Aligned Edges Archives
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
a day ago
- Zawya
New agreement brings breakthrough dyslipidemia treatment to Saudi Arabia and MEA
JEDDAH – Jamjoom Pharma, a leading Saudi pharmaceutical organization committed to enhancing the quality of life through the development, manufacturing, and distribution of high-quality medicines and consumer healthcare products across MEA, and Althera Laboratories, a company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, today announced a strategic licensing and supply agreement. This agreement is poised to address the growing need for effective dyslipidemia management in the region, contributing to better patient outcomes and cardiovascular health. Under this agreement, Jamjoom Pharma gets exclusive rights to commercialize in Saudi Arabia and non-exclusive rights for phased expansion across other MEA markets for Althera's fixed-dose combination of dual-action cholesterol-lowering therapy. The product launch in Saudi Arabia is targeted for 2027, with plans for phased expansion across MEA markets, subject to local regulatory approvals. This collaboration marks a major milestone for both companies: Jamjoom strengthens its cardiovascular portfolio with a globally recognized and clinically effective therapy, while Althera expands its international footprint in a high-growth region. The partnership aims to address the region's growing burden of cardiovascular diseases by increasing access to modern, affordable lipid-lowering treatment, to support patients across MEA. Dr. Tarek Hosni, CEO of Jamjoom Pharma, highlighted that: 'Cardiovascular diseases remain to be a leading health concern in Saudi Arabia and the wider MEA region, and this partnership enables us to provide patients across the MEA region with an innovative, evidence-based solution. Expanding access to effective cholesterol management aligns perfectly with our promise to deliver high-quality, affordable medications that improve lives.' Sanjeev Agarwal, CEO of Althera added " This partnership with Jamjoom Pharma is a pivotal step for Althera, allowing us to extend our reach into the rapidly growing MENA region. We are confident that Jamjoom's deep market understanding and robust capabilities make them the perfect partner to deliver our Rproduct to healthcare providers and patients in Saudi Arabia and across MENA. This collaboration is a testament to our dedication to making innovative and affordable cardiovascular treatments more accessible globally." About Althera: Founded in 2010, Althera focuses on developing, out-licensing, manufacturing and supplying high value branded and select complex generic medicines. Althera pioneers innovative value added combinations fostering benefits throughout the value chain resulting in benefits for our partners, payers, prescribers and patients particularly in heart disease, diabetes and obesity management. Althera is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. About Jamjoom Pharma 'Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Company': Jamjoom Pharma is a leading pharmaceutical organization committed to enhancing the quality of life through the development, manufacturing, and distribution of high-quality medicines and consumer healthcare products. Headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the company was established back in 2000 and is tirelessly operating to support the Saudi Vision 2030 to reinforce the public healthcare system. With a strong focus on patient-centered care, Jamjoom Pharma serves diverse markets across Middle East & Africa, with a bold ambition for more expansion, providing effective solutions in key therapeutic areas (including ophthalmology, dermatology, cardiometabolic, gastrointestinal, and general medicine). Through its state-of-the-art facilities and established distribution channels across the MEA region and dedication to regulatory excellence, Jamjoom Pharma continues to deliver products that meet the highest standards of safety, efficacy, and quality, improving health outcomes for millions of people.
Zawya
a day ago
- Zawya
IBM report: Data breach costs drop 18% in the Middle East, reaching SAR 27mln in 2025
Dubai, UAE – IBM (NYSE:IBM) released its 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report, revealing that the average cost of a data breach for businesses in the Middle East reached SAR 27.00 million. This represents a decrease of approximately 18% from SAR 32.80 million the year prior. According to the report, the top three factors that reduced breach costs for local businesses were AI/ML-driven insights, encryption and a DevSecOps approach. In the Middle East, lost business remained the largest cost category in 2025, averaging SAR 11.63 million per breach. This was followed by post-breach response costs at SAR 7.50 million, detection and escalation at SAR 6.55 million, and notification costs at SAR 1.32 million. While overall breach costs have declined this year, these figures underscore the continued financial strain organizations face across the entire breach lifecycle — from discovery to containment. Certain sectors continued to face significantly high breach costs in 2025. This year, the financial sector recorded the highest total breach cost reaching SAR 34.00 million, followed closely by energy and industrial at SAR 32.00 million. 