Day: August 24, 2021

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GenScript Biotech Reports First Half 2021 Results

Posts explosive growth in GCT CDMO business and strategic GCT investments

NANJING, China, Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — GenScript Biotech Corporation (HKEX: 1548.HK) (GenScript) today reported its first half 2021 financial results for the six months ended June 30. It also announced that the Group has expanded its presence in the gene and cell therapy (GCT) industry with aggressive investments.

In the first half of 2021, the Group maintained strong momentum across all business segments. Total revenue increased by 38% to USD 229.6 million, and gross profit increased by 28.1% to USD 138.6 million.

The Group’s non-cell therapy business revenue increased by 36.6% to USD 195.7 million, with gross profit of USD 104.7 million, a 23.0% YoY increase, including its GCT CDMO business’ historic breakthrough in explosive revenue growth. This built on the Group’s early investments in the field and advantages in plasmid and lentivirus R&D and manufacturing solutions. For the Group’s cell therapy business, revenue increased by 46.8% YoY to USD 33.9 million, benefitting from continued recognition of its successes and milestone investments.

As the world’s No. 1 gene synthesis supplier, GenScript has laid a strong technical foundation for its GCT business. As GenScript’s life science services and products business, biologics CDMO business, and cell therapy business are all achieving strong momentum, the Group’s is expanding its presence throughout the GCT value chain by investing aggressively.

In the first half of 2021, R&D expenses increased by 51.6% YoY to USD 175.1 million. The non-cell therapy business invested about 10% of its revenue in GMP facility construction and other infrastructure expansion. The cell therapy business spent USD154.5 million on R&D, a 52.1% YoY increase, with an investment focus on clinical studies of cilta-cel and manufacturing facilities that support the business’ ongoing clinical trials and future commercialization.

GenScript is ushering in the rise of GCT as the next biotech industry revolution, tapping into the huge potential of CRO and CDMO platforms. Over the next two to three years, the life science business and biologics CDMO business will increase their strategic investments into the field. This includes investments in GCT-related services, utilizing automation technology to upgrade production lines, and accelerate the launch of ongoing cell therapy products and R&D in new pipelines.

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Dante Labs Announces Appointment of Mark Van Oene to its Board of Directors to Support Operational Approach and Commercial Strategy

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Aug. 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dante Labs, a global leader in genomics and precision medicine, announced today the appointment of Mark Van Oene as a member of its Board of Directors. Mark is the Chief Operating Officer at Pacific Biosciences, a leading provider of high-quality sequencing solutions.

“I’m so pleased to welcome Mark Van Oene to the Dante Labs Board,” said Dante Labs CEO Andrea Riposati. “We are confident we will greatly benefit from Mark’s proven leadership in scaling Dante’s global commercial organization to serve more people with the genomic information needed to treat and prevent disease.”

Mr. Van Oene stated, “I’m excited to be joining Dante’s Board in order to help scale the business as the need for genomics in healthcare is realized and plays a more essential role in drug development and precision medicine.”

Mr. Van Oene has deep expertise and leadership in the field of genomics, driving strategic planning and corporate development activities and managing research, development and manufacturing in his role at Pacific Biosciences. Prior to that, Mr. Van Oene held several key leadership roles at Illumina, ultimately serving as Chief Commercial Officer with his appointment in 2017. Prior to Illumina, he was the Director of Genotyping Services in Ellipsis Biotherapeutics. Mr. Van Oene will join Illumina Chief Operations Officer Bob Ragusa and GRAIL SVP Mark Morgan to the Dante Labs Board of Directors.

About Dante Labs

Dante Labs is a global genomic data company building and commercializing a new class of transformative health and longevity applications based on whole genome sequencing and AI. Our assets include one of the largest private genome databases with research consent, a proprietary software platform designed to unleash the power of genomic data at scale and proprietary processes which enable an industrial approach to genomic sequencing.

Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, with a research laboratory in Wolverhampton, Dante Labs supported the UK Government’s urgent requirement to scale-up a high-capacity, highly automated testing solution for Covid-19, including infected patients as well as those with antibodies. Dante Labs was able to deliver by leveraging existing technology that had been developed for whole genome sequencing.

Contact

Giorgio Lodi
media@dantelabs.com
+39 0862 191 0671
www.dantelabs.com

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Conagen Expands Natural Preservation by Fermentation

Bedford, Mass., Aug. 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As the “clean label” trend thrives in many consumer product categories, Massachusetts-based biotech Conagen announced the launch of a natural preservative, p-Coumaric Acid (PCA). Conagen’s PCA is made by fermentation and expands the natural preservatives offered by its commercialization partner Blue California.

The natural preservation market is driven by consumer exploration of clean-label food, beverage, personal care, and cosmetic product which do not contain artificial ingredients while still possessing extended shelf life.

In a published Mintel report Feb. 2021, U.S. Consumers were polled on relating ‘naturalness’ with ‘health, “43% of U.S. consumers have the perception that “all-natural” is an important factor when choosing healthy food and beverages.”

Food and beverage manufacturers are moving away from artificial ingredients in their processing and packaging methods. Therefore, new sources of natural preservatives, such as Conagen’s natural, fermentation-derived PCA, are ideal for brands to make a seamless change from synthetic preservation ingredients to natural ones.

“Our PCA expands the toolbox for product developers looking for a scalable, low cost-in-use, natural solution for increasing the shelf life of food without interfering with the flavor of their products,” said Conagen’s Vice President of Innovation, Dr. Casey Lippmeier.

PCA is a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial compound found in all plants, primarily peanuts, tomatoes, carrots, basil, and garlic. It is a key constituent of wine, vinegar, and honey.

Conagen produces PCA by an innovative precision fermentation process. This technology enables the cultivation of micro-organisms programmed to create sustainable, natural ingredients with high purity at a price competitive with synthetic PCA. PCA by fermentation is ideal for industrial applications as well.

“A sustainable source of PCA is also desirable as a precursor for different biopolymers and other high-tech biomaterials made with ‘green chemistry,”‘ said Lippmeier.

Green chemicals are a part of the global discussion on climate change and large chemical companies’ accelerating adoption of sustainable materials. “The novel polymers and co-polymers which can be made by fermentation-derived PCA enable the development of environmentally safer bioplastics and new applications in biomedicine,” said Lippmeier.

As an alternative to chemically synthesized compounds like bisphenol-A, PCA is a multifunctional natural and sustainable solution found in food to enable new and novel products by formulators and material scientists.

In the industrial applications space, PCA is ideal in coatings, composites, adhesives, and polymers for biomedical, transportation, aerospace, electronics, and packaging, just to name a few.

Last year, Blue California and Conagen jointly announced the commercialization of a 98% pure natural preservative, Rosavel™ rosmarinic acid, without the intensity of rosemary flavor and color as with most synthetic ingredients.  Another important natural preservative molecule derived from Conagen’s platform technologies is BC-DHQTM taxifolin, which secured GRAS status as announced last May.
About Conagen

Conagen is making the impossible possible. Our scientists and engineers use the latest synthetic biology tools to develop high-quality sustainable nature-based products through systems of manufacturing on a molecular level and fermentation basis. We focus on the bioproduction of high-value ingredients for food, nutrition, flavors and fragrances, pharmaceutical, and renewable materials industries. www.conagen.com

About Blue California

Blue California is a vertically integrated technology company providing innovative ingredient solutions to global partners. With more than 20 years of innovation success, our ingredients are used in commercial products and applications in the industries of nutrition, personal care, healthy aging and wellness, functional food and beverage, and beauty. www.bluecal-ingredients.com

Attachment

Ana Arakelian
Conagen
+1.781.271.1588
ana.arakelian@conagen.com

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Lakemore Partners Closes Its US$400 Million Aquatine IV Fund

LONDON, DUBAI, UAE and Scottsdale, Ariz., Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Lakemore Partners Ltd. and its group entities (“Lakemore”), a leading private credit investment firm primarily investing in control CLO equity, today announced it has successfully closed Aquatine IV at US$400 million as a result of strong investor demand.

