Compass PRO is the latest addition to Cognition’s Compass family, empowering medical device manufacturers to efficiently and effectively manage their design controls data by providing a solution to grow with their business.
Lexington, MA – September 20, 2023 – Cognition Corporation, a leader in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for medical device and pharmaceutical product development, today announces Compass PRO, the latest in their product portfolio designed specifically for medical device companies. Compass PRO provides trusted guided compliance functionality with flexible customization to meet business needs and processes. Compass PRO is a SaaS solution that streamlines the design control process for medical device product development. It is purpose-built to interconnect large amounts of diverse data, including risk, requirement, and test data, while automatically applying quality processes across all company functions and user actions. The solution will be available for demonstrations starting in October.
Leveraging a structured data model, Compass PRO enables companies to confidently bring products to market faster by:
Integrating risk, requirement, and test management data into a single, connected tool;
Facilitating the easy reuse of data through data libraries;
Streamlining usability analysis in line with IEC 62366-1:2015;
Supporting compliance with ISO 13485:2016, 21 CFR 820.30, and ISO 14971:2019;
Enabling data export for storage in a document management system;
Providing effortless reporting on traceability; and
Customizing/extending functionality to meet business needs and processes.
“We have taken 20+ years of best practices and industry knowledge and poured them into our Compass product family. This gives us the ability to provide medical device companies a ‘quick start’ in managing their product development data using our guided compliance solutions with built-in templates. The release of Compass PRO is the next step in empowering medical device companies to deliver safer products to market faster by enabling them to align precisely with their business needs and processes,” said Ben Higgitt, Product Line Manager, Compass/Compass PRO. “What truly sets Compass PRO apart is its ability to provide seamless and robust connectivity between risk, requirement, and test data. In the fast-evolving world of medical device product development, staying ahead is essential, and Compass PRO is designed to guide companies toward success.”
Compass PRO provides a single solution for managing design controls data. Its key features include:
A unified environment: integrating risks, requirements, and tests to maintain consistency and linkages within the product development environment.
Design and development: step-by-step implementation of rigorous processes to support design control with a strong emphasis on requirement management to comply with 21 CFR 820.30 and ISO 13485/EU MDR.
Flexible risk environment: risk management not only requires precision but also adaptability; Compass PRO was developed specifically to ensure compliance with changing standards.
Usability analysis: built-in templates to support the usability engineering process defined in IEC 62366-1:2015 including Use Specification, Function and Task Analysis, Use Scenario Analysis, Correct Use Analysis, and Use Error Analysis.
Reusability: leveraging centrally managed libraries for Hazards and Harms, streamlining the accessibility and consistency of this critical data.
Integrated reporting and analysis: built-in reporting and analysis for easy custom report generation, allowing users to tailor reports to their specific needs—giving companies a comprehensive view of the most pivotal factors in their design controls process.
Effortless reporting on traceability: supporting the most complex trace matrices, accommodating tens of thousands of items and traces effortlessly. These trace matrices offer clear data visualization and evidence of alignment between inputs and outputs while also highlighting intricate connections among risk, requirements, and test data.
Easy document export: exporting documents is straightforward and fast in Compass PRO. Documents export submission-ready with no post-processing required.
“The entire Cognition team is thrilled to announce Compass PRO, a real game-changer for the medical device industry. With Compass PRO, we’ve put customization at the forefront, allowing our customers to tailor the software to meet their unique business needs and processes while maintaining all the functionality our medical device customers rely on,” said Gerald Wesel, Chairman & CEO, Cognition Corporation. “We believe Compass PRO will empower medical device companies to take their product development data to new heights, and we can’t wait to see the positive impact it will have on the industry.”
Compass PRO has multiple use cases to help medical device companies bring safer products to market faster. These include speeding time to market, addressing remediation, creating Design History Files (DHF), and supporting compliance with standards and regulations like ISO 14971, 21 CFR 820.30, IEC 62366-1, and ISO 13485/EUMDR. It provides unmatched connectivity between risk, requirement, and test data with a 360-degree view of a company’s product development project and with real-time and historic traceability for the most informed planning, development, and impact analysis.
For more information on Cognition’s Compass PRO solution, click here.
About Cognition
Cognition Corporation specializes in product development and compliance solutions for the life sciences industries. For medical device professionals, Cognition offers a design controls software platform that helps meet regulations faster with real-time traceability, guided design controls, and “change once, update everywhere” functionality, turning manual and disconnected data into structured submissions that enable them to get to market faster.
