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Naurt supercharges delivery industry as it goes public with innovative geo-location software

Naurt

The global “last mile” food and package delivery industry is worth almost $990b and is facing immense pressures to manage costs and cope with demand. Helping them deliver on their promise and create operational efficiencies, geo-location start-up Naurt today announcing the public launch of their software which is set to redefine the delivery ecosystem. Having successfully completed over 80 pilots with a range of organisations, Naurt is launching with a £300,000 funding from venture builder Founder + Lighting to propel its ambitious scale-up plans. The Naurt platform is laser focussed on fixing the biggest issue facing delivery drivers: the arduous task of finding the best parking spot and the correct building entrance. By showcasing the optimal locations, Naurt guarantees quicker deliveries, ensuring parcels never get lost or delayed. This innovation not only enhances delivery capacity by 5% to 15%, but it also significantly impacts delivery companies’ gross profit margins by minimising the key industry “stop cost” metric. This measures the number of deliveries made per shift divided by the length of time it’s taken the driver to complete. During its beta testing (last 18 months), Naurt has collaborated with 83 organisations, who have reported a 6.67% increase in daily deliveries. This boost, equating to an additional delivery per day for drivers, translates into substantial financial savings for companies, especially when labour costs account for a substantial 40% of delivery service expenses. Founded in 2020, Naurt has been on a mission to refine GPS tracking accuracy. The company’s unique software-first approach has enabled them to deliver significant business impact and has been recognised by winning Tech Nation’s Rising Stars start-up competition, outperforming 627 others. With a rapidly expanding team, which includes industry stalwarts Lucy Woolfenden, former CMO at Yolt, and Cien Solon, ex-Zilch, Naurt is poised to scale the business. Jack Maddalena, CEO of Naurt, said, “We see many businesses miss out due to poor levels of location data quality. Now that we have proven our quality of location tracking and data, this will lift the constraints and open possibilities for teams. Naurt has unlocked this opportunity for businesses, with the delivery sector being our initial focus. It's become clear that accurate location tracking alone is not sufficient in this fast paced industry, there's a desperate need for location intelligence in each and every delivery. A lack of which is costing businesses and people time, money and safety. We have created a solution that is able to improve on this without the need for extra hardware. The work we are doing will be transformational for people and businesses around the world”. The current economic environment has witnessed a shift from growth to profitability. Final mile companies are striving to streamline operations, making Naurt’s solution increasingly pertinent. Their patent-pending software not only ensures efficient deliveries by determining optimal parking spots and building entrances, but it also amasses invaluable data, with over 500 million location points collected in collaboration with global delivery giants. Recent studies, like the research paper from Washington University, have underscored the need for intelligent parking solutions, highlighting potential savings of up to 27.9% in parking search time. This further emphasises the value Naurt brings to the industry. “We are confident that Naurt has a globally unrivalled location-tracking solution. Last-mile delivery problems are costing businesses millions each year and Naurt will help slash these inefficiencies.” added Conor Moylan, Chief Investment Officer at Founder + Lightning Looking ahead, Naurt is eager to integrate with numerous delivery companies, aspiring to become an industry-standard software solution. Their vision extends beyond deliveries; they foresee their technology aiding utility companies in asset tracking, potentially revolutionising maintenance protocols. About Naurt Established in 2020 in the UK, Naurt is reshaping the delivery landscape with pioneering software solutions. Our focus on advanced GPS tracking and precise parking and entrance data has simplified deliveries, boosting efficiency and profits for global delivery firms. As a winner of Tech Nation’s Rising Stars award, we’ve showcased a software-driven approach to tangible challenges. In partnership with industry titans, we’ve captured over 500 million location points, leading the way in delivery and location tracking. Naurt is on a mission to set the benchmark in location data across diverse sectors. About Founder & Lighting Founder + Lightning Capital invests in Founders to help them build, grow and transform their businesses with technology. Over the last decade, Founder + Lightning has built over 35 businesses, protecting Founders’ runway and business growth like their own. Founder + Lightning Capital has an ecosystem of investment, strategy, design and tech and is looking to invest in Founders building B2B startups. For more information and to apply go to: https://www.founderandlightning.com/capital/founders Contact Details Naurt Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.naurt.com/

