Use Your Vacation Days for a Better You

It's common knowledge that employees in the United States are some of the hardest working in the world, but there are times when that isn't such a good thing.  Americans accumulate more than four hundred million unused vacation days every single year, which adds up to a 224 billion dollar vacation liability for their companies.  This number is more than twenty-four times the annual revenue of the National Football League and almost half the size of the Gross State Product of half of the states in the country.  Even though the number does not include sick leave or personal time, it has still managed to grow by over 65 billion in the last year alone.  These liabilities average out to about 1,800 dollars per employee that the company must pay out when an employee leaves their service.  It seems unlikely that these numbers are going to go anywhere but up; according to the Time Off Project started by the US Travel Association, Americans are taking less time off than ever before.

Employers aren't the only ones losing with this system of long hours and "always on" work schedules.  Employees who don't take the time to take care of themselves often see health and productivity decline as they continue to grind away at the office with no break in sight.  It can often be difficult to take that time - there's always the possibility that a boss or a coworker might call and interrupt a trip - but that is not reason enough to pass on paid time off.  Taking vacation days provides a boost of happiness and wellbeing that stays with employees when they return to the office.

Taking vacations also provides workers with a chance to remember how to relax, which in turn gives them a chance to develop resilience in the work place.  Taking time off renews the neural connections in the brain that produce feelings of calm and peace, according to clinical psychiatrist Deborah Mulhern. Taking the body out of a stressful environment gives it a chance to restore and makes it easier to return to that environment and function in it. People who are worried about losing an edge in the office shouldn't be so concerned either.  There is no evidence of a link between putting in more time at the office and getting a pay raise or bonus. In fact, employees who left eleven to fifteen days of paid time off unused last year are ctually less likely (6.5%) to have received a raise or bonus in the past three years than those who used all of their paid time off.

Taking time away from work to rest and rejuvenate is a great idea for both economic and health reasons, and there's no need to go across the Atlantic or Pacific to find those benefits.  There are many places here in the United States to vacation where it would be impossible to hold on to stress.  For instance, the American Southwest is known for its beautiful weather, gorgeous natural spaces, and an eclectic mix of traditional and modern.  In Sedona, Arizona, vacationers can access incredible state and national parks like the Grand Canyon and miles of hiking trails where walks through nature can help shed off office worries and anxieties.  There are museums and cultural sites to see as well, including Native American ruins from hundreds of years ago, incredibly well preserved for visitors to experience.  There are championship golf courses set amongst the stunning red rocks. Sedona is also becoming increasingly known for its vineyards, art galleries, and shopping - there's no need to travel far abroad for these experiences!

Of course, a vacation can be made or broken by what accommodations are booked, but visitors to Sedona need look no further than El Portal Sedona Hotel.  El Portal is a luxury boutique hotel that offers quiet privacy, a central location, and top-line amenities to their guests. With only twelve suites, El Portal is personal and welcoming to both humans and their pets as one of the best pet friendly hotels in the nation.  Each room may include such features as an adobe corner fireplace or a river rock stone fireplace, French doors, hand-painted detailing, stained glass, high beamed ceilings and arched windows.  The pet friendly hotel offers a unique and beautiful atmosphere that makes it easy to relax away from the office and make the most of those paid vacations days.

21^st Century Cures Act contains $10 billion for NIH research

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which he is a member, passed legislation that will streamline the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval process of new medical cures and drugs. It includes $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Innovation Fund. The 21^st Century Cures Act is paid for and passed the committee by a unanimous 51-0 vote.

"The 21^st Century Cures Act is a truly bipartisan piece of legislation that will have a profound effect on our medical community as well as the people who are suffering from many different diseases, including cancer and type 2 diabetes. I'm particularly excited about the NIH Innovation fund. I'm proud to represent the University of Iowa, an institution that is at the forefront of groundbreaking medical research. The five year, ten billion dollar NIH Innovation fund will at long last provide a boost to funding for medical research. The 21st Century Cures Act is proof that we can accomplish great things when we put our partisan differences aside and come together around a common goal. I'm pleased to be a part of this bipartisan effort."

