Global Chauffeur Service Blacklane Decisively Expands City-To-City Offering With 98 Connections In 11 Countries

Dr. Jens Wohltorf CEO & Founder of Blacklane

Dr. Jens Wohltorf CEO & Founder of Blacklane

The premium chauffeur service now offers guests the opportunity to book rides between key metropolitan areas, boosting altogether 127 connections

With this move, Blacklane is becoming the high quality transport solution alternative, adding a new level to sustainable next-generation urban mobility

City-to-city offers chauffeurs a reliable revenue stream

BERLIN, April 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Blacklane, the leading global chauffeur service, announced that its City-to-city offering will expand by 98 new routes in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, the KSA, the U.S., the UK, the U.A.E. and Thailand, bringing the total offering to 127. This includes connections between key metropolitan areas such as London and Manchester, UK, New York and Atlantic City, U.S., as well as Rome and Florence, Italy (full list please see below). Blacklane guests now have the opportunity to book professionally chauffeured rides and enjoy a comfortable, safe, reliable and stress-free travel experience. All rides have a fixed fare including taxes, tolls and tips, guaranteeing a transparent pricing model adding to the peace-of-mind experience Blacklane offers.

The expansion of its City-to-city services is part of Blacklane’s continued growth efforts which focus on diversifying its products as well as exploring new markets. Blacklane’s product range includes airport transfers, City-to-city services, On-demand rides in metropolitan areas as well as hourly bookings. The company is active in 50 countries. With services all around the world, Blacklane not only gets its guests where they need to go safely, but also sustainably. Travelers can ride with Blacklane with ease knowing that all rides and routes are 100% carbon neutral as the company offsets all carbon emissions from all trips, an industry first. In addition, Blacklane’s services are a real alternative to short-haul flights and offer cost savings as the seats can be shared among up to four individuals. At the same time, this approach reduces empty leg journeys for the chauffeurs and offers them new, sustainable income streams.

For guests, the added conveniences are a reliable schedule where they travel on their own time and are not bound to a fixed schedule. In addition, the journey is seamless from door to door, so the guests don’t have to worry about the first or last leg of their journey. A recent survey* Blacklane released with YouGov actually found that 57% of recipients choose a car service, such as Blacklane, over other modes of travel because of this convenience. Lastly, Blacklane’s limousines offer comfort and privacy which enables guests to either fully relax or continue with their work uninterrupted – 36% of recipients in the YouGov survey expressed this is a must when traveling long-distance.

Dr. Jens Wohltorf, Co-Founder and CEO of Blacklane, said: “Blacklane continues to accelerate to reach its growth goals by successfully combining highly personalized services with advanced technology platforms. We are strategically investing in important and popular long-distance routes across several markets to diversify our business model and expand into new sectors. This is also beneficial from an urban mobility perspective as our rides are a real alternative to short-haul flights.”

Blacklane’s focus is on sustainably delivering luxurious experiences, thereby reimagining premium mobility globally. The company pays extra attention to the customer, ensuring they are not only comfortable and relaxed, but that they are getting the highest quality and best-in-class driving services and experience with their chauffeur. For more information and to book a ride, please visit: https://www.blacklane.com/en/city-to-city/.

Full list of long-distance rides:

Australia

  • Brisbane – Gold Coast

Canada

  • Vancouver – Whistler

France

  • Lyon – Courchevel
  • Lyon – Megève
  • Lyon – Méribel
  • Lyon – Val-d’Isère
  • Marseille – Aix-en-Provence
  • Monaco – Cannes
  • Marseille – Montpellier
  • Monaco – Nice
  • Monaco – Saint Tropez
  • Montpellier – Toulouse
  • Nice – Aix-en-Provence
  • Nice – Cannes
  • Nice – Marseille
  • Nice – Saint Tropez
  • Nice – Toulon
  • Paris – Angers
  • Paris – Bayeux
  • Paris – Caen
  • Paris – Disneyland
  • Paris – Clermont-Ferrand
  • Paris – Le Havre
  • Paris – Le Mans
  • Paris – Lille
  • Paris – Lyon
  • Paris – Nantes
  • Paris – Orléans
  • Paris – Reims
  • Paris – Rennes
  • Paris – Rouen

