The project brings attention to Goal No. 4 of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
 
PHILADELPHIA (April 27, 2020) –  As part of a broad campaign to bring awareness to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Saint Joseph’s University and Global Philadelphia Association are inviting local artists to respond to a request for proposal (RFP) for a public art mural depicting SDG No. 4 – Quality Education. The SDGs urge all organizations and countries to transform our world by promoting prosperity while protecting the planet. In particular, the Quality Education goal recognizes that obtaining a quality education is the foundation of sustainable development.
 
“There is no time like the present to address the many global challenges we face,” said Zabeth Teelucksingh, executive director of Global Philadelphia Association, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the region’s global profile. “We are committed to fostering the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and this collaboration with Saint Joseph’s is an opportunity to further that commitment. This also connects with our Philadelphia World Heritage City Project’s mission to raise awareness that Philadelphia’s city heritage is in fact globally connected.”
 
This mural is one of a series of art installations throughout the City of Philadelphia that the Global Philadelphia Association is spearheading. For each mural that is created, there are five partnership components: the sponsor, host site, the artist and an NGO that will receive the project grant and accompanying academic project. Global Philadelphia Association has reached an agreement with SJU as the sponsor of this project for Goal 4. The host site will be on SJU’s campus and linked to the Samuel Gompers Elementary School, immediately adjacent to the University.
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For more than 30 years, the University and Gompers have been community partners. Saint Joseph’s students serve as student-teachers and volunteers to support afterschool programming. Additionally, faculty have provided professional development training to Gompers staff.

“Saint Joseph’s partnership with Global Philadelphia Association is important to advancing our mission as a globally connected, Jesuit institution,” said Shaily Menon, Ph.D., dean of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. “I’m excited to join both Global Philadelphia and Gompers on this project as it aligns with our values of quality education, sustainability, social justice and a hope-filled future for our youth.”
 
Saint Joseph’s has long been invested and active in the SDGs. This project represents a cross-campus collaboration bringing together a working group of faculty representing the College of Arts and Sciences, Haub School of Business and School of Health Studies and Education.
 
Experts in the Haub school created the SDG Dashboard, a collaborative data reporting and analytics platform for global business schools to share their best practice impacts on SDGs and transform business education into a force for good.
 
Responses to the RFP are due by May 15, and the final installation on Saint Joseph’s campus is planned for early fall 2020.
 
About the Global Philadelphia Association
The Global Philadelphia Association consists of more than 200 internationally involved organizations, businesses, and individuals in Greater Philadelphia. It was created to assist – and to encourage greater interaction among – the many organizations and people who are engaged in international activity in the Greater Philadelphia Region, to promote the development of an international consciousness within the area, and to enhance Philadelphia’s global profile. For more information, visit our website: globalphiladelphia.org.

About Saint Joseph’s University
Founded in 1851 in the heart of Philadelphia and in the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence, Saint Joseph’s University prepares students for a rapidly changing and unpredictable world. Through a rigorous, perspective-expanding education, Saint Joseph’s 7,300 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students are mentored by thought-leading faculty scholars, exposed to a curriculum that allows for radical program combinations and demands exploration. The 125-acre campus provides both urban and suburban experiences and is home to the world-renowned Barnes Arboretum at Saint Joseph’s University. Upon graduation, nearly 100 percent of students are employed, pursuing advanced degrees or volunteering in prestigious service programs. A proud member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Saint Joseph’s Hawks compete in 20 Division I intercollegiate men’s and women’s sports. The University’s 72,000 proud alumni are a powerful global network that are united by the rallying cry – The Hawk Will Never Die. 

​-For immediate release-

Media Contact: Graziella DiNuzzo, [email protected], 609.680.7670
 
Philadelphia, PA….April 20, 2020….Dr. Steven Baranowitz, President of Epitek, and a member of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, was awarded two patents by the United States government on March 31, 2020 and earlier in August 20, 2019 for the study of broad-spectrum anti-viral medications, including COVID-19, Pandemic Influenza and Zika.  
 
“These broad-spectrum antiviral drugs include some medications currently marketed as prescription drugs (such as MMF/MPA) for other diseases, as well as a pipeline of drugs, some of which have been in clinical trials for other conditions,” says Dr. Baranowitz.
 
Dr. Baranowitz is seeking partnerships with doctors, hospitals, private companies, or government agencies in emergency clinical trials for the treatment of coronavirus patients.
 
With the help of World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) trade specialist, Dale Foote, Dr. Baranowitz has been working with PA Authorized Trade Representatives, in Germany (covering Italy, Austria and Switzerland), South Korea, and India to locate health and hospital officials who will want to learn more.
 
 “There are medications currently available by prescription in the US which are documented to kill most coronavirus strains in the laboratory. The medications are sold for a different use but could be clinically tested in the US to treat patients. They are anti-viral in a dose smaller than the dose for the current use,” says Dr. Baranowitz.
 
The medications have been demonstrated by Baranowitz to be broad spectrum antivirals, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), over the last 4 years. Dr Baranowitz has 28 years of drug development experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and believes that physicians, hospitals, state and federal government could use these medications rapidly in new emergency clinical trials.

​Epitek focuses on two drugs documented to kill most Coronaviruses. The drugs are CURRENTLY MARKETED for a completely different use. One is widely available and inexpensive. For anti-viral effect, Epitek believes that the drug can be used at 10% or less of the dose for the currently marketed indication. The drugs inhibit inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), which is a critical enzyme for increasing the body's pool of the nucleoside guanosine. Guanosine is indispensable to the virus for replicating its RNA.