Unlike other design controls solutions that simply replicate traditional documents and spreadsheets, Cognition takes a structured data approach, combining risk with test and requirements data so you can easily build relevant connections between data items, automatically create complex trace matrices, and export formatted documents instantly—offering a more efficient and integrated solution.
We are shifting the data management landscape for medical device and pharmaceutical product development from a static, document-based approach to a dynamic, information-driven approach, helping to streamline and alleviate the administrative burden of product development documentation. Further information about Cognition Corporation can be found at www.cognition.us.
Media Contact Kristen Callahan Director of Marketing Cognition Corporation +1 (781) 253 – 3388 kristen.callahan@cognition.us
Nexis Diligence+™pairs advanced technology and an unmatched collection of global data to empower organizations to mitigate risk and conduct due diligence at scale.
NEW YORK— Sept 14, 2023—Today, LexisNexis® launched a new due diligence solution that is setting a higher standard for assessing risk at scale—Nexis Diligence+™. The new platform pairs advanced technology with access to an unmatched collection of global data to help organizations quickly identify threats and make decisions with confidence.
Nexis Diligence+ helps companies mitigate reputational, regulatory, financial and strategic risks by connecting them with the critical intelligence needed to vet customers, suppliers, partners, and other third-parties. Users can conduct enhanced due diligence, map relationships and affiliations, search for negative news and ESG-related coverage, and check against sanctions to build thorough, 360-degree risk assessment profiles while maintaining an auditable trail.
“When it comes to due diligence research, it’s important to have high standards—especially for evaluating risk,” said Dani McCormick, Vice President, Product. “Within Nexis Diligence+, business professionals will find the tools they need to conduct searches at scale, efficiently identify business risks, make more informed decisions and earn maximum responsible profit.”
The platform’s high-volume, scalable searching capabilities were specifically designed to save time and streamline the often-complicated and time-consuming research process—just one of the many features that make Nexis Diligence+™ one of the most comprehensive due diligence tools on the market:
Customizable entity view: Users can customize and tailor their risk-scoring methodologies to reflect their company’s goals and best practices. Default preferences can be set at an organizational level to ensure process consistency across all users.
High-volume, scalable searching capabilities: Upload unlimited entities and generate results exponentially From there, users access a condensed view of the data to annotate, refresh, set alerts for, and export.
Insight-filled reports: Quickly uncover insights and trends to inform business decisions or future research with powerful visualization tools and reports.
Unrivaled collection of news and data: Access to a full text global news archive, with more than 38,000 sources. Available datasets also include: sanctions & watchlists, PEPs, state-owned enterprises, ESG ratings, company reports & filings, biographies, legal data, and US public records.
Intuitive user experience: A simple, intuitive interface available in multiple languages makes it easy to efficiently vet and monitor third parties.
To learn more about how the Nexis Diligence+ platform can supercharge your approach to risk assessment, please visit www.lexisnexis.com/diligence-plus
About LexisNexis Legal & Professional LexisNexis® Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,300 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
Bianca Minguci fornece informações sobre como lidar com cada um dos problemas que surgem nas redes sociais que podem afetar imagem da marca Por Bianca Minguci – 04/09/2023
A presença nas redes sociais atualmente é essencial para as empresas sobreviverem e prosperarem. No entanto, a priorização das pegadas digitais também traz consigo um alto custo, pois diversos erros potenciais estão relacionados à publicação de conteúdo, interação com os consumidores e até mesmo à gestão de relações públicas (RP).
Felizmente, a maioria das armadilhas potenciais para crises de RP e redes sociais pode ser categorizada, facilitando a previsão e preparação para esses problemas. Neste artigo, exploramos cinco dos cenários mais comuns que podem levar uma empresa a acionar suas práticas de comunicação de crise, além de fornecer informações sobre como lidar com cada um deles.
Comunicação de crises em tempo real nas redes sociais
As crises mais comuns nas redes sociais podem ser desencadeadas por problemas nas postagens das empresas ou por consumidores que fazem reclamações públicas sobre a marca. Um conteúdo supostamente engraçado pode se tornar ofensivo, levando a empresa a uma situação delicada. Por outro lado, relatos negativos de consumidores podem viralizar e prejudicar a imagem da marca.
Para prevenir problemas nesse cenário, é crucial monitorar ativamente as redes sociais e contar com uma ferramenta de análise social para rastrear menções à empresa e acompanhar o sentimento do público. Em caso de problemas, a empresa deve agir rapidamente com uma declaração pública bem redigida que reconheça o erro e prometa correções futuras. O apoio da alta direção é fundamental para transmitir credibilidade ao público.