The 21^st Century Cures Act is nonpartisan legislation that is the product of more than a year of listening to patients, researchers, caregivers, and innovators. It seeks to modernize the nation's health care innovation ecosystem, encourage greater biomedical innovation, and help get more cures and treatments to patients faster.

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Public invited to hear local expert doctor address facts about vision health

 

DAVENPORT, IA (May 15, 2015) - Senior Star at Elmore Place is pleased to host Dr. Michael Howcroft, retina specialist, for an informative lecture on age-related macular degeneration at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26 at 4500 Elmore Drive in Davenport.  During his presentation, Dr. Howcroft will discuss age-related macular degeneration, its symptoms and signs, who is at risk and the latest treatments available.

According to the American Optometric Association's website, age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in adults over age 50.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1.8 million people have age-related macular degeneration and another 7.3 million are at substantial risk for vision loss from the disease.  Although there is no cure, early detection and treatment are the best defense against loss of vision.

"It is always beneficial to talk with an expert beyond online research," said Marc Strohschein, executive director at Senior Star at Elmore Place.  "Senior Star is proactive in educating residents, staff and the public about aging well as reflected in our relationships with professional medical groups in the Quad Cities community."

As a physician with Eye Surgeons Associates, Dr. Howcroft's specialties include medical and surgical treatment of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular disease and ocular trauma.

Seats are limited for this informative presentation.  Please RSVP no later than May 22 to reserve your spot today by calling 563.359.0100.

For more information about Senior Star at Elmore Place or to schedule a tour, call 563.359.0100 or visit the website at www.seniorstar.com.

About Senior Star at Elmore Place

Senior Star at Elmore Place, a Senior Star community, features 236 modernly decorated apartments spanning across 20 acres of beautifully landscaped property with many customized amenities to offer its residents three distinctive living experiences:  independent living, assisted living and memory care.  For more information, visit www.seniorstar.com.

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AMES, Iowa, May 11, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewLink Genetics
Corporation (Nasdaq:NLNK), a biopharmaceutical company focused on
bringing novel immuno-oncology medicines to patients with cancer, today
announced the continuation without any modification or sample size
adjustment for its pivotal, Phase 3 IMmunotherapy for Pancreatic
RESectable cancer Study, called "IMPRESS," of algenpantucel-L for
patients with surgically resected pancreatic cancer following the
second planned interim data analysis.

"We look forward to bringing this study to its planned end point, as
algenpantucel-L has the potential to be the first and only FDA approved
drug for resected pancreatic cancer, providing additional treatment
options to patients, their families and physicians," said Nicholas N.
Vahanian, M.D., President and Chief Medical Officer of NewLink
Genetics.

IMPRESS is a multi-center, open-label clinical trial assessing the
safety and efficacy of algenpantucel-L, NewLink Genetics' HyperAcute(R)
Pancreatic Cancer immunotherapy candidate, conducted in more than 70
leading cancer centers. With 722 patients enrolled, IMPRESS is the
largest trial to be completed in the United States for patients with
resected pancreatic cancer. Algenpantucel-L has received fast-track
status and orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). NewLink Genetics and the FDA reached agreement in
January 2010 on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) on the trial
design, clinical endpoints and statistical analyses plan for IMPRESS to
be used in support of a Biologic License Application (BLA).

"Our fast-track status, orphan drug designation and SPA give us
continued confidence in our regulatory strategy. With this in mind, we
are thoughtfully preparing for regulatory filings and commercial
activities associated with a potentially positive outcome of the
trial," said Charles Link, Jr., M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "There has been tremendous progress in oncology therapeutics,
but there have been only incremental improvements in overall survival
rates for pancreatic cancer. Our goal is that the result of the IMPRESS
study will contribute to the advancement of immunotherapy as a new
treatment option."

