Madison Realty Capital Closes $105 Million Acquisition and Modernization Loan for Four Seasons Hotel in Prime Miami Location

NEW YORK, July 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Madison Realty Capital, a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm focused on debt and equity investment strategies, today announced it has provided a $105 million loan to Fort Partners for the acquisition and modernization of the Four Seasons Hotel Miami located at 1435 Brickell Avenue in Brickell, Florida.  The loan was originated from Madison’s income strategy that offers transitional loans to institutional sponsors. In 2019, Madison provided a $210 million loan to Fort Partners for its construction of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Fort Lauderdale.

“We are pleased to continue our work with Fort Partners, a best-in-class developer with a strong track record in South Florida, and deliver a timely, customized financing solution for this exciting project,” said Josh Zegen, Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Madison Realty Capital. “Fort Partners, in close collaboration with Four Seasons, have put forth a strong plan that will modernize the property focused on enhancing room configurations, pool deck and lobby, and upgrade the food & beverage options by partnering with renowned chefs and restaurateurs.  Moreover, Brickell is an attractive, established neighborhood in Miami that caters to both tourists and business clients given its proximity to South Beach. We look forward to supporting Fort Partners in the future.”

“This is our second large loan with Madison Realty Capital, and again they executed quickly and delivered certainty of execution. Madison offered a highly competitive rate with a flexible structure that will allow us to effectively implement our renovation and repositioning plan for this strategic asset,” said Michael Conaghan, partner with Fort Partners LLC.

The 221-key hotel is part of a 70-story mixed-use tower that includes class-A office space, residential condominiums, an Equinox health club, retail space and a parking garage.  Millennium Partners developed the property in 2003 and Handel Architects led the design. The acquisition marks the fourth Four Seasons property in Fort Partners’ Florida portfolio alongside hotels located in Surfside, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach.

JLL Managing Director Jim Dockerty, Senior Managing Director, Kevin Davis, and Managing Director, Mark Fisher represented Fort Partners in the deal.

 

About Madison Realty Capital 

Madison Realty Capital is a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm that manages approximately $6 billion in total assets on behalf of an institutional global investor base. Since 2004, Madison Realty Capital has completed more than $15 billion in transactions in the U.S. providing reputable borrowers with flexible and highly customized financing solutions, strong underwriting capabilities, and certainty of execution. Headquartered in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles and Miami, the firm has over 60 employees across all real estate investment, development, and property management disciplines. Madison Realty Capital has been frequently named to the Commercial Observer’s prestigious “Power 100” list of New York City real estate players and is consistently cited as a top construction lender, among other industry recognitions. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIn and visit www.madisonrealtycapital.com.

Nathaniel Garnick/Grace Cartwright
Gasthalter & Co.
(212) 257-4170
madisonrealty@gasthalter.com

 

Swift Navigation and KDDI Announce Partnership to Build on the Global Expansion of Precise Positioning

SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Swift Navigation, a San Francisco-based tech firm redefining GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and precise positioning technology for autonomous vehicles, automotive, mobile and mass-market applications, today announced a partnership with Tokyo-based KDDI Corporation. KDDI is an international telecommunications company on the forefront of using technology innovations to provide a high-quality and high-reliability network that meets the communication needs of its global customers. This partnership will be key in bringing Swift’s precise positioning technology to the Japan market and adds KDDI as a key partner in the global expansion of Skylark precise positioning service—currently available across the continental U.S. and Europe in partnership with Deutsche Telekom.

Traditionally, precision GNSS corrections were provided using real-time kinematics (RTK) techniques, requiring a high density of reference stations and with limited fault tolerance. By partnering with Swift, KDDI is able to utilize Swift’s patented wide area corrections solution, a hybrid of precise point positioning (PPP) and RTK. The solution delivers wide area corrections with a low density of reference stations, fast convergence, centimeter-level accuracy, all from a highly-reliable service delivered seamlessly via the cloud.

Accuracy that previously could benefit a few pieces of equipment on a jobsite—or in a field—is now accessible to millions of users across continents. The accuracy of the Skylark precise positioning service enables lane-level positioning at fast convergence times to achieve required levels of safety, reliability, integrity and availability required by autonomous, mass-market and mobile applications. Skylark is GNSS hardware-agnostic, giving customers a choice in which GNSS sensor is used and enabling users across industries to benefit from higher accuracy by simply subscribing to Skylark. This ease of access and higher accuracy output has benefits across industries. Automotive manufacturers achieve lane-level accuracy in the sensor suite with high levels of integrity. Delivery companies improve operational efficiencies and cost savings with route optimization. Mobile app companies improve analytics using accurate data to create better maps and higher performing apps. Industrial applications automate equipment and improve efficiency with reliably accurate positioning.