Disseminação de notícias falsas e conteúdo enganoso
Com o avanço da inteligência artificial, conteúdos e notícias falsas têm se multiplicado na internet, dificultando a distinção entre informações verdadeiras e falsas para o público. Esse cenário representa uma ameaça significativa para as empresas, pois notícias negativas e enganosas podem afetar a reputação da marca e a confiança dos consumidores.
Nesse contexto, é crucial contar com ferramentas de monitoramento de mídia para identificar notícias falsas ou enganosas. Uma vez detectadas, a empresa deve agir prontamente para corrigir a situação e, se necessário, tomar medidas legais contra os responsáveis pela disseminação de informações falsas.
Crises de comunicação também podem surgir quando ex-funcionários compartilham publicamente experiências negativas relacionadas ao ambiente de trabalho, como casos de violência ou discriminação. Essas histórias podem prejudicar significativamente a reputação da empresa.
Para evitar agravamento da situação, a empresa deve monitorar regularmente menções à sua marca em notícias e redes sociais. Quando essas situações ocorrerem, é fundamental que a empresa emita um pedido de desculpas público e se comprometa efetivamente a combater quaisquer violações legais ou ofensivas no local de trabalho. Em casos mais graves, detalhar as medidas tomadas para resolver o problema pode ajudar a restaurar a confiança do público.
Falta de diversidade e inclusão
A falta de transparência ou posicionamento falso em relação à diversidade e inclusão pode gerar grandes problemas para uma empresa, especialmente quando há contradição entre o que a empresa declara apoiar e a realidade de sua equipe.
Para evitar crises nesse cenário, é importante que a empresa se posicione claramente em relação às suas práticas de diversidade e inclusão. Se críticas públicas surgirem, é fundamental esclarecer como a empresa planeja melhorar sua diversidade nos próximos meses e divulgar um comunicado público com ações concretas.
Violação de Segurança Cibernética
Empresas que lidam com informações sensíveis devem estar preparadas para enfrentar crises decorrentes de violações de segurança cibernética. Caso ocorra uma violação, é necessário entrar em contato imediato com as pessoas afetadas e fornecer orientações sobre como proteger suas informações.
Além de notificar os consumidores, é crucial que a empresa se posicione publicamente sobre as ações tomadas para evitar futuras violações e reconstruir a confiança com o público.
Planos de comunicação de crise para cada situação
Independentemente do setor, todas as empresas devem ter um plano de comunicação de crise para lidar com imprevistos. A ação rápida e eficaz é essencial para reconstruir a confiança pública. Um plano detalhado para cada cenário permite que a equipe de RP e mídias sociais saiba como agir e evitar novos equívocos.
Para se preparar adequadamente, é fundamental monitorar regularmente o nome da marca na internet. O uso de ferramentas de inteligência de mídia pode automatizar esse monitoramento, fornecendo relatórios e alertas pontuais para que a equipe de RP esteja sempre atualizada sobre a percepção pública da empresa e possa responder rapidamente a qualquer crise.
Em resumo, as empresas devem estar cientes desses cinco cenários mais comuns de comunicação de crise e preparadas para agir prontamente em cada situação. Monitorar ativamente as redes sociais e utilizar ferramentas de inteligência de mídia são estratégias-chave para minimizar os problemas da era digital e preservar a reputação da marca.
*Por Bianca Minguci é Business Development Manager LATAM na LexisNexis
Five restaurants receive a MICHELIN Star in inaugural selection
Colorado bursts onto scene with four MICHELIN Green Stars
Nine Bib Gourmand, plus four Special Awards, also awarded
44 total restaurants, 15 cuisine types reflected in state Guide
DENVER, Sept. 12, 2023 — The MICHELIN Guide officially has made its debut in Colorado with five One-MICHELIN-Star establishments and four MICHELIN Green Star restaurants.
Brutø and The Wolf’s Tailor each were awarded one MICHELIN Star, plus a MICHELIN Green Star.
The full selection, including Bib Gourmand restaurants and Recommended eateries, totals 44 restaurants. Chefs and restaurant teams were honored Tuesday night at the Mission Ballroom in Denver.