September 20, 2023 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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LimeWire Acquires BlueWillow - AI Image Generation Model and 2nd Largest Community with 2.3 Million Users

LimeWire

LimeWire, the tech company best known for peer-to-peer music sharing, has acquired AI generation platform BlueWillow. BlueWillow is a leading AI image generation platform with a vibrant community of over 2.3 million active members. In the span of this year alone, BlueWillow has facilitated the creation of 500 million images, solidifying its position as a driving force in the AI content generation sphere. The acquisition comes on the heels of LimeWire announcing LimeWire AI Studio, its content generation platform that allows anyone to create images, own the rights to them, and generate revenue when those images are used. "This is more than an acquisition; it's the merger of a shared vision and innovation. Welcoming BlueWillow amplifies our commitment to both the artist and creator community. Together, we're shaping the future of AI-driven content creation and creativity." shared Paul and Julian Zehetmayr, LimeWire's Co-CEOs. As a result of this acquisition, LimeWire will now combine its already easy-to-use AI Studio, and creator platform with BlueWillow’s proprietary AI model for text-to-image and image-to-image generation. LimeWire’s objective moving forward is clear: to provide all creators with access to advanced AI tools and empower everyone to unleash their creative potential. Understanding AI Content Generation Space The updated LimeWire AI Studio leverages a range of open-source AI technologies, allowing creators to own the images they create. Through this acquisition, it makes the creation process easier so anyone - regardless of their technical ability - can participate. These capabilities will set LimeWire apart from other competitors who only offer image creation capabilities without ownership rights and those reliant on Discord communities and complex prompts, which often limit users' creative potential. Giving Creators Ownership Additionally, this deal will facilitate the creation of the only AI image generator community where creators are able to earn money from their work through ad revenue sharing. The alliance ensures that users, both old and new, will have access to unparalleled AI tools and resources to create, share and monetize their content. Thus setting the stage for a new era in AI-generated content. Creators will receive 50% of ad revenue generated from their content (up to 70% depending on status within the community). Subscribers to said creator will receive 10% of ad revenue generated and an additional 10% if they share their work on social media. LimeWire's acquisition of BlueWillow not only combines the strengths of two pioneering platforms but also further illustrates LimeWire's commitment to democratizing the digital creative space. BlueWillow’s CEO Ritankar Das states, "At the heart of BlueWillow is our community, a diverse group of passionate creators and innovators who have been pivotal to our growth. Joining the LimeWire family ensures that our community doesn’t just grow in numbers but thrives in an environment of state-of-the-art tools and expanded opportunities." ABOUT LIMEWIRE LimeWire is an innovative subscription-based platform designed to empower content creators, artists, and brands while offering fans exclusive content, access to private communities, and direct communication with their favorite artists. Evolving from its early 2000s music discovery roots, LimeWire enables creators to maintain greater control over their content, generate predictable income, and foster strong connections with their most loyal fans. Contact Details Ditto PR Wahaj Khan +1 630-935-7684 wahaj@dittopr.co Company Website https://limewire.com/

September 20, 2023 03:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Get SAT’s new In-Flight Connectivity ESA Terminal was chosen by Safran Passenger Innovations, as part of the RAVE AeroConnect Ku IFC solution

