Syngene International inks R&D agreement with GSK

Global contract research services company Syngene International today signed a research and development agreement with global healthcare company GSK.

As part of the agreement, Syngene will set-up a customised discovery research laboratory to support projects across several therapeutic areas, a release issued here said.

A team of Syngene scientists, will work closely with GSK's global R&D teams on discovery research projects to identify new drug candidates with the potential to address some of the worlds most pressing healthcare needs, it added. ************************** Gift City, Deloitte sign MoU to promote IFSC operations *

Gift City today said it has entered into an agreement with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) for mutual cooperation in international financial services.

 

Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), both the entities will also cooperate in the training and in organising seminars and conferences on selected topics for enhancement of the Gift International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), a release issued here said.

"We are delighted to enter into an MoU with DTTILLP. With GIFT IFSC witnessing a substantial growth in the banking, insurance and capital market space, quality professional services would be required to support the establishment of businesses in the IFSC and their growth," said Ajay Pandey, managing director and group chief executive officer, Gift. ************************** Exim Bank extends $500m LoC to west African countries *

The Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) today said it has extended a USD 500 million line of credit (LoC) to west African countries.

The country's policy bank has entered into an agreement with the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development for financing various projects in the western Africa, an official statement said.

With this, the total value of the LOCs extended to the bank floated by the 15-nation grouping goes to USD 1 billion. ************************** Samarth Sahakari Bank opens two branches in Mumbai *

Solapur-headquartered cooperative lender Samarth Sahakari Bank today opened two branches in the financial capital and announced plans to have presence in Thane, Vashi, Pune and Sangli in the future.

The 1996-established bank has Rs 950 crore in deposits and Rs 655 crore in advances at present, and is targeting to up its total business to Rs 5,000 crore in the next five years, chairman Dilip Atre was quoted as saying in a release.

It has 24 branches in Solapur, Pune and Kolhapur and opened two more in Dadar and Kalyan today. ************************** Shriram Gen issues over 40,000 policies a month via mobile app *

Shriram General Insurance today said it is issuing over 40,000 policies per month through its mobile app MNova.

The company is offering all motor products through its mobile app, a release issued here said.

In FY18 (up to February 2018), 12 per cent of the total policies issued by the company were issued through the mobile app.

"We are growing our digital presence across platforms. Today, we are reaching out to thousands of customers through these various platforms. MNova, the mobile app, built on an Android platform with B2B capabilities is spread across India and we are issuing about 40,000 policies per month," said Neeraj Prakash, managing director, Shriram General Insurance. **************************** Mblood aims for 10 lakh registered blood donors by 2018-end *

Mblood, a location-based app that helps blood donation, is targeting to increase the number of registered donors to 10 lakh by end of the year from the present 26,000.

Since its launch in January, more than 900 seekers have reaped benefits through the app.

"We want to create the largest online network of blood donors in India. We plan to add at least 1 million users on our network by December 2018 including those from remote locations. Increased availability of live blood donors within vicinity can bridge the current gap between donors and acceptors," founder Sushil Lalwani said.