BEIJING, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Boasting rich wetland resources, Harbin City in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province has become a popular tourism destination in summer days this year.

Since the start of July, the search volume for “wetlands” in Harbin on Chinese e-commerce platform Meituan has increased 23 percent year on year, with the number of related travel tips surging 151 percent year on year, according to data from Meituan.

Recently, the number of tourist visits to the Hulan River estuary wetland park has significantly increased, reaching about 5,000 on weekends, according to Zhang Huan, the park’s operation manager.

The park gives priority to wetland ecosystem conservation. Meanwhile, it provides diversified services for visitors to do exercises and enjoy recreational activities.

As one of the Chinese cities certified as “International Wetland Cities”, Harbin has been stepping up wetland conservation and restoration efforts.

It has implemented the medium- and long-term wetland protection plan (2019-2035), and rolled out wetland protection measures, a work plan for wetland ecological conservation and restoration, as well as an implementation plan for the enforcement of the national wetland protection law, securing law-based protection endeavors aiming to enhance the quality of wetlands, according to Xing Guangyou, director of wetlands and natural reserves management division of Harbin municipal forestry and grassland administration.

Wetland parks have established relevant management mechanisms. For example, Alejin Island national wetland park has introduced wetland protection management system, wildlife protection and rescue system, water quality monitoring and management system and so on. The national level wetland park covers an area of 419 hectares, of which 71.1 percent are wetlands.

Through years of efforts, Harbin has restored more than 3,000 hectares of wetlands, and reverted cultivated land into 685 hectares of wetlands.

Harbin’s achievements in wetland protection have earned good returns. Approximately one million tourist visits are made to Harbin each year, creating a total income hitting tens of billions of yuan for the city.

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• HanAll reports strong financial performance with second quarter total revenue of 31.6 billion KRW, driven by the strong sales from the key products.
• HanAll expands collaboration with Turn Biotechnologies through an exclusive licensing agreement for Epigenetic Reprogramming of Aging (ERA^TM) technology, targeting ophthalmic and otic diseases.
• Progress in clinical development programs continued including the completion of Phase 1 study for HL192 (ATH-399A) in Parkinson’s Disease, with results expected in the second half of 2024 and initiation of VELOS-4 Phase 3 study on tanfanercept for Dry Eye Disease.

ROCKVILLE, Md. and SEOUL, South Korea, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — HanAll Biopharma Co., Ltd. (KRX: 009420.KS), a global biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing innovative medicines for patients, reported financial results for the second quarter of 2024 and provided business updates.

HanAll ended the second quarter with total revenue of 31.6 billion KRW and an operating loss of 3.1 billion KRW. Sales revenue reached 28.1 billion KRW, reflecting a 5.4% increase from the same period in 2023, bolstered by robust sales of key products. The overall profitability for the second quarter turned to a loss due to the absence of milestone revenues from the licensed partner.

Within the past quarter, HanAll strengthened its relationship with Turn Biotechnologies, a company founded on licensed technologies from Stanford, culminating in an exclusive licensing agreement to explore the potential of transient epigenetic reprogramming with the use of Yamanaka factors for ophthalmic and otic diseases.

HanAll also completed a Phase 1 first in human study of HL192 (ATH-399A) targeting Parkinson’s Disease, with results anticipated in the second half of 2024.

HanAll’s research and development efforts have achieved significant progress with the initiation of the Phase 3 VELOS-4 study investigating tanfanercept for dry eye disease (DED), with the topline results expected in 2026.

Progress in anti-FcRn assets continued, with the potential advancement of HL161ANS (IMVT-1402)’s development program. Top-line results are anticipated from the ongoing batoclimab Phase 2b study in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and Phase 3 study in generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG) in the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, the resubmission of the Biologics License Application (BLA) in China for gMG marked a significant milestone, bringing batoclimab one step closer to commercialization.

A total of 10 additional studies are being planned for HL161ANS (IMVT-1402). The initiation of studies for the first 4 to 5 potentially registrational studies is slated to begin by the first quarter of 2025. The remaining indications are slated to be initiated by the first quarter of 2026.

“HanAll made a meaningful progress in our R&D in the second quarter, including the completion of the HL192 Phase 1 study in PD, the initiation of the VELOS-4 Phase 3 study for dry eye, and the establishment of a licensing agreement with Turn.bio to develop medicines for age-related diseases. We will sustain our investment in R&D through enhancing efficiency of our operations,” said Sean Jeong, M.D., MBA, CEO of HanAll Biopharma.

Second Quarter 2024 BUSINESS UPDATE

Pipeline Development Highlights

A comprehensive update of HanAll’s public pipeline development below includes an overview of research along with lists of compounds, targeted indications, and developmental phases.

