Raphael Stevens

In this articleAZN-GBMedical syringes and small figurines of people are seen in front of the AstraZeneca logo displayed on a screen. On Saturday, March 26, 2021, in Dublin, Ireland.NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesGermany has suspended use of the coronavirus vaccine created by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in the under-60s, due to renewed concerns over reports of blood clots.The move comes after the country’s medicines regulator found 31 cases of a rare type of blood clot in a small number of people immunized with the coronavirus vaccine produced by the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker. The suspension is likely to deal yet another blow to its vaccine’s reputation.What happened?Initially, a few regions suspended some use of the shot Tuesday due to concerns over a possible link to rare but serious forms of blood clots. But then on Tuesday it was announced that the whole country would no longer give the vaccine to anyone under 60 years old following advice from the country’s independent vaccine committee, known as STIKO.The committee said in a statement on Tuesday that “after several consultations, the majority of the STIKO decided, with the help of external experts, to only recommend the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 60 and over.”This decision was “based on the currently available data on the occurrence of rare but very severe thromboembolic side effects. This side effect occurred 4 to 16 days after vaccination, predominantly in people (under) 60 years of age,” it said.With regard to the question of administering the second vaccine dose to younger people who have already received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Germany’s vaccine committee said it would issue guidance on the matter by the end of April.Germany’s Paul Ehrlich Institute, a federal agency and medical regulatory body, told CNBC that there had been 31 cases of blood clots in the cerebral veins — a condition known as sinus vein thrombosis or cerebral venous sinus thrombosis — reported to it as part of spontaneous recording.Within that number, thrombocytopenia (a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets in the blood) was also reported in 19 cases. In nine of those cases, the people affected died.All but two of the 31 cases involved women aged 20 to 63 years while the two men affected were 36 and 57 years old, the Paul Ehrlich Institute said.It added that it “continues to investigate and evaluate all incoming case reports and is actively involved in the relevant discussions at the EMA,” the European Medicines Agency, where case reports from all EU member states are evaluated.To put the numbers in context, almost 2.7 million people in Germany had received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of Monday, with 767 people having had a second dose, according to data from Germany’s public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute.Blow to AstraZenecaChancellor Angela Merkel said the suspension of the vaccine’s use in the under-60s would help to boost citizens’ trust, which has already been dented when it comes to the AstraZeneca vaccine after a series of missteps, arguably both on the part of the drugmaker, and by European leaders.Read more:’The damage is done’: Europe’s caution over AstraZeneca vaccine could have far-reaching consequencesData, doubts and disputes: A timeline of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine problems”Everything is based on one principle and that is trust,” Merkel said at a news conference, Reuters reported. “Confidence arises from the knowledge that every suspicion is counted in every individual case.” The 66-year old chancellor added that she would also be willing to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine “when it is my turn,” Deutsche Welle reported.Nonetheless, Germany’s move is bound to cause more pain to AstraZeneca and public confusion and concern toward the vaccine. AstraZeneca has already seen its shot suspended once before in a handful of European countries, before the EMA and World Health Organization reviewed the vaccine’s safety data and concluded that was “safe and effective” and its benefits outweighed any risks.The EMA said at the time, however, that it could not rule out any link between the shot and blood clots, which are a regular occurrence in the general population at any rate. Concerns have been raised enough for Canada to also suspend use of the vaccine in the under-55s over fears of a possible link to blood clots.Clinical and real-world data have shown the vaccine to dramatically reduce Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths, however. The vaccine is a major component of the U.K.’s, and other countries’ immunization programs, and is seen as a cost-effective vaccine that can be easily transported and stored.On Wednesday, the WHO said it continues to monitor safety evidence reviews of the vaccine but that the shot’s benefit-risk profile “weighs heavily in favor of its use,” Reuters reported.Alejandro Cravioto, chair of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, told a briefing the panel was “comfortable” with the vaccine’s use, since many of the countries using it have safety warning systems in place and are not reporting