Spatial engineering startup raised $6.8M to-date to position itself for wave of commercial deployments with major brands and venues

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14, 2023 — Rypplzz, creators of Interlife®, a multi-patented geo-location platform, today announced that it has raised $3 million in seed funding, led by sports technology investment firm KB Partners, with participation from Triptyq Capital. The funding round brings the company’s total capital raised to $6.8 million.

To keep up with demand, Rypplzz will use the funding to further scale its product and grow its team, with a particular focus on hiring more technical staff. As the company moves into the commercialization phase, it is gearing up for a wave of new deployments. In the past year, Rypplzz has run several successful pilot programs, enhanced its technology, and has formed strategic alliances with some of the key players in its target industry. Rypplzz also collaborated with music artist Grimes, who leveraged the technology to host the first-ever Augmented Reality Art Rave at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

“The technology industry is fiercely competitive, so for Rypplzz to garner this level of interest from investors, partners, and customers at this stage is a testament to the value we’re creating and the void we’re filling in the market,” said Josh Pendrick, CEO of Rypplzz. “We have an ambitious vision for the future of spatial technology, and we look forward to expanding our team to continue meeting demands and further evolving our capabilities. Rypplzz is entering a critical phase in its journey, and we’re confident that we’ll rise to the occasion.”

To date, Rypplzz has cultivated impressive partnerships with notable brands and venues such as the 27-acre Tucson Convention Center, Cisco Sports Media Group, SkyPath Security, Inc.™ with its Mobile Defense Platform™ and a major US sports league. By turning airspace into monetizable engagement opportunities, Rypplzz’s technology is powering groundbreaking AR-based fan experiences, precise wayfinding and traffic analytics, geotargeting and a host of tech-enabled crowd management capabilities.

“The lines between spectators and participants are blurring in sports, demanding a paradigm shift in how sports properties and brands connect with fans,” said Keith Bank, Founder and CEO, KB Partners. “Rypplzz clearly sees this transformation taking shape, and it’s pioneering a future where fan engagement is seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of the sporting experience, both physical and digital. Its cutting-edge geolocation platform serves as the backbone of this revolution, enabling a level of personalization and immersivity that was once unimaginable. With an unwavering commitment to innovation and a proven track record, we are confident that Rypplzz will redefine the boundaries of fan engagement and set a new standard that all will follow.”

GPS’ precision has traditionally been limited to about 10-20 feet of accuracy. Rypplzz has created an algorithm to use radio frequency to track devices down to six-inch accuracy in three dimensions. The platform enables the ability to program digital files to the precise three-dimensional coordinates of airspace and those digital files can interact with phones and other types of internet-connected devices.

“Triptyq Capital is thrilled to support the audacious visionaries behind Rypplzz. Their groundbreaking positioning technology has the potential to catalyze the next generation of mobile and 3D revolution on the internet,” said Bertrand Nepveu, Co-Founding Partner at Triptyq Capital. “At the dynamic intersection of the physical and digital realms, a robust infrastructure is paramount. Rypplzz’s innovation not only tackles the challenges of latency and performance optimization in high-density environments, but also pioneers transformative experiences in media, entertainment, and sports. By unlocking the potential of spatial computing and the internet of things, Rypplzz is not just addressing hurdles; it’s shaping the future of immersive connectivity.”

For more information about Rypplzz, please visit: https://rypplzz.com/

About Rypplzz

Rypplzz revolutionizes the connection between the digital and physical world with its patented spatial OS. By pinpointing device locations with an accuracy of 6 inches (including altitude), Rypplzz surpasses GPS’s 10 to 20 feet precision. Moreover, it allows for the programming of digital files to precise coordinates in the real world, making the surrounding air “intelligent.” This versatile platform provides substantial benefits across all verticals, and it already has traction in sports, entertainment, security, AR/VR, and retail. As precise geolocation continues to gain importance, Rypplzz’s patent portfolio continues to appreciate, positioning it as a frontrunner.

