General
BAT’s COVID-19 Vaccine Ready for Pre-Clinical Trial
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
All things being equal, the coronavirus disease ravaging the world may soon be defeated. This is because a tobacco firm, British American Tobacco (BAT), which joined the race for developing a vaccine for the virus, is ready to put its potential cure for clinical trial.
BAT began work in coming up with a vaccine for the disease through its US bio-tech subsidiary, Kentucky Bio Processing (KBP).
As you read this, the vaccine is now in the pre-clinical testing phase and if it goes well, BAT is hopeful that, with the right partners and support from government agencies, between 1 and 3 million doses of the vaccine could be manufactured per week, beginning in June 2020.
While KBP remains a commercial operation, the intention is that its work around the COVID-19 vaccine project will be carried out on a not for profit basis
The vaccine in development uses BAT’s proprietary, fast-growing tobacco plant technology which has several advantages over conventional vaccine production technology.
Firstly, it is potentially safer given that tobacco plants can’t host pathogens which cause human disease. Then it is also faster because the elements of the vaccine accumulate in tobacco plants much more quickly – 6 weeks in tobacco plants versus several months using conventional methods.
A further plus is that the vaccine formulation KBP is developing remains stable at room temperature, unlike conventional vaccines which often require refrigeration.
It also has the potential to deliver an effective immune response in a single dose.
Dr David O’Reilly, Director of Scientific Research, BAT said: “We are engaged with the US Food and Drug Administration and are seeking guidance on next steps. We have also engaged with the UK’s Department for Health and Social Care,and BARDA in the US,to offer our support and access to our research with the aim of trying to expedite the development of a vaccine for Covid-19.
“Vaccine development is challenging and complex work, but we believe we have made a significant break-through with our tobacco plant technology platform and stand ready to work with Governments and all stakeholders to help win the war against Covid-19. We fully align with the United Nations plea, for a whole-of-society approach to combat global problems.”
“KBP has been exploring alternative uses of the tobacco plant for some time. One such alternative use is the developmentof plant-based vaccines. We are committed to contributing to the global effort to halt the spread of Covid-19 using this technology.”
BAT’s US subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc, acquired KBP in 2014, with the aim of using some of its unique tobacco extraction technology to aid further development of its new category non-combustible products.
In 2014, KBP made headlines as one of the few companies with an effective treatment for Ebola, having manufactured ZMapp™ with California-based company, Mapp Bio Pharmaceuticals in partnership with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
KBP recently cloned a portion of COVID-19’s genetic sequence which led to the development of a potential antigen – a substance which induces an immune response in the body and in particular, the production of antibodies. This antigen was then inserted into tobacco plants for reproduction and, once the plants were harvested, the antigen was then purified, and is now undergoing pre-clinical testing
BAT is now exploring partnerships with government agencies to bring its vaccine to clinical studies as soon as possible. Through collaborations with government and third-party manufacturers, BAT believes that between 1 and 3 million doses per week could be manufactured.
General
Kwara Governor Removes Deputy Chief of Staff, Others in Minor Shake-up
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Governor of Kwara State, Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has removed his Deputy Chief of Staff and the Principal Private Secretary.
In a statement on Monday by his Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Mr Mashood AbdulRafiu Agboola, it was disclosed that the Governor also removed all Special Advisers, Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, and Special Assistants in the “minor cabinet shake-up.
It was explained that the action was to extend opportunities to more party members and inject fresh energy into the administration.
Mr AbdulRazaq directed them to hand over all government properties in their custody to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.
He thanked the affected appointees for selfless service to the state and his administration, wishing them well in their future endeavours.
“His Excellency expresses his gratitude to all the appointees for their priceless service to the state. He wishes them the best in their future endeavours,” the statement noted.
General
Xenophobia: FG Evacuates More Nigerians as South Africa Protests Loom
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has announced that another batch of Nigerians will be evacuated from South Africa on Tuesday as part of ongoing efforts to safeguard citizens ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests in the country.
Anti-immigrant groups in South Africa have set a June 30 deadline for immigrants to leave the country, planning widespread demonstrations on that date and threatening a national shutdown if the country’s government does not take significant action on immigration.
According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa, an Air Peace aircraft departed Nigeria on Monday and is expected to return to Lagos on Tuesday morning with another group of Nigerians who opted for voluntary evacuation.
