Roambee sets a new benchmark in retail logistics by cutting dwell times, boosting stock availability, and increasing supply chain precision with state-of-the-art container tracking.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and LONDON, Nov. 13, 2024 — Roambee’s supply chain visibility and intelligence platform is enabling the UK retailer Tesco, to work towards achieving a reduction in dwell times and enhanced stock accuracy across 3,000 locations. This advanced solution uses artificial intelligence and has provided Tesco with real-time visibility throughout 23,000+ unique container journeys covering more than 6.21 million miles, spanning its extensive rail and road logistics network.

Previously, Tesco used third-party data to track thousands of their containers across multiple zones, terminals, and stores, but with Roambee’s platform, there is now real-time access to container locations, to verify deliveries, quickly resolve issues, and maintain inventory accuracy. This has significantly improved operational efficiency and helped resolve issues related to missing deliveries.

“Roambee’s platform has allowed us to track and manage our container movements across rail and road much more effectively. We now have more real-time visibility, and don’t need to rely on third-party data to confirm deliveries and track containers. We can trace the location of our shipments at any time, reducing delivery errors and ensuring our stores are stocked efficiently. This real-time insight has allowed us to resolve issues faster, reduce dwell times, and increase stock accuracy across our network,” said Benjamen Smith, Head of Primary, Global and Rail Logistics at Tesco.

Tesco has equipped all its containers in the UK with solar-powered sensors, monitoring groceries and other products being shipped 24/7. With this integration, Tesco has also heightened security on shipments with real-time security signals, including route deviations, delays and unplanned stoppages.

“By achieving this remarkable level of visibility in container movements and improving stock accuracy on cost-effective but less predictable modes like rail, Tesco has set a new standard for supply chain efficiency. We are proud to support them with a technology solution that drives success,” said Sanjay Sharma, CEO of Roambee. “As global supply chains become more interconnected and autonomous, Roambee’s platform positions our customers to lead this transformation, opening new possibilities for growth and resilience.”

Roambee’s platform also integrates with Tesco’s scheduling systems to monitor container movement, arrival, departure times, dwell times, and estimated times of arrival (ETA) across its supply chain. These real-time signals have reduced inefficiencies, eliminating the need for the store to contact multiple departments to track the location of their products, ensuring timely deliveries.

Building on this success, Tesco plans to continue working with Roambee’s real-time visibility technology across different product categories.

For more information about Roambee and its cutting-edge supply chain solutions, visit Roambee.

About Roambee

Roambee is an AI-powered, real-time supply chain visibility & intelligence provider enabling on-time, in-full, in-condition delivery of shipments and assets anywhere in the world. 300+ enterprises are improving customer experience, service levels, product quality, order-to-cash cycles, business efficiencies, sustainability, and automating logistics with Roambee’s real-time insights & foresights. More than 50 of them are the top 100 global companies in the Pharma, Food, Electronics, Chemicals, Automotive, Packaging & Containers, and Logistics sectors. Roambee’s innovative AI-powered platform, and end-to-end monitoring solutions, deliver reliable business signals built on item-level, firsthand IoT sensor data and non-sensor inputs. The outcome is 70% better multimodal ETAs, OTIF deliveries, 80%+ cold chain compliance, and more, including 4X+ ROI on supply chain asset performance. To learn more visit, https://www.roambee.com 

About Tesco

Tesco is a leading retailer, committed to serving customers with affordable, healthy, and sustainable food. With over 330,000 UK colleagues, Tesco aims to make life easier for customers by offering a wide range of products and services, including groceries, clothing, and mobile services. To learn more visit, https://www.tescoplc.com/

Media Contact

Premsai Sainathan
Vice President – Growth & Product Marketing
Roambee Corporation
+1 (408) 461-5221
[email protected]

SOURCE Roambee Corporation

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AI-powered platform enables large employers to discover, recover, and prevent healthcare overspending; Alliant Insurance Services, Mattel among companies using Bluespine

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2024 — Bluespine, an AI-driven claims cost reduction platform for self-insured employers, today announced it has raised $7.2 million in a seed funding round led by Team8, with participation from strategic partners, to tackle medical overbilling, which is a symptom of the $300 billion fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) healthcare crisis. With employer healthcare expenses up 14% over the past two years, Bluespine’s innovative solution helps plan sponsors to lower costs without compromising care, protecting employers from financial leakage and helping them meet their fiduciary obligations.