Germany

  • Berlin – Dresden
  • Berlin – Hamburg
  • Berlin – Leipzig
  • Cologne – Duesseldorf
  • Duesseldorf – Bonn
  • Duesseldorf – Frankfurt/Main
  • Frankfurt/Main – Baden-Baden
  • Frankfurt/Main – Bonn
  • Frankfurt/Main – Cologne
  • Frankfurt/Main – Nuremberg
  • Frankfurt/Main – Stuttgart
  • Hamburg – Bremen
  • Hamburg – Hanover
  • Munich – Frankfurt/Main
  • Munich – Nuremberg
  • Munich – Passau
  • Munich – Regensburg
  • Munich – Stuttgart

Ireland

  • Dublin – Belfast
  • Dublin – Galway
  • Dublin – Shannon

Italy

  • Bologna – Florence
  • Naples – Positano
  • Naples – Sorrento
  • Rome – Florence
  • Rome – Naples
  • Rome – Positano
  • Rome – Sorrento

KSA

  • Jeddah – Mecca

Thailand

  • Bangkok – Pattaya

U.S.

  • Austin – San Antonio
  • Chicago – Milwaukee
  • Fort Lauderdale – Orlando
  • Fort Lauderdale – Palm Beach
  • Fort Lauderdale – Tampa
  • Houston – Austin
  • Los Angeles – Disneyland Anaheim
  • Los Angeles – Las Vegas
  • Los Angeles – Palm Springs
  • Los Angeles – San Diego
  • Los Angeles – Santa Barbara
  • Miami – Fort Lauderdale
  • Miami – Orlando
  • Miami – Palm Beach
  • Miami – Tampa
  • New York – Atlantic City
  • New York – Boston
  • New York – East Hampton
  • New York – Greenport
  • New York – Greenwich
  • New York – Montauk
  • New York – Philadelphia
  • New York – Washington, D.C.
  • Palm Beach – Orlando
  • Palm Beach – Tampa
  • Philadelphia – Atlantic City
  • Tampa – Orlando
  • Washington, D.C. – Baltimore

UK

  • Birmingham – Manchester
  • Bristol – Cardiff
  • Exeter – Manchester
  • Glasgow – Ayr
  • Glasgow – Edinburgh
  • Glasgow – Manchester
  • Inverness – Edinburgh
  • London – Basingstoke
  • London – Birmingham
  • London – Bournemouth
  • London – Brighton
  • London – Bristol
  • London – Cambridge
  • London – Canterbury
  • London – Cardiff
  • London – Cheltenham
  • London – Colchester
  • London – Coventry
  • London – Dover
  • London – Ipswich
  • London – Leeds
  • London – Leicester
  • London – Liverpool
  • London – Manchester
  • London – Milton Keynes
  • London – Northampton
  • London – Norwich
  • London – Oxford
  • London – Portsmouth
  • London – Reading
  • London – Southampton
  • Manchester – Crewe
  • Manchester – Liverpool
  • Manchester – Leeds
  • Manchester – Sheffield
  • Manchester – York

U.A.E.

  • Dubai – Abu Dhabi

*Survey Methodology: YouGov conducted this survey around long-distance travel from February 21st, 2023 through March 2nd, 2023 using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov PLC UK panel of over 800,000 individuals.

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ABOUT BLACKLANE
Blacklane’s global chauffeur service brings peace of mind to travelers moving through a fast-paced world. The crew’s dedication to safety, reliability, and smart technology places Blacklane at the forefront of a new era of stress-free travel. Since 2017, the company has been carbon-neutral, combining a five-star guest experience with care for the planet. Upgrade your travels on Blacklane’s mobile apps or website.