“This is a proud moment for Colorado and for the MICHELIN Guide, with five MICHELIN- Starred restaurants highlighting the state’s debut selection of restaurants,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the MICHELIN Guides. “It’s quite an impressive feat for a debut selection to include so many MICHELIN Green Stars. Our famously anonymous inspectors were wowed by these restaurants’ high-quality, local ingredients, sourced seasonally and sustainably. It’s a very exciting time for the culinary community here, and we feel the momentum growing.”
Here are the new One-MICHELIN-Star restaurants, with inspector notes from each (Inspectors’ comments in full on the MICHELIN Guide website and mobile app):
One MICHELIN Star
Beckon (Denver; Contemporary cuisine)
More than just a name, it’s an ethos at this ambitious RiNo dining room from Chef Duncan Holmes where staff warmly welcome you. Once inside this Scandi-cool space, diners pull up a chair at the 18-seat counter facing the kitchen where a focused team is hard at work. The multicourse contemporary tasting menu rotates quarterly (think harvest-themed in the fall). This kitchen offers far from typical dishes. Seared quail breast with a confit leg is spot on, especially when sided by creamed kale made with sunflower seeds and a quail reduction.
Bosq (Aspen; Contemporary cuisine)
At this singular enclave, Chef Barclay Dodge and his team are executing seasonally inspired cooking that focuses on foraging, fermenting and local farms. The menu format allows diners to customize their own tasting of four or more courses. From hand-picked spruce tips to butter from locally sourced cooperative dairy cows, this is a concept that pays attention to details — even ingredients from farther afield, like lobster from New England, gets a hit of local flavor from being grilled over juniper wood.
Brutø (Denver; Mexican/Contemporary cuisine)
Chef Michael Diaz de Leon runs the show here, where the team takes a serious approach to locality and seasonality, not only in the produce but also the grains, which they mill or nixtamalize in-house. The mastery of the hearth as the primary cooking implement makes this operation special, and it infuses each of the tasting menu’s courses with distinct notes. The menu, which is Mexican at its core, has a clear narrative, and is perhaps best displayed in lamb prepared two ways — as a street-style taco and ground lamb leg kushiyaki with a quenelle of mole chichilo.
Frasca Food and Wine (Boulder; Italian cuisine)
All are treated as special guests here, where Chef Ian Palazzola’s cooking is Italian, but in a hyper-specific way: It’s the food of the northeast Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. You’ll find pasta and seafood on the prix fixe and tasting menus, but Slavic and Alpine elements also appear. Focused and distinct, the menu might showcase a lesser-known part of Italy, but the ingredients are clearly Coloradan. The plates are beguiling with a minimal, straightforward approach, as in cjalson, half- moon fresh spinach pasta pockets filled with an English pea and potato purée.
The Wolf’s Tailor (Denver; Contemporary cuisine)
With culinary stylings as singular as its name, this charmer stands apart from the pack. Chef Taylor Stark shepherds a creative multicourse menu that abounds with personality, boasting a unique, genre-defying style that draws variously from Nordic, Italian and East Asian cuisines, but nonetheless feels focused and cohesive. Although the menu shifts throughout the year to explore different themes, diners will find a common thread in cooking that highlights ingredients while displaying technical precision and harmonious flavors, with fermentation a frequent motif.
MICHELIN Green Star
Blackbelly Market (Boulder; American cuisine)
Initiatives: full utilization of every ingredient and animal, most of which are butchered in-house; sourcing from local ranches and farms that apply natural practices to everything they cultivate; herbs and flowers for plates grown on property.
Bramble & Hare (Boulder; American cuisine)
Initiatives: organic farm with 70 acres growing more than 250 varieties of vegetables, herbs and grain, which is ground into flour on a stone mill; an acre of chamomile for restaurant use; 360 acres of pasture for raising heritage sheep and pigs.
Brutø (Denver; Mexican/Contemporary cuisine)
Initiatives: zero-waste ethos; fermentation program to create umami-based ingredients; house-milled grains grown in Colorado; hyper-local sourcing; partnership with Zero Foodprint to help reduce carbon footprint and carbon emissions.
The Wolf’s Tailor (Denver; Contemporary cuisine)
Initiatives: zero-waste mentality; local apple cider vinegar project; recycling bread waste into sourdough gochujang; contract farming to grow heirloom wheat for flour on organic, regeneratively farmed land; on-site pollinator garden; certified sustainable foraging program.
Bib Gourmand
The MICHELIN Guide Inspectors identified nine restaurants to award the Bib Gourmand designation, which recognizes eateries for great food at a great value: AJ’s Pit Bar-B- Q, Ash’Kara, Basta, The Ginger Pig, Glo Noodle House, Hop Alley, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal, Mister Oso and Tavernetta.