Get SAT

19 September 2023 - Get SAT, an innovator in compact satellite communication terminals for ground, airborne, and maritime applications, today announced that it has been chosen by Safran Passenger Innovations (SPI) to supply an innovative Ku-band terminal as part of SPI’s “RAVE AeroConnect” inflight connectivity (IFC) products. RAVE AeroConnect Ku is a new flexible satellite connectivity solution, which will be provided to airlines as linefit and retrofit options on all major aircraft platforms. The antenna will add Ku-band capability in addition to SPI’s existing Ka-band offering. With RAVE AeroConnect, airlines will be able to choose between various satellite services and multiple constellations. Notably RAVE AeroConnect will be available on Airbus aircraft as SFE* line-fit and retrofit catalogue option as part of Airbus’ Airspace HBC plus (targeted offer ability for 2024 and EIS in 2026) and enable airlines to connect to a choice of service providers. RAVE AeroConnect Ku is part of a complete IFC solution with a radome, adapter plate and various modem options. Get SAT Aero LESA represents state-of-the-art, low profile ESA (Electronically Steered Antenna) technology operating in the Ku-frequency band. It allows simultaneous connection with both Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, to enable simultaneous multi-beam multi-orbit operation. This small, versatile terminal will provide airline passengers with unparalleled connectivity experience through true global coverage by its multi-orbit performance and higher bit rates with its multi-beam simultaneous links. Built specifically for airborne operations, RAVE AeroConnect Ku solution, which includes Get SAT Aero LESA, supports both in-flight connectivity and entertainment. The new RAVE AeroConnect Ku terminal from SPI, that was selected by Airbus for its HBCplus solution, leads to significant reductions in operating costs and boosts the user experience. This enhanced connectivity solution will ensure faster, more reliable passenger connectivity with greater flexibility. Passengers can look forward to a remarkable, seamless in-flight connectivity experience. Offering high-speed connectivity, the terminal delivers enhanced data rates, reduced drag and latency, and increased performance, thus boosting productivity, reliability and decreasing operational costs. This innovative solution, which allows data exchange as a unified aircraft system, is ideally tailored to support future capacity growth and digital services demand. It empowers airlines to offer passengers an exceptional connectivity experience. Get SAT CEO, Benjamin, said: "SPI has recognized our expertise in navigating complex SATCOM challenges, highlighting our contribution to evolving airborne communication solutions. Together with SPI and Airbus, we're gearing up to amplify the RAVE AeroConnect IFC offering using our innovative communication terminals, which are specifically designed to cater to airline demands. It's a matter of pride for us to be a part of such transformative steps in commercial aviation." Matt Smith, CEO of SPI said: “Safran Passenger Innovations is delighted to select Get SAT as the Ku-band ESA provider for our various airline and OEM programs. We are excited to disrupt the industry by providing agnostic and open terminals supporting the Airbus vision, giving airlines the freedom of choice for their future connectivity services. Get SAT has demonstrated their ability to meet the needs of demanding government customers and we are excited to bring this technology to the commercial airline market.” About Get SAT Get SAT is at the forefront in supplying Micronized Satellite Terminals, which come in a compact form and are suitable for ground, air, and maritime applications. The company's groundbreaking antenna technology delivers the highest level of efficiency in the most compact size. The LESA antenna technology is a leap forward in capability and form factor, enabling Get SAT to provide truly portable, integrated, full-duplex, wide-band satellite communications. Get SAT terminals operate in multi- orbit satellite constellations, in GEO, MEO and LEO. For more information visit www.getsat.com Press Contacts Get SAT Ayala Pinhasi +972-76-5300-700 #122 +1-571-501-5150 info@getsat.com About SPI Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 83,000 employees and sales of 19,0 billion euros in 2022 and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets. Safran undertakes research and development programs to maintain the environmental priorities of its R&T and innovation roadmap. Safran is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices. Safran Passenger Innovations creates innovative in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems using the latest in consumer and avionics technology to provide best in class hardware, software, and services for a premium, connected flying experience. For more information: www.safran-group.com www.safran-group.com/companies/safran-passenger-innovations Press Contacts Jared Siqueland +1-714-203-0525 jared.siqueland@zii.aero SFE* = Supplier Furnished Equipment Contact Details Get SAT Ayala Pinhasi +972 76-530-0700 info@getsat.com Company Website https://www.getsat.com/

September 19, 2023 11:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time

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Nextech3D.ai announces new India unit as high-scale 3D model production expands

