| Climate change could lead to Arctic conflict, warns senior Nato commander Global warming and a race for resources could spark a new 'cold war' in the Arctic, US naval admiral warns ahead of key talks on environmental securityOne of Nato's most senior commanders has warned that global warming and a race for resources could lead to conflict in the Arctic.The comments, by Admiral James G Stavridis, supreme allied commander for Europe, come as Nato countries convene on Wednesday for groundbreaking talks on environmental security in the Arctic Ocean.The discussions, in the format of a "workshop", with joint Russian leadership, are an attempt to create dialogue with Moscow aimed at averting a second cold war."For now, the disputes in the north have been dealt with peacefully, but climate change could alter the equilibrium over the coming years in the race of temptation for exploitation of more readily accessible natural resources," said Stavridis.The US naval admiral believes military forces have an important role to play in the area – but mainly for specialist assistance around commercial and other interests."The cascading interests and broad implications stemming from the effects of climate change should cause today's global leaders to take stock, and unify their efforts to ensure the Arctic remains a zone of co-operation – rather than proceed down the icy slope towards a zone of competition, or worse a zone of conflict," he added.Stavridis made his views known in a foreword to a Whitehall paper, entitled Environmental security in the Arctic Ocean: promoting co-operation and preventing conflict, written by Prof Paul Berkman, head of the Arctic Ocean geopolitics programme at the University of Cambridge.The discussions, which take place at the Scott Polar Institute where Berkman is based, have been given impetus by the speed of change around the north pole where the ice cap is melting and oil and other minerals are becoming available for extraction.In recent weeks, Cairn Energy has announced the first oil and gas discoveries off Greenland and a wave of new mining licences are about to be awarded there. There are similar moves to produce gas in the far north of Russia and Norway, all in the shadow of BP's Gulf of Mexico's oil spill.Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, spoke about our "common responsibility" at the international forum on the Arctic in Moscow two weeks ago. He is aware the melting ice offers access to reserves of oil and minerals, as well as new shipping lanes, but that the Arctic is an "area for co-operation and dialogue".Berkman, a key figure in organising the workshop, with funding from the Nato science for peace and security programme, said the challenge is to balance national and common interests in the Arctic Ocean in the interests of all humankind."Strategic long-range ballistic missiles or other such military assets for national security purposes in the Arctic Ocean are no less dangerous today than they were during the cold war. In effect, the cold war never ended in the Arctic Ocean."One of the first speakers at the workshop will be Prof Alexander Vylegzhanin, who is codirecting the workshop from the Russian Academy of Sciences. He will be followed by former US ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz; European Union vice-president, Diana Wallis; and Canadian high commissioner, James Wright.There will also be contributions from senior British, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic and Norwegian delegates with participants from 16 nations.Building on the interdisciplinary discussions with academics, government administrators, politicians, and industry representatives, Berkman said the workshop should be a major first step towards building a dialogue that both considers strategies to promote co-operation as well as prevent conflict in the Arctic Ocean.As Stavridis noted: "Melting of the polar ice cap is a global concern because it has the potential to alter the geopolitical balance in the Arctic heretofore frozen in time."Polar regionsClimate changeOilEnergyFossil fuelsGasGasOilOil and gas companiesEnergy industryNatoArcticTerry Macalisterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Migraine goldmine for Botox maker Botox manufacturer Allergan has seen cosmetic use of the toxin shrug off the recession but now its potential for therapeutic treatments such as migraine and MS has made the firm 'ecstatic'The landscape around the west coast of Ireland is breathtaking enough to wipe years off furrowed brows.But it is not the rugged Irish scenery that has changed the face of the beauty industry. It is a pristine-looking glass-walled factory set in 12 hectares outside the picturesque town of Westport in County Mayo, which produces the entire world's supply of Botox.Kylie Minogue has admitted using it, as have Geri Halliwell, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, but it is no longer just celebrities looking to iron out the wrinkles in their foreheads.Since it began production in 1990, the factory has pumped out more than 26m phials of the chemical otherwise known as Botulinum toxin a, generating $500m (£310m) a year for the pharmaceutical firm Allergan. In 2009, at the height of the recession, the company reported 8% earnings growth.What makes investors "rather ecstatic", says the chief executive, David Pyott, is that Allergan has grown from a company that relied on "purely reimbursed" business from hospitals and clinics to one that includes a booming cash business of private clients who use Botox and other medical aesthetic treatments under the Allergan umbrella, including dermal-fillers, breast implants and gastric bands. The wealthy