Media Contact: 
Lee Regal
[email protected] 

SOURCE Rypplzz

Preclinical biotechnology company initially focusing on therapeutic drug development to promote remyelination in Multiple Sclerosis 

OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 14, 2023 — Cadenza Bio, Inc. (Cadenza), a privately-held biotechnology company focused on developing novel small molecule compounds for demyelinating and inflammatory diseases, has announced the initial closing of an oversubscribed $2.44M Series Seed financing. Plains Ventures led the financing, with participation from the Oklahoma Life Science Fund, Cortado Ventures, Boyd Street Ventures, and Illinois Ventures. The financing supports non-clinical safety and toxicology studies to advance Cadenza’s lead development candidate, CAD-1, for treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and additionally provides funds to develop secondary indication(s).

Launched in 2022 through a partnership between SmartHealth Catalyzer in Chicago and Ascend BioVentures in Oklahoma City, Cadenza Bio holds an exclusive license to technology developed through an academic research collaboration between Dr. John Katzenellenbogen of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Dr. Seema Tiwari-Woodruff of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and funded, in part, by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Fast Forward commercial research program.

MS is a potentially debilitating disease where the immune system attacks and removes the protective myelin layer covering on nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord, thereby inhibiting communication between the brain and the body and also causing nerve loss. This leads to a range of symptoms including fatigue, visual disturbances, muscle rigidity and spasms, mobility challenges, and pain. Current approved drugs for MS focus on dampening the immune attack to reduce disease recurrences, however, these treatments do not prevent deterioration of the nerves, nor do they repair ongoing damage. 

Drs. Katzenellenbogen and Tiwari-Woodruff discovered and, through UIUC and UCR, patented a novel series of potent and selective Estrogen Receptor β targeted compounds that uniquely impart beneficial neuroprotective and immunomodulatory effects. Therapeutic administration of these compounds results in the reversal of symptoms and functional motor improvement in animal models of MS, offering great potential to halt progression, promote repair, and restore function.

“We proudly support Cadenza’s efforts to dramatically improve the lives of patients suffering from demyelinating disease. Our conviction in Cadenza is multifaceted; CAD-1 is an elegant solution to a primary market need, there are strong opportunities for secondary indications in the future, and the company has assembled an extraordinary team of women to lead the way,” said Plains Ventures President and Managing Director, Justin Wilson.

“My co-founder Dr. Elaine Hamm and I are thrilled to have this strong syndicate of early investors supporting Cadenza’s drug development program,” said Dr. Carol Curtis, Chief Executive Officer of Cadenza Bio. “Our goal goes beyond incremental improvements. We are dedicated to breaking the cycle of disease and, in doing so, transforming lives. We aim not only to alleviate symptoms but to halt progression, promote repair and restore quality of life to enable full activity, empowering patients to regain control over their health.”

About Cadenza Bio, Inc.
Cadenza Bio, Inc. was founded in 2022 to accelerate and support the development of a series of novel, and highly selective Estrogen Receptor β (ERβ) targeting small-molecule compounds. We are dedicated to advancing therapeutic drugs that will make a meaningful impact in the lives of patients suffering from debilitating diseases. For more information please visit www.cadenza.bio

SOURCE Cadenza Bio, Inc.

Accelerating growth in serving global clients including the West and China amidst geopolitical tensions

SINGAPORE, Dec. 14, 2023 — ProfilePrint Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based technology company effecting significant changes in the agrifood industry, has announced the successful conclusion of its Series B funding round. The round was led by Tai Partners and participated by four of its existing shareholders, showcasing a strong vote of confidence in ProfilePrint’s AI-driven ingredient quality platform, underpinned by its patented digital food Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) technology.

This infusion of capital marks a significant milestone for ProfilePrint, catapulting the company into a position of enhanced capability and influence. The funds raised will propel the continued expansion of ProfilePrint’s mission to revolutionise the onerous processes within the agrifood sector through the transformative power of artificial intelligence. Presently deployed in nearly 50 locations, across 6 continents globally, ProfilePrint’s platform is already making waves.

One example in the space of coffee is ProfilePrint’s rapid growth in East Africa. Cotacof, a leading Tanzanian coffee exporter, has benefited from ProfilePrint’s solutions since early 2022. They experience significant efficiency gains with ProfilePrint – by acquiring digital fingerprints of green coffee bean samples in less than two minutes, and generating AI-powered assessment reports within seconds. This streamlined process empowers the team to swiftly identify specialty-grade coffee for export, especially during the Tanzania Coffee Board’s weekly auctions. “Much appreciation to our management for introducing this technology and supporting us to achieve ProfilePrint’s Al-driven profiling. Its patented food fingerprinting technology provides users an accessible, affordable, and portable methodology to predict outcomes at the point of use, within seconds. I am happy to be part of the project, it has been an amazing experience for me.” shares Kudrath Majid, the Quality Assurance Supervisor of Cotacof.