As much as 80% of medical bills are estimated to contain errors, underscoring the urgent need for innovative solutions in healthcare cost management. Bluespine applies proprietary AI to unlock new capabilities that help self-insured employers identify, recover, and prevent overbilled claims at scale.

Bluespine was co-founded by technology experts with extensive experience in AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, and enterprise solutions. Co-Founder and CEO David Talinovsky brings over 20 years of experience leading global operations servicing Fortune 50 companies. Gal Frishman, Co-Founder and CTO, previously led a unit of 120 researchers and AI experts at IBM, and Yossi Mansano, Co-Founder and VP of R&D, is the former GM of Fortinet in Israel and has over two decades of experience developing deep system architectures to serve Fortune 100 companies. The company was established under Team8’s unique Venture Creation model, led by Team8 Partner Galia Beer-Gabel.

Together, Bluespine’s founders have assembled an early team of subject matter experts with a combined 25 years of experience working with leading US carriers. Bluespine is supported by a group of advisors who are former Benefits executives from Fortune 50 companies and healthcare thought leaders. The funding round will accelerate Bluespine’s adoption by US employers and brokers, and support new roles in research & development.

“Bluespine is revolutionizing how self-insured employers manage their healthcare costs, comply with ERISA regulations, and fulfill their fiduciary duties,” said David Talinovsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Bluespine. “Our goal is to fundamentally transform how companies approach healthcare benefits, leading to better outcomes and reduced costs for self-insured employers and employees.”

Unlike traditional auditing methods, which typically review only 1% of high-cost claims, Bluespine’s proprietary AI analyzes 100% of claims with high precision. Bluespine is the first-of-its kind solution to scan claims using an evidence-based approach that incorporates concepts from the cyber and anti-fraud domains. The platform leverages multiple data sources, including summary plan documents and carrier billing guidelines, to tailor its claims reviews to each employer’s specific health plan designs and coverage terms. Bluespine’s proprietary LLM model is optimized to catch even the most elusive overbilling scenarios.

“Solving the financial dimension of healthcare won’t fix everything, but it can drive efficiencies that ultimately enhance patient care,” said Team8 Managing Partner Rakefet Russak-Aminoach. “Bluespine is initially focused on helping self-insured employers to reduce costs and improve employee well-being, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With hundreds of billions lost to medical overbilling across sectors – including fully-insured companies and governments – we see a tremendous opportunity for Bluespine to transform the market.”

In addition to attracting several large employers, such as the leading toy company Mattel and the DavidShield insurance company, Bluespine is partnering with leading brokers, including Alliant Insurance Services, to enhance their capabilities and service offerings.

“After evaluating numerous claims analysis solutions, Bluespine’s AI-powered platform stood out as best-in-class for claims reviews,” said John Byers, Senior VP at Alliant Insurance Services. “We look forward to incorporating their solution into our offering and supporting our clients in addressing unwarranted healthcare expenses.”

About Bluespine 
Bluespine is an AI-driven claims cost reduction solution that empowers self-insured employers to lower annual healthcare spending while mitigating financial and legal risks around plan administration. Founded in 2023 by a team of seasoned technology and cybersecurity experts, Bluespine’s mission is to reduce wasteful healthcare spending and empower companies to better serve their employees’ health needs. Headquartered in Manhattan and backed by industry leaders, Bluespine serves Fortune 500 companies and other large self-insured employers, healthcare brokers, and auditors. For more information about Bluespine and its AI-powered healthcare cost-reduction solution, visit https://www.bluespine.io/. 

About Team8
Team8 is a global Venture-Creation and Venture Capital Fund that creates and invests in companies focusing on Cybersecurity, Data & AI, Fintech, and Digital Health. Team8’s signature Venture-Creation model is designed to identify meaningful problems, create theses on potential solutions, and build and invest in innovative companies that tackle these challenges.

