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      <p>
        Naot, an Israeli apparel and fashion company, has announced the launch of its first-ever 100% vegan-leather footwear collection in collaboration with Nova Milan, which produces plant-based leather and other sustainable materials. The collection was unveiled at the Kornit Fashion Week (a fashion show exhibiting the latest fashions incorporating technology) held in Los Angeles.
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      <p>
        The collection comprises a unique set of handcrafted sandals with printable, zero-impact vegan-leather uppers that have been developed with agricultural waste such as bananas, pineapple leaves, hemp, and coconuts. The sandals are available for purchase in a variety of colors and designs on Naot&rsquo;s website.
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      <p>
        Founded in 1942, Naot is a leading fashion and apparel company offering a range of handcrafted footwear solutions. Naot Footwear incorporates sustainable methods to develop each pair of shoes and its insoles are made by using natural cork, and latex. Naot&rsquo;s products can be purchased via its website or its authorized resellers. As of date, the company has over 6,000 sales points worldwide.
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  <p>
    <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/11/04/2327501/0/en/Naot-Footwear-Debuts-Plant-Based-Leather-at-Kornit-Fashion-Week-LA.html">
      <b>Company Press Release</b>
    </a>
  </p>
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Bio-based Materials

Naot Footwear debuts its first vegan-leather collection

Hydrogen Economy

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>Hyzon, a company that manufactures hydrogen fuel cell systems, has formed a partnership with recycling company GreenWaste. The partnership includes delivering the first hydrogen-powered refuse collection trucks in North America, manufactured by New Way Trucks.</p>
 <p>As part of the purchase agreement, GreenWaste will obtain 12 hydrogen-powered refuse fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), on the condition that Hyzon meets specific commercial terms and requirements. These trucks aim to help GreenWaste achieve its sustainability goals, such as decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by the year 2030. The expected start of deliveries is in the fourth quarter of 2025.</p>
</div>

Hyzon partners with GreenWaste for first hydrogen fuel cell refuse trucks in North America

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 <p>A partnership has been struck between green hydrogen solutions provider, Lhyfe, and hydrogen combustion engine developer, KEYOU. Their mutual goal is to advance hydrogen mobility solutions in Germany and Europe.</p>
 <p>The collaboration will kick-off in the Baden-Württemberg region where Lhyfe is constructing a facility capable of producing four tons of green hydrogen daily. This will enable KEYOU to put up to 100 hydrogen-powered trucks into operation from 2026 to 2030, increasing at a rate of 20 trucks per annum.</p>
 <p>The focus is to create local ecosystems that combine hydrogen production, distribution network, and heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles. As part of this effort, KEYOU will make use of Lhyfe's digital platform, Lhyfe Heroes, to display its line of vehicles and connect with prospective clients.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This partnership follows Lhyfe being awarded a grant of nearly EUR 11 million (USD 11.8 million) from Klimatklivet in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/30702"> June 2024 </a> to build a 10 MW renewable hydrogen production plant in Trelleborg, Sweden. This plant will also be capable of producing up to four tons of green hydrogen daily and was the first such project grant awarded to Lhyfe in Sweden.</p>

Lhyfe partners with KEYOU to develop hydrogen mobility solutions in Germany

Moving industry forward with next-gen advancements in energy storage and transmission

Alternative Energy

<div>
 <p>Eos Energy, a provider of zinc-based long-duration energy storage systems that is listed on Nasdaq, has entered an MOU with transportation and logistics solutions company Wabash. The purpose of the MOU is to boost the manufacturing and distribution of battery energy storage systems across the US.</p>
 <p>The proposed partnership is intended to utilize Wabash's expertise in manufacturing, capabilities of the supply chain, and nationwide distribution network to speed up Eos' delivery of large-scale battery systems. The objective of the collaboration is to optimize supply chain processes and enhance system footprint density with the aim of rapidly responding to the projected increase in US energy storage deployments, expected to reach 251 GWh within the next four years.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This partnership follows Eos launching its first state-of-the-art manufacturing line in <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/31000"> July 2024 </a> . This will be used to commercially produce its Eos Z3 batteries in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania. The company planned to increase production capacity to 1.25 GWh annually by the end of 2024.</p>