LOOKING AHEAD: INNOVATION UNVEILED

Beyond coffee, ProfilePrint has rapidly moved into other verticals such as cocoa, tea, juices and edible oils, and will be launching its latest flagship feature, Verify, a groundbreaking addition to its platform designed to serve different verticals. This innovative tool enables clients to seamlessly send digitalised sample reports through the ProfilePrint Platform. This feature facilitates instant viewing and approval of sample quality, eliminating the cumbersome process of sending physical pre-shipment samples for evaluation. This enhances efficiency, and results in significant time and cost savings for all parties involved.

“We are deeply impressed by what the ProfilePrint team has accomplished in such a short period of time,” expressed Zhang Haitao, the founding partner of Tai Partners. “As the world’s leading AI-driven ingredient quality platform, ProfilePrint is playing a crucial role in transforming the entire agrifood industry through the use of AI technology. We are proud to be partnering with ProfilePrint to support its continued growth both in the West and China.”

GLOBAL EXPANSION AND NETWORKING

This latest investment solidifies ProfilePrint’s market leadership, positioning the company for further market penetration in existing regions. Evolving from a local standalone ingredient profiler, ProfilePrint is set to metamorphose into a globally networked ingredient quality platform. The upcoming Partners module will enable companies to connect seamlessly on the ProfilePrint Platform, forming online partnerships that transcend geographical boundaries. ProfilePrint believes that this network-enabled collaboration will elevate the sourcing and transacting processes to unprecedented levels.

Alan Lai, Founder and CEO of ProfilePrint, remarked, “Against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions, ProfilePrint stays true to its fundamental mission of enhancing the buying and selling processes for agribusinesses, transcending geographical constraints. Situated in Singapore, a nation renowned for its political stability and neutrality in international affairs, ProfilePrint remains committed to preserving a stance of impartiality, cultivating trust among our international partners. Our dedication to the utmost security and privacy of our customers’ sensitive information, encapsulated in the digital fingerprints of their ingredients, is reinforced by Singapore’s rigorous data protection and privacy laws. Our recent attainment of the ISO 27001 certification stands as a tangible testament to the unwavering commitment we hold in this regard.”

The successful completion of this Series B round cements ProfilePrint’s position as an industry trailblazer and reaffirms its commitment to transforming the agrifood landscape globally with artificial intelligence. With ongoing innovation and strategic partnerships, ProfilePrint is poised to shape the future of the industry, one AI-driven solution at a time.

Media Assets can be downloaded here.

Website:              https://profileprint.ai/

LinkedIn:             https://www.linkedin.com/company/profileprint/

About ProfilePrint

ProfilePrint is an AI-driven ingredient quality platform powered by a patented digital food identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technology. ProfilePrint synthesises complex molecular data of ingredient samples into digital fingerprints, rapidly predicting its identity and quality, helping agribusinesses to buy and sell better. Backed by the world’s largest food ingredient conglomerates and international venture funds, ProfilePrint is a Singapore-based company with a global footprint.

About Tai Partners

Tai Partners is a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in disruptive technology companies globally. The fund has a global team that spans across Silicon Valley and Shanghai which supports entrepreneurs who aim to transform global industries with their technology solutions, helping them break into the Chinese market and thrive on a global scale.

SOURCE ProfilePrint

MONTREAL, Dec. 14, 2023 — Power Sustainable (the “Firm”), a climate-focused alternative asset manager, today released its inaugural Private Markets Sustainability Report (the “Report”). This Report reflects the sustainability efforts of Power Sustainable’s private markets activities, where its investment groups invest in businesses and projects which help promote decarbonization, build sustainable communities, and drive energy and resource efficiency.