Aquatine IV is Lakemore’s fourth CLO fund within the Aquatine platform, which invests in control equity positions in U.S. CLOs, and is currently one of the market’s largest dedicated CLO control equity funds. The Fund’s investors are a diverse group of institutional investors representing private banks, fund of funds, insurance companies, family offices and high net worth individuals, many of whom have invested in previous Lakemore Aquatine Funds.

“The successful close of our Aquatine IV fund is an important milestone for Lakemore as we further strengthen our position as a global leader in CLO investments focused on delivering high risk-adjusted returns across market cycles,” said Mohamed Seif, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Lakemore.

“The significant interest and commitment to Aquatine IV highlights the trust and support our clients place in us,” said Hisham Ghouth, Partner and Head of Business Development. “Our investors recognize our long-standing partnerships with top-tier CLO managers, and we continue to experience strong demand from a range of global clients looking to access reliable and defensively managed credit portfolios.”

“Our team continues to deliver outstanding deal execution in 2021 through our involvement in more than 10 control equity transactions representing over US$6 billion in CLO size,” added Somnath Mukherjee, Partner and Head of Investments. “We would like to thank our collateral managers and arranging banks for their partnership in helping us to secure a robust pipeline during an incredibly active year, and for contributing to long-term, sustainable value for investors in our Aquatine Funds.”

About Lakemore Partners

Lakemore is a leading private credit investment firm primarily investing in control CLO equity. Serving as a partner of choice for top-tier CLO managers who are aligned to the firm’s portfolio management style and risk appetite, Lakemore aims to deliver attractive returns by leveraging the extensive expertise of its dedicated team and by investing within its well-defined framework of cycle-aligned risk allocation. Founded in 2016, Lakemore has offices in London, Dubai and Scottsdale. Lakemore’s mission focuses on providing sustainable and reliable income, with the firm currently managing US$1.1 billion in credit assets under management, the majority of which is from institutional clients. For more information, please visit www.lakemore.com.

Lakemore Partners Ltd. is the group parent and is domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Lakemore Partners Management US LLC is registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission as an investment adviser (RIA). Lakemore Partners (UK) Ltd. (FRN: 837603) is also an appointed representative of Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. (FRN: 466588), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Lakemore Partners (DIFC) Ltd. is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Lakemore Partners Management US LLC, Lakemore Partners (UK) Ltd., and Lakemore Partners (DIFC) Ltd. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Lakemore Partners Ltd.

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Media Contacts:
Doug Allen/Josh Gerth
Dukas Linden Public Relations
lakemore@dlpr.com
+1 (646) 722-6530

 

 

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CGTN: Xi Jinping inspects forest farm as eco-friendliness highlighted in high-quality development

BEIJING, Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday visited Saihanba Forest Farm in north China’s Hebei Province. Three generations of tree planters’ unremitting efforts have turned the once vast barren land into the world’s largest man-made forest.

During his visit, President Xi listened to the work report by the local government in coordinating the protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes and grass, indicating that green development will be elevated to a higher position in the country’s modernization drive.

Covering an area of about 93,000 hectares, Saihanba almost became a wasteland in the 1950s due to rampant tree felling operations, which also caused sand storms threatening Beijing and adjacent regions.

In 1962, hundreds of foresters embarked on tree planting in Saihanba to change the tide of rapid desertification. After three generations’ hard efforts, the forest coverage has increased from 11.4 percent to 80 percent, currently supplying some 137 million cubic meters of clean water to the Chinese capital.

During the ceremonies honoring those who have contributed to the victory against extreme poverty, Saihanba Forest Farm was conferred the national title of role model. It also won the 2017 Champions of the Earth award, the highest honor of its kind by the United Nations.

