Company claims oral COVID-19 vaccine on its way

An Israeli-American pharmaceutical company is preparing to launch a Phase I clinical trial for what could become the world’s first oral COVID-19 vaccine.

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company based on technology developed by Hadassah-University Medical Center, announced over the weekend a joint venture with Premas Biotech to develop a novel oral vaccine. Together they formed the company Oravax Medical Inc. The vaccine is based on Oramed’s “POD” oral delivery technology and Premas’s vaccine technology. READ MORE

This startup aims to take the trash out of takeout

Like many New Yorkers, Adam Farbiarz eats a lot of takeout.

But every time he finished a meal, he noticed he was left with a lot of garbage.

In fact, New York residents used more than 23 billion disposable food service items in 2016, according to a report from the Overbrook Foundation, a human rights and environmental advocacy group.

To help solve the problem, Farbiarz founded DeliverZero, a zero-waste delivery company that aims to tackle the city's growing mountain of takeout trash. READ MORE

Top finance, tech firms mulling NY exodus over proposed tax hike

Top New York firms that toughed it out through the pandemic are now considering packing their bags over $7 billion in proposed new state taxes.

At least 20 finance and tech companies are already poised to leave for sunny, low-tax Florida, said Kathyrn Wylde, CEO of the business-backed Partnership for New York City. “The Legislature’s proposals will move us in the opposite direction by driving away the businesses and tax base required to do that,” said powerful Real Estate Board of New York President James Whelan. READ MORE

Combined State and Federal Corporate Income Tax Rates in 2021

Corporations in the United States pay federal corporate income taxes levied at a 21 percent rate. Many states also levy taxes on corporate income. Forty-four states and D.C. have corporate income taxes on the books, with top rates ranging from North Carolina’s single rate of 2.5 percent to a top marginal rate of 11.5 percent in New Jersey. Fourteen states levy graduated corporate income tax rates, while the remaining 30 states levy a flat rate on corporate income. READ MORE

A new program can animate old photos. But there's nothing human about artificial intelligence

It's hard to explain the mix of emotions that spark upon seeing a photo of Frederick Douglass come alive with the click of a button. And yet, there he is, blinking and nodding as if he were just alive yesterday, as if he hadn't died in 1895, years before film recording became commonplace.

His animated image and others like it -- at the same time unsettling, emotional, and a bit fantastical, are made possible by Deep Nostalgia, an artificial intelligence program from the genealogy platform MyHeritage. READ MORE

5 Challenges Facing CHROs at Midsize Companies Today

The CHRO’s agenda has never been more daunting than it is in 2021. In addition to their normal workload, CHROs have been dealt a full hand of challenges that have a direct impact on a company’s ability to recover and grow.

The agenda is particularly difficult for CHROs of midsize and emerging enterprises, which typically must meet big-company tests with small-company resources. For example, an organization with 300 full-time employees usually has just three or four full-time HR people — enough to cope with business as usual, but not with extraordinary challenges. READ MORE

What did we get right—and wrong—during COVID-19?

It’s hard to believe we’re a year into the COVID-19 pandemic—it’s been a year that’s changed every aspect of work and life as we know it.

The worldwide health crisis has forced changes to nearly every workplace strategy, but one of the most significant, undoubtedly, has been how employers imagine and craft their benefits. Benefits have always been a vital tool for employers—especially when it comes to attracting and retaining talent—but in a pandemic that jeopardized health and safety, benefits became more important than ever. Wellness, mental health, caregiving support and more have rightfully been in the spotlight to help employees through what many describe as the most stressful time of their career. READ MORE

Board Priorities Have Shifted for 2021 and Beyond

Organizations were forced to adapt to the conditions of 2020 and many of the changes made are likely to continue into the future based on new priorities.

For larger companies, these changes begin with their board of directors who are being prompted to address financial and social pressures, a reimagined workplace, evolving regulatory demands and increased scrutiny on environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities. READ MORE

Orbital Assembly Corp. hits $1M fundraising goal, aims to have luxury space hotel open in 2027

Orbital Assembly Corp., a California-based startup that wants to pioneer construction and infrastructure in outer space, has hit its $1 million fundraising goal and aims to open an operational luxury hotel in orbit in 2027.

The enterprise bills itself as the “world’s first large-scale space construction company” and wants to produce everything from space tourism to fuel depots, telecommunications satellites and solar power stations “in low Earth orbit and beyond.” READ MORE

Here are the ins and outs of the new SEC disclosure rules

For the first time in more than 30 years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has modified its disclosure rules, requiring that public companies provide a far greater window into their human capital management than ever before.

Previously, organizations only had to disclose their number of employees. Now, they must divulge human capital metrics considered to be material to an understanding of the company’s business. They include employee attraction, development, retention, diversity and inclusion, engagement, employee satisfaction, and health and safety. READ MORE

4 Best Practices To Successfully Manage Your Sales Pipeline

Without a strategic sales pipeline, your business is doomed to fail. If you haven’t defined the steps that make up your sales life cycle, you can’t possibly tell the difference between prospects who need more information and prospects who are ready to buy.

Even worse, you can waste your time and energy on people who aren’t a good fit for your organization or burn bridges with prospects who would have bought had you talked with them at the right time.  READ MORE