“I am proud to present Power Sustainable’s first Private Markets Sustainability Report,” said Olivier Desmarais, Chairman and CEO of Power Sustainable. “This report reflects the deliberate and concerted effort our team has put into developing a sustainable investing approach that draws from best-in-class practices. Across all strategies, our Firm’s investment groups are united in a shared determination to have a positive impact on climate and society while targeting superior risk-adjusted returns.”

The Report also discusses the climate risks and opportunities for Power Sustainable’s private market activities, which is informed by the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures; it showcases the Firm’s community initiatives in the sustainability ecosystem, as it partners with liked-minded actors to catalyze capital at scale; it is published alongside the Firm’s answers to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) questionnaire; and it presents the results of the Firm’s first diversity, equity, and inclusion survey, which will guide its work going forward.

Power Sustainable will continue to target competitive returns and positive sustainability outcomes for the environment and society, and welcomes an active conversation among the sustainable finance community regarding the constant evolution and improvement of financial disclosures in this space.

About Power Sustainable

Power Sustainable is a climate-focused investment manager which finances companies and projects aiming for both competitive returns and positive sustainability outcomes. The Firm offers institutional investors exposure to alternative assets which aim to accelerate and scale sustainable solutions across multiple industries.

Power Sustainable is a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada (TSX: POW), an international management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Power Corporation’s core holdings are leading insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment businesses, including a portfolio of alternative asset investment platforms.

With just over CAD$4 billion in assets under management, Power Sustainable’s mission is to catalyze capital towards clean global solutions.

Contact

Ian Cameron
Director of Communications, Power Sustainable
438-308-7697
[email protected]

SOURCE Power Sustainable

Aeona AI is an initiative to curb the 90% failure rate of startups and the 70% failure rate of all businesses.

SEATTLE, Dec. 14, 2023 — JLEE and Associates, an innovative and disruptive technology firm, announces a new initiative to build a first-of-its-kind technology. Aeona AI is the world’s first AI chatbot platform for disruptive innovation. A revolutionary SaaS platform that aims to simplify and demystify approaches to achieve maximum growth with limited resources, thereby disrupting the failure rate of all businesses.

Aeona AI will use custom-trained and human vetted AI models to create a scenario and journey-based experience tailored to your specific business, industry, and application. Our AI platform incorporates deep learning and intelligence on global micro and macroeconomics and trends, serving as an always contextually aware, AI-driven, virtual CTO that works for you 24/7, internal to your organization.

“Whether you’re an early-stage startup or a large enterprise with limited resources for innovation projects, utilizing your talent and resources effectively to develop a proof of concept or a market-ready product rapidly is a specialized skill that requires decades of fail to success cycles, triumphs, contextual knowledge, and finely tuned instincts,” says Jimmie Lee, CEO and Founder of JLEE and Associates.

Our team has consistently delivered outstanding results, leading to over 200 startup ideas being transformed into products and validated through Series B. We have driven over $1 billion of growth and exits, and we’ve grown companies from sub-$100k to hundreds of millions in ARR. Igniting innovation and disruptive product development on demand is a challenging task that we have consistently risen to.

We have operated for several years, helping companies and organizations of all sizes achieve innovation and market disruptions. Currently, we are rapidly developing Aeona AI in stealth mode using a customer-led and product-led approach. Driving towards Q1 2024 launch. We are always looking for design partners and forward-thinking companies and organizations to utilize our products and services during development to drive their innovative and disruptive ideas.

For more information about JLEE and Associates, visit https://www.jlee.com.

Full Press Release: AEONA AI

About JLEE and Associates

JLEE and Associates was founded in late 2020 and is a wholly-owned, bootstrapped, Minority, and Black-owned business in Greater Seattle, WA. Our mission is to enhance life for all through innovative, disruptive technologies.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE JLEE

Conducting entirely virtual screens of multi-billion molecule virtual libraries, Deep Apple can quickly identify hits that promote specific signaling in GPCRs and other target classes

San Francisco-based company created by ATP with academic co-founders Georgios Skiniotis, Brian Shoichet, and John Irwin is discovering novel small molecules in a vastly expanded virtual chemical space, to tackle a wide range of diseases

Deep Apple emerges from stealth with a Series A commitment of $52 million from ATP

SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2023 — Apple Tree Partners (ATP), a leader in life sciences venture capital, today announced $52 million in Series A funding for its portfolio company Deep Apple Therapeutics, created and incubated by ATP to rapidly discover novel small molecule therapeutics for high-value targets through virtual screening of AI-generated virtual libraries. With a powerful discovery engine that combines ensemble cryo-EM, deep learning, and molecular docking screens of ultra-large libraries, Deep Apple can go from target identification to lead optimization in less than 12 months – a fraction of the industry standard time – and can pursue biological target signaling inaccessible to conventional discovery approaches. Deep Apple’s discovery engine is broadly applicable across disease areas and is particularly well-suited to expedited hit-finding against integral membrane proteins. The company currently is advancing multiple programs focused on GPCR modulators, a proven target class with applications in metabolic disorders, inflammation, immunology, and endocrine diseases.

Deep Apple’s drug discovery engine builds upon leading expertise and technologies from its academic co-founders: Georgios Skiniotis, Ph.D., of Stanford University, a world leader in cryo-EM and GPCR structural biology; Brian Shoichet, Ph.D., of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), a pioneer of virtual screening; and John Irwin, Ph.D., of UCSF, the computational library authority who created the widely used ZINC free virtual library of more than 10 billion synthesizable compounds.

“ATP created Deep Apple to revolutionize drug discovery in terms of speed, cost, and effectiveness,” said Spiros Liras, Ph.D., founding CEO of Deep Apple and a Venture Partner at ATP. “We brought together unique capabilities from our founders to build a true deep learning discovery engine that stands apart from the pack of AI-driven approaches to protein structure elucidation and drug discovery. Machine-learning enabled processing of cryo-EM data allows us to reveal biologically relevant conformations in the context of interactions with signaling partners – transient binding pockets that may be missed by static models and empirical screening methods. And our virtual large-scale docking enables us to quickly home in on the right drug for the right target.”

Deep Apple conducts in silico screening of billions of synthesizable compounds against orthosteric and allosteric binding sites in mere hours, and then computationally generates vast project-specific virtual libraries to discover proprietary chemotypes with desirable dockable and druggable properties. Wet-lab interrogations of the chosen virtual compounds feed back into the company’s deep learning models to continually improve predictive performance.

“Deep Apple exclusively uses virtual screening for hit identification, and we have achieved high-quality hits against difficult-to-drug targets at an extremely fast pace,” said Paul Da Silva Jardine, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Deep Apple and a Venture Partner at ATP. “Since we commenced operations last year, we have initiated multiple GPCR programs, including non-peptide/non-GLP-1 programs in obesity and weight management, as well as promising programs in inflammation and inflammatory disorders. And with the versatility of our discovery platform, GPCRs are only the tip of the iceberg.”

“ATP founds and builds companies that bring together critical technologies and efficient research plans for translation,” said Seth Harrison, M.D., ATP Founder and Managing Partner. “In my more than three decades of investing in biotech startups, particularly in early-stage drug discovery platform technology, I have never seen a company to move as rapidly as Deep Apple has, from chemical biological idea to development candidate, for high-value, difficult-to-address targets.”

About Deep Apple Therapeutics

In a vast, unexplored virtual chemical space, Deep Apple Therapeutics moves with unprecedented speed to discover novel small molecules for high-value targets. Deep Apple combines ensemble cryo-EM to explore receptor conformations; deep learning; and the docking of multi-billion compound libraries generated using the company’s proprietary Orchard.ai™ algorithm. Deep Apple’s deep learning discovery engine is built upon founder expertise in computational modeling, protein and target structure determination, large-scale molecular docking, and the elucidation of protein dynamics and conformational transitions. This structure-based, machine-learning driven drug design approach enables the company to rapidly advance novel candidates addressing well-validated targets in inflammatory, metabolic, and endocrine diseases. For more information, visit deepappletx.com.

About Apple Tree Partners

Apple Tree Partners (ATP) is a leader in life sciences venture capital, with a 25-year track record of translating emerging scientific advances into novel innovative treatments. ATP creates companies starting at various stages, from pre-IP ideas to asset spinouts, investing in them from seed stage through IPO and beyond. The core of ATP’s strategy is providing flexible capital and access to a world-class team of venture partners and EIRs, to build sustainable, research-driven enterprises that deliver therapeutics to improve human lives. For more information, visit www.appletreepartners.com.