Xi talked to some foresters, inspected the growth of trees, and listened to the introduction of farm’s efforts in carrying forward the Saihanba spirit and promoting high-quality development. Saihanba has become a symbol of the Chinese spirit of hard work and a vivid example of eco-civilization.

Eco-friendly growth pattern

Despite increasing downward pressure over the years, China has been steadfast in resisting the old ways of economic expansion, and their severe impact on the environment. To this end, the top leadership has repeatedly underscored a key development approach as Xi had vividly put as “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”

In June, the General Office of the State Council issued a guideline for adopting scientific measures as part of China’s afforestation efforts to fundamentally improve the country’s natural environment.

It urges efforts to grow trees and grass following the inherent rules of the ecosystem to improve the stability of the ecosystem and its capacity for self-repair.

Xi has paid great attention to adopting a scientific approach to China’s high-quality land greening and has on many occasions called for more efforts in promoting afforestation and protecting forest resources.

According to forestry and grassland authorities, China has successfully halted the expansion of desertification, with the desertification area shrinking by an annual average of 2,424 square kilometers.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-08-24/President-Xi-inspects-forest-farm-in-Hebei-Province-12YMORjQ9yM/index.html

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmCnFzc2lU

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Pngme, Raises $15M Series A to Power the Future of Financial Services in Africa

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Pngme, the financial data infrastructure and machine learning-as-a-service platform, has raised a further $15 million in Series A funding as it sets out to grow its financial data platform. The round was led by Octopus Ventures and comes less than a year after its $3 million seed round.

Across the financial services sector, financial institutions and fintechs are racing to offer fully customized user experiences and financial products tailored to their customers’ needs. Pngme allows financial institutions and fintechs to collect and aggregate financial data at scale. Its mobile SDK and data processing pipelines make it easy to collect alternative financial data and unify it with other data sources to create a holistic picture of an individual’s financial behavior.

Octopus Ventures are joined by Lateral Capital, Unshackled Ventures, Raptor Group, Two Small Fish Ventures, Aruwa Capital Management, Future Africa, EchoVC, The51 and a talented group of individual angel investors including RallyCap’s Hayden Simmons, Plaid’s Dan Khan, former COO of RBC Capital Markets Richard Talbot, and Intersect VC’s Kyle Ellicott among others. 

“When we first met the team, they blew us away with a grand vision and deep understanding of the financial services challenges on the continent. The elegance of the technology solution, combined with an exceptional team and strong market traction with large institutions underlines our belief that Pngme will power the next generation of financial services in Africa.” Tosin Agbabiaka , fintech investor at Octopus Ventures 

Pngme is using the Series A to expand its executive team with the hiring of Lorraine Kageni Maina as Chief Strategy Officer and Nick Masson as Chief Technology Officer. Lorraine brings corporate experience in sub-Saharan Africa from Banking, FMCG, and Technology. Nick led large enterprise scale engineering teams at WeWork and joins Pngme with an ambitious vision to scale Pngme’s cutting edge technology.

“With this fresh injection of capital we are not only scaling up our data processing and machine learning capabilities, but also building a robust team that can deliver on our mission of financial inclusion.” Brendan Playford, CEO of Pngme

Pngme’s partners include a global credit bureau, Renmoney, Credpal, Simplefi, Kuda and other Tier 1 African Banks who use the Pngme platform and their data science services to offer data and machine learning-driven products and user experiences to their customers.

“Pngme’s infrastructure has processed billions of data points from hundreds of financial institutions across sub-Saharan Africa and we plan to double down on our Insights Library and expand our third party data connections to other markets over the next year.” Cate Rung, COO of Pngme

Press images. 
www.pngme.com
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‫أرباح شركةسيجين للربع الثاني من عام 2021 تبين نمو إيراداتها بنسبة 11 بالمائة سنويًا

– الإيرادات المُحققة البالغة 303.7 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 269.1 مليون دولار أمريكي) هو رقم قياسي للربع الثاني من العام، بزيادة قدرها 11 بالمائة سنويًا

