Artificial Intelligence
Hepion Pharmaceuticals Announces Pricing of Public Offering
EDISON, N.J., Feb. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of liver disease arising from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”), today announced the pricing of its underwritten public offering of 44,200,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $2.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $88.4 million before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering expenses. All of the shares of common stock are being offered by the Company.
ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.
The offering is expected to close on February 18, 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Hepion intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund research and development activities, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
A shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-229534), including a base prospectus, was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 6, 2019 and declared effective on February 19, 2019. The offering is being made only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the proposed offering have been filed with the SEC and are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus related to the offering will be filed with the SEC and made available on the SEC’s website. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained, when available, from the offices of ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., 17 State Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10004, by telephone at (877) 436-3673 or by email at [email protected].
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Hepion Pharmaceuticals
The Company’s lead drug candidate, CRV431, is a potent inhibitor of cyclophilins, which are involved in many disease processes. CRV431 is currently in clinical-phase development for the treatment of NASH, with the potential to play an important role in the overall treatment of liver disease – from triggering events through to end-stage disease. CRV431 has been shown to reduce liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma tumor burden in experimental models of NASH; and has demonstrated antiviral activities towards HBV, HCV, and HDV through several mechanisms, in preclinical studies.
Hepion has created a proprietary AI platform, called AI-POWR™, which stands for Artificial Intelligence – Precision Medicine; Omics (including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and lipidomics); World database access; and Response and clinical outcomes. Hepion intends to use AI-POWR™ to help identify which NASH patients will best respond to CRV431, potentially shortening development timelines and increasing the delta between placebo and treatment groups. In addition to using AI-POWR™ to drive its ongoing Phase 2a NASH program, Hepion will use the platform to identify additional potential indications for CRV431 to expand the company’s footprint in the cyclophilin inhibition therapeutic space.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “forecast,” “estimated,” and “intend,” among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Hepion Pharmaceuticals’ current expectations and include statements regarding the offering, the expected timing of the closing of the offering and the planned use of proceeds therefrom. Actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the satisfaction of all conditions to, and the closing of, the offering. Hepion Pharmaceuticals does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in Hepion Pharmaceuticals’ Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information, please contact:
Stephen Kilmer
Hepion Pharmaceuticals Investor Relations
Direct: (646) 274-3580
[email protected]
Artificial Intelligence
Kanazawa University research: Biochemical tails tell a story
KANAZAWA, Japan, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how the use of high-speed atomic force microscopy helps to understand the crucial role played by certain biomolecules in DNA wrapping dynamics.
In plants and animals, the basic packaging units of DNA, which carry genetic information, are the so-called nucleosomes. A nucleosome consists of a segment of DNA wound around eight proteins known as histones. During gene expression (the process lying at the basis of protein production), nucleosomes are involved in various dynamical structural changes, such as nucleosome sliding, DNA unwrapping and other DNA–histone interactions. Of particular importance in these processes are the end structures, or tails, of the histones. Histone tails undergo chemical modifications, changing the histone’s functionality as needed. Detailed studies, and especially visualizations, of nucleosome dynamics are crucial for better understanding the role of histone tails. Mikihiro Shibata from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now succeeded in making video recordings of tail-less nucleosomes, showing that the absence of histone tails significantly increases a nucleosome’s dynamic activity.
The scientists used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM), a powerful nanoimaging tool for visualizing molecular structures and their dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolution. For this, the nucleosomes needed to be put onto a substrate. Shibata and colleagues used a film of so-called pillar[5]arenes (molecules with a pentagonal tubular structure) as the substrate, forming an ideal surface as the nucleosomes are easily adsorbed to it without dynamical processes getting suppressed.
The researchers first looked at nucleosomes for which all eight histones lacked tails. Based on their HS-AFM observations, they concluded that nucleosome sliding and DNA unwrapping/rewrapping occurred more often than for normal (canonical) nucleosomes. This suggests that without tails, the histone–DNA interaction is weakened, leading to a situation in which DNA can more easily detach from the histones.
To better understand the roles of specific histone tails, Shibata and colleagues prepared nucleosomes where one type of histone was tailless. There are four different types of histones, called H2A, H2B, H3 and H4. HS-AFM experiments on the nucleosomes revealed that H2B and H3 tail-less nucleosomes showed an increased frequency of dynamics. Conversely, this means that canonical H2B and H3 histones are essential for nucleosome stability.