MICHELIN Special Awards
In addition to the Bib Gourmand and Stars, the Guide announced four Special Awards:
The MICHELIN Guide Ceremony is presented with the support of Capital One.
Hotels
The restaurants join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay in Colorado and throughout the world.
Each hotel in the selection has been chosen by MICHELIN Guide experts for its extraordinary style, service, and personality — with options for all budgets — and each can be booked directly through the MICHELIN Guide website and app. The selection for Colorado features the state’s most spectacular hotels, including upscale outdoor campsites like Collective Vail, standouts from our “Plus” collection like the Source Hotel and the Crawford Hotel in Denver, refurbished motels like Amigo Motor Lodge, and rehabilitated wilderness ghost towns like Dunton Hot Springs.
The MICHELIN Guide is a benchmark in gastronomy. Now it’s setting a new standard for hotels. Visit the MICHELIN Guide website, or download the free app for iOS and Android, to discover every restaurant in the selection and book an unforgettable hotel.
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life. Dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility and sustainability, Michelin designs and distributes the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its customers’ needs. Michelin provides digital services, maps and guides to help enrich travel and make them unique experiences. Bringing its expertise to new markets, the company is investing in high-technology materials, 3D printing and hydrogen, to serve a wide variety of industries — from aerospace to biotech. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Michelin North America has approximately 23,000 employees and operates 34 production facilities in the United States and Canada. (michelinman.com)
About Capital One
At Capital One we’re on a mission for our customers – bringing them best-in-class products, rewards, service, and experiences. Capital One is a diversified bank that offers products and services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. We use technology, innovation, and interaction to provide consumers with products and services to meet their needs. Through Capital One Dining and Capital One Entertainment, we provide our rewards cardholders with access to unforgettable experiences in the areas they’re passionate about, including dining, music and sports. Learn more at capitalone.com/dining and capitalone.com/entertainment.
Sadis & Goldberg LLP, led by Partners Jonathan Bernstein and Robert Cromwell, represented Point Pickup Technologies Inc. (“Point Pickup”), a portfolio company of BBH Capital Partners (“BBH”), in its merger with Pickup Now, Inc. (“Pickup Now”). Sadis concurrently handled a pre-closing reorganization and an offering of secured convertible promissory notes for Point Pickup.
The Sadis deal team consisted of Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Cromwell, Paul J. Marino (Partner, Head of Corporate M&A), Seth Lebowitz (Partner, Tax), and Samantha Romano (Associate).
“We were pleased to assist Point Pickup in negotiating and navigating all transactions simultaneously and look forward to supporting Point Pickup post-merger,” said Mr. Bernstein.
“Our deal team, led by Jonathan Bernstein and Robert Cromwell, artfully handled a variety of multifaceted issues in connection with a merger transaction. They also harmonized all of the external demands one expects when dealing with complex issues and sophisticated clients like Don Hardie and Jin Kim of BBH,” said Mr. Marino; “I couldn’t be more pleased by the outcome for our client and the effort by the entire Sadis team.”
“The merger of the two companies puts our combined organization at the forefront of the future of last mile delivery and offers a comprehensive solution for customers across many verticals,” said Dauvin Peterson, President and Chief Analytics Officer at Point Pickup. Mr Peterson added, “The team at Sadis afforded both companies the ability to work towards a complex transaction closing, continue operating normally as well as planning integration strategy.”
Point Pickup is a leading enterprise-focused same-day delivery service provider for top retailers nationwide, while incorporating what had been Pickup Now’s specialty in simplifying delivery logistics, especially for bulkier retail items.
BBH Capital Partners, a private equity strategy of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., provides friendly capital solutions to growth-oriented middle-market companies. BBHCP has the flexibility to act as a control or non-control investor and to structure investments as a combination of equity and subordinated debt securities, as needed. BBHCP’s capital used to support a variety of transactions, including management or leveraged buyouts, growth financings, recapitalizations, buy-and-build strategies, and acquisitions.
Sadis & Goldberg maintains a diverse, business-oriented practice focused on corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, investment funds, litigation, real estate, regulatory, tax and ERISA. Drawing on the experience and depth of our attorneys in these distinct areas, we can leverage each attorney’s industry specific knowledge to help our clients succeed. This collaborative approach brings to the table a collective insight that contributes to sensible, efficient resolutions, and allows us to remain attentive to the cost and time sensitivities that may be involved.