Team8 leverages an in-house multi-disciplinary team of more than 80 company-builders, together with a dedicated community of global C-level executives and thought leaders. Team8 partners with world-class founders and works with them to increase the probability of success via a disciplined, repeatable process from inception through product-market fit, growth, and beyond. Team8’s unique platform brings together specialized expertise across technology, go-to-market, HR, and strategy.

Media Contact:
Joe LoBello
LoBello Communications 
[email protected]
516-902-2694

SOURCE Bluespine

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Firm Concludes Fundraising for Alkali Fund VI, a Closed-End Fund Primarily Pursing Opportunistic Credit Investments

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2024 — The D. E. Shaw group, a global investment and technology development firm, announced today that it has raised $1 billion in commitments for D. E. Shaw Alkali Fund VI (“Alkali VI”), a closed-end vehicle that is expected to pursue a multi-strategy investment style and invest primarily in corporate debt, structured credit, synthetic securitizations, and other specialty asset classes. The fund’s investor base includes endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and pensions plans, among others. External investors who had invested in a previous Alkali vintage contributed more than $500 million of the total, while the firm’s entities, principals, employees, and other investment funds contributed more than $70 million of the total.

The D. E. Shaw group has invested in private markets for much of its history and launched its first private credit fund in 2008. The Alkali Series, launched in 2012, is a family of closed-end, intermediate-duration investment funds that pursue a multi-strategy approach and focus primarily on less-liquid opportunities in credit, credit-related, and other markets. The closing of Alkali VI brings aggregate commitments across the Alkali funds to approximately $3.9 billion.

“We appreciate the continued support from our investors for our private fund offerings and are enthusiastic about the opportunity set we see for Alkali VI,” said Edwin Jager, Managing Director and Executive Committee member. Mr. Jager oversees the D. E. Shaw group’s Fundamental Equities, Asset-Backed Strategies, Convertible Securities, Corporate Credit, and Private Credit investment units, which collectively deploy capital across public and private equity and credit markets.

Alkali VI is overseen by the D. E. Shaw group’s Private Credit investment team, in close collaboration with the firm’s other credit-oriented investment teams. In total, these teams consist of approximately 200 investment, technology, data analysis, and research professionals. Managing Directors Rich McKinney, Marianna Fassinotti, and Seth Charnow are co-portfolio managers for the fund.

“We expect Alkali VI will benefit from the depth of our investment teams, our collaboration across asset classes in public and private markets, and our extensive analytical and technological capabilities,” Jager added.

About the D. E. Shaw group

The D. E. Shaw group is a global investment and technology development firm with more than $60 billion in investment capital as of September 1, 2024, and offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Since our founding in 1988, our firm has earned a reputation for successful investing based on innovation, careful risk management, and the quality and depth of our staff. We have a significant presence in the world’s capital markets, investing in a wide range of companies and financial instruments in both developed and developing economies. For more information, visit deshaw.com.

This press release is provided for the reader’s information only and does not constitute investment advice or convey an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or other financial products.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE D. E. Shaw group

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SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13, 2024 — Celesta Capital, a global deep tech venture capital firm, today announced it is welcoming 2013 Nobel Laureate Dr. James Rothman as a Senior Advisor. Dr. Rothman will apply his expertise as a biomedical researcher and executive to support Celesta’s bio-convergence strategy, which invests in companies developing innovative healthcare applications that merge medical science disciplines with technologies such as semiconductors, bioprinting, and AI.

The addition will further bolster Celesta’s biotech ecosystem, leveraging Dr. Rothman’s extensive network, as well as his expertise in research and commercialization. Dr. Rothman was the recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, honored for his discoveries around the transfer of materials among cells, advancing understanding of cellular processes such as release of insulin into the blood and entry of viruses into cells. He currently serves as Chairman of the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Cell Biology and Director of the Nanobiology Institute on Yale’s West Campus.

“There has never been a more exciting time for researchers and entrepreneurs working to advance human health through technology,” said Rothman. “The companies we are helping to nurture at Celesta are developing innovations with true potential to revolutionize critical areas of healthcare such as diagnostics and drug discovery. Celesta is at the forefront of this space and I’m excited to pair my knowledge of the biotech sector with their deep understanding of emerging technology.”

