Waikato Business News July/August 2021

60 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2021
Equines first to benefit from innovative new
treatment for arthritis Jason Lowe
A small Cambridge company has brought an innovative treatment
for animal osteoarthritis to New Zealand.
IMS Vet NZ is helping veterinarians
manage osteoarthritis
and degenerative joint disease
in horses by bringing Arthramid®
Vet to the Australasian
market.
Arthramid is everything
a new treatment for
arthritis should be -
safe, very effective,
long-lasting and nonpharmaceutical
It is registered as a veterinary
medicine with marketing
authorisation in New Zealand
and Australia, the first such veterinary
approvals worldwide.
Manufactured by Contura in
Denmark, the technology behind
it was initially used as a dermal
filler in human cosmetic surgery.
But after seeing some preliminary
scientific studies of the use
of 2.5% PAAG in arthritic joints
of horses, IMS Vet company
founders and Waikato equine
veterinarians Jason Lowe and
Leigh de Clifford invested in the
research and regulatory work
required for its veterinary registration.
Since then, the technology
has also been approved in the
US for osteoarthritis in horses,
cats and dogs, thanks largely
to the research in animals conducted
in New Zealand and Australia
by IMS Vet.
The research has also contributed
to the registration of
2.5% PAAG in Europe as a
treatment for arthritis that may
prevent or postpone knee surgery
in humans.
“Arthramid is everything
a new treatment for arthritis
should be - safe, very effective,
long-lasting and non-pharmaceutical
and, with its ability to
alter the course of the disease
process, is proving a gamechanger
in veterinary and
potentially human medicine,”
Lowe says.
He describes it as a significant
development that allows
vets to move away from the use
of corticosteroids.
“As for human osteoarthritis,
it is very satisfying that
our work in obtaining veterinary
regulatory approvals has
helped get approvals for human
use and we can only hope that
work will reduce the time it
takes to get this product available
for people with arthritis
in Australasia.”
Virtual super career fairs are here for
Wintec students
Wintec has joined nine other Institutes
of Technology and Polytechnics to cohost
a series of virtual super career fairs
to connect graduating students with
employers nationally and globally.
Connecting Wintec students
to employers
through Prosple super
career fairs is a new initiative
to give learners the chance to
meet online with a range of
employers, ask questions and
also learn about available graduate
programmes, internships
and employment opportunities.
Wintec industry engagement
director Klaus Reiter
says the collaboration with
Prosple’s online career fairs
is a first for Te Pūkenga subsidiaries
and the fairs present
huge opportunities for students
and employers.
“This is a first for Wintec.
We’re partnering with these
fairs because of their success
in other tertiary markets and
their reach. Currently there are
around 90 New Zealand-based
employers waiting to meet our
students, with more in Australia
and other international
locations.
“For students, this is two
hours of their time online to
explore their career possibilities
with leading employers.
It’s a chance to test the
water, seek out opportunities
for internships and/or graduate
programmes or jobs, and
make themselves known to the
industries they are working to
As more fairs come
online, the Wintec
careers directory
will continue to
show employer
profiles and it’s
an easy way for
employers to
advertise vacancies
directly to Wintec
students.
be part of,” says Reiter.
“Through these live online
super fairs, our employers are
getting access to future talent
on a neutral platform. Prosple
have developed a highly interactive
and well-engineered
meet and greet format where
employers can interact with
potential employees.”
A number of Waikato
employers have signed up
to take part and Reiter says
there is opportunity for more
Waikato employers to partner
with the super fairs.
Reiter says the super career
fairs launch from 10 -31
August for Wintec students
studying in the fields of engineering,
construction, business
and computing and technology
to be followed by a health fair
on 7 September 2021.
“As more fairs come online,
the Wintec careers directory
will continue to show
employer profiles and it’s an
easy way for employers to
advertise vacancies directly to
Wintec students,” adds Reiter.
The virtual super fairs are
free and students are encouraged
to find about the format
and research participating
employers in advance before
registering.
UPCOMING WINTEC
PROSPLE FAIRS:
Engineering:
Tuesday 10 August 2021
Construction:
Tuesday 17 August 2021
Business:
Tuesday 24 August 2021
Computing and Technology:
Tuesday 31 August 2021
Health:
Tuesday 7 September 2021
Major Cambridge subdivision
application refused
Independent Hearing Commissioners
have refused a
major subdivision application
in Cambridge, following
a hearing held during
May and June.
Commissioners Greg Hill
and Tara Hills, appointed
and acting under delegated
authority of the Resource
Management Act 1991,
assessed the application
lodged by 3M’s of Cambridge
Limited Partnership for 262
lots for residential, commercial
and various public assets
within the C2 growth cell.
There were submissions both
supporting and opposing the
subdivision proposal.
The Commissioners’
refusal to grant consent was
based on a number of reasons
including that the subdivision
application was not in general
accordance with the approved
structure plan - which has
been through a public plan
change process with the C2
landowners.
The main issues of concern
for the Commissioners
were that the identified infrastructure
for the north /south
collector road and stormwater
corridor, and the open space
for active recreation, were
not provided in the application
for subdivision and that
this was not in accordance
with what is in the structure
plan map. Consequently, the
Commissioners’ found that
this impacts on a number of
the adjoining property owners,
many of whom raised
concerns at the hearing about
the location of the infrastructure
being on their properties.
The C2 growth cell,
located west of Kelly Road,
has been earmarked for future
urban development to accommodate
a projected population
boom in Cambridge,
Waipā district’s largest town.
Waipā District Council’s
District Growth and Regulatory
Group Manager, Wayne
Allan, said the decision did
not dispute the land being
used for urban development
purposes and this matter was
not contested at the hearing.
“The C2 growth cell
remains an important urban
growth cell for Cambridge
that we must activate and
unlock to deliver more housing
and public and community
facilities, which the town
urgently needs,” Allan said.
“Council has done the
structure planning, infrastructure
design, and obtained
the discharge consent from
the Regional Council and
the Ministry of Education
have designated a primary
school. As such, we will
continue to work with the
landowners and developers
in C2 on the location of the
key infrastructure.
“Council has also committed
to funding the growth
infrastructure in the 2021-31
Long Term Plan so we remain
committed to the urbanisation
of the area.
Unfortunately, the application
didn’t meet the C2
structure plan requirements
and the Commissioners have
declined the application as a
result.
The application sought to
subdivide four existing lots
of approximately 40ha into a
single ownership and further
creating 246 residential lots,
a ‘super lot’ for a retirement
village, commercial centre,
future residential development,
high density residential
development, a school, roads
and local reserves.