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Shasun plans isobutyl benzene plant in Thailand
M. Ramesh
Chennai , Feb. 27, 2005 - THE Chennai-based Shasun Chemicals and Drugs Ltd proposes to invest about Rs 32 crore in a project in Thailand, to produce 5,000 tonnes a year of isobutyl benzene.
It is learnt that the idea behind the project is to secure the supply of isobutyl benzene, which is a key raw material in the production of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug that Shasun manufactures.
Shasun Chemicals is one of the large manufacturers of ibuprofen in the world, with a market share of about 25 per cent. It has about 15 per cent of the US market.
Shasun's annual report for 2004-05 said that the company aimed to double its US market share in the current year.
The plant is coming up at Rayong in Thailand. Located as it is in `zone-2', Rayong offers a plethora of incentives: 50 per cent reduction of import duty on machinery, exemption from corporate income-tax for five years subject to a ceiling 100 per cent of investment capital, and exemption of import duty on raw or essential material used in export production in the first year.
Apart from these incentives, the other advantages are easy and low-cost availability of the raw material polypropylene and duty-free import of isobutyl benzene into India under the India-Thailand FTA.
Shasun could be importing into India isobutyl benzene of a value of about Rs 45 crore each year.
Parents of gravely ill child seek help from TV show
Associated Press
April 29, 2005 - An Albuquerque couple trying to save their child's life from a rare blood disease are turning to an unlikely source for help — the criminal-catching television series "America's Most Wanted.''
Eight-year-old Kailee Wells suffers from severe aplastic anemia. She underwent a bone marrow transplant in January at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, but it failed. On Thursday, Owen Wells, said new marrow cells being produced by his daughter's body are afflicted again with the disease. "Therefore our choices ahead with be difficult ones,'' Wells said in an e-mail from Milwaukee, where the family moved in late 2003 to be closer to Kailee's doctors.
Doctors have told the Wells that Kailee must undergo a second transplant before she becomes too weak. Wells is asking the public to write to Fox-TV shows such as "America's Most Wanted'' to urge them to air their story in hopes someone with the same bone-marrow type will come forward. Wells said he hopes the show could be urged to change its focus from finding a criminal to finding a donor.
The Wellses have led bone-marrow donor searches across the country and twice in China, where they adopted Kailee. With their efforts, matches have been found for 11 patients and brought in more than 200,000 new potential donors, the National Marrow Donor Program has said.
Mejias to Sponsor Second Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Screening
People of Hispanic or Latino descent are encouraged to be screened.
Aixa Brea is a vivacious 32-year-old woman who enjoys volunteering at her local church and planning her upcoming September wedding to her fiance John Moynihan, a longtime member of the New York Police Department.
However, Brea, who is Dominican, is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant to treat her aplastic anemia and save her life. Brea is not alone; she is one of the 35,000 people annually who need a transplant of marrow, the tissue inside bones that produces blood cells.
Recently, Nassau County Legislator Dave Mejias (D-North Massapequa) hosted a blood drive at Hempstead Village Library to replenish the dwindling blood supply, as well as a bone marrow screening program to help find more donors to save Brea and the tens of thousands of people who suffer from leukemia or other blood diseases, such as aplastic anemia.
People of Hispanic or Latino descent are especially encouraged to get screened since Hispanics number only 400,000 of the 5.5 million registered donors in the National Marrow Program.
"Getting screened is easy and only requires a quick finger prick test," said Mejias. "A small price to pay for a very great possibility of saving a life."
Mejias will be hosting a second blood drive and bone marrow screening Sept. 18 at St. Killian's Church in Farmingdale.
For more information on the National Marrow Donor Program call 1-800-747-2820 or visit www.marrow.org. For more information on upcoming blood and bone marrow drives call Mejias's office at 571-6214.
Calling all donors
By HATTIE BERNSTEIN, Telegraph Staff
hbernstein@nashuatelegraph.com
Jul. 13, 2007 - The annual WZID Chill & Grill blood drive to benefit the American Red Cross sounds like fun and games.
There will be music, activities for children, a visiting clown and plenty of food donated by popular local restaurants.
But Hudson resident Jeanie Barkley sees Wednesday’s event as serious business.
“Everyone should tell their family, friends, co-workers, even strangers on the street, to please go out and donate blood,” Barkley said of the event, which takes place Wednesday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at Nashua High School South.
Barkley has a rare blood type, A negative, and has been receiving blood donations for more than a year, since she was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called aplastic anemia.
In April 2006, the mother of three and former special education teacher, learned that her red blood count had dropped dramatically. Since then, she has received more than 50 units of blood and more than 20 units of platelets. She has also undergone treatments her doctors hope will correct the autoimmune disorder.
“It hasn’t worked yet. The next step is a bone marrow transplant,” Barkley said.
When area residents donate blood Wednesday, they will be helping Barkley as well as hundreds of others across northern New England whose lives depend on donated blood.
Red Cross officials say blood donations are typically low during the summer months when schools and colleges, the site of many blood drives, are closed. At the same time, the demand for blood products goes up.
“It comes up every year,” said Thomas Houle, the Red Cross employee who is organizing the Nashua drive. “We need to keep up the blood supply.”
Houle said volunteer donors must be at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds. In addition, donors are eligible if they made their last donation on or before May 23.
Donors should be well-hydrated, starting several days before the drive, and should arrive at the blood drive center nourished and rested, Houle said, explaining that those preparations help people “bounce back quickly” from the procedure.
Thanks to the generosity of volunteer donors, Houle continued, the American Red Cross collects about 66,000 pints of blood from southern New Hampshire residents every year. The blood products from each pint, moreover, can save up to three lives.
Houle said whole blood has a shelf life of 42 days, while some of its products must be used more quickly.
Like Barkley, Houle is urging the public to attend the annual Chill & Grill event. Each volunteer will receive a T-shirt, a movie pass, a coupon for a free car wash, and refreshments, including ice cream, he said.
But the Red Cross employee said those rewards are tokens of a much larger return, lives saved because of donated blood.
“The community’s blood supply is everybody’s business,” Houle said.
Hattie Bernstein can be reached at 594-6439 or at hbernstein@nashuatelegraph.com.
IF YOU GO
Annual WZID Chill & Grill American Red Cross blood drive.
WHERE: Nashua High School South, Riverside Drive.
WHEN: Wednesday from 11a.m.-7 p.m.
MORE DETAILS: 1-800-262-2660.
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