Eos Energy partners with Wabash to streamline battery storage manufacturing and distribution

Novel therapies to reboot cells and organs

Cell & Gene Therapy

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

<div>
 
 <p>Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is ending collaborations with Immatics and Century Therapeutics as part of a cost-cutting program, coming into effect on March 12, 2025. This decision derives from the company's ongoing portfolio prioritization, aiming to save USD 1.5 billion through 2025 by focusing resources on key growth brands and minimizing third-party expenses.</p>
 <p> BMS initiated its partnership with Immatics in 2019 via Celgene, later acquired by BMS, with a USD 75 million upfront payment for T-cell receptor therapies. Meanwhile, the partnership with Century Therapeutics started in January 2022, involving a USD 100 million upfront payment and a USD 50 million equity investment from BMS for developing cell therapies for hematologic malignancies. </p>

</div>

BMS ends cell therapy partnerships with Immatics and Century Therapeutics

<div>

<p>Senti Biosciences has started patient dosing for SN301A, a CAR-NK cell therapy, for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Mainland China. This trial is a joint effort with Celest Therapeutics for determining the safety of the therapy and its anti-tumor activity.</p>
<p>SN301A is a ready-to-use CAR-NK cell therapy that targets GPC3-expressing tumors. The therapy includes three weekly doses in a 28-day cycle after lymphodepletion conditioning. It uses a calibrated release interleukin-15 to stimulate immune cells, expand CAR-NK cells, persist and eliminate tumors.</p>
 
</div>

Senti Bio doses first patient in SN301A clinical trial for liver cancer

<div>
 
 <p>Pharmaceutical company Roche has confirmed it will discontinue a Phase III study of SPK-8011, or dirloctocogene samoparvovec, a gene therapy for hemophilia A obtained from Spark Therapeutics in 2019. Despite the study, known as KEYSTONE 1, commencing in March, no patients have been recruited as yet. Roche plans to reserve SPK-8011 as a prospective enhanced function factor VIII (FVIII) hemophilia A content in its gene therapy pipeline, in view of the potential it displayed in phase I/II trials and its reputedly commendable safety profile.</p>
 <p>In <a href="https://www.biospace.com/roche-drops-hemophilia-a-candidate-prepares-for-the-impacts-of-ira">July 2023</a>, prior to this decision, Roche communicated the discontinuation of RG6358 (SPK-8016) and four other early-stage candidates. These included RG6007 for acute myeloid leukemia, RG7637 for psychiatric disorders, RG6392 for oncology, and a solid tumor vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with SQZ Biotech. The company clarified that the move was made in anticipation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).</p>
 
</div>

Roche discontinues Phase III KEYSTONE 1 study for SPK-8011 hemophilia A gene therapy

Functional Nutrition

<div>
 
 <p>Yeast ingredient company, Yeastup, has successfully raised CHF 8.9 million (USD 9.9 million) in a Series A funding round. The round saw participation from Beyond Impact, Gentian Investments, Newtree Impact, and Angel House.</p>
 <p>The funding is slated for the conversion of a former dairy site in Switzerland into a massive production facility. The site will reportedly have the capacity to upcycle over 20,000 tons of brewer's yeast every year.</p>
 <p>Yeastup's primary goal is the extraction of high-quality proteins and fibers from the spent yeast of brewers. This extraction uses a patented industrial process that isolates protein, beta-glucan, and mannoprotein. Yeastin, Yeastup's main product, is a vegan protein. With a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of 1, it rivals egg protein. It is believed to be suitable for a plethora of food applications, adding meat alternatives, dairy alternatives, and sports nutrition products.</p>
 