“Jim is one of the most accomplished medical science researchers in the world and we’re delighted to welcome him to Celesta,” said Celesta Founding Managing Partner Michael Marks. “His expertise will be invaluable to our growing portfolio of bio-convergence companies as they pursue such bold visions to advance healthcare.”

Dr. Rothman will closely advise select Celesta portfolio companies, as well as serving as a Board Director at many. Current Celesta biotech and bio-convergence investments include:

• Alveo Technologies: Alveo is creator of an adaptable multiplex pathogen testing platform able to detect a wide range of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Alveo’s handheld analyzer and cloud-based analysis brings diagnostics out of the lab and into the field for a wide range of human, animal, and environmental applications.
• Magnetic Insight: Magnetic Insight is spearheading Magnetic Particle Imaging, a groundbreaking non-radioactive alternative to nuclear medicine that offers a more economical and sustainable solution for diagnosing cancer and heart disease and can enable entirely new imaging applications.
• Prellis Biologics: Prellis has developed an antibody screening platform which recaptures the human immune system within 3D-printed organoids, enabling the rapid discovery of diverse, high-quality antibodies for next generation therapeutics.

Dr. Rothman previously served as Chief Scientist of General Electric Healthcare. He has also advised leaders at Genentech, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline, and Eli Lilly. Prior to Yale, Rothman served as a professor at Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia universities. He founded and chaired the Department of Cellular Biochemistry and Biophysics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Rothman has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his work on vesicle trafficking and membrane fusion, including the King Faisal International Prize for Science, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Lounsbery Award of the National Academy of Sciences, the Heineken Foundation Prize of the Netherlands Academy of Sciences, the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize of Columbia University, the Lasker Basic Science Award, and the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.

About Celesta Capital 

Celesta Capital is a global deep tech venture capital firm. Led by technology industry veterans with decades of investment and operational experience, Celesta Capital has a passion and proven track record for building and scaling global businesses. Founded in 2013, Celesta has a portfolio of more than 100 early-stage technology investments. Learn more at http://celesta.vc.

Media Contact:
Jack Buttacavoli
[email protected] 

SOURCE Celesta Capital

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Closed Loop Ventures Group joins Earthodic’s $4 million seed funding round alongside other leading investors, supporting the company’s expansion into the U.S.

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2024 — Closed Loop Partners‘ Ventures Group announces its follow-on investment in Earthodic, a Brisbane-based biotechnology company creating recyclable bio-based coatings for paper packaging. This is Closed Loop Ventures Group’s second investment in Earthodic, supporting the company’s expansion into the U.S. The $4 million seed funding round was led by FTW Ventures, with participation from existing investors Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group, Tenacious Ventures and Investible, and new investors Circulate Capital, Queensland Investment Corporation, UniQuest Fund, Significant Capital Ventures, Branch Venture Group and Redstick Ventures.

The investment is taking place as more corporations demand packaging alternatives that reduce waste while maintaining performance. Today, most paper packaging uses petroleum-based plastic liners that help prevent leakage and maintain temperature but are typically discarded as waste. Closed Loop Ventures Group saw an opportunity to advance bio-based coatings that can enable better performance of existing paper packaging or products and unlock opportunities to switch from non-recoverable single-use plastics to recoverable bio-based alternatives.

Earthodic’s Biobarc™ is a water-resistant, repulpable and recyclable coating for paper packaging, offering a solution for brands and packaging manufacturers looking to transition away from wax and polymer film coatings to reduce plastic waste. Earthodic uses lignin––a byproduct of paper manufacturing that is often discarded or burned for energy––and reintegrates it into Biobarc™ to create a recyclable solution for paper packaging. The company is also pursuing third party certifications to ensure Biobarc™’s compostability at industrial composting facilities in the U.S., creating more potential end-of-life pathways for the material.

“This is a key milestone for Earthodic as we expand our reach into new geographic markets, and new paper packaging applications. Advancing a bio-based coating for paperboard can have a significant impact on plastic waste reduction,” says Anthony Musumeci, Co-founder and CEO of Earthodic. “Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group has been a key partner in our growth since they first invested in Earthodic. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with their team as we scale our solution and advance the circularity of packaging.”