Contact Information
Name: Shawn Koupal Email: skoupal@sadis.com Job Title: Head of Marketing & Business Development
Generative AI tech usage is being driven at a much higher rate by legal professionals compared to consumers – with expectations of AI use for research, communication, and drafting documents.
TORONTO, September 6, 2023 –LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of legal information and analytics, released the results of its Canadian Legal Generative AI Survey. LexisNexis Canada Inc. surveyed over 1,952 people, including 610 lawyers, 148 law students, and 1,194 consumers in Canada to better understand the overall awareness of generative AI, how the legal profession is currently using these tools, and how likely they are to adopt them in the future.
This report provides insights into the awareness, usage, impact, potential, and ethical considerations surrounding generative AI (GAI), as well as how it may impact the relationships between counsel and their clients and the education of new lawyers.
Awareness of Generative AI
The survey results show that there is an extremely high level of awareness among lawyers with 93% stating they have heard of it. In fact, lawyers have become aware of GAI at a much higher rate than the public; only 66% of consumers have reported they have heard of GAI tools, such as ChatGPT.
Potential Use of Generative AI
More than half of all lawyers (52%) and over two thirds of law students (68%) have already used it either personally or professionally. Consumers have used GAI at a slightly lower rate, with 37% already having used GAI tools either personally or professionally.
Potential use is also aligned with those currently in use by early adopting lawyers, with researching matters (59%) in the top spot. While 42% are currently using generative AI to understand new legal concepts, only 35% see the potential for that use case. The same is true for writing emails (57% are using currently yet only 46% see potential)
“We are excited to see the level of interest in Generative AI among our customers.” said Alan Votary – Head of Product, Canada. “This survey helps us understand their perceptions of this new technology, and the insights gained here will help us focus future product development, to deliver better outcomes for legal professionals.”
Potential Impact of Generative AI
When asked what impact generative AI will have on the practice of law, over half the legal market (51%) and law students (56%) believe it will significantly transform the practice of law, with nearly all believing it will have some impact.
Ethics Regarding Generative AI
A very high percentage of the legal market and law students (90%) are concerned about the ethical implications of generative AI, (with 37% of the legal market, and 39% of law students responding that their concerns are at least “significant”). However only a very few members of the legal market (6%) and law students (8%) say their concerns are fundamental.
These findings reinforce the fact that legal professionals desire to work with trusted and ethical companies as they explore and adopt generative AI solutions in their work.
About LexisNexis Legal & Professional LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,300 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
McLean, VA – August 29, 2023 – BBB National Programs’ data privacy watchdog, the Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), successfully brought WhaleCo, Inc. into compliance with the Digital Advertising Alliance’s (DAA) Self-Regulatory Principles for online interest-based advertising (DAA Principles). Since beginning U.S. operations in September 2022, Shanghai-based WhaleCo’s mobile application, Temu, has quickly risen to become one of the top downloaded free apps.
DAAP investigated consumer complaints regarding noncompliance with the DAA Principles on Temu’s website and mobile app. Several issues were found, including 1) difficulty locating information on third-party interest-based advertising (IBA) practices; 2) a broken hyperlink to the third-party IBA opt-out tool, 3) no statement of compliance with DAA Principles, 4) failure to comply with the DAA’s transparency principle for third-party IBA data collection; and 5) the mobile application’s failure to provide enhanced notice for third-party IBA.
In response to DAAP’s inquiry, Temu conducted a comprehensive review of its compliance with the DAA Principles and worked with DAAP to strengthen its compliance protocols, including taking the following actions:
Adding an “Ad Choices” link at the bottom of each page of the Temu website that takes users directly to the top of a newly edited privacy policy section titled “Interest-based Advertising” that provides elements of enhanced notice, including 1) a description of Temu’s third-party IBA practices, 2) a link to industry-developed IBA opt-out tools, and 3) a statement of adherence to the DAA Principles.
Relocating the “Sign In” popup to enable users on any browser, whether signed in or not, to access footer links, including the Ad Choices
Resolving enhanced notice issues under the DAA’s Mobile Guidance by making substantial changes to ensure its IBA disclosures are fully accessible.
In its advertiser statement, Temu stated that it is “proud to adhere to the DAA Principles” and will “work actively with the Digital Advertising Accountability Program to continuously enhance our disclosures about online behavioral advertising.”
