panel to examine and monitor your blood sugar levels.  This test – combined with the Complete Blood Count, a fasting glucose serum test and a Diabetic Urinalysis to monitor kidney level, all administered conveniently at your local ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise – can help you adjust dietary and any activity level.

Founded in 1992 by David Perlow, M.D., each local franchise of the ANY LAB TEST NOW empowers a local community by making laboratory testing available to the general public.  Offering monthly promotions, your local ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise can promote healthy living.  With basic health check ups, the ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise will screen several components including complete blood count, urinalysis and blood pressure check.  This panel of testing administered by the local ANY LAB TEST NOW franchise will help you take control of your personal health. For more information, visit http://anylabtestnow.com

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Dr. Jerry M. Foster: Third Party Medical Consultants Can Be Beneficial

In Health and Beauty on August 2, 2011 at 4:12 pm

Dr. Jerry M. Foster

“Medical situations can in so many ways be scary,” acknowledges Dr. Jerry M. Foster.  A medical practitioner for over thirty years in the fields of Oncology and Internal Medicine, Dr. Foster believes in third party consultation.  “When a patient has been diagnosed with a serious illness, an objective third party can assist them in numerous ways,” asserts Dr. Foster.  A graduate of North Carolina State University and with Doctoral work completed at both Duke University and Vanderbilt Medical Center, Dr. Jerry M. Foster understands the value of a third party consultant.

The first benefit of a third party consultant during a medical situation is the obvious – information.  “One cannot let fear overshadow other decisions,” says Dr. Jerry M. Foster.  And during medical situations, a third party consultant can give an additional second opinion as well as other information, states Dr. Jerry M. Foster.  According to Dr. Foster, after a second opinion deems the first diagnosis correct, the consultant can offer information and pathways maybe not previously discussed.

The second benefit of employing a third party consultant, says Dr. Foster is the care.  “Families and patients undergoing major medical situations need a calming voice of care,” states Dr. Jerry M. Foster.  A third party consultant can provide that moment of needed care.

Finally, according to Dr. Jerry M. Foster, a third and final benefit of third party consultation during a medical situation is cost savings.  “Most often, a doctor is going to encourage a patient to receive a second opinion,” explains Dr. Foster.  However, a third party consultation can be given over the Internet, thereby saving a patient valuable dollars.  “The second opinion and follow-up information can be given quickly without the costs of office visits and travel,” concludes Dr. Jerry M. Foster.

Dr. Jerry M. Foster has served his patients for thirty years with distinction and accolade.  Board Certified by the state of Tennessee in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine, Dr. Jerry M. Foster has demonstrated his vast subject knowledge through several earned degrees.