– تحقيق إيرادات النصف الأول من عام 2021 بما يبلغ 655.5 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 580.8 مليون دولار أمريكي) بنسبة 58 بالمائة اعتمادًا على إجمالي المبيعات في السنة المالية 2020

– توقع ظروف السوق المواتية في النصف الثاني وسط زيادة الإقبال على إجراء اختبارات فيروس كوفيد-19 نتيجةً للانتشار السريع لمتحور دلتا

 سول، كوريا الجنوبية, 24 أغسطس 2021 /PRNewswire/ — أعلنت شركة Seegene (KQ 096530) التي تعد إحدى الشركات الرائدة في مجال التكنولوجيا الحيوية والمتخصصة في مجال التشخيص الجزيئي اليوم عن النتائج المالية للربع الثاني المنتهي في 30 يونيو 2021.Logo

وذكرت التقارير الصادرة من شركة Seegene أن إجمالي مبيعاتها السنوية قد بلغ 303.7 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 269.1 مليون دولار أمريكي) بزيادة قدرها 11% مقارنة بنفس المدة من العام المنصرم، أمّا الربح التشغيلي فقد شهد انخفاضًا سنويًا طفيفًا حيث بلغ 144.2 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 127.8 مليون دولار أمريكي)، إذ اعتمدت الشركة استراتيجيات مختلفة لتحقيق نموها طويل الأجل، بما في ذلك الاستثمارات في مجالات البحث والتطوير، واستقدام موظفين أكفاء تخصصوا في قطاع التشخيص الجزيئي، وفي الواقع، فقد أنفقت شركة Seegene مبلغًا وقدره 33.2 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 29.4 مليون دولار أمريكي) على نفقات البحث والتطوير في النصف الأول من عام 2021 فقط، وهو ما يتجاوز إجمالي نفقات البحث والتطوير للعام السابق البالغة 26.2 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 23.2 مليون دولار أمريكي)، وبلغ أيضًا عدد الموظفين 1008 موظف اعتبارًا من يونيو 2021، بزيادة قدرها 42% من نهاية عام 2020.

ومع ذلك سجلّت الشركة نموًا كبيرًا في إجمالي إيرادات النصف الأول لعام 2021 بقيمة قدرها 655.5 مليار وون كوري جنوبي (ما يعادل 580.8 مليون دولار أمريكي)، وهو ما يمثل بدوره نموًا كبيرًا بنسبةٍ قدرها 84% مقارنةً بالنصف الأول من عام 2020، و58% من إجمالي الإيرادات السنوية المُحققة لعام 2020. وعلى الرغم من ارتفاع معدلات مبيعات الشركة السنوية في الربع الثاني، إلّا أنه أظهر انخفاضًا بنسبة 14% مقارنة بالربع السنوي السابق. وأوضح مسؤول الشركة أن الانخفاض الطفيف في إجمالي الإيرادات يرجع إلى حد كبير إلى سياسة التسعير الصادرة عن الشركة والتي وُظّفت توظيفًا استراتيجيًا يهدف إلى ضمان حصة الشركة في السوق العالمية. ونظرًا أن البلدان الأوروبية بدأت بحملات التطعيم مؤخرًا، فربما أسهم ذلك في تراجع معتدل في الإيرادات.

وفي الوقت نفسه، تبدو توقعات الشركة للنصف الثاني من العام مبشرةً بالخير نسبيًا، إذ يتزايد الطلب على مجموعات أدوات اختبار كوفيد-19 بفضل سياسة تسعير الشركة وبسبب ظهور تحورات كوفيد-19 شديدة العدوى، مثل متحور دلتا، فضلاً عن ذلك، تتزايد مبيعات الكواشف التشخيصية غير المرتبطة بفيروس كوفيد-19 والأدوات الأخرى بطريقةٍ مستمرةٍ، وبالتالي من المرجح أن تظهر النتائج المالية للشركة أداءً إيجابيًا في النصف الثاني من عام 2021،