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES PROGRAMS

Batoclimab (HL161BKN)

A novel, fully human, subcutaneously administered antibody targeting FcRn with the potential to address multiple IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases, batoclimab is designed to selectively bind to FcRn, which plays a role in recycling IgG, thereby reducing levels of harmful IgG antibodies

• Immunovant, a member of the Roivant group of companies as well as HanAll’s licensed partner in the United States and Europe, is making progress across four autoimmune indications. Results from the batoclimab study in Graves’ disease are expected in fall of 2024 from Immunovant. Phase 3 studies in gMG and TED are advancing.
• Topline data from the Phase 3 study in generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG) is also anticipated in the first quarter of 2025.
• Progress continues in the Phase 3 study for Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), with the top-line results also projected in the first half of 2025.
• Regarding the ongoing Phase 2b Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) study, Immunovant has decided to extend the duration of the study in order to optimize the study design for IMVT-1402 in CIDP. Following this decision, initial results from period 1 of the Phase 2b study in CIDP are expected in the first quarter of 2025.
• Harbour BioMed, another licensed partner which transferred exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize batoclimab in the Greater China region to CSPC NBP Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (NBP Pharma), has resubmitted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for batoclimab to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in June 2024. The BLA incorporated supplementary long-term safety data from the Phase 3 study in gMG, concluded in June 2023.

HL161ANS (IMVT-1402)

Another novel, fully human, subcutaneous antibody molecule that inhibits FcRn-mediated recycling of IgG is designed to deliver maximum lgG reductions, while minimizing interference with albumin recycling

• Immunovant plans to initiate 4 to 5 potentially registrational studies for IMVT-1402 (HL161ANS) before the end of first quarter of 2025, following a recent Type B meeting with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). The company plans to initiate studies on IMVT-1402 in a total of 10 indications before the end of the first quarter of 2026.
• Immunovant is exploring initiating a registrational development in gMG with IMVT-1402.
• Immunovant will work to optimize the HL161ANS/IMVT-1402 CIDP trial design, drawing insights from the ongoing CIDP Phase 2b trial for batoclimab. This process involves extending the duration of Phase 2b study in batoclimab in CIDP and incorporating learnings from the previous studies.
• Immunovant also plans to provide an overview of the development program for HL161ANS/IMVT-1402 in Grave’s disease (GD) in the second half of 2024.

OPHTHALMIC DISEASE PROGRAM

Tanfanercept (HL036)

A novel topical protein therapy for ophthalmic diseases, including dry eye disease (DED), which inhibits TNF, a key mediator of ocular inflammation

• HanAll Biopharma and Daewoong Pharmaceutical initiated the Phase 3 VELOS-4 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tanfanercept in dry eye. The topline results for the VELOS-4 study is expected in 2026.
• The Phase 3 VELOS-4 trial builds upon key insights gained from the completed Phase 3 VELOS-3 study. In VELOS-3, tanfanercept demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the secondary efficacy endpoint of tear volume, as measured by unanesthetized Schirmer testing, in patients treated with tanfanercept compared to those in the vehicle group at week 8 (p=0.002). In addition, a post hoc analysis revealed that a notable proportion of participants in the tanfanercept group (14%) showed significant improvement (p=0.011) in the Schirmer test, with an increase of at least 10mm from baseline at week 8, compared to only 4% in the vehicle group.
• The 2020 FDA Draft Guidance on Dry Eye Drug Development considers the proportion of participants achieving a minimum 10mm increase in the Schirmer test response rate as an acceptable primary efficacy endpoint for approval.

NEUROLOGY PROGRAM

HL192 (ATH-399A)

A pipeline candidate from NurrOn Pharmaceuticals (originating from Harvard Medical School’s Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory) which targets Nurr1, both a master regulator in dopaminergic neuron development and maintenance, as well as an important component in anti-inflammatory functions. HL192 (ATH-399A) is being developed to treat neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD).

• The Phase 1 study of HL192, being jointly developed by HanAll Biopharma, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, and NurrOn Pharmaceuticals, has completed dosing with the results expected in the second half of 2024.

ONCOLOGY PROGRAMS

HL187 is a monoclonal antibody that targets TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptors with Ig and ITIM domains {Immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domains}). HL186 is a monoclonal antibody that targets TIM-3 (T cell Ig and mucin domain-3). These antibodies are being developed in collaboration with Daewoong Pharmaceutical as potential oncology treatments.

• HanAll is continuing with the pre-clinical development of the HL187 (anti-TIGIT) asset and plans to evaluate the further development of HL186 (anti-TIM-3) based on the strategic portfolio review.