Nextech3D.AI

NextTech3D.ai CEO Evan Gappelberg and Hareesh Achi, executive vice president of Operations joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share significant developments on the company's strategic initiatives to enhance profitability and streamline its operations. One notable achievement is the establishment of Nextech3D Solutions India Private Limited, a move aimed at optimizing profitability and reducing labor costs, with the goal of achieving these benefits starting in the fourth quarter of 2023. This transition is expected to result in expense reductions and significantly improved overall performance as the company rolls out its AI solutions. Furthermore, Gappelberg revealed that Nexttech3D.ai is gearing up for an anticipated record 3Q and 4Q, with expectations of substantial 3D model growth in 2024. The company has strategically shifted its focus, concentrating exclusively on high-scale production for its 3D modeling business, with a strong emphasis on serving Amazon and other enterprise clients. Achi says this shift in strategy involves transitioning away from smaller e-commerce clients that require a limited number of 3D models and instead prioritizing large enterprise clients that demand thousands of models and high-scale production. This strategic shift is poised to strengthen the company's revenue streams and make a significant contribution to its overall growth and financial stability. Nextech3D.ai's focus on high-scale production and large enterprise clients aligns with the growing demand for 3D modeling and augmented reality solutions across various industries. This strategic direction positions the company for sustainable growth and success in the dynamic world of 3D technology and AI solutions. Contact Details Proactive Investors Canada +1 604-688-8158 na-editorial@proactiveinvestors.com

September 19, 2023 02:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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News Release

Ocean Power Technologies sees 1Q revenue climb as sales pipeline surges

Ocean Power Technologies Inc

Ocean Power Technologies CEO Philipp Stratmann joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share details of the company's fiscal first quarter for 2023. The results showcased significant growth, with revenues reaching $1.3 million, up from $0.7 million in the same period the previous year. The positive financial performance was attributed to various factors, including sales of WAM-V autonomous vehicles, revenue generated from a previously announced contract with the Department of Energy, and strategic consulting services. Stratmann highlighted the remarkable growth in the company's sales pipeline, which has increased by an impressive 215% year over year, now standing at approximately $85 million. This surge is attributed to several factors, including a substantial increase in defense and security activity and expanding commercial opportunities. Notably, there is growing interest from offshore wind companies seeking autonomous monitoring, surveillance, and survey-related services at various stages of project development. Ocean Power Technologies is uniquely positioned as a provider of ocean energy and intelligent data services. The company's innovative, low-carbon distributed and autonomous ocean power and data solutions, coupled with offshore engineering and design services, positions it as a key player in the evolving landscape of sustainable energy and ocean-related services. Contact Details Proactive Investors +1 347-449-0879 na-editorial@proactiveinvestors.com

September 19, 2023 02:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and ToolsGroup Team Up for Planning Expertise Webinar