وقد أوضح ميونغكون كيم، مدير عام أول في إدارة المعلومات والعلاقات العامة قائلًا: “ما زال توقع تطورات الوباء صعبا نوعًا ما، ولكن من الضروري إجراء فحوصات المراقبة في ظل ظهور تحورات الفيروس الجديدة. فالكواشف المتعددة الأهداف التي تصنعها الشركة قادرةً على اكتشاف تحورات كوفيد-19 الرئيسية في اختبار واحد مع تقديمها بأسعارها تنافسية أيضًا”. وأضاف: “بفضل قيامنا أيضًا بتوسيع نطاق سوقنا في مناطق جديدة، مثل بلدان آسيا وأمريكا اللاتينية، سنصبح قادرين على تحقيق نتائج ذات قيمة على الساحة العالمية”.

وون كوري جنوبي/دولار أمريكي = 1,128.55 (30/06/2021) سعر الصرف الحالي

الشعار – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1357790/Seegene_logo_Logo.jpg

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Laserfiche Announces Spark EMEA, an Event for Business Leaders and Technologists Navigating the Future of Work

LONDON, Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Laserfiche  announced today that registration is now open for Laserfiche Spark EMEA, a live video webcast showcasing product insights and strategies for driving enterprise-wide digital transformation. The leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation is hosting a virtual event under the theme of “Ready to Reimagine,” and invites attendees to explore how organisations throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa can implement Laserfiche to transform and modernise operations. The free broadcast will air 1st September 2021.

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“The COVID-19 crisis has re-prioritised digital transformation, compacting years of change in just several months,” said Laserfiche President Karl Chan. “Digital adoption has accelerated in every area of the enterprise, from internal operations and supply chain interaction to the customer experience. We are excited to engage with the Laserfiche EMEA community to share knowledge and experiences in using Laserfiche solutions to recover, rebuild and reimagine the enterprise.”

Laserfiche Spark EMEA will cover topics designed to equip business leaders and technologists with the knowledge necessary for the increasingly complex and rapidly changing business landscape:

  • Maintain GDPR Compliance with Confidence: GDPR has immense influence over how today’s businesses and organisations around the world manage information. Learn from Reynold Leming, chair of the Information and Records Management Society, about how you can bolster compliance efforts using Laserfiche.
  • Why the Time is Right for Cloud: Discover how your organisation can thrive with the flexibility and resiliency provided by cloud technology.
  • What You Need to Know About Hybrid: Learn why today’s organisations are integrating all kinds of cloud services into their digital ecosystem.

“As employee and customer expectations reshape the future of work, we are committed to providing enterprises with the solutions and tools to navigate new business environments,” said Laserfiche UK Business Manager Attar Naderi. “Laserfiche Spark offers members of our EMEA community insights and best practices tailored to regionally-specific experiences, with solutions that align with long-term strategies and enhance organisational agility.”

In addition to resources such as best practices, digital guides, action plans and frameworks, Laserfiche Spark attendees will also gain complimentary access to certification courses, fostering ongoing education about Laserfiche and the strategies needed to succeed in today’s increasingly digital, connected, and fast-changing workplace.

For more information and to register for Laserfiche Spark EMEA session, click here.

Notes to Editors

About Laserfiche

Laserfiche is the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation. Through powerful workflows, electronic forms, document management and analytics, the Laserfiche® platform accelerates how business gets done, enabling leaders to focus on growth across the enterprise.

Laserfiche pioneered the paperless office with enterprise content management. Today, Laserfiche’s cloud-first development approach incorporates innovations in machine learning and AI to enable organizations in more than 80 countries to transform into digital businesses. Customers in every industry — including government, education, financial services, healthcare and manufacturing — use Laserfiche to boost productivity, scale their business and deliver digital-first customer experiences.

Laserfiche employees in offices around the world are committed to the company’s vision of empowering customers and inspiring people to reimagine how technology can transform lives.

Connect with Laserfiche:

Laserfiche Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

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