Mogrify Limited,a biopharmaceutical company transforming the lives of patients through anovel class of in vivo reprogramming therapies,and Astellas Pharma Inc.(TSE:4503,President and CEO:Kenji Yasukawa,Ph.D.,“Astellas”),a leader in regenerative medicine,today announced that they have executed acollaborative research agreement on in vivo regenerative medicine approaches to address sensorineural hearing loss.Utilizing Mogrify’s proprietary direct cellular reprogramming platform,the collaboration will seek to identify novel combinations of transcription factors involved in cell differentiation to generate new cochlear hair cells.As part of the collaboration,Astellas Gene Therapies,a division of Astellas,is covering the research cost of the work as well as contributing its expertise in adeno-associated virus(AAV)based genetic medicine and translational capabilities to complete experiments in pre-clinical models.Mogrify will exploit its bioinformatic platform,screening and validation process to characterize potential therapeutic factors.An estimated 1.57 billion people globally suffer from hearing loss1,and US data suggests that over 10%have severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in at least one ear2.This degree of hearing loss significantly reduces quality of life and,with no drug treatments currently available,represents alarge unmet need. 查看详细>>

Johnson Matthey announces the sale of its Advanced Glass Technologies business to Fenzi Holdings SPV S.p.A for£178 million on acash free debt free basis.Completion anticipated in spring 2022.Johnson Matthey(JM)today announces the sale of its Advanced Glass Technologies(AGT)business,a leading global provider of specialist glass enamels and precious metal pastes supplied mainly to the automotive sector.AGT is part of Value Businesses in JM’s‘Other Markets’segment and was previously identified as non-core to JM’s growth strategy.AGT will be sold to Fenzi Holdings SPV S.p.A(“Fenzi Group”),a manufacturer and supplier of materials for flat glass processing,for£178million payable in cash at completion on cash free,debt free basis and subject to customary completion accounts adjustments.The transaction is subject to works council consultation in the Netherlands and the satisfaction of customary completion conditions with completion expected in spring 2022.In the year ended 31st March 2021,AGT generated sales excluding precious metals of£66 million,operating profit of£17 million and gross asset of£49 million.A profit on sale in excess of£100million is expected.In line with our capital allocation framework,we will return the sale proceeds to shareholders as part of the£200 million share buyback programme commencing in the New Year.The divestment of AGT is consistent with our aim of creating asimpler,more focused portfolio.Aligned with JM’s strategy,the company is focusing its resources towards growth areas targeted at climate change solutions as it delivers on its vision for acleaner,healthier world. 查看详细>>

Patented coating process from Heraeus extends the service life of high-temperature alloys for furnaces and chemical plants."The results of our study are very promising,"says Dr.Ilka Luck,head of Heraeus High Performance Coatings."The coating prevents any microstructural changes,voids and precipitations.Thus,alloy corrosion is greatly reduced.As aresult,their service life is up to eight times longer."One of the biggest challenges of high-temperature alloys is that their service life is limited by corrosion.Apart from maintenance downtime,the corrosion causes flaking,and these flakes contaminate products during production.This is precisely where the novel process from Heraeus comes in.With the aid of aerosol deposition,the alloys are protected with alayer of?-Al2O3.Possible applications include calcination and drying furnaces,which are used for example in metal substrate production or the manufacture of battery materials.In these industries,high purity is essential.Avoiding impurities therefore means reducing scrap and increasing productivity. 查看详细>>

Cambridge Consultants,part of Capgemini,and Helius Medical Technologies,Inc.(NASDAQ:HSDT),have confirmed that agroundbreaking device they developed for short-term treatment of gait deficit due to mild-to-moderate symptoms from multiple sclerosis(MS)has received marketing authorization from the U.S.Food and Drug Administration(FDA).Cambridge Consultants worked with Helius to develop its breakthrough technology to treat patients suffering from neurological disease.The device,known as the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator(PoNS™),is the first commercial product from Helius and is designed to deliver potentially life-changing therapy via the tongue.MS is achronic,degenerative and debilitating disease estimated to affect approximately one million patients in the United States.MS patients can have restriction of mobility,balance,and gait,and can struggle to stand or walk on their own.There has been alack of access to effective solutions until now.The PoNS device,developed for Helius by Cambridge Consultants,is anon-invasive,body-worn medical device that delivers controlled neurostimulation to two cranial nerves,via the tongue.It is the first and only tongue-delivered neuromodulation therapy.When used in conjunction with physical therapy,PoNS Treatment is believed to enhance apatient’s neuroplasticity–the brain’s ability to restructure or relearn new functions.Enhanced neuroplasticity improves apatient’s ability to learn,train,and rehabilitate.Patients in the United States suffering from gait deficit due to mild-to-moderate symptoms from MS can benefit from PoNS Treatment,which has the potential to improve,or even restore,their ability to walk.The PoNS device is the result of complex systems engineering and technological innovation,while the science behind how the device stimulates the tongue is unique.Sophisticated electronics,firmware and software are integrated–via intricate mechanical design–in an ergonomic form factor.The body-worn,interactive controller,designed for user-centric patient and clinician workflow,is coupled with amouthpiece electrode system that delivers precise neurostimulation during therapeutic exercise.A clinician interface with cloud-based data management software provides clinicians with adigital ecosystem to enable efficient patient care.Cambridge Consultants works with ambitious and visionary companies seeking to disrupt the status quo.In the medical technology space,the company has along track record of developing breakthrough medical devices,technologies and services for pharmaceutical,life sciences,surgical,and acute care applications.Cambridge Consultants has provided Helius with design and development services for the past four years,delivering world-class systems and expertise for the PoNS device.Our multidisciplinary expertise spans electronics,software,mechanics,design for manufacturing,industrial design and human factors.The Cambridge Consultants team worked closely with Helius,and its manufacturing partner,from system design through to verification,transfer to manufacturing,and new product introduction. 查看详细>>

Speechmatics,a UK leader in any-context speech recognition technology,today launches the first Global Spanish language pack on the market that supports all major Spanish accents.Global Spanish(GS)is asingle Spanish language pack trained on data drawn across awide range of diverse sources–specifically those from Latin America–making it the most accurate and comprehensive accent-independent Spanish language pack for speech-to-text.Testing found that for all variations of Spanish,Speechmatics’GS language pack was the best option in every instance.Compared directly,GS was between 3%and 20%more accurate than all Google’s Beta accent-specific language packs and between 4%and 13%more accurate than Microsoft’s Video Indexer accent-specific language packs.*Speechmatics utilized the latest advancements in machine learning and applied proprietary language training techniques to create the GS language pack.With Speechmatics’GS model,businesses using speech recognition for Spanish voice data won’t have to jump between multiple language packs to optimize the accuracy of their transcriptions,reducing costs and streamlining operations.The Speechmatics approach delivers asimpler user experience with no additional software or complex processes needed.Following the success of its Global English language pack,Global Spanish is fast,accurate,reliable and more flexible,convenient and inclusive. 查看详细>>