For Blacklane global media inquiries, please contact:

Blacklane GmbH
Radmila Palová
press@blacklane.com
+49 157 80 67 4435

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5a5a5b3-624b-48f2-9de8-692d9654fcdb

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8824723

Insilico Medicine Successfully Discovered Potent, Selective, and Orally Bioavailable Small Molecule Inhibitor of CDK8 Using Generative AI

Abu Dhabi, April 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Insilico Medicine (“Insilico”), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company which operates the largest AI-powered biotech R&D center in the Middle East, announced that it has successfully discovered a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CDK8 for the treatment of cancer using a structure-based generative chemistry approach enabled by the Chemistry42 generative reinforcement learning platform. The research was published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, a leading journal in medicinal chemistry.

As members of the CDK family, CDK8 and its paralog protein CDK19 play critical roles in regulating transcription of many different signaling pathways involved in oncogenic control. Deregulation of CDK8/19 has been implicated as a driving force in many human cancers, particularly in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and advanced solid tumors. Moreover, CDK8/19 is also involved in immune modulation. Targeting CDK8/19 could enhance NK cell cytotoxicity and stimulate NK cell-mediated tumor surveillance. Therefore, targeting CDK8/19 is regarded as a promising strategy with a two-in-one mechanism of action that not only inhibits tumor cell growth, but also increases immune cell activity.

The research published by Insilico was supported by its generative chemistry engine, Chemistry42, which is built on years of modeling and pre-training of large biological, chemical and textual datasets. Chemistry42 includes 42 generative engines and more than 500 predictive engines for scoring which allows researchers to generate molecules with desired properties from scratch using deep learning technologies through structure-based drug design (SBDD) and ligand-based drug design (LBDD).

In this study, scientists described the process of using the SBDD module of Chemistry42 to generate a key anchor linker and identify the hit compound targeting CDK8. Over several optimization cycles, R&D scientists further improved in vitro metabolic stability, kinase selectivity, and in vivo pharmacokinetic profile cross-species, leading to the discovery of one potent, selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of CDK8, which was evaluated in in vivo efficacy studies and demonstrated robust tumor growth inhibition in multiple in vivo efficacy models.

In addition to the published molecule, Insilico scientists are progressing with another AI-generated CDK8 inhibitor with a novel structure. Insilico is open to potential partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to co-develop the drug candidate.

“At Insilico, we encourage scientists to share their innovative insights in AI-driven drug discovery with the industry by publishing peer-reviewed papers,” said Feng Ren, PhD, Co-CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Insilico Medicine. “In this case, we have not only discovered a novel compound for a promising target, but also provided innovative practices in early drug discovery supported by generative AI.”

Insilico has pioneered applying multiple generative approaches for drug design in both generative chemistry and generative biology and published the first paper in generative chemistry. The company then submitted the relevant patents on applying these generative approaches for chemistry and biology, and integrated these approaches into the commercially available Pharma.AI platform, which includes PandaOmics™ a system utilizing multiple predictive and generative biology models; a generative chemistry engine, Chemistry42™; and a clinical trial outcomes prediction engine InClinico™, which utilizes a combination of omics-based predictors and text-based transformers. Powered by generative AI, Insilico is delivering breakthroughs for healthcare in multiple disease areas. The lead program targeting fibrosis-driven diseases has completed  Phase 0 and Phase I clinical trials and received positive Phase I topline data and Orphan Drug Designation.

“We described the concept of using generative AI for the design of novel molecules in a peer-reviewed journal in 2016 for the first time. Later, we developed multiple approaches and new features for our GAN-based AI platform for drug design. We also started patenting our findings so that ,in some areas, patents preceded publications. Some of my favorite patents combine generative chemistry and generative biology,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. “I am excited to see  that with the support of generative AI, we have achieved several industry milestones and advanced the drug candidates discovered by generative AI to the clinical stage. In 2022 alone, we nominated 9 preclinical candidates utilizing generative AI. We are committed to refining our approach and tools to reshape the future of healthcare by generative innovation.”