ToolsGroup

ToolsGroup, a global leader in retail and supply chain planning and optimization software, and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F Co.), a leading omnichannel specialty retailer of apparel and accessories, are excited to announce an exclusive discussion highlighting A&F Co.’s partnership and use of ToolsGroup solutions to enhance customer experiences. This talk, entitled “Abercrombie & Fitch Co.: How Planning Expertise Leads to Exceptional Business Performance,” will take place on Tuesday, September 26, at 11 a.m. EST/5 p.m. CET, and will feature Monica Tatham, the Senior Director for Enterprise Business Solutions at A&F Co. Monica Tatham has over 16 years of experience at A&F Co. with extensive background in retail planning and management. She has spent her entire career in the retail industry, gaining expertise in merchandising, allocation, and inventory management. “I’m excited to share one of the many ways Abercrombie & Fitch Co. strives to provide customer satisfaction and how ToolsGroup helps us achieve some of those goals,” said Tatham. During this webinar, Tatham will share how the company drives its business, leveraging ToolsGroup’s powerful retail planning tools and capabilities. “Our close, long-term partnership with Abercrombie & Fitch Co. exemplifies the customer-centric focus we incorporate into our core values at ToolsGroup,” said John Glinski, Senior Vice President of Retail Account Management. “We are thrilled to have one of the industry’s top performing retailers share insight into some of their retail planning best practices and how a commitment to planning excellence can support business processes.” Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from and ask questions of one of the world’s biggest retailers. Learn more about the event and register HERE. About Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is a leading, global, omnichannel specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for men, women and kids through five renowned brands. The iconic Abercrombie & Fitch brand was born in 1892 and aims to make every day feel as exceptional as the start of a long weekend. abercrombie kids sees the world through kids’ eyes, where play is life and every day is an opportunity to be anything and better anything. The Hollister brand believes in liberating the spirit of an endless summer inside everyone and making teens feel celebrated and comfortable in their own skin. Gilly Hicks, offering active lifestyle products, is designed to create happiness through movement. Social Tourist, the creative vision of Hollister and social media personalities, Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, offers trend forward apparel that allows teens to experiment with their style, while exploring the duality of who they are both on social media and in real life. The brands share a commitment to offering products of enduring quality and exceptional comfort that allow consumers around the world to express their own individuality and style. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates over 750 stores under these brands across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the e-commerce sites www.abercrombie.com, www.abercrombiekids.com, www.hollisterco.com, www.gillyhicks.com and www.socialtourist.com. About ToolsGroup ToolsGroup’s innovative AI-powered solutions enable retailers, distributors, and manufacturers to navigate through supply chain uncertainty. Our retail and supply chain planning suites empower a new level of intelligent decision making and unlock powerful business improvements in forecast accuracy, service levels, and inventory - delighting customers and achieving financial and ESG KPIs. Stay in touch with ToolsGroup on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, or visit www.toolsgroup.com. Contact Details Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com Company Website https://www.toolsgroup.com

September 19, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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PathAI Announces Expansion of BioPharma Lab to Provide End-to-End Central Pathology and Histology Services

PathAI

PathAI, a global leader in AI-powered pathology, today announced the expansion of its BioPharma Laboratory Services. Capitalizing on the 30-year history of delivering high quality pathology services in the PathAI Diagnostics clinical laboratory (formerly known as Poplar Healthcare), PathAI offers biopharma partners a comprehensive, GCP/GCLP compliant histology and digital pathology lab to support prospective clinical trials across oncology, liver, and gastrointestinal indications. The lab offers pharmaceutical companies access to unparalleled histological laboratory services and comprehensive operational support, encompassing the full end-to-end tissue processing from kitting and logistics management, tissue processing and staining across H&E, IHC, and special stains; local and remote pathology tapping into PathAI’s network of >500 US board-certified pathologists; and AI-driven analysis from PathAI’s menu of algorithms and clinical trial software. This integrated approach enables the streamlined, proficient, and regulatory-compliant implementation of controlled clinical trials, all within a single facility. PathAI’s BioPharma Lab has a unique combination of capabilities to enable clinical trials where pathology-based endpoints, biomarker classification, and/or superior histology quality are critical to the success of their pharma partners. Over the last two years, the company has already supported Phase 2 clinical trials in NASH, IBD, and breast cancer, as well as oncology neoadjuvant trials. Based on successfully meeting key milestones on quality and turnaround times, PathAI is expanding and scaling its services to new trial indications and partners. The lab adheres to all relevant quality, regulatory, and compliance standards including CAP/CLIA and GCP/GCLP. In addition to full laboratory support for clinical trials, PathAI’s BioPharma Lab supports trials through its AI products and expertise with AI-powered endpoint assessment and patient enrollment. “We don’t just create algorithms, we stay in lock step with our pharma partners to ensure our AI products are integrated into trials appropriately, based on regulatory criteria, to enhance trial quality and efficiency,” said Andy Beck, MD, PhD, CEO of PathAI. The BioPharma Lab’s expertise helps reduce the impact of many challenges associated with clinical trials, including unreliable turnaround times, variable histology, stain or scan/digitization quality, and challenging assessment of histological endpoints. In addition, the lab allows pharma partners the ability to use AI without a heavy lift to implement. The lab offers most major types of instrumentation, with flexible workflows across different scanners, stains, and biopsy types, which improves the quality of clinical trials. Importantly, the services include access to PathAI’s extensive network of over 500 US Board Certified pathologists to perform high quality reading with rapid turnaround time in a cost-effective manner. “During my time running translational sciences in a Top 10 pharma company, I witnessed a strong need for high quality, scalable, and flexible pathology services that can further be combined with the state-of-the-art technology in digital pathology and AI,” said Mike Montalto, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, of PathAI. “We took a pharma-first approach when establishing this lab and its offerings.” The BioPharma Lab will physically expand in 2024 to allow an increase in sample throughput to accommodate larger scale global phase 3 studies, as well as additional equipment to support a wider range of clinical studies. Learn more about how PathAI’s BioPharma Lab can power your next clinical trial by contacting BD@pathai.com or visiting https://www.pathai.com/clinical-trial-services/. PathAI will be at several upcoming conferences with representatives available to speak about the lab’s capabilities, including ESMO, SCOPE Europe (booth #4), and SCOPE Orlando (booth #206). About PathAI PathAI is the only AI-focused technology company to provide comprehensive precision pathology solutions from wet lab services to algorithm deployment for clinical trials and diagnostic use. Rigorously trained and validated with data from more than 15 million annotations, its AI-powered models can be leveraged to optimize the analysis of patient samples to improve efficiency and accuracy of pathology interpretation, as well as to better gauge therapeutic efficacy and accelerate drug development for complex diseases. PathAI, which is headquartered in Boston, MA, and operates a CAP/CLIA-certified laboratory in Memphis, TN, is proud to have a team of 600+ innovative thinkers from around the globe. For more information, please visit www.pathai.com. Contact Details SVM Public Relations and Marketing Communications Maggie Naples +1 401-490-9700 pathai@svmpr.com Company Website https://www.pathai.com/