problems.Drugmaker defends itselfMany scientists and the U.K. government have defended the shot, saying it has already saved thousands of lives.In a statement to CNBC, AstraZeneca said international regulators had found the benefits of its jab outweighed any possible risks significantly.It said it was continuing to analyze its database of tens of millions of records for the vaccine to understand “whether these very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia occur any more commonly than would be expected naturally in a population of millions of people.””We will continue to work with German authorities to address any questions they may have,” it added.The drugmaker stressed that “tens of millions of people have now received our vaccine across the globe. The extensive body of data from two large clinical datasets and real-world evidence demonstrate its effectiveness, reaffirming the role the vaccine can play during this public health crisis.”Previously, Germany had not given the vaccine to people 65 and over, saying there was insufficient data on its efficacy in that age group. As more data emerged showing it was safe and effective, however, it reversed that policy. More

In this articleTSLAThree ICEYE satellites, the trio of silver cube-like spacecraft visible near the top of the stack, on SpaceX’s Transporter-1 mission in January 2021.ICEYEFinnish satellite imagery firm ICEYE continues to expand its business in the U.S., announcing Wednesday that it signed $50 million in contracts last year for its services while hiring multiple new executives, including a former Tesla leader.ICEYE co-founder and CEO Rafal Modrzewski told CNBC that last year’s total sales growth was “an unexpected result” given the COVID-19 pandemic, and represented contract growth of nearly 10 times what the company signed in 2019.”It was definitely above expectations, and we see this trend continuing,” Modrzewski said.The company’s business is based upon combining a special type of imagery, called synthetic aperture radar (or SAR), with a form factor the size of a suitcase – reducing the cost of launching multiple satellites to create a network that can image places on Earth multiple times a day.ICEYE’s not alone in pursuing the SAR imagery market. San Francisco-based Capella Space recently deployed its own SAR satellites in orbit to capture of a piece of the Earth intelligence market, which is estimated to be worth about $60 billion.”We see the fastest growth, in terms of percentage … in the revenue coming from the commercial sector,” Modrzewski said.The company is now working to scale its revenue further, Modrzewski said “from tens of millions of booked contracts to hundreds of millions.” That’s necessitated the hiring of more executives at ICEYE to “be able to handle that hyper growth phase,” he said, with the company’s global headcount now reaching 280 employees.”Our 2021 plan really is to upscale the constellation and grow the manufacturing capability in order to maintain that base, because we have to answer the market demand,” Modrzewski said.Launching 10 more satellites this yearICEYEModrzewski’s company, founded in 2015, has raised more than $150 million in venture funding to date, with 10 satellites launched to orbit.But ICEYE plans to double that this year alone, with plans to put another 10 satellites in orbit on three different upcoming launches. The satellites will represent a next-generation of capabilities for ICEYE, with Modrzewski noting the first will be technology demonstrations.”Usually why we call those satellites demonstrations is because because they’re the first ones – we do not guarantee full commercial capabilities from it, even though of we are going to aim for that 100% of the design. And then the follow up missions are most probably going to be of that generation but on a commercial basis,” Modrzewski said.While ICEYE’s next-generation satellites feature multiple improvements, Modrzewski highlighted the addition of a “multi-spot capability” – being able to fly over a location only once but deliver multiple images at once.ICEYE’s new satellites also feature the ability to capture over 100 kilometer swaths, “even better resolution” than its current 25 cm offering, and faster delivery of imagery to customers.How long it takes ICEYE to deliver an image after receiving a customer order is a key metric for its satellites.While ICEYE is able to get a satellite in view of most parts of the world “within 12 hours on average,” Modrzewski expects that process – called “tasking” a satellite – to be cut down to “somewhere closer to six to five hours” on average by next year.Then, after capturing the image, ICEYE has enabled its next generation satellites with the capability “to perform simultaneous download and acquisition” – meaning ICEYE aims to deliver within 10 minutes of the image being acquired, rather than a couple hours later.ICEYE previously expected to build a constellation of 18 satellites in orbit, but Modrzewski thinks the company will launch more satellites now, having invested more in manufacturing last year. The number of satellites needed in orbit is “always demand driven, so it’s very hard for me to say,” he noted.Expansion continuesModrzewski said that the company’s U.S. office, which ICEYE announced last year, is growing very quickly. ICEYE now