SOURCE Deep Apple

AMSTERDAM and LONDON, Dec. 14, 2023 — Hivello, an innovative leader in the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) sector, proudly announces the successful closure of a USD$1million pre-seed investment round. This strategic investment is bolstered by the backing of industry visionaries such as NGC, Blockchain Founders Fund, Side Door Ventures, IDG, Bing Ventures, MEXC Exchange, XT.com Exchange, Genesis Block, and NxGen. 

At the helm of Hivello are Domenic Carosa and Andrew Smith, co-founders of Banxa Holdings Inc. – a regulated payment entity listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX.v) renowned for its blockchain payment solutions. Leveraging their extensive experience, they are now focused on building a new wave of decentralized infrastructure with Hivello.

Domenic Carosa, Chairman and Co-Founder of Hivello, shares: “This is a pivotal step forward. At Hivello, we’re committed to reshaping infrastructure by making decentralized systems universally accessible. Our deep roots in the blockchain payment sector through Banxa give us the unique ability to understand and innovate in the DePIN space. With the unwavering support of our investors, we’re poised to address the burgeoning needs of blockchain-based applications with robust, democratized infrastructure.”

As Hivello gears up for its technological unveiling this Christmas, the integration of up to 100 DePINs over the coming 12 months is anticipated to mark a significant leap in the availability of decentralized services.

Roger Lim, Founding Partner of NGC Ventures, comments: “Innovation is at the core of NGC’s investment strategy, and Hivello embodies the transformative technology we seek. Domenic Carosa and Andrew Smith’s track record with Banxa stands as a strong indicator of Hivello’s potential. We’re excited to play a role in Hivello’s journey as they aim to redefine the DePIN space and catalyze the evolution of blockchain applications.”

Tobias Bauer, Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund, adds: “Supporting Hivello’s mission to democratize decentralized infrastructure is a thrilling opportunity. We see immense value in their approach to making such infrastructure widely accessible, and we are confident that Hivello’s platform will significantly impact the blockchain ecosystem.”

This investment round, coupled with the renowned blockchain payment expertise of Hivello’s leadership, positions the company at the forefront of the DePIN industry.

For more information about Hivello and its upcoming launch, visit www.hivello.com

About Hivello:

Hivello, led by distinguished blockchain payment solution pioneers, is dedicated to transforming the accessibility of decentralized services globally. As a leader in the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) sector, Hivello stands at the vanguard of democratizing access to decentralized infrastructure.

Contact:
Domenic Carosa
Co-Founder & Chairman
Hivello Holdings Ltd
[email protected]
+61 411 19 69 79

SOURCE Hivello

• First investment in a Japanese trading company and a Chinese pharma company.
• Accelerating new drug development by investing in late-phase clinical trials.

TOKYO, Dec. 13, 2023 — The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced today an investment of approximately 1.3 billion yen (US$8.8 million¹) for the development of new drugs for malaria and Chagas disease.²

Malaria is an infectious parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitos that affects approximately 250 million people annually and was responsible for approximately 620,000 deaths in 2021.³ The African region constitutes a staggering 95% of global malaria cases, and children under the age of 5 account for 80% of all malaria deaths in this region.

The GHIT Fund invests in new product development with the aim of contributing to global health by facilitating collaborations between Japanese technology and innovation and global institutions to address these neglected infectious diseases. This is the first investment by the GHIT Fund in a general trading company, Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni), and a pharmaceutical company in China, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co., Ltd. (FOSUN PHARMA), with the aim of accelerating the development of new drugs by focusing on investments in late-phase clinical trials.

First investment in a Japanese trading company and a Chinese pharma company — new malaria drug in a phase III trial by Marubeni, Fosun Pharma, MORU, and MMV
The GHIT Fund will invest approximately 500 million yen (US$3.3 million¹) in a clinical phase III trial for a triple artemisinin combination drug against malaria, in partnership with a leading Japanese integrated trading and investment business conglomerate, Marubeni, a major Chinese pharmaceutical and health care company, FOSUN PHARMA, a Thailand-based research collaboration of universities, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), and the product development partnership Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), which provides technical support and market access expertise.  