September 19, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Velocity Global Appoints Jeff Woolard as Chief Financial Officer

Velocity Global

Velocity Global, the world’s expert on work, today announced the appointment of Jeff Woolard as Chief Financial Officer. Effective immediately, Jeff will drive the overall financial execution, strategic planning, and create a financial growth strategy for the company. “Jeff’s financial, strategic, and operational experience will make an immeasurable impact that will help Velocity Global take new heights. His proven track record will be critical in helping us achieve strategic initiatives aimed at providing our customers with the best possible experience,” said Frank Calderoni, CEO at Velocity Global. “Jeff’s experience as a CFO provides a unique perspective in that he understands better than anyone the challenges associated with scaling a global team. His insights will allow us to build a more scalable and strategic offering that enhances the customer journey and grows our footprint across the industry.” With nearly 3 decades of experience in both finance and technology, Jeff will provide in-depth experience in driving strategy to execution, growth, and profitability. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at Solidigm, providing him with not only the experience needed to grow a company at scale, but also a lens into the challenges faced by global CFOs as they grow their teams in efficient and compliant ways. Jeff also spent more than 25 years in various leadership positions with Intel, including its manufacturing and technology organization, Foundry and Intel Capital, and has led and overseen large M&A transactions, including Intel's acquisition of Mobileye. “I am excited to be joining Velocity Global at a critical time in its trajectory,” says Jeff Woolard, Chief Financial Officer of Velocity Global. “As a CFO, I can attest to the criticality of the type of service the company provides and what a difference it can make in scaling a company in a compliant way. I’m looking forward to working with the team at Velocity Global as we grow the business and help leaders build their teams in ways they never thought possible.” Jeff’s announcement comes shortly after the appointments of Chief Transformation Officer Susan McDonough and Chief Customer Success Officer Frank Lucier, who both joined the company last month. Chief Revenue Officer Ann-Christel Graham and Chief People Officer Linda Lee were both brought on earlier this year by CEO Frank Calderoni, who took on the role in April. For more information on how Velocity Global makes opportunity borderless for people everywhere, visit www.velocityglobal.com. About Velocity Global Velocity Global gives you the power to build your team everywhere—combining seamless technology and local expertise in 185+ countries. We make it simple to compliantly hire, pay, and manage talent anywhere. With Velocity Global, the world is yours. Start hiring across borders at VelocityGlobal.com. Contact Details Media Contact press@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