'It is encouraging to see a meaningful decline in the cost of data breaches in the Middle East this year. It is no coincidence that a region with some of the world's boldest AI ambitions is also seeing less costly breaches. As organizations accelerate the adoption of AI-driven tools for security, they are improving their ability to detect and contain threats before they escalate. But as attackers grow more sophisticated, continued investment in AI-driven security tools, security talent, and AI governance tools will be essential to sustaining this momentum,' said Saad Toma, General Manager of IBM Middle East and Africa. Other key findings in the 2025 IBM report for the Middle East include: Mitigating risks of AI model attacks – To reduce the risk of attacks on AI models, organizations in the Middle East are most commonly implementing access controls on AI systems (41%). By contrast, just 3% of breached organizations globally had such controls in place, highlighting the region's more proactive approach to securing and governing AI. AI governance adoption – 38% of surveyed organizations reported having formal AI governance policies in place, with an additional 24% starting to develop them. For those with policies in place, the most common elements include strict approval processes for AI deployments (45%), adversarial testing (44%) and the use of AI governance technology (43%). Factors that increase costs – Organizations with security system complexity incurred an average additional cost of SAR 867,378. Breaches affecting IoT or OT environments added SAR 839,750, while security staff shortages raised costs by SAR 818,997 on average. Top initial attack vectors – The most common initial causes of data breaches in 2025 were third-party vendor and supply chain compromise, which account for 17% of incidents and carried an average cost of 29.60 million. Denial of service attacks and phishing each made up 14% of breaches, with average costs of SAR 27.20 million and SAR 28.00 million respectively. Malicious insider threats, while slightly less frequent at 11%, resulted in the highest average cost at SAR 33.00 million. The 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report analyzed real-world data breaches from over 600 organizations worldwide from March 2024 through February 2025, including organizations from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Conducted by Ponemon Institute and sponsored and analyzed by IBM, the Cost of a Data Breach Report has investigated nearly 6,500 data breaches over the past 20 years.
Tahawul Tech
2 days ago
- Tahawul Tech
'Security is embedded at every layer with our solutions'
Mohamad Sabra, Regional Director SMB – Middle East, Africa, Türkiye, Romania & CIS, Cisco and Renton D'Souza, Vice President, Comstor MEA took a moment to speak about their respective views on how SMB solutions help businesses overcome challenges and enjoy the benefits of digital transformation and cloud adoption. Answered by Mohamad Sabra Q: What are the main challenges SMBs face in today's digital landscape Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the backbone of local economies, driving innovation, job creation, and community growth. Yet, as the digital landscape evolves at unprecedented speed, SMBs face a unique set of challenges that demand strategic focus, adaptability, and resilience. They need to adopt technology to build and run a digital business, but typically lack the human and financial resources to create and manage their own IT infrastructure. Specifically, SMBs face challenges in cybersecurity, technology integration, remote and hybrid work complexities, as well as cloud adoption, Q: How do Cisco's SMB solutions empower small and medium businesses to thrive in today's digital-first world, and what sets Cisco apart from other providers in this space? Cisco's SMB solutions are designed to help small and medium businesses build the foundation needed to compete and grow in a rapidly evolving market. Our approach combines cloud-managed networking, built-in security, and seamless collaboration tools that are easy to deploy and manage, even for organisations with limited IT resources. What sets Cisco apart is our ability to deliver enterprise-grade technology in a simplified, cost-effective solution tailored for SMBs. For example, our cloud-managed Meraki platform allows businesses to control their entire network from an intuitive dashboard, enabling remote management, automatic updates, and real-time analytics—features that traditionally required large IT teams. Security is embedded at every layer, with solutions such as firewalls, intrusion prevention, and zero-trust access controls to protect sensitive data without sacrificing usability. For collaboration, tools like Webex keep distributed teams connected and productive, whether they're in the office or working remotely. Finally, Cisco offers award-winning support and a broad ecosystem of partners to ensure SMBs have the guidance and resources they need at every stage of their digital transformation. Our goal is to make advanced technology accessible, so SMBs can focus on what matters most – growing their business. Answered by Renton D'Souza Q: How does Comstor support partners in delivering Cisco SMB solutions to the market? Comstor acts as a strategic distributor and advisor for partners, providing enablement, training, and access to Cisco's full SMB portfolio. Recent initiatives include launching a white-labelled Managed SOC (Security Operations Centre) built on Cisco's XDR platform, allowing partners to offer advanced cybersecurity services under their own brand, supported by 24/7 monitoring and expert guidance. This approach reduces partners' operational burdens and accelerates their entry into the cybersecurity services market. Q: How are Cisco and Comstor enabling SMBs to benefit from digital transformation and cloud adoption? Cisco and Comstor help SMBs embrace digital transformation by providing cloud-native, automated networking and security solutions that scale as the business grows. Comstor's partner support includes guidance on cloud migration, access to training, and technical enablement. Cisco's solutions allow SMBs to control their networks from anywhere, streamline operations, and adopt hybrid work models securely and efficiently. Image Credit: Comstor & Cisco