plans to expand it to “almost match” its U.S. presence with the company’s headquarters in Helsinki, Finland.ICEYE announced five executive additions to its leadership team Wednesday, to help its further growth. The company brought on Susan Repo as CFO, who previously worked for Tesla for five years, including as CFO of Tesla Finance.The company added three new ICEYE vice presidents: former MDA chief systems engineer Alan Thompson as vice president of engineering, former EagleView data science director Shay Strong as vice president of Analytics, and Marita Markkula – the former marketing lead of cybersecurity firm F-Secure – as vice president of marketing.ICEYE also brought on Steven Scheers, who has a background in human resources across multiple growing companies, as the company’s chief people and culture officer. More

In this articleZE594-CNChinese battery and electric vehicle maker BYD shows off a model of its Han EV series at the 2020 Beijing auto show.Evelyn Cheng | CNBCBEIJING — Chinese electric car company BYD is feeling the hit of rising battery material costs.Backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, the automaker announced late Monday that net profits attributable to shareholders in the first quarter will be between 200 million yuan ($30.4 million) and 300 million yuan.”Affected by the price fluctuation of upstream raw materials, the profit of automobile business is yet to be improved,” BYD said in a release, noting seasonal factors also “have a certain impact” on new energy passenger vehicle sales.In a growing market for electric cars, demand for the batteries to run them is rising. As a result, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a March 18 note that the prices of the main materials will surge, driving battery prices about 18% higher.”(BYD) mgmt. also mentioned they are facing pressure on raw material price surge, e.g. lithium carbonate, electrolyte & copper,” Citi analysts said in a note, citing a call with BYD’s Chairman Wang Chuanfu on Tuesday.The lower-than-expected first quarter guidance only accounts for 3% to 5% of what analysts are expecting for the full year, Credit Suisse analysts said in a note Tuesday. They lowered their price target on BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares to 280 Hong Kong dollars, down from 310 Hong Kong dollars previously.But that new target still implies a gain of more than 60% for BYD from its close Tuesday of 170.40 Hong Kong dollars.The Credit Suisse analysts attributed the decline in profit guidance to seasonal weakness in car sales, lower government subsidies and rising prices for battery raw materials.BYD reported net profits attributable to shareholders of 4.23 billion yuan for all of 2020. The revenue share of automobiles and related products grew to 53% last year, up from 49% a year ago, while that of batteries remained the same at about 8%. The share of revenue from outside Greater China climbed to 39% from 16% a year ago.While new electric vehicle models in a growing market helped boost those profits, Nomura analysts pointed out the results come at the low end of the estimated range as “higher raw material costs have affected near-term profit growth.” Nomura maintained its price target on BYD of 300 Hong Kong dollars.— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report. More

Brazil just reached a grim Covid-19 milestone, and a reporter based in Sao Paulo doesn’t see the situation improving in the near future. “We have people dying because of lack of oxygen, people are literally suffocating,” Patricia Campos Mello, a reporter for Folha de Sao Paulo, told CNBC’s  “The News with Shepard Smith” on Tuesday. “There are no medications for intubation, there are no ICU beds. It’s a combination of lack of planning and just denialism of the seriousness of the disease.” “The situation is completely out of control,” Campos Mello added. Campos Mello comments came after Brazil registered on Tuesday a daily record tally of Covid deaths, recording more than 3,700 deaths, according to data from Brazil’s health ministry. Brazil has the second-most Covid deaths in the world with , trailing only the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. On top of that, less than 2% of Brazil’s population has received at least one vaccine dose. However, President Jair Bolsonaro has consistently attacked Covid-related safety measures. Earlier this month, he told people to stop “whining” about the deaths and to simply move on. Campos Mello noted the world can learn from the mistakes in Brazil. “I think the main lesson is that, when you have a president or a leader that is spreading disinformation and saying that people should not worry, that they don’t have to do social distancing, this is very, very serious, and we are seeing the results now with all the deaths,” Campos Mello said.Bolsonaro also replaced several of his top military officials on Tuesday, after he fired a defense minister Monday amid a major cabinet reshuffle. Campos Mello told CNBC’s Shepard Smith the political chaos is a result of Bolsonaro reacting to the widespread pressure due to the country’s mismanagement of the pandemic. “President Bolsonaro’s approval ratings are falling, so he fired some ministers, and today the chiefs of the armed forces, they resigned because they were being pressured by Bolsonaro to have some sort of curfew or extreme measures that were almost over the top,” she said.   More