The scientists point out that they could not observe any actual motion of histone tails — most likely the temporal resolution of the study, 0.3 seconds, was much slower than the rate of the wrapping/unwrapping dynamics of the tails. Despite this limitation, the work of Shibata and colleagues clearly proves that the tails of H2B and H3 histones are the main contributors to nucleosome dynamics. Regarding future work, quoting the researchers, “a technique for tagging histone tail tips might enable HS-AFM to capture the movements of the histone tails themselves.”
Background
High-speed atomic force microscopy
The general principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is to make a very small tip scan the surface of a sample. During this horizontal (xy) scan, the tip, which is attached to a small cantilever, follows the sample’s vertical (z) profile, inducing a force on the cantilever that can be measured. The magnitude of the force at the xy position can be related to the z value; the xyz data generated during a scan then result in a height map providing structural information about the investigated sample. In high-speed-AFM (HS-AFM), the working principle is slightly more involved: the cantilever is made to oscillate near its resonance frequency. When the tip is moved around a surface, the variations in the amplitude (or the frequency) of the cantilever’s oscillation — resulting from the tip’s interaction with the sample’s surface — are recorded, as these provide a measure for the local z value. AFM does not involve lenses, so its resolution is not restricted by the so-called diffraction limit as in X-ray diffraction, for example.
HS-AFM results in a video, where the time interval between frames depends on the speed with which a single image can be generated (by xy-scanning the sample). Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University have in recent years developed HS-AFM further, so that it can be applied to study biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time. Mikihiro Shibata and colleagues have now applied the method to study nucleosome dynamics in detail, and in particular the role of the molecular endings of histones — proteins that play a crucial role in DNA accessibility.
Reference
Shin Morioka, Takumi Oishi, Suguru Hatazawa, Takahiro Kakuta, Tomoki Ogoshi, Kenichi Umeda, Noriyuki Kodera, Hitoshi Kurumizaka, and Mikihiro Shibata. High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals the Nucleosome Sliding and DNA Unwrapping/Wrapping Dynamics of Tail-less Nucleosomes, Nano Letters ,2024.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Figure-1-12.png Figure 1.
High-speed atomic force microscopy visualization of nucleosome dynamics with canonical (top) and tail-less (bottom) histones.© 2024 American Chemical Society
ContactHiroe YonedaSenior Specialist in Project Planning and OutreachNanoLSI Administration Office, Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)Kanazawa UniversityKakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, JapanEmail: [email protected]: +81 (76) 234-4555
About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring “uncharted nano-realms”
Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale.https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/
About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)
The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI
Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel
About Kanazawa University
As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.
The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa – a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-biochemical-tails-tell-a-story-302125876.html
Artificial Intelligence
Geek+ and System Teknik deploy first PopPick solution in the Nordics for the pharmacy group Med24.dk
DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Geekplus, the global leader in mobile robot and smart logistics solutions, has deployed the first Shelf-to-Person PopPick project in the Nordics for one of the biggest online pharmacy wholesalers in the region, Med24.dk. System Teknik partnered on the Denmark project, which includes three PopPick stations and 30 Shelf-to-Person robots, bringing a flexible solution to a region where fixed automation still dominates.
“With the rise of e-commerce, Med24.dk had been struggling with huge sales growth coupled with fast delivery demands from customers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden searching for pharmacy, health and beauty products. Peak season events had also caused considerable strain to their operations,” said Blond Shkodrani, channel partner manager for the Nordics at Geekplus. “Due to their overwhelming success, Med24.dk needed a modular, automated order fulfillment solution for fast, efficient order fulfillment.”
The Geekplus modular Shelf-to-Person solution optimizes warehouse operations using mobile robots to transport shelves. In a region where fixed and cubic solutions have been the trend during recent years, Shelf-to-Person handles goods of all sizes while removing the need for infrastructure investment, making it the most flexible response to order fulfillment challenges.