</div>

Yeastup raises CHF 8.9 million in Series A funding to build production site

AI-based solutions for evolving digital threats

Next-gen Cybersecurity

<div>
 
 <p>Arctic Wolf is set to acquire BlackBerry's Cylance endpoint security assets for USD 160 million in cash and approximately 5.5 million common shares. Cylance, recognised for its AI-based endpoint protection that prevents 98% of attacks, was recently named 2024 Customers' Choice for endpoint protection platforms by Gartner Peer Insights for the second consecutive year.</p>
 
 <p>With this acquisition, Arctic Wolf aims at becoming one of the industry’s significant open XDR security platforms. The company aims to offer over 15 supported endpoint solutions, hoping to reduce alert fatigue and risk exposure, and to improve security operations through comprehensive attack surface coverage.</p>
 
 <p>After the transaction, BlackBerry will cease offering endpoint security services through Cylance, although it will continue operating its Secure Communications portfolio including BlackBerry UEM, BlackBerry AtHoc, and BlackBerry SecuSUITE. Furthermore, BlackBerry will remain connected to the endpoint security market by continuing to resell the Cylance portfolio to government customers and by remaining a shareholder in Arctic Wolf.</p>
 
</div>

Arctic Wolf acquires BlackBerry's Cylance for USD 160 million and 5.5 million shares

Exploring the limitless possibilities of AI

Generative AI Applications

<div>
 <p>Midjourney, an Artificial Intelligence image generation platform, introduces the latest version 6.1 featuring Pinterest-inspired Moodboards and support for multiple personalization profiles. With this update, users can generate different variations of the platform's AI model. </p>
 <p>Moodboards allow users to upload an image collection that the AI utilizes to generate new art, creating unique style profiles. With a minimum of 40 image ratings, users can develop custom models, but 200 ratings are suggested to achieve the best results. The update also brings enhanced organization features such as naming profiles, setting defaults, and tracking images linked to specific profiles.</p>
 </div>

Midjourney adds moodboards and multiple custom AI model support

<div>
 <p>Google has introduced Whisk, a new tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that enables users to generate and manipulate images using other images as prompts. The tool is currently available to US users through Google Labs, the company's platform for experimental projects.</p>
 <p>Whisk makes use of Google's advanced Imagen 3 model, incorporating a subject image, a scene image, and a style image to generate results. With user-friendly features such as drag-and-drop interface and editable text prompts, users can modify the output images. Additionally, Whisk offers a random generator feature, symbolized by a dice icon, which suggests AI-created images as potential prompts for the user.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 As Google rolls out Whisk, it enters a competitive arena dominated by established players like OpenAI and Midjourney, which have already made significant advancements. The company positions it as a creative tool that enables users to quickly generate multiple variations of images, allowing them to explore ideas in new ways and download the ones they prefer. However, Google notes that since Whisk extracts only key characteristics from input images, generated results may vary from user expectations in terms of features like height, weight, hairstyle, or skin tone.</p>

All Updates

Naot Footwear debuts its first vegan-leather collection

Hyzon partners with GreenWaste for first hydrogen fuel cell refuse trucks in North America

Lhyfe partners with KEYOU to develop hydrogen mobility solutions in Germany

Eos Energy partners with Wabash to streamline battery storage manufacturing and distribution

BMS ends cell therapy partnerships with Immatics and Century Therapeutics

Senti Bio doses first patient in SN301A clinical trial for liver cancer

Roche discontinues Phase III KEYSTONE 1 study for SPK-8011 hemophilia A gene therapy

Yeastup raises CHF 8.9 million in Series A funding to build production site

Arctic Wolf acquires BlackBerry's Cylance for USD 160 million and 5.5 million shares

Midjourney adds moodboards and multiple custom AI model support

Google launches Whisk AI image-generation tool

Bio-based Materials

Naot Footwear debuts its first vegan-leather collection

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