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the Digital Advertising Accountability Program: The Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP), a division of BBB National Programs, was developed by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) to enforce industry self-regulation principles for data privacy in online and mobile advertising, holding companies accountable to the DAA’s Privacy Principles. DAAP provides guidance to companies looking to comply with industry principles and responds to complaints filed by consumers about online privacy.
Contact Information
Name: Jennie Rosenberg Email: jrosenberg@bbbnp.org Job Title: Media Relations
New York, NY – August 28, 2023 – In a challenge brought by Vision Elements, Inc., the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs recommended that in connection with its Memory Health dietary supplement, Memory Health, LP discontinue:
Certain claims which reasonably convey that the product is effective in treating symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
An unsupported claim that consumption of the product is a form of Alzheimer’s disease prevention.
Two implied safety claims.
NAD also recommended Memory Health modify certain claims about its product patents, removing reference to the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Study Claims
Vision Elements challenged a number of health benefit claims, including clinically proven improvements in memory, mood, focus, clarity, cognitive function, and mental health in both diseased and healthy human brains. NAD noted that such claims require substantiation in the form of competent and reliable scientific evidence on the product as it is marketed to consumers.
NAD determined that Memory Health’s studies and reviews do not provide a reasonable basis for the health benefits message conveyed by the challenged claims. NAD further concluded that the studies’ results are not a good fit for the claims and that they overstate the scientific evidence on which they are based.
NAD also determined that the challenged claims convey a message to consumers that the Memory Health product is effective in treating symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, a message that is not supported.
For these reasons, NAD recommended that the challenged claims be discontinued.
Patent Claims
NAD examined whether certain claims referencing patents, such as Memory Health is “the first supplement to receive a patent for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disease, specifically Alzheimer’s and dementia,” convey a misleading message.
NAD found that many consumers may reasonably interpret these patent claims to mean that Memory Health received a patent based on a federal agency’s determination of its effectiveness in treating and preventing neurodegenerative diseases—a message that is not supported.
Therefore, NAD recommended that Memory Health modify the claims to remove reference to the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, to avoid conveying a message that the Memory Health supplement has been approved by regulatory authorities (such as the FDA) as effective in treating and preventing neurodegenerative disease.
Strong Believers Claim
NAD found that, in context, consumers may reasonably understand the statement “At Memory Health we are strong believers in nutritional supplementation as a form of prevention, especially if Alzheimer’s Disease runs in your family” as a claim that Memory Health consumption is a form of Alzheimer’s disease prevention. In the absence of competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the claim, NAD recommended that it be discontinued.
Safety Claims
NAD recommended that Memory Health discontinue the claims “A safe, natural supplement” and “No side effects” because Memory Health did not provide adequate support.
During the proceeding Memory Health agreed to permanently discontinue many other challenged claims. Therefore, NAD did not review these claims on the merits.
In its advertiser statement, Memory Health stated that it “believes that the challenged claims are thoroughly supported” by scientific studies and although it “strongly disagrees with the factual conclusions reached in the Final Decision, Memory Health respects the NAD’s decision and will comply with the NAD’s recommendations.”
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.
This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
Contact Information
Name: Jennie Rosenberg Email: jrosenberg@bbbnp.org Job Title: Media Relations
New York, NY – August 25, 2023 – The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs recommended that Agape Diamonds, LLC modify its advertising by clearly and consciously disclosing the origin of its simulated diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds (LGDs).
The claims at issue were challenged by the Natural Diamond Council, an association of diamond companies that primarily deal in mined natural diamonds. Agape is an online retailer and manufacturer of LGDs and simulants, as well as a seller of some loose natural diamonds.
LGDs are artificially produced and have similar physical and chemical characteristics to natural diamonds. Simulants such as zircons, cubic zirconia, and moissanite are stones that resemble or are manufactured to look like diamonds but have different physical, chemical, and optical properties than mined diamonds. Simulants, whether mined or manufactured, are visually distinctive from mined diamonds and LGDs and are more susceptible to scratches and abrasions.
The Natural Diamond Council argued that Agape’s marketing, including its presentation of its products for sale on its website, violates the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) Jewelry Guides because it does not clearly and conspicuously disclose the origin of the stones.
In response to the challenge, Agape modified its advertising across its website and social media. NAD reviewed Agape’s modified advertising and concluded that its disclosures of the origin of its stones in much of the modified advertising are effective and consistent with the FTC Jewelry Guides. NAD determined, however, that other online advertising from Agape does not include clear and conspicuous disclosure of the stone’s origin.