always want to look beautiful."Even in the depths of the recession, the first half of 2009, the world market [for Botox] only declined 9%," says Pyott. "In the recession what's happened is men have spread out their treatments [from every three months to four months] and women have fewer things done."The Botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, works by temporarily paralysing key muscles in the forehead. Pyott, 55, a Scot with a smooth-looking forehead, leads by example and uses it himself.But it isn't the beauty treatment that has the company so confident about future growth. It is all its other less sexy applications for Botox – 20 of them in total, including the recently approved application as a preventative medicine for chronic migraine – that opens up another potential goldmine.There are an estimated 700,000 migraine sufferers in the UK alone reporting chronic head pain – dizziness, nausea and headaches can put someone out of action for up to two days at a time. The chronic form is defined as someone who has 15 headache days a month, of which at least eight are migraine.BreakthroughAnalysts reckon that the migraine breakthrough could generate revenue of between $400m and $1bn by 2015 – almost double the company's turnover.Allergan employs 800 staff in Westport but the production of Botox is now so automated that it only requires the direct labour of 80 people. That's about $625,000 revenue per employee."The Botox story is an amazing story and what's really unusual is that the best may still be to come," says Pyott, a Glasgow-born lawyer who has been chief executive since 1998."Right now our revenues are split 50:50 between cosmetic and therapeutic. But five years from now 70% of our sales may come from therapeutic, and that's not because the use of Botox will decline."Pyott lists off some of the other Botox applications in the pipeline. "It always starts in a severe population," he says referring to two future therapeutic applications: controlling weak bladders in multiple sclerosis sufferers and crash victims with spinal cord injuries. This is currently in clinical trials as is another weak bladder condition, affecting women over the age of 50.Many of the discoveries of the use of Botox are by accident. It was discovered that it could erase wrinkles in 1987 after an eye specialist injecting patients to correct crossed eyes reported that a patient's frown had disappeared.Another cosmetic application, which was approved in 2008 by the US Food and Drug Administration, was born from an eye-drop product that Allergan makes. Patients reported that one side-effect was longer and fuller eyelashes. Back in the laboratory, Allergan came up with Latisse, which has now been approved in the US and is undergoing clinical trials in Europe.RecessionFor Ireland, which is in the throes of one of the worst recessions in the eurozone, the Botox story is important.One of the reasons that Allergan set up shop in Westport 33 years ago was relocation aid and low corporation tax, which now stands at just 12.5%. Recently the European Union's European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, Olli Rehn, suggested that this might have to be increased if Ireland was to reduce its gargantuan budget deficit.But Pyott is unperturbed by the threat of rising taxes: "We have long assumed the rate would go up a couple of points," he says. Having studied European Union law, he says that Brussels can huff and puff but "at the end of the day, it's a matter of national sovereignty."He is also optimistic about the overall recovery of European markets comparison with those in the US. "Here and there, there are patches of gloom but here in our company we really see no big issues at all," he says."We look at all the statistics very carefully and in fact, looking at the recovery of our markets, particularly those that are cash paid, there is no sign of the infamous 'double dip'. In fact, I would say most European markets are recovering and growing more quickly than those in the United States." The history of BotoxBotox is 21 years old this year, but the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, from which the product is derived, was discovered as far back as 1895.By the 1950s scientists discovered the bacteria temporarily relaxed muscles, and so the story of Botox began. Its first medical application was in 1989 to fix crossed eyes and uncontrolled blinking.The start of its use as a beauty treatment was accidental. An ophthalmologist in Canada treating a woman with crossed eyes noticed that it got rid of the patient's frowns around the eye area. It was finally unleashed on the market in 2000 and has become a global phenomenon.But that is only half the story. Botox is also used to alleviate 20 other more serious conditions including foot deformities in children with cerebral palsy; hyper-hydrosis (excessive under-arm sweating) and post-stroke spasticity (twisting of limbs and hands). It is undergoing clinical trials as a treatment for weak bladders in multiple sclerosis sufferers and car-crash victims.Healthcare industryHealth & wellbeingBeautyPharmaceuticals industryIrelandMultiple sclerosisLisa O'Carrollguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
China's Property Battle Not Over Chinese data is likely to show still-fast growth and taming the country's real-estate market may prove a challenge despite Beijing's unexpected interest-rate rise this week. online.wsj.com |
EU teams to patrol Greek border The EU is for the first time sending border guards to help Greece stem an influx of migrants entering across the land border with Turkey. bbc.co.uk |
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