Closed Loop Ventures Group’s investment in Earthodic advances the group’s mandate to deploy early-stage capital to founders and companies who rethink how products are designed, manufactured, consumed and recovered. Since Closed Loop Partners’ venture capital group launched in 2016, it has invested in over 40 companies advancing solutions that optimize supply chains and reduce reliance on fossil fuel extraction and landfilling. These range from packaging & plastic alternatives to safer chemistry and supply chain transparency to waste reduction solutions for food & agriculture, retail logistics, renewable energy, water reclamation, built environment and distributed manufacturing.

“Packaging waste comprises 30 percent of materials sent to landfill today, creating a significant challenge for brands and packaging manufactures looking to meet zero waste goals. Earthodic’s coating offers a circular solution for paper packaging that can help divert materials from landfill while maintaining the same performance capabilities brands have come to expect from their packaging solutions,” said Aly Bryan, Investor on the Closed Loop Ventures Group team at Closed Loop Partners. “Closed Loop Ventures Group is proud to have been among the first investors in Earthodic and we look forward to supporting their growth as they scale throughout the United States with their solution.”

With capital from its seed funding round, Earthodic will establish a second headquarters at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine Innovation Center, situated near a pilot coating plant and testing facilities used extensively by the paper industry. Their main research & development hub will stay in Queensland, Australia. The company will deepen existing research & development partnerships with global leaders in paper packaging while continuing to sell Biobarc™ into non-food contact packaging at scale, as a superior solution to traditional wax and petroleum-based coatings. This will create more opportunities for circularity across the packaging, food and consumer goods industries.

If you are interested in learning more about Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group, please visit https://www.closedlooppartners.com/

If you are interested in learning more about Earthodic, please visit https://www.earthodic.com/

About Earthodic

Earthodic is on a mission to advance the global transition to a circular economy. We help companies within the paper industry and their customers adopt sustainable packaging solutions, mitigating packaging waste that ends up in landfill. Earthodic has created sustainable function barrier coatings that are certified 100% biobased carbon, to offer liquid water barrier and oil and grease resistance to paper-based packaging. Earthodic coatings utilize lignin, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, and are a drop-in solution for existing coating infrastructure. Established in 2022, Earthodic has operations across Australia and the USA. To learn more, visit www.earthodic.com.

About Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is at the forefront of building the circular economy. The firm is comprised of three key businesses that create a platform for systems change: an investment group, Closed Loop Capital Management; an innovation center, the Center for the Circular Economy; and an operating group, Closed Loop Builders. Closed Loop Capital Management manages venture capital, buyout private equity and catalytic private credit investment strategies.

The firm’s venture capital strategy, the Closed Loop Ventures Group, has been investing early-stage capital into companies developing breakthrough solutions for the circular economy since 2016. Closed Loop Ventures Group’s portfolio includes companies developing leading innovations in material science, robotics, agritech, sustainable consumer products and advanced technologies that further the circular economy. Closed Loop Partners is based in New York City and is a registered B Corp.

To learn about Closed Loop Ventures Group, visit www.closedlooppartners.com.

SOURCE Closed Loop Partners

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SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 13, 2024 — OneSkin has closed its Series A investment round, bringing total funding for the brand to $20M.

Founded by four Brazilian PhD scientists in 2016, OneSkin has been a first-to-market category leader in science-led topical skin longevity treatments. The brand’s novel approach led to the patented peptide and core ingredient, OS-01. It is the first peptide scientifically proven to reverse skin’s biological age by preventing the accumulation of senescent cells, a major driver of aging, leaving skin looking and acting younger and healthier.

The brand will enter a new phase of growth and innovation in skin health thanks to an oversubscribed round led by Selva Ventures, alongside with PLUS Capital, Unilever Ventures, Able Partners, and former investors SOSV, and Meta Planet. Additional investors include Brazilian-American model and designer, Camila Alves McConaughey, from PLUS Capital’s collective of artist and athlete partners, and tech entrepreneur Kevin Rose.