Therefore, to the extent not already reflected in its advertising, NAD recommended that all Agape advertising include the appropriate description (e.g., “Simulated” or “Lab Grown”) immediately preceding the word “diamond” or “stone” with equal conspicuousness so as to clearly disclose the nature and origin of the product and the fact that it is not a mined gemstone, consistent with the FTC Jewelry Guides, including in advertising where images of items are used with or without any descriptive text.
In its advertiser statement, Agape stated that it will comply with NAD’s recommendations and that it is “committed to accurate and truthful advertising, as recommended by NAD and as codified in the federal regulations and enforced by the FTC.”
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. Per NAD procedures, this release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
Contact Information
Name: Jennie Rosenberg Email: jrosenberg@bbbnp.org Job Title: Media Relations
New York, NY – August 24, 2023 – The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs determined that Dr. Squatch, LLC had a reasonable basis for its “natural” claims for Jukebox Soap and that the claim “no harsh chemicals” was supported. However, NAD recommended that Dr. Squatch:
Discontinue a series of claims characterizing competing products as “detergents” or modify them to avoid conveying the message that competing bars and body washes are harsh.
Discontinue the claim “made with no harsh chemicals” or modify it to better fit the evidence.
Modify certain challenged claims to avoid conveying the message that Jukebox is a women-run brand.
Dr. Squatch’s Jukebox brand distinguishes itself from competing bars and cleansers as being “real” soap formulated by cold process saponification and made with natural ingredients.
The claims at issue, which appeared in Jukebox email marketing, product packaging, and on Jukebox’s website and social media pages were challenged by Unilever U.S., Inc., manufacturer of Dove brand cleansers and body washes.
Natural Claims
NAD concluded that Dr. Squatch provided a reasonable basis for its “natural” claims because its evidence indicates that all but a fractional amount of the ingredients in Jukebox soaps are natural or naturally derived and that the saponification process involves minimal processing.
Detergent Claims
NAD found that Dr. Squatch’s designation of competing bars and body washes as “synthetic detergents” is technically accurate under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) classification of skin cleansers. However, because consumers might not be familiar with the FDA’s technical classification and would rely instead on the common understanding of the term “detergent,” NAD concluded that the challenged claims may reasonably convey the misleading message that competing products, including Dove, are harsh and damaging – a message not supported by the evidence in the record.
Further, NAD determined that the addition of the phrase “they are classified by the FDA as synthetic detergents” in the claim is not likely to limit the reasonable associations with the words “detergent” and “synthetic detergent.”
Therefore, NAD recommended that Dr. Squatch discontinue its “detergent” claims or modify them to avoid conveying the message that competing bars and body washes are harsh.
“Made with No Harsh Chemicals”
NAD concluded that although no traces of lye remain in the finished Jukebox product, the use of lye in the saponification process renders the claim “made with no harsh chemicals” inaccurate. NAD therefore recommended that the claim be discontinued or modified to better fit the evidence.
At the same time, NAD determined that a similar claim, “no harsh chemicals,” which appears on Jukebox packaging in a monadic context, does not convey the implied message that competing bars and washes contain harsh chemicals or are otherwise damaging or unsafe. NAD found that the “no harsh chemicals” claim was supported and truthfully highlights the absence of harsh chemicals in the finished product.
Claims about Jukebox’s Leadership
NAD determined that the statement “Who runs the world? Girls” in conjunction with the statement “From our world-class natural perfumers and in-house artisan soap makers to our bubbly leadership, we’re a band of music & soap-lovin’ ladies” did not convey the message that Jukebox was a women-owned company. However, NAD recommended that those statements be modified to avoid conveying the message that Jukebox is a women-run brand.
During the proceeding Dr. Squatch agreed to permanently discontinue a number of other challenged claims. Therefore, NAD did not review these claims on the merits.
In its advertiser statement, Dr. Squatch stated that it will appeal NAD’s decision regarding Jukebox’s detergent claims because it disagrees with NAD’s interpretation of the term detergent and “maintains that each of its claims respecting synthetic detergents is truthful and non-misleading.” Dr. Squatch will also appeal NAD’s recommendation to modify the Jukebox advertising to avoid conveying the message that Jukebox is a women-run brand.
Unilever will cross-appeal NAD’s decision with respect to the “natural” claim.
Appeals of NAD decisions are made to BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate-level truth-in-advertising body of BBB National Programs.
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.
This press release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
Contact: Jennie Rosenberg Media Relations BBB National Programs press@bbbnp.org
