SYDNEY--1 Apr--AsiaNet/InfoQuest LANDMARK TRIAL... INGELHEIM: The results of the landmark ONTARGET Trial have proven thattelmisartan, brand name MICARDIS, a modern angiotensin II receptor blocker(ARB), is as protective as the current gold standard, ramipril, in reducing therisk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, andhospitalisation for congestive heart failure in a broad cross-section ofhigh-risk cardiovascular patients and with better tolerability.http://www.news-ontarget.comhttp://www.ontarget-telmisartan.comhttp://www.micardis.com TRANS-PACIFIC ROUTE... BRISBANE: Australia's newest international Airline, V Australia, hasannounced direct Los Angeles-Sydney flights as its inaugural trans-Pacificroute when it takes to the skies from 15 December 2008.www.vaustralia.com COVANTA APPOINTS... SHANGHAI: Covanta Holding Corporation, a world leader in the development andoperation of large scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects,Tuesday announced the appointment of Allard M. Nooy to the position ofPresident Covanta Asia Pacific for its principal subsidiary, Covanta EnergyCorporation. Mr. Nooy's appointment is effective immediately.http://www.covantaholding.com PERICOM EXPANDS... SHANGHAI: Pericom Semiconductor Corporation, a worldwide preferred supplierof PCI Express technology used for switching, timing, bridging and signalintegrity, Tuesday announced the addition of a new industry first PCI ExpressSBridge (serial bridge) product family offering a complete one chip costeffective solution for the expanding CPU to UART (Universal AsynchronousReceiver Transmitter) I/O market.http://www.pericom.com BLOOD PRESSURE... LONDON: Lowering the blood pressure of elderly patients could cut theirtotal mortality by a fifth and their rate of cardiovascular events by a third,according to a new study presented Monday at the American College of Cardiologyin Chicago and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.http://www.imperial.ac.ukhttp://www.imperial.ac.uk/press CLINICAL STUDY... LONDON: CRESTOR (rosuvastatin) is the only statin to show regression ofcoronary atherosclerosis in a major clinical study. That result, which wasbased on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) data from the ASTEROID study, has nowbeen expanded upon by quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) measurementsobtained during that study.http://www.AstraZenecaPressOffice.com MAJOR UPGRADE... LONDON and PRAGUE: ALWIL Software a.s. on Monday said it is releasing avast!antivirus 4.8, a major technology upgrade to the avast! product line, whichincludes the addition of anti-spyware detection, certified by West Coast Lab'sCheckmark process, and the implementation of anti-rootkit capabilities, alldirectly from within avast! antivirus.http://www.avast.com SKINS IMPROVE... BOULDER, Colo.: A recent independent study performed on twenty-two Qantaspilots and twenty-five passengers shows Skins improves circulation in-flightwhile significantly decreasing leg pain and increasing energy and alertness --allowing for fast post-flight recovery.http://www.skins.net FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of onesecurities issues worth US$250 million on April 10, 2008 at a redemption priceequal to 100 per cent of the principal amount redeemed plus accrued interest.http://www.fanniemae.com GAMES LAUNCH... HONG KONG: One of the leading game developers and operators in the PRC,NetDragon Websoft Inc., with its subsidiary, has announced that traditionalChinese versions of its two main original online games, "Eudemons Online" and"Zero Online," will be officially launched shortly in Taiwan. PLASMA CONVERTER... WILTON, Conn.: Startech Environmental Corp., a fully reporting,internationally recognized award-winning environment and energy companyannounced Monday that "waste2greenenergy (w2ge)," the company's distributor forthe United Kingdom and for Poland, intends to install its first PlasmaConverter System at a designated facility in Bytom, Poland to process ten tonsof industrial waste per day.http://www.startech.nethttp://www.w2ge.com LILLY LAUNCHES... INDIANAPOLIS, IN.: Eli Lilly and Company Monday announced the start of aPhase III clinical trial studying LY450139, an investigational gamma secretaseinhibitor for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.www.lilly.com PIVOTEC IMPLEMENTS... SAN FRANCISCO: Global IP Solutions (GIPS) the leading provider ofhigh-quality IP multimedia processing solutions, Monday announced that PIVOTEC,a major Korean ICT service provider, has become the first implementer of GlobalIP Solutions (GIPS) VoiceEngine Multimedia in Asia.http://www.pivotec.co.krhttp://www.gipscorp.com AIRLINES' ANNOUNCEMENT... BRISBANE: Americans and Australians in Los Angeles are all welcome at LosAngeles International Airport on Monday 31 March, 2008 to witness history inthe making with an announcement from Virgin Blue and V Australia Management. AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.