“Swift Navigation is delighted to be partnering with KDDI to expand Skylark’s precise positioning in Japan and benefit customers around the globe,” said Timothy Harris, Co-Founder and CEO at Swift Navigation. “KDDI has always been at the forefront of bringing innovative technological solutions to its customers and Swift is pleased to add value to their businesses through the reliable accuracy delivered from Skylark.”

“We believe that Swift’s high-precision positioning solution further empowers our business capabilities in mobility space and contributes to the expansion of business coverage into smart vehicles,” said Hiromichi Matsuda, Executive Officer, Business Exploration & Development at KDDI CORPORATION. “The accuracy afforded from precise positioning unlocks opportunities for a multitude of businesses and industries and adds value to our customers in Japan.”

To learn more about how Swift and KDDI’s solution can be easily integrated into your application, visit swiftnav.com/kddi.

ABOUT SWIFT NAVIGATION

Swift Navigation provides precise positioning solutions for automotive, autonomous vehicle, mobile and mass-market applications. What began as the GNSS industry’s first low-cost, high-accuracy, real-time kinematic (RTK) receiver has evolved into a Swift Navigation ecosystem of positioning solutions for autonomous applications. From the continental GNSS precise positioning service delivered from the cloud by Skylark™, the hardware-independent, integrated software solution that is the Starling® positioning engine, to the centimeter-level accurate Piksi® Multi and ruggedized Duro® and Duro Inertial RTK receivers, Swift Navigation is enabling a future of autonomous vehicles to navigate and understand the world. Learn more online at swiftnav.com, follow Swift on Twitter @Swiftnav

ABOUT KDDI

KDDI is a telecommunication service provider in Japan, offering both mobile and fixed-line communications. With its well-established base of over 58 million customers, and through mobile services and shops offering its “au” brand, KDDI is expanding its services into the “Life Design” business, which includes e-commerce, fintech, nationwide electric power utility services, entertainment and education. With a 60-year history, KDDI is now focusing on creating smart infrastructure through IoT technologies and open innovation with partners and start-up companies in diverse industries. KDDI is accelerating the global growth of its telecommunications consumer business, with operations in Myanmar and Mongolia, and in the global ICT business with the “TELEHOUSE” brand.

Press Contact:
Swift Navigation
press@swiftnav.com

CNH Industrial to announce 2021 Second Quarter financial results on July 30, 2021

London, July 19, 2021

CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) announced today that its financial results for the Second Quarter of 2021 will be released on Friday, July 30, 2021.

A live audio webcast of the 2021 Second Quarter results conference call will begin at 3:30 p.m. CEST / 2:30 p.m. BST / 9:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, July 30, 2021.

Details for accessing the webcast presentation are available at the following address: https://bit.ly/CNH_Industrial_Q2_2021.

For those unable to participate in the live session, a replay will remain archived in the Investors section of the corporate website (www.cnhindustrial.com) for two weeks following the conference call.

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) is a global leader in the capital goods sector with established industrial experience, a wide range of products and a worldwide presence. Each of the individual brands belonging to the Company is a major international force in its specific industrial sector: Case IH, New Holland Agriculture and Steyr for tractors and agricultural machinery; Case and New Holland Construction for earth moving equipment; Iveco for commercial vehicles; Iveco Bus and Heuliez Bus for buses and coaches; Iveco Astra for quarry and construction vehicles; Magirus for firefighting vehicles; Iveco Defence Vehicles for defence and civil protection; and FPT Industrial for engines and transmissions. More information can be found on the corporate website: www.cnhindustrial.com

Contacts:

Corporate Communications

Email: mediarelations@cnhind.com

Investor Relations

Email: investor.relations@cnhind.com

Attachment

Zoom to Acquire Five9

The combination of Zoom’s robust communications platform with Five9’s intelligent cloud contact center will enable organizations to reimagine the way they engage with their customers

SAN JOSE, Calif. and SAN RAMON, Calif., July 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN), a leading provider of the intelligent cloud contact center, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $14.7 billion. Combining Five9’s Contact Center as a Service (“CCaaS”) solution with Zoom’s broad communications platform will transform how businesses connect with their customers, building the customer engagement platform of the future.