“At OneSkin, we are excited to announce this new round of funding, which will further drive our mission to transform how we think about our skin, not only by optimizing our aesthetics using cutting-edge science, but also focusing on its functional role as our largest organ and the impact in our overall health and longevity,” said Carolina Oliveira, Co-Founder and CEO. “This investment will allow us to deepen our commitment to be the best in class in delivering efficacious peptides to modulate aging at the cellular level, ensuring that our science-backed solutions deliver measurable results in promoting healthier skin. We are dedicated to advancing the future of skin health with the most advanced longevity research and innovation,” shared Dr. Alessandra Zonari, Co-Founder and CSO of OneSkin.

Resources from funding will fuel accelerated research and novel formulas, delivering expanded longevity solutions and rewriting a new way forward for the anti-aging skincare industry. The funding will also power an increase in human capital focused on growth opportunities and new sales channels for the business, creating more accessible pathways for consumers to access OneSkin‘s advanced technologies.

Investor Camila Alves McConaughey aligns with OneSkin’s mission to redefine aging and enhance skin functions. “As a Brazilian woman, I am thrilled to invest in a brand founded by four Brazilian female scientists – my heritage is something I’m incredibly proud of, and I am honored to support those who are executing this work. The OneSkin team has built a line of products that hold a unique space in the massive skin care market. I fell in love with the products the moment I saw the results on myself, and I knew I had to be a part of it! I’m so looking forward to seeing their future innovations and continued success with the help of this funding.”

“After working with the OneSkin team over the past two years, we are thrilled to deepen our partnership by leading their Series A round. This is our firm’s largest investment, reflecting our high conviction in the company and the team, led by Carolina and Alessandra,” says Madeline Kaplan, partner at Selva Ventures. “We are seeing the beauty and wellness spaces converge as more consumers want efficacious products that make them look and feel their best. OneSkin is well-positioned at the intersection of beauty and wellness, delivering exceptional results that improve both skin appearance and skin health.”

Beyond industry investors, OneSkin has garnered the support of prominent individuals and organizations for its scientific breakthroughs. The brand was recently celebrated as one of Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 for its dedication to advancements in skin health. Notable figures including Alana Hadid, Georgia May Jagger, and Katy Perry are loyal users of the product line, and skin longevity enthusiasts such as Dr. David Sinclair, Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis, and more, have taken note of the brand’s work.

About OneSkin
OneSkin is a best-in-class biotech skin health brand on a mission to revolutionize how we age. Created by four pioneering female scientists – OneSkin believes in research first, products second. That’s why its founders spent five years analyzing over 900 peptides before discovering OS-01, the first ingredient scientifically proven to reverse skin’s biological age.*  (Zonari, A., et al. npj Aging, 2023) (Boroni, M. et al. Clinical Epigenetics, 2020)

OneSkin bottled up the groundbreaking proprietary peptide and designed the brand’s collection of skin health essentials, with a focus on boosting cells’ functionality to optimize skin longevity. OneSkin’s growing range of OS-01 Topical Supplements uniquely target damage and dysfunction on the molecular level to extend the lifespan of the skin.

The brand’s breakthrough age-decelerating science is backed by clinical testing and published in multiple peer-reviewed journals. In addition to procuring thousands of testimonials since launching in 2021, OneSkin is the first company to replicate skin aging in the lab to validate the skin’s biological age reversal of its proprietary peptide, OS-01, on the cellular level. Because OneSkin believes healthy skin shouldn’t just look and feel younger, it should act younger, too.

For more information, please visit oneskin.co.

About Selva Ventures
Selva Ventures is a venture capital firm established in 2019. The firm specializes in investing in health and wellness-focused consumer brands that promote healthier living. Selva Ventures is headquartered in Los Angeles, and currently manages approximately $50 million in assets.

For more information about Selva Ventures, investment opportunities, or becoming a brand partner, please visit www.selvaventures.com.