This drug candidate should have a significant public health benefit as it is expected to play an important role in the fight against artemisinin partial resistance (ART-R), which is now observed widely in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) of Southeast Asia⁴ and to some extent in several African countries, including Rwanda and Uganda. Importantly, the project includes the development of a co-formulated child-friendly version, given that most malaria cases are in children.³

800-million-yen investment in a phase IIb study of the new anti-malarial drug candidate SJ733 as a radical cure for P. vivax
The GHIT Fund will also invest approximately 800 million yen (US$5.4 million¹) in the anti-malarial drug project by Eisai Co., Ltd. and the University of Kentucky to develop a radical cure for P. vivax malaria. SJ733, an antimalarial drug candidate, has completed a Phase IIa trial for single administration and has shown efficacy and tolerability against P. vivax malaria. With this new investment, the project aims to shorten the treatment period by using SJ733 in combination with the existing drug tafenoquine.

Dr. Osamu Kunii, CEO of the GHIT Fund, said “We are very excited to have Marubeni and FOSUN PHARMA as our new product development partners. It is an important step forward to invest in the development of antimalarial drugs in late-phase clinical trials to advance commercialization. The number of malaria cases and deaths in children under 5 years old is an urgent issue. This investment will make a significant contribution to reducing the burden of malaria globally, especially among young children.”

In addition, the GHIT Fund will invest approximately 16 million yen (US$0.1 million¹) in Nagasaki University and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) for a screening project against Chagas disease, which is one of the neglected tropical diseases.  

As of December 14, 2023, there are 50 ongoing projects, including 19 discovery projects, 18 preclinical projects and 13 clinical trials⁵ in the GHIT Fund’s portfolio. The total amount of investments since 2013 is 31.6 billion yen (US$211 million).

The GHIT Fund is a Japan-based international public-private partnership (PPP) fund that was formed between the Government of Japan, multiple pharmaceutical companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GHIT Fund invests in and manages an R&D portfolio of development partnerships aimed at addressing neglected diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, which afflict the world’s vulnerable and underserved populations. In collaboration with global partners, the GHIT Fund mobilizes Japanese industry, academia, and research institutes to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases.
https://www.ghitfund.org/en

Appendix 1. Project Details    

G2022-205

G2022-218

S2023-121

*All amounts are listed at an exchange rate of USD1 = JPY149.52, the approximate exchange rate on October 31, 2023.

Appendix 2. Investment Overview (as of December 14, 2023)

Investments to date 
Total investments: 31.6 billion yen (US$211 million¹)
Total invested projects: 123 (50 active projects and 73 completed projects)

To learn more about GHIT Fund’s investments, please visit
Investment Overview: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/overview/en
Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfolio/en
Advancing Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/advancingportfolio/en
Clinical Candidates: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/clinicalcandidates/en

For more information, contact:
Katy Lenard at +1-301-280-5719 or [email protected]
Mina Ohata at +81-36441-2032 or [email protected]

SOURCE GHIT Fund

“We are very excited to already have multiple Tier 1 customers engaging in AR/VR and consumer electronics applications where Myrias IP and expertise provide unrivaled cost, performance and lifetime advantages over existing etched or printed polymer-based processes,” said Myrias CEO Patrick Tan. “We are particularly excited to work with Asia Optical to develop and deploy a new class of optics that enables products that are compact, lighter and easier to assemble at significantly lower costs.”

Development and adoption of the optical technologies developed by the Watkins Group is poised to accelerate substantially in Massachusetts thanks to a $5 million award from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The grant will enable UMass Amherst to establish an open-access Advanced Optics Fabrication and Characterization Facility, a unique resource available to industry partners and researchers across the state.

Myrias Optics 

Founded in 2021 by Professor James Watkins, Myrias Optics has secured exclusive worldwide license to six foundational patents using nano-particle formulations.

Asia Optical

Asia Optical (TSE: 3019) is engaged in the production and sales of optical lenses and optoelectronic products.

UMass Amherst

Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and New England’s leading public research university. Tenon Ventures Tenon is a new Venture Capital firm formed by serial entrepreneurs and advisors to help craft the next generation of deep-tech ideas into successful companies. HOSS Investment HOSS Investment is a Taiwan investment firm focused on companies in advanced manufacturing and new deep-tech technologies.

SOURCE Myrias Optics, Inc.