After careful consideration, including a series of communications with
the FDA regarding the statistical analysis plan, the Company decided to
retain the benefit of the SPA and not to change the statistical
analysis plan as defined in the original protocol. For the second
interim analysis, the independent data safety monitoring committee
(DSMC) reviewed available patient data with the originally planned
log-rank analysis and sample size recalculation, in all respects
consistent with the SPA. No other statistical methods were used. The
DSMC recommended the study proceed without any modifications, including
sample size adjustment, to final analysis. Therefore the Company
believes the trial remains powered to determine efficacy upon the
occurrence of 444 events.

The Company expects to provide further guidance regarding its
expectations for the IMPRESS trial and other clinical studies as well
as any update on financial guidance on its second quarter financial
results call in August.

About HyperAcute Immunotherapy

NewLink's HyperAcute(R) immunotherapy platform creates novel biologic
products that are designed to stimulate the human immune system to
recognize and attack cancer cells. HyperAcute product candidates are
composed of human cancer cells that are tumor specific, but not patient
specific. These cells have been modified to express alpha-gal, a
carbohydrate for which humans have pre-existing immunity. These
alpha-gal-modified cells stimulate a rapid and powerful human immune
response that trains the body's natural defenses to seek out and
destroy cancer cells. The objective of HyperAcute immunotherapies is to
elicit an antitumor response by "educating" the immune system to attack
a patient's own cancer cells. HyperAcute immunotherapies do not require
any tissue from individual patients and use intact whole cells rather
than cell fragments or purified proteins. We believe these unique
properties of HyperAcute products result in the stimulation of a robust
immune response.

NewLink's lead product candidate, algenpantucel-L (HyperAcute
pancreas), is being studied in a Phase 3 trial (IMPRESS: "Immunotherapy
for Pancreatic Resectable cancer Survival Study") under a Special
Protocol Assessment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This
trial involves up to 722 patients with surgically resected pancreatic
cancer. Algenpantucel-L is also being tested in a second Phase 3 study
(PILLAR: "Pancreatic Immunotherapy with algenpantucel-L for Locally
Advanced non-Resectable"), involving patients with locally advanced
pancreatic cancer.

NewLink has several HyperAcute product candidates focused on other
tumor types in various stages of development, including
tergenpumatucel-L, which is in an adaptive design, randomized Phase 2b
clinical trial currently accruing up to 240 patients with non-small
cell lung cancer.

About Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer, with a
five year survival rate of only about seven percent. In 2015,
approximately 40,000 people died from pancreatic cancer in the U.S.
Each year, it is estimated that 240,000-270,000 people are diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer worldwide, with approximately 49,000 in the U.S.
There are few early symptoms of pancreatic cancer, and so it often is
not diagnosed until it is in advanced stages. Given this, only 10 to 20
percent of patients are eligible for surgical resection.

About NewLink Genetics Corporation

NewLink is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering,
developing and commercializing novel immuno-oncology products to
improve treatment options for patients with cancer. NewLink's portfolio
includes biologic and small molecule immunotherapy product candidates
intended to treat a wide range of oncology indications. NewLink's
product candidates are designed to harness multiple components of the
immune system to combat cancer without significant incremental
toxicity, either as a monotherapy or in combination with other
treatment regimens. For more information please visit
http://www.linkp.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements of NewLink that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than
statements of historical facts, contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements, within the meaning of The Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "anticipate,"
"believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "target,"
"potential," "will," "could," "should," "seek," or the negative of
these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements
contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements
include, among others, statements about our clinical trials for product
candidates and the timing of release of clinical data and other
information from ongoing clinical studies; and any other statements
other than statements of historical fact. Actual results or events
could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations
disclosed in the forward-looking statements that NewLink makes due to a
number of important factors, including those risks discussed in "Risk
Factors" and elsewhere in NewLink Genetics' Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2014, and in its other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in
this press release represent NewLink's views as of the date of this
press release. NewLink anticipates that subsequent events and
developments will cause its views to change. However, while it may
elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the
future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. You should,
therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing
NewLink Genetics' views as of any date subsequent to the date of this
press release.