The latest operation comes as anti-immigration groups prepare to stage demonstrations from June 30. The government has continued its evacuation programme for Nigerians who have indicated a willingness to return home.
Providing details of the latest flight, Mr Ebienfa said, “Nigeria will resume the evacuation of our nationals from South Africa today.
“Air Peace aircraft will depart Nigeria today, Monday, June 29, 2026, at 3:00 pm and is expected to arrive in South Africa at approximately 9:00 pm local time.
“The return flight is scheduled to depart South Africa at 12:00 midnight and is expected to arrive at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday morning.”
He added that 271 Nigerians are expected to arrive on the evacuation flight.
President Tinubu approved the voluntary evacuation programme earlier this month to enable Nigerians willing to leave South Africa to return home safely.
Earlier in June, the federal government disclosed that five Air Peace evacuation flights had been approved after more than 500 Nigerians were screened for repatriation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the flights were intended to ensure that all registered Nigerians who wished to return would be evacuated safely.
Before the latest operation, 328 Nigerians had already been repatriated in two batches. The first flight, which landed on June 11, brought back 262 returnees, while a second batch of 66 arrived in Lagos on June 25.
The evacuation exercise is being coordinated by the Federal Government in partnership with Air Peace and other relevant agencies.
General
Why Ad Platform Policy Changes Are a Hidden Risk in Every Outsourced Paid Media Relationship
The rules governing digital advertising landscapes are never set in stone. Major platforms like Google, Meta, and TikTok frequently update their privacy frameworks, compliance requirements, and algorithmic bidding logic without giving agencies much time to prepare. When a marketing team decides to delegate its active campaigns to an external production partner, these sudden policy shifts can introduce a major element of vulnerability into the relationship. Integrating a professional white label ppc management structure allows your business to scale production and tap into high-level optimization talent without building a massive internal department. However, if your fulfillment partner is not built to monitor, interpret, and rapidly deploy adjustments in response to changing platform guidelines, your clients risk facing sudden account suspensions or massive spikes in customer acquisition costs.
Decoupling Technical Adaptability from Account Ownership
When an advertising platform changes its rules, the changes need to be made away in the live ad accounts. This is so the ads do not stop working. Sometimes there is a problem when one team thinks another team is taking care of making sure the ads follow the rules. The team that is supposed to make sure everything is working thinks the other team is doing this job. This can cause problems like missing information and ads that do not work. To keep your clients happy, you need a plan that says who is in charge of checking for rule changes, who updates the ad information, and who updates the ad text rules when the advertising platform changes its rules. You need to know who does what so everything runs smoothly. Advertising platforms and ad accounts are important for your clients.
Managing the Financial Fallouts of Compliance Delays
The real-world financial cost of failing to adapt to sudden policy changes can ruin an agency’s reputation and cause high client turnover. If an automated ad platform updates its rules for a specific industry—such as healthcare, real estate, or finance—and your campaign structure fails to adjust within the grace period, entire accounts can be paused overnight. While your backend team works to fix the errors, your client loses valuable inbound leads while their fixed overhead costs remain. Agencies must make sure their fulfillment partners don’t just focus on basic optimization but also maintain a proactive stance toward platform compliance to prevent budget waste and operational downtime.
Maintaining Strategic Alignment Through Platform Shifts
Relying on a partner to manage the daily execution of your paid media means you must remain highly aligned on how macro-level platform changes alter your broader strategy. When networks restrict traditional targeting methods, your backend white label ppc management team must quickly pivot to alternative solutions, such as first-party data loops or contextual targeting systems. If your vendor operates on autopilot without adjusting to these shifts, your campaigns will slowly lose efficiency as the old targeting methods become obsolete. Regular strategy sessions are essential to confirm that your optimization partners are actively adjusting their setups to remain effective beneath the latest network rules.
Building a Resilient Operations Partnership
To do well with ad networks, you need to work together with your partners and be able to change quickly. You also need to be open with each other. Ad agencies can not just set up their paid media. Forget about it. They need to keep an eye on it and make changes when needed. If you work closely with the company that provides your white-label service, you can protect your business from losing money. You should expect this company to tell you about changes to the network rules and to take action. The best partnerships are the ones where people work together all the time and make changes fast. This helps your clients make money consistently from their investments even when the rules of the ad networks change. Modern ad networks are always changing, so you need to be able to change with them to do well. Modern ad networks require a lot of work to navigate successfully.
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