SOURCE OneSkin

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Collaboration focuses on studies of AZM-152 to enable submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the prevention of BPD in preterm infants

MALVERN, Pa., Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Azome Therapeutics, an early-stage drug development company, today announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to investigate AZM-152, the company’s novel inflammasome antagonist, in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Under the terms of the agreement, NCATS, part of the National Institutes of Health, will collaborate with Azome Therapeutics to perform preclinical development studies of AZM-152 to enable the submission of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the prevention of BPD in preterm infants. 

“We are honored to have been selected by NCATS for this important research collaboration, and excited that they share our vision for AZM-152 as a potential preventative therapeutic for BPD,” said Rashmin Savani, MBChB, Chairman of Azome’s Scientific Advisory Board. 

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is a severe lung condition that affects 30-50% of preterm infants weighing less than 1000 grams. It develops due to ventilator and oxygen-induced damage to immature lungs, leading to an inflammatory response that results in abnormal lung development with decreased alveolarization. Approximately 15,000 infants develop BPD each year in the United States, and 10-15% of them die in the first year of life. In addition to the direct impacts on the infant and the toll this disease takes on families, healthcare expenditure has been estimated at $5B per year.

AZM-152 is a potent and specific antagonist that blocks activation of the inflammatory process that causes BPD. This inflammatory pathway, the NLRP3 inflammasome, is critical to the development of a wide variety of other diseases in addition to BPD. AZM-152 selectively blocks an essential component of the signaling pathway (the receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility, or RHAMM) that results in aberrant NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Previous preclinical studies in BPD have demonstrated that when AZM-152 is given as a single dose to neonatal mice exposed to hyperoxia, no inflammatory response is observed, and lung alveolarization is preserved. This preclinical finding has raised the possibility of the prevention of BPD.

“It is our hope that this novel, first-in-class therapy will one day help the thousands of families affected by this most common chronic lung disease of childhood, for which there are no current therapeutic options and no effective means of prevention,” added Azome Therapeutics CEO Elliott Gruskin, PhD.

About Azome Therapeutics

Azome Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company focused on developing selective antagonists of the NLRP3 inflammasome, an inflammatory pathway critical to the development of a wide variety of diseases, including BPD, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, systemic sepsis, acute liver and kidney injury, and pneumonia.  The company’s lead candidate, AZM-152, is a RHAMM-derived antagonist that blocks key upstream priming and activation signals involved in the aberrant activation of the NLRP3 inflammatory cascade.

Media Contact:
Nimisha Savani
9402410083
[email protected] 

SOURCE Azome Therapeutics

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TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2024 — GITAI USA Inc. (GITAI), the world’s leading space robotics startup, is pleased to announce that GITAI has raised an additional US$15.5M as part of its Series B Extension round in October 2024. This follows US$30M raised in May 2023 and US$15M raised in August 2023, bringing the total in the Series B Extension round to US$60.5M.

The lead investor in this round is Maezawa Fund Inc., a venture capital fund established and operated by Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Yusaku Maezawa. Yusaku Maezawa commented, “GITAI’s monumental challenge to reduce space development costs by 1/100 holds vast potential to expand the boundaries of our future. Achieving this will bring space closer to our daily lives and business, transforming it into a more accessible domain. We are genuinely excited to support GITAI in pioneering this new frontier.”

To reduce the cost of space operations by 100 times, GITAI is developing robotic satellites for on-orbit services, lunar robotic rovers for infrastructure construction, and inchworm-type robotic arms that can be used in both areas. All of these technologies are being developed in-house.

In late 2023, GITAI relocated its headquarters from Japan to the United States, with all non-U.S. national management team members obtaining permanent resident status, officially establishing GITAI as a U.S.-based company. Since then, we have expanded our space robotics business and production capabilities in the U.S. space and defense market, achieving key milestones such as selection for NASA SBIR, orders from DARPA, a successful technology demonstration outside the ISS, AS9100 and NIST SP800-171 certifications, and the expansion of our headquarters and production facilities.
With this additional funding, GITAI aims to further advance on-orbit services and lunar infrastructure construction in the U.S. space and defense market and will continue to pursue reducing the cost of space operations by 1/100th of the current cost.