PopPick workstations use two retrieval arms and four presentation locations to present pickers with multiple, moveable 78-tote racks at one time, resulting in an industry-leading throughput of 450 totes per hour. PopPick can store goods of all types and sizes; the solution is not limited to small pieces and improves ergonomics for workers while picking. It also takes up less space than traditional systems, so customers can use more stations without adding facility space.
“We are very pleased to invest in flooring robots from Geekplus,” said Med24.dk CEO Nils Træholt. “We believe that this new and innovative technology can help us realize our growth ambitions, while maintaining good delivery times for the benefit of our customers.”
Morten Kirch, System Teknik’s CSO, added: “Due to Med24.dk’s growth, we are thrilled to be able to deliver a tailor-made, automated solution that matches their needs.”
Geekplus offers a suite of Goods-to-Person mobile order fulfillment solutions — the only comprehensive robotic offering controlled by a single software platform.
“Through trusted partners like System Teknik, we’re showing customers all over Europe that Geekplus truly is a one-stop shop for modular warehouse automation,” Shkodrani said.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2395198/Med24_Geekplus_PopPick.jpg Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2373458/Geekplus_logo.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/geek-and-system-teknik-deploy-first-poppick-solution-in-the-nordics-for-the-pharmacy-group-med24dk-302125816.html
Artificial Intelligence
VdoCipher’s Video Piracy Tracker Engine Blocks 60,000+ Pirates on 700+ Platforms
The company has global footprints across 120+ countries, serves over 10,000+ content creators, and educators across 3,000+ platforms
GURUGRAM, India, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — VdoCipher, a leading provider of video player and piracy protection solutions for content creators, e-learning, and media platforms, has announced significant success in combating video piracy with its latest innovation, the Piracy Tracker Engine. In just six months, this cutting-edge technology has blocked over 60,000 piracy attempts across 700+ content platforms, reinforcing VdoCipher’s commitment to safeguarding digital content and revenues.
For over eight years, VdoCipher has been pioneering DRM Encryption and Dynamic Watermark technologies, offering robust security solutions to content creators worldwide. Six months ago, the company introduced the Piracy Tracker and Hacker Identification Engine, aimed at identifying and blocking piracy attempts. This innovative solution targets various forms of piracy, including DRM breaches, credential sharing, and illegal clone applications.
VdoCipher, with a significant presence across the European market, serves over 10,000+ content creators across 3,000 platforms. Vibhav Sinha, CTO, VdoCipher, commented, “Every year we try to add an additional layer of technology to our security stack. Adding to strong Video DRM encryption, we now identify a combination of 12 viewer behavior patterns using our secure player. We provide an easy-to-use dashboard for our customers to get all piracy info. Some of the popular e-learning platforms have already made use of this tool to catch hackers, grow users, and enhance their revenues.”
The proliferation of internet video piracy tools poses a significant challenge, particularly in Europe. Recent statistics reveal that streaming accounted for 58% of piracy in the EU in 2022, with downloading comprising 32%. Top 10 popular global video downloaders have 110+ Million users.
Additionally, a report analyzing online piracy facts worldwide shows that Europeans have the biggest piracy problem (45.72%). In Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, UK and France, film piracy has soared during the Covid19 pandemic. Moreover, Telegram and other platforms have facilitated the widespread dissemination of pirated content, with hundreds of groups each having over 10,000 users leaking course videos.
In the past six months, VdoCipher’s Piracy Tracker Engine has yielded impressive results:
63,210 sessions blocked for potential piracy attempts.12,330 unique devices/IPs blocked.1,690 users were detected for credential misuse.384 user accounts proactively blocked based on piracy data.Legal actions were initiated against 5 users.Siddhant Jain, CEO of VdoCipher, emphasized, “One problem in online education and the content creator economy that no one talks about is video piracy. Video piracy robs creators of revenue but also robs students of learning from good-quality teachers. Teachers fear putting their best content online due to piracy; so ultimately, it also harms the student community. At VdoCipher, with our video hosting solutions, it is our mission to bring more educators and content creators online by ensuring that they do not lose revenues due to online piracy; at the same time, viewers across the globe have the best viewing experience.”
Contact: Siddhant [email protected]
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2394780/VdoCipher_Logo.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/vdociphers-video-piracy-tracker-engine-blocks-60-000-pirates-on-700-platforms-302124573.html
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