The acquisition is expected to help enhance Zoom’s presence with enterprise customers and allow it to accelerate its long-term growth opportunity by adding the $24 billion contact center market. Five9 is a pioneer of cloud-based contact center software. Its highly-scalable and secure cloud contact center delivers a comprehensive suite of easy-to-use applications that allows management and optimization of customer interactions across many different channels.

“We are continuously looking for ways to enhance our platform, and the addition of Five9 is a natural fit that will deliver even more happiness and value to our customers,” said Eric S. Yuan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Zoom. “Zoom is built on a core belief that robust and reliable communications technology enables interactions that build greater empathy and trust, and we believe that holds particularly true for customer engagement. Enterprises communicate with their customers primarily through the contact center, and we believe this acquisition creates a leading customer engagement platform that will help redefine how companies of all sizes connect with their customers. We are thrilled to join forces with the Five9 team, and I look forward to welcoming them to the Zoom family.”

“Businesses spend significant resources annually on their contact centers, but still struggle to deliver a seamless experience for their customers,” said Rowan Trollope, Chief Executive Officer of Five9. “It has always been Five9’s mission to make it easy for businesses to fix that problem and engage with their customers in a more meaningful and efficient way. Joining forces with Zoom will provide Five9’s business customers access to best-of-breed solutions, particularly Zoom Phone, that will enable them to realize more value and deliver real results for their business. This, combined with Zoom’s ‘ease-of use’ philosophy and broad communication portfolio, will truly enable customers to engage via their preferred channel of choice.”

Zoom’s acquisition of Five9 is complementary to the growing popularity of its Zoom Phone offering. Zoom Phone is a modern, cloud phone system that offers a digital alternative to legacy phone offerings, enabling organizations to connect and interact in new and convenient ways to keep businesses moving.

The combination also offers both companies significant cross-selling opportunities to each other’s respective customer bases. As a result of the acquisition, Zoom will play an even greater role in driving the digital future and bringing companies and their customers closer together.

Following the close of the transaction, Five9 will be an operating unit of Zoom and Rowan Trollope will become a President of Zoom and continue as CEO of Five9, reporting to Eric Yuan.

Details on the Proposed Transaction
As part of the agreement, Five9 stockholders will receive 0.5533 shares of Class A common stock of Zoom Video Communications, Inc. for each share of Five9, Inc. Based on the closing share price of Zoom Class A common stock as of July 16, 2021, this represents a per share price for Five9 common stock of $200.28 and an implied transaction value of approximately $14.7 billion.

The Boards of Directors of Zoom and Five9 have approved the transaction. The Board of Directors of Five9 recommends that Five9 stockholders approve the transaction and adopt the merger agreement. The transaction, which is anticipated to close in the first half of calendar year 2022, is subject to approval by Five9 stockholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Additional details and information about the terms and conditions of the acquisition will be available in current reports on Form 8-K to be filed by Zoom and Five9 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Cooley LLP is serving as legal counsel to Zoom. Qatalyst Partners is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Latham and Watkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to Five9.

Transaction Conference Call Information
Zoom and Five9 will host a Zoom Video Webinar for investors on Monday, July 19, 2021 at 5:30 am Pacific Time / 8:30 am Eastern Time. Investors are invited to join the Zoom Video Webinar by visiting: https://investors.zoom.us/. A replay will be available shortly after the call ends.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ: ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

About Five9
Five9 is an industry-leading provider of cloud contact center solutions, bringing the power of cloud innovation to more than 2,000 customers worldwide and facilitating billions of customer engagements annually. The Five9 Intelligent Cloud Contact Center provides digital engagement, analytics, workflow automation, workforce optimization, and practical AI to help customers reimagine their customer experience. Designed to be reliable, secure, compliant, and scalable, the Five9 platform helps increase agent and supervisor productivity, connects the contact center to the business, and ultimately deliver tangible business results including increased revenue and enhanced customer trust and loyalty.

Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking information related to Zoom, Five9 and the acquisition of Five9 by Zoom that involves substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, among other things, statements about the potential benefits of the proposed transaction for Zoom, Five9 and their respective customers, Zoom’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to the combined company, the size of the opportunity for Zoom in contact centers, the financial condition, results of operations and business of Zoom or Five9, and the anticipated timing of closing of the proposed transaction.

Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to the ability of Zoom to consummate the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all; Zoom’s ability to successfully integrate Five9’s operations and personnel; Zoom’s ability to implement its plan, forecasts and other expectations with respect to Five9’s business after the completion of the transaction and realize expected synergies; the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to consummation of the proposed transaction; Zoom’s ability to secure regulatory approvals on the terms expected in a timely manner or at all, especially in light of recent regulatory developments in the United States and elsewhere; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, including the possibility that the expected benefits from the proposed transaction will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; disruption from the transaction making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; any negative effects of the announcement or the consummation of the proposed transaction on the market price of Zoom’s Class A common stock or on Zoom’s operating results; the impact of significant transaction costs and unknown liabilities on Zoom’s operating results; the risk of litigation and/or regulatory actions related to the proposed transaction; the exertion of management’s time and Zoom’s resources, and other expenses incurred in connection with any regulatory or governmental consents or approvals for the transaction; the possibility that competing offers will be made to acquire Five9; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on Zoom and Five9’s business relationships, operating results, and business generally; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures on Zoom and Five9’s businesses and general economic conditions; the impact of geopolitical events; Zoom’s service performance and security, including the resources and costs required to avoid unanticipated downtime and prevent, detect and remediate potential security breaches; cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue, increased costs, liability claims, or harm to Zoom’s reputation or competitive position; excessive outages and disruptions to Zoom’s online services if Zoom fails to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure; competitive factors, including new market entrants and changes in the competitive environment and increased competition; customer demand for Zoom’s products and services; Zoom and Five9’s ability to attract, integrate and retain qualified personnel; Zoom’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights and develop its brand; Zoom’s ability to develop new services and product features; Zoom’s operating results and cash flow; the impact of the transaction on Zoom’s strategy of acquiring or making investments in complementary businesses, joint ventures, services, technologies and intellectual property rights; changes in tax and other laws, regulations, rates and policies; and the impact of new accounting pronouncements.

These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed transaction, will be described in the registration statement on Form S-4 and proxy statement/prospectus that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in the registration statement on Form S-4 are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to Zoom’s and Five9’s respective periodic reports and other filings with the SEC, including the risk factors identified in Zoom’s and Five9’s most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Reports on Form 10-K.

The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof. Zoom assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed merger, Zoom intends to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4, which will include a document that serves as a prospectus of Zoom and a proxy statement of Five9 (the “proxy statement/prospectus”). After the registration statement has been declared effective by the SEC, the proxy statement/prospectus will be delivered to stockholders of Five9. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, SECURITY HOLDERS OF ZOOM AND FIVE9 ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS (INCLUDING ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE MERGER THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGER. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain copies of the proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other documents filed by Zoom and Five9 with the SEC, without charge, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Zoom will be available free of charge under the SEC Filings heading of the Investor Relations section of Zoom’s website at https://investors.Zoom.us/. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Five9 will be available free of charge under the Financials & Filings heading of the Investor Relations section of Five9’s website at https://investors.five9.com/.

Participants in the Solicitation

Zoom and Five9 and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about Zoom’s directors and executive officers is set forth in Zoom’s Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2021 and the proxy statement for Zoom’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which were filed with the SEC on March 18, 2021 and May 5, 2021, respectively. Information about Five9’s directors and executive officers is set forth in Five9’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the proxy statement for Five9’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which were filed with the SEC on March 1, 2021 and March 29, 2021, respectively. Stockholders may obtain additional information regarding the interests of such participants by reading the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC regarding the proposed merger when they become available. Investors should read the proxy statement/prospectus carefully when it becomes available before making any voting or investment decisions.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Zoom Press Relations
Colleen Rodriguez
Global Media Relations Lead
press@zoom.us

Zoom Investor Relations
Tom McCallum
Head of Investor Relations
investors@zoom.us

Five9 Press Relations
Allison Wilson
352-502-9539
allison.wilson@five9.com

Five9 Investor Relations
Barry Zwarenstein
Chief Financial Officer
925-201-2000 ext. 5959
ir@five9.com

The Blueshirt Group for Five9, Inc.
Lisa Laukkanen
415-217-4967
lisa@blueshirtgroup.com

Britain Lifts COVID Restrictions?

Residents in Britain are celebrating the end of coronavirus lockdown restrictions Monday, a day being called Freedom Day.

The day ushered in an end to all social restrictions, like mask wearing and maintaining social distancing, which were imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19.

However, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that beginning at the end of September, proof of vaccination will be required to enter nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.

“Proof of a negative test will no longer be enough,” Johnson told reporters Monday in London.

Johnson is spending Freedom Day in quarantine after Britain’s health minister Sajid Javid tested positive for COVID-19.