September 19, 2023 08:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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First Human Clinical Trials Of A Potentially “Game-Changing Broad Spectrum Antiviral” Are Progressing Successfully – Drug Could Treat COVID, RSV And Many Other Respiratory Viruses

Benzinga

By Rachael Green, Benzinga As COVID cases begin to rise again, heralding the beginning of another COVID wave, new variants have appeared leading this wave. EG.5 (“Eris”) is currently in the majority in the U.S.A, but a very different variant, BA.2.86 (“Pirola”) is already rising in the number of cases. BA.2.86 carries more than 30 changes in its spike protein, as well as changes in other proteins. Scientists believe it is questionable whether the newest booster vaccine shots would be effective for this one. The newest vaccines are “single-agent” targeting the XBB variant. It is not known how effective the approved drugs (mainly Paxlovid - Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)) would be against this new variant, and further on, as the virus keeps changing. It is now clear that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is here to stay, and that it will keep changing as it continues to learn to avoid vaccines and antibodies and our own immune systems and continues to learn to resist existing old-fashioned drugs. Even without new variants, for clinically vulnerable patients COVID has always continued to be a terrifying reality. In light of this, the broad-spectrum antiviral that is based on a novel nanomedicines platform being developed by one emerging drug company could be promising. NanoViricides, Inc (NYSE American: NNVC ) announced that it has made progress on its Phase 1a/1b clinical trial of NV-CoV-2, a novel antiviral drug candidate that has the potential to treat all strains of the coronavirus. The clinical-stage biotech reported that the safety and tolerability parts of the trial testing the antiviral in healthy subjects is nearly complete and it’s now preparing for the efficacy and dose optimization part of the trial with COVID patients. NanoViricides Broad Spectrum Antiviral Could Change How We Treat Viral Infections So far, NanoViricides has built a robust foundation of promising preclinical research that demonstrates the unique antiviral platform’s potential to treat not just COVID-19 but a wide range of other common and hard-to-treat viral diseases like other coronaviruses, RSV, shingles, herpes, rabies and the flu. The reason it could have such broad applicability is because the NanoViricides platform was specifically designed to target a particular binding site that’s common across many viruses and doesn’t change even as a virus mutates. Essentially, the nanoviricide platform mimics the binding site on a human cell that a virus would normally target in order to infect that cell. Then it seeks out the virus and when the virus binds to the nanoviricide instead, the drug candidate immediately engulfs the virus, where it’s unable to infect the patient’s cells or reproduce. The First Of These Drugs Is Now In Human Phase 1a And 1b Clinical Trials The Phase 1a/1b clinical trial includes single-ascending dose (SAD) and multiple-ascending dose (MAD) safety and tolerability studies in healthy subjects. NanoViricides reported that 26 of the 36 volunteers in the SAD study and 17 of the 36 volunteers in the MAD study have already completed the program. And so far, the early data looks promising. Neither adverse events nor serious adverse events have been found to date in either study. "The excellent safety and tolerability of NV-CoV-2 in both formulations in the clinical trials is consistent with the results of pre-clinical animal studies, giving us confidence that our preclinical animal studies can be expected to be predictive of human clinical trials,” said NanoViricides Executive Chairman and President, Anil R. Diwan, Ph.D. Ongoing Phase 1a And 1b Clinical Trials Will Give First Indication Of Nanoviricides Efficacy In Humans With that baseline of safety and tolerability, the next part of the trial is to enroll COVID patients in the trial and start evaluating whether the positive preclinical effectiveness results for the drug will translate to human trials. Once this trial is finished, NanoViricides plans to seek permission to move into phase 2 clinical trials from multiple regulatory agencies worldwide. Of note, the same drug was found to be effective in pre-clinical studies against another important respiratory virus, RSV. Such a broad spectrum antiviral effectiveness is reminiscent of the development of antibiotics against bacteria. This could be a game-changing development in antiviral therapeutics. This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Benzinga +1 877-440-9464 info@benzinga.com Company Website http://www.benzinga.com

September 19, 2023 09:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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