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next-generation AI systems. The company has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques for novel target discovery and the generation of novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is developing breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and aging-related diseases. In early 2023, the Company opened the Insilico Medicine Generative Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing Research and Development Centre in Abu Dhabi, the region’s largest AI-powered biotechnology research center. The R&D hub brings together global talent in artificial intelligence and software development to expand the capabilities of Insilico’s end-to-end AI-driven drug discovery platform, Pharma.AI, explore aging research and sustainable chemistry, and support the digital transformation of healthcare in the region. www.insilico.com

Attachment

Jamila Alhammadi
Insilico Medicine
475-225-0843
j.alhammadi@insilicomedicine.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8824301

Palestinian Foreign Minister in UNSC Speech: It is Time to End Protracted Nakba

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Malki said Tuesday it was the time to bring the Nakba and the Palestinian people’s dispossession and displacement from their land to an end.

Speaking before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York, Al Malki said the Nakba was the most protracted refugee crisis and the most protracted denial of national, collective and individual rights in the world and the longest occupation of an entire territory in modern history.

He reminded the international community of its responsibility to ensure international law is respected regardless of the identity of the perpetrators and regardless of the identity of the victims as well as the UNSC of its responsibility to uphold the UN Charter and implement UN resolutions.

Al Malki renewed his call on states that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to do so as a means to salvage the moribund two-state solution. How can any country that supports the two-solution and peace justify not recognizing till now the State of Palestine without which there is no two-state solution?, he was cited by Palestinian News Agency WAFA.

He said: “Why would this Council who has been calling for a two-state solution for decades not recommend membership of the State of Palestine to the General Assembly? I have no doubt that the General Assembly will agree once that recommendation is made.

“Is there a better way to embody international support to the two-state solution than to have the State that has been unjustly deprived of membership since 1948 finally become a UN member? Why would Israel which violated the very conditions of its membership, namely resolutions 181 and 194, and continues violating the Charter, be entitled to membership and we, who honor the UN Charter, be deprived of it?”

Source: Qatar News Agency

Police Claim Title of Qatar Volleyball Cup for First Time in History

Police team claimed the title of Qatar Volleyball Cup for 2022/2023 season for the first time in their history after 3-0 win (25 – 23, 25 -19, 26 – 24) over Qatar SC in the final match at Qatar Volleyball Association’s hall today.

The Police team won the championship cup, gold medals, and a cash prize of QR 250,000, while the second place team won silver medals and a cash prize of QR 150,000.

HE First Vice-President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Mohamed Yousef Al Mana congratulated the two teams for their outstanding performance in the match. He also congratulated the Qatar Volleyball Association for the good organization.

In a statement to Qatar News Agency after crowning the winners, Al Mana said that the QOC aims, through its support for Qatari sports in general, to preserve Qatari excellence in sports competitions, especially after the great momentum that Qatar enjoyed following its excellence in hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

His Excellency noted that the QOC, headed by HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, pays great attention to Qatari sports by supporting the federations in order to represent Qatar in the best way in international competitions and forums, and that the QOC’s strategy in the coming period aims to realize sports awareness in the Qatari society.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Al Arabi Through to Amir Cup Finale with 7-1 Victory over Al Sailiya

Al Arabi advanced to the 51st HH the Amir Cup finale following a 7-1 victory over Al Sailiya on Tuesday, at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Tunisian Youssef Msakni scored a hat-trick in Minutes 13, 45 and 90+4, and Syrian Omar Al Somah struck twice in Minutes 72 and 82. The other two goals came from Brazilian Rafinha Alcantara from the spot in the 31st minute and Ahmed Suhail in Minute 70. Swede Sergio Carlos scored a solace goal for Al Sailiya in the 85th minute.

The eight-time holders will face Al Sadd in the final on May 12 at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

Al Sadd, the most crowned side with 18 titles, defeated second-division Al Shahaniya SC 5-1 on Monday.

Source: Qatar News Agency

General Directorate of Narcotics Control Thwarts Attempt to Smuggle More Than 12 Million Amphetamine Pills

General Directorate for Narcotics Control foiled an attempt to smuggle 12,729,000 tablets of amphetamine hidden in a pomegranate shipment at Jeddah Islamic Port, said the directorate’s official spokesman, Major Marwan Al-Hazmi.

Al-Hazmi said that in coordination with the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority, four people were arrested. The two Egyptians, a Syrian, and a Yemeni were arrested and accused under preliminary legal measures and referred to Public Prosecution.

Source: Saudi Press Agency