The lifting of most coronavirus restrictions in England takes place as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are on the rise, largely driven by the delta variant of the virus, first identified in India.

Cases in Britain topped 50,000 per day last week for the first time since January.

The rising case numbers have led hundreds of thousands of Britons to be told to self-isolate, which in turn has caused businesses to sound warnings about the economy.

Businesses have dubbed the event a “pingdemic” because of the large numbers of people receiving notifications on their phones from a government tracing app, telling them to self-isolate because of possible contact with an infected person.

Grocery stores, retailers, and rail operators are among the industries saying that without enough employees they will need to cut back on services.

The government said Monday it would allow workers in critical roles, including air traffic controllers and train signalers, to continue working despite being notified by the tracing app as long as the workers have been fully vaccinated.

Also Monday, Britain’s government said it has decided against giving COVID-19 vaccinations to most children under age 18.

“Today’s advice does not recommend vaccinating under-18s without underlying health conditions at this point in time,” Health Secretary Javid said in a statement.

The government said some children with underlying health conditions would be eligible for the vaccination.

It said fewer than 30 children with COVID-19 died in Britain since the beginning of the pandemic through March.

Across the globe

The coronavirus lockdown is also being lifted in Bangladesh, where the government has paused its restrictions for eight days so people can celebrate the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha.

Health experts have criticized the move, as it comes at a time when Bangladesh is facing a surge of infections caused by the more contagious delta variant.

In Thailand, officials further tightened coronavirus restrictions to try to fight a wave of infections blamed on the delta variant.

The capital Bangkok ordered the closure for two weeks of a range of businesses, including gyms, amusement parks, and museums. Restaurants in the city have already been limited to takeout service since last month.

Protesters in Bangkok clashed with police while demonstrating Sunday against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. The protests in the capital and in other locations around the country took place in defiance of a ban on public gatherings of more than five people that was recently announced by the government.

In Iran, state media reported that the capital, Tehran, and the surrounding region would be in lockdown for the next week to try to stop a surge in the coronavirus pandemic.

Olympic Games

At the Olympics in Tokyo, another athlete tested positive Monday for COVID-19. A beach volleyball player from the Czech Republic became the latest athlete to become infected after U.S. teenaged tennis sensation Coco Gauff tested positive. Other positive tests include two South African soccer players and an alternate for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.

The Olympic Games were canceled last year, but the Olympic committee’s decision to continue with the Games this year has received much criticism as the world grapples with the pandemic.

A total of 190.7 million global COVID-19 cases and more than 4 million deaths from the virus have been recorded since the pandemic began, according to the coronavirus resource center at Johns Hopkins University. The center’s data shows that over 3.6 billion vaccines have been administered so far.

Source: Voice of America

Deadly Australia Spider Venom Could Save Heart Attack Victims

SYDNEY – Venom from an Australian spider that is one of the world’s deadliest could save the lives of heart attack victims.

A potentially life-saving treatment for victims of heart attacks has been found in a most unlikely source — the venom of one of the world’s deadliest spiders.

The World Health Organization says cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year.

Researchers from the University of Queensland have discovered that the poison from the Fraser Island funnel-web spider in eastern Australia contains what could be a life-saving molecule, or peptide.

Known as Hi1a, it could block so-called death signals sent to cells after a cardiac arrest, when blood flow to the heart is reduced. This results in a lack of oxygen to the heart muscles, causing cells to become acidic, and a message is sent for heart cells to die.

Despite decades of research, scientists have not been able to develop a drug that stops this death signal. Australian experts have said that is one of the reasons why heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death around the world.

Dr. Sarah Scheuer is a researcher at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, which is part of the spider venom study.

She says the discovery could also help transplant patients.

“We are using this special little peptide from a small portion of the funnel web spider venom,” she said. “Well, what we found is this peptide is able to help protect the heart where there is a lack of blood supply or blood flow. And we found that this can be used both not only in heart transplantation, so when the donor heart [is] out of the body during the transplant process. But potentially could also be used in heart attack victims to help minimize the damage that occurs.”

Australian researchers believe that the molecule from spider venom blocks the heart’s ability to sense acid after a cardiac arrest, disrupting the death message.

They have said their vision for the future was for Hi1a to be administered by first responders in the ambulance.

The discovery builds on earlier work that found a small protein in the venom of the Fraser Island funnel-web spider markedly improved patients’ recovery from a stroke.

The protein has been tested in human heart cells, and the Australian team is aiming to start clinical trials for both stroke and heart disease within two to three years.

Source: Voice of America