In this articleTGTProgramming note: The CNBC @Work Summit returns this fall on Oct. 13. Facebook CIO Atish Banerjea, Bank of America COO/CTO Cathy Bessant, WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani and Estee Lauder CFO Tracey Travis will talk about building a resilient future and more. Register now.Caroline Wanga has grown tired of companies dangling rewards and giving pats on the back to employees who comply with diversity and inclusion initiatives.In an interview with CNBC’s Sharon Epperson, the CEO of Black media company Essence Communications said employers should see participation as an obligatory part of the job, just as they expect people to show up to work if they want to keep getting paid.”It is vital to your business,” she said at the CNBC @Work Summit on Tuesday. “It’s your endocrine system of your business. And so if your kidney’s failing, you don’t get a piece of cake and a lollipop. You get dialysis.””You don’t get incented for participating in something that’s the lifeblood of the future of your organization,” she added.Wanga, a former Target executive, started at the big-box retail chain as an intern and by the time she left roughly 15 years later, she was its chief culture, diversity and inclusion officer and vice president of human resources.Caroline Wanga on stage at Cannes Lions 2019 in Cannes, France.Richard Bord | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesShe joined Essence in June and now she’s leading the iconic Black brand. Black entrepreneur Richelieu Dennis, founder of beauty company Sundial Brands, bought Essence from Time Inc. in 2018.At the company, Wanga’s skills were quickly put to the test. She was hired by Essence as its chief growth officer, but she soon ascended to interim chief executive and later CEO as the media company faced anonymous accusations of bullying, sexual harassment and an “abusive work culture” in an essay shared on Medium in June.The company denied the claims. Essence hired two law firms, which independently investigated the allegations and did not find evidence to support them, according to reports shared by the company with The New York Times.In the fall, Wanga commended Dennis for authorizing “a full review of all allegations,” and described the claims as “untruths” meant to diminish an “iconic brand,” in a statement shared with the Times.Companies face pressure to actAt Tuesday’s virtual event, Wanga focused on other challenges companies face, like building brands that resonate with customers across races, backgrounds and life experiences.Companies have faced heightened pressure over the past year to make their boards and C-suites more representative of the country’s diversity, particularly in the wake of the protests over George Floyd’s killing and violence targeting Asian Americans.She urged executives to pursue diversity efforts just as aggressively as they chase business rivals, putting top talent and the full weight of their organization behind it — not just putting out empty statements and cutting a check.”When you think about competing with your competitor, who do you put in charge of that?” she asked. “Put them in charge of D&I. Watch your results.”And, Wanga added, savvy customers can tell if diversity efforts are authentic or choreographed. She said that’s why a company’s commitment must be infused into all they do, from the products they sell and suppliers they work with to the messages and images in their advertisements and the people they hire.”At the end of the day, when I spend my money, I should be able to tell that who I spend my money with looks and believes in that,” she said.Wanga said companies must look critically at the makeup of their own workforce, so they stay relevant and thrive as a business. She recalled a conversation with a colleague earlier in her career who worked in apparel and was tasked with creating a merchandise assortment that appealed to women of all sizes.”She said ‘Caroline, I’m responsible for expanding our clothing apparel line to women that are in what are categorized as plus sizes, but my team is too skinny and too white. How am I supposed to deliver that?” she said. “The answer became ‘Change the succession plan.'”By hiring people who better reflect potential customers, Wanga said companies can actually drive sales.”You have to disrupt the succession plans, the hiring plans, the recruiting plans, the advancement plans,” she said. “You have to surround those people with the resources to be successful. You have to stand up for them when people try to take them down. And you have to ensure that the people that you are moving around are also being leveraged for their insight and expertise and are not token. Otherwise, you take steps backwards.”Instead of looking for solutions in a slide deck, she encouraged companies to go out where they will find fresh perspectives and honest answers. For example, she said, talk to entry- and mid-level Black men in a barber shop rather than a board room. “Make the people you’re trying to engage with and recruit feel safer than you feel,” she said. “They will tell you the truth. They will honor your presence. And you will get the information that actually tangibly changes things.” More