List of Investors in this Funding Round:

Existing Investors:

• MSIVC 2023V Venture Capital Investment Limited Partnership (Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital Co., Ltd.)
• Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Ⅸ, Limited Partnership (Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.)
• Green Co-Invest Investment Limited Partnership

New Investors:

• Maezawa Fund Inc. (Venture capital fund of Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Yusaku Maezawa)
• KCAP Venture Ⅰ Investment Limited Partnership (Kyoto Capital Partners Co., Ltd.)
• Tycoon Capital No. 4 Limited Partnership

For more information about this groundbreaking project and our future plans for lunar exploration, please visit gitai.tech.

< Press Kit >

About GITAI
GITAI aims to reduce the cost of labor in space by 100 times, thereby providing a safe and affordable means of work in space. GITAI operates in two business areas: on-orbit services and lunar infrastructure construction. For more on GITAI’s products, services, and upcoming missions, visit GITAI.tech.

Media Contact
Company: GITAI USA Inc. (Headquarters) / GITAI Japan, Inc. (Japan Subsidiary)
CEO: Sho Nakanose
URL: https://gitai.tech/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (424) 587-1787

SOURCE GITAI USA Inc.

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The funding will enable Snap! Mobile to cement its market leadership position and expand its reach to support more schools and organizations in need of effective fundraising solutions.

MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 13, 2024 — Runway Growth Capital LLC (“Runway”), a leading provider of growth loans to both venture and non-venture-backed companies seeking an alternative to raising equity, announced today a $23 million growth capital commitment to Snap! Mobile (“Snap!”), a leading fundraising platform for schools and organizations to support their sports teams, groups, and clubs. The funding will enable Snap! to expand its innovative digital platform and empower more organizations to raise critical funds for high school athletics and other extracurricular activities.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Snap! to support their continued growth and help scale their impact on schools’ sports teams and clubs across the country,” said Jeff Goldrich, Managing Director at Runway. “Their platform and leadership team have transformed fundraising by making it safer and easier for communities nationwide to rally behind students and supplement budget shortfalls with private funding. We’re confident in Snap!’s ability to expand their reach, helping to deliver even more opportunities to more students, with this investment.”

Snap! has emerged as a market leader in the digital fundraising space, providing innovative solutions to students and organizations to help meet their financial needs safely and efficiently. To date, Snap! has helped raise over $900M for 125,000+ groups and teams, across 12.5M+ participants and donors. Beyond fundraising, Snap! also provides a full suite of software solutions to help manage the day-to-day needs of athletic directors, coaches, and other leaders, from account disbursements to scheduling, internal and external communications, fan engagement, and the team store. With a strong focus on supporting students, Snap! continues to develop seamless ways to foster community engagement while prioritizing the success of students and athletes.

“We’re incredibly grateful for Runway’s support and belief in our mission,” said Cole Morgan, CEO of Snap! Mobile. “This new capital will allow us to enhance our platform, broaden our customer base, and drive forward our vision of ensuring that every young person has access to the athletics and activities that are so crucial to their development.”

Runway’s investment underscores its commitment to backing high-growth companies with flexible financing solutions, enabling them to scale with minimal dilution.

About Runway Growth Capital LLC
Runway Growth Capital LLC is the investment adviser to investment funds, including Runway Growth Finance Corp. (Nasdaq: RWAY), a business development company, and other private funds, which are lenders of growth capital to companies seeking an alternative to raising equity. Led by industry veteran David Spreng, these funds provide senior term loans of a target of $30 million to $150 million to fast-growing companies based in the United States and Canada. For more information on Runway Growth Capital LLC and its platform, please visit www.runwaygrowth.com.

About Snap! Mobile, Inc.
Snap! Mobile has been proudly supporting programs around the country with simple and dependable services since 2014. Snap! Raise has raised $900 million dollars for over 125,000 groups and teams through over 12.5 million participants and donors. In addition to the Snap! Raise fundraising solution, Snap! Mobile further supports schools, groups, and teams with its other brands and products: Snap! Spend (transparent money management solution), Snap! Store (spirit wear), FanX, and Snap! Manage (integrated scheduling, communication, and registration solution). For more information on Snap!, visit snapraise.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance, condition, or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Runway’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Runway undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE Runway Growth Capital LLC

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