“A COVID research paper was published a few weeks ago by a different research group, saying that mycophenolic acid (MPA), which is the active ingredient in mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a good candidate for clinical testing,” says Dr. Baranowitz
 
About Steven A. Baranowitz MD MS MBA President

The President of Epitek is Dr. Steven Baranowitz. Dr Baranowitz is a successful Pharmaceutical/Biotech Scientist, Physician, and an entrepreneur with many patents to his credit. Having served as Medical Director at several major Pharmaceutical companies, as well as Biotechs, Dr. Baranowitz brings a wealth of industry experience with both large and small companies. He is a recognized expert in pharmaceutical Drug Safety and Clinical Trials and has consulted for many well known companies in these areas. He worked ensuring the safety of Vaccines, both marketed and in development, as a consultant to Sanofi-Pasteur in the past.

Dr. Baranowitz is an inventor with over ten US and International patents on new potential treatments for a variety of diseases in fields including virology, oncology, ophthalmology, and regenerative medicine.

A graduate of the New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Baranowitz completed specialty training in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

He obtained research expertise in Developmental Biology while earning his Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his Bachelor of Science degree at Brooklyn College. His business training included the M.B.A. he obtained from Fairleigh-Dickinson University and his licensing and product evaluation experience at several pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Baranowitz was honored by the University of Oxford in England when its Center for Mathematical Biology sponsored him as a visiting scientist. As a guest of the University, he lectured and collaborated in original research. During his stay, he also gave an invited guest seminar at the National Institute for Medical Research in London.
He continues actively collaborating in research with the National Institutes of Health, the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, and Temple University; he has in the past conducted research at U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Dr. Baranowitz has presented papers at international symposia and his research has been published in several scientific journals including the Journal of Theoretical Biology, Macromolecules, and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Baranowitz continues active research at his office in Philadelphia, which is adjacent to Drexel University. Over 35 Drexel undergraduate and graduate coops (interns) have been trained by him in the last five years, and this educational and research collaboration in ongoing. Dr. Baranowitz is a resident of Wyncote, PA.

About the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia

The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) is one of over 320 World Trade Centers in 89 countries around the globe. A non-profit and membership - based organization, the WTCGP accelerates global business growth for companies in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey by providing customized, one-on-one trade counseling, market research, educational programs, trade mission and trade show support, business networking events, and powerful connections to customers and partners worldwide. Since 2002, the WTCGP has served as a catalyst for regional economic growth and job creation, helping area companies generate over $2B in incremental export sales, supporting over 26,000 jobs.

By Graziella DiNuzzo

​“The good news is that companies are exporting, products are leaving the US, going ocean and air, “ explained Michael Ford, Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs for BDP International, as he led the inaugural WTCGP “Got Questions” digital series on April 16th.

President Linda Conlin welcomed nine company executives who signed up to get up- to-date information on logistics, “amidst this unprecedented pandemic member and client companies are looking for answers, and WTCGP is lining up the experts to provide some answers, even if its “don’t know yet."

Throughout his successful career, Ford has helped companies navigate ever-changing import and export documentation and complex regulatory compliance. Ford has been with BDP for 40 of the companies’ 53-year existence. A privately owned and operated company, BDP’s mission is to deliver logistics solutions and transportation services – and they are busy.

In 2019, the WTCGP helped export companies with over $128 million in export sales, according to documented export sales reports. “We are committed to ensuring that our companies have the resources to succeed amidst this new normal,” said Conlin.

The reality is, “what has always been in place is now upside down,” said Ford to the attentive zoom meeting audience.

“Companies are having new experiences. Same person who is importing chemicals is now importing safety equipment, masks etc. – something outside of their scope of work,” Ford explains referring to the high demand of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment). “We are seeing a humanitarian position from companies to deliver health and medical supplies and what it means to work quickly to reinvent your company.”

“Trucks are busy, busy, busy on the roads working really hard to meet increasing demands for food. It’s a bit easier now that everyone is off the road.”

Rob Hutchison, President, Visual Software was pleased to learn, “more about logistics than he ever knew.”

With Rob’s focus on bringing technology to remote areas in Africa and his need to ship thousands of laptops, Ford’s suggestions were quite insightful.

“Since the international passenger air travel restrictions, more passenger planes can be used for air freight,” Ford explains. “Companies can take advantage of the best price and best service.”

The new reality for ocean freight was also discussed. “January, February and March, we have seen carrier ships bypassing China. Ships are returning to the US with empty containers.”

What does the future hold?

Ford urged the audience to “communicate, pick up the phone and re-establish relationships with your clients.”
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“We are all under pressure. We need to ride this out together and it’s time to humanize what we are dealing with.”

Attendees of this Executive Briefing will gain context of how shifting interdependencies impact the future of geopolitics. We will explore both positive and negative interdependencies including supply chains, global trade, the medical system, the role of borders, and U.S./China relations. 

This virtual event will be conducted via the web starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern/1:00 p.m. Pacific/9:00 p.m. London. Presentation materials will be made available during the virtual event and on the GIC website.
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Detailed webinar instructions and materials will be made available upon registration. Click here for complimentary registration.

​It's important for both mental and physical health to maintain as normal a routine and schedule as possible in this unprecedented and unpredictable period of time. This was one of the points Edgar Vesga the CEO of Philadelphia International Medicine expressed to Capital Analytics CEO Abby Melone during their conversation. He also spoke on how PIM is facilitating the international patients that are under their care.