About HanAll Biopharma

HanAll Biopharma (KRX: 009420.KS) is a global biopharmaceutical company with presence in Korea, the USA, Japan, and Indonesia with the mission of making meaningful contributions to patients’ lives by introducing innovative, impactful medicines to address severe unmet medical needs. HanAll has been operating a portfolio of pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of endocrine, circulatory, and urologic diseases for over 50 years.

HanAll has also expanded its focus to immunology, oncology, neurology, and ophthalmology to discover and develop innovative medicines for patients with diseases for which there are no effective treatments. One of its lead pipeline assets, HL161 (INN: batoclimab), an anti-FcRn antibody, is being developed in Phase 3 and Phase 2 trials across the world for the treatment of autoimmune diseases including generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), thyroid eye disease (TED), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), and Graves’ disease (GD). HL161ANS (IMVT-1402), an anti-FcRn antibody targeting multiple indications, is being evaluated in a Phase clinical study (healthy volunteers).

Another lead asset, HL036 (INN: tanfanercept), a TNF inhibitor protein, is being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical studies in the US and is also being evaluated in China for the treatment of dry eye disease.

HL192 (ATH-399A), a Nurr1 activator targeting Parkinson’s Disease, has completed a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers.

For further information, visit our website and connect with us on LinkedIn. For any media inquiries, please contact HanAll PR/IR (pr@hanall.com, ir@hanall.com).

Disclaimer Statement 

The contents of this announcement include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” or “should,” and include statements HANALL (the company, we) makes concerning its 2024 business and financial outlook and related plans; the therapeutic potential of its product candidates; the intended results of its strategy and the company, and its collaboration partners’, advancement of, and anticipated clinical development, data readouts and regulatory milestones and plans, including the timing of planned clinical trials and expected data readouts; the design of future clinical trials and the timing and outcome of regulatory filings and regulatory approvals. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The company’s actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. These may include various significant factors, such as our expectations regarding the inherent uncertainties associated with competitive developments, preclinical and clinical trial and product development activities, and regulatory approval requirements. In addition, performance may be affected by our reliance on collaborations with third parties, estimating the commercial potential of our product candidates, our ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property of technologies and drugs, our limited operating history, and our ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development and commercialization of product candidates. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties, and other risks can be found in Korea Stock Exchange (KRX) filings and reports, including in our most recent annual report as well as subsequent filings and reports filed by the company with the KRX. Given these uncertainties, the reader is advised not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of publication of this document. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise the information in this press release, including any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by Korean law and regulations. 

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Convictions by the People’s Court of Quang Binh Province Follow Arrests Made in January 2024

HANOI, Vietnam, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading anti-piracy coalition, commends the Vietnamese court and local law enforcement for the conviction of the three operators of the illegal streaming websites bilutvt.net, tvhayh.org, and hlss.pro in a case in which various ACE members were complainants.

The People’s Court of Quang Binh Province sentenced the primary operator, Phan Ngoc Tuan, to 24 months in prison with a suspended sentence, 48 months of probation, and it confiscated 2,006,539,128 VND ($78,306 USD) to be allocated towards public funds.

The two supporting operators also were sentenced. One will serve 15 months in prison with a suspended sentence and 18 months of probation. The court confiscated 490,580,700 VND ($19,144 USD). The other was ordered to serve 9 months in prison with 18 months of probation. The court will confiscate 184,123,100 VND ($7,185 USD). All confiscated money will go toward public funds.

“Violations of intellectual property and copyrights, particularly those of foreign rights holders, disrupt business operations,” said Judge Nguyen Xuan Dieu, the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court of Quang Binh Provincial People’s Court. “This also negatively affects foreign investment in Vietnam. It affects the country’s reputation and violates international conventions on intellectual property, Vietnam’s intellectual property laws, the Penal Code, and other regulations,” he added.

“The Vietnamese criminal court and local law enforcement have issued a strong deterrence message in the successful prosecution of the operators in the BiluTV case,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the MPA. “Some of the world’s most widely accessed illegal streaming sites are based in Vietnam. While the conviction of the three defendants marks the second milestone this year in Vietnam’s fight to protect intellectual property, much more work remains to be done in this space and we look forward to ongoing collaboration with the Vietnamese justice system and future landmark convictions of criminal targets there.”

About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the legal creative market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation, and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and unauthorized content sources and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world—including sports channels and associations—and reinforced by the Motion Picture Association’s content protection operations, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drives the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix Studios LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE.

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SHANGHAI, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Angel Yeast (SH600298), a global leader in yeast manufacturing, recently introduced its yeast protein and innovative application solutions at the Growth Asia 2024 summit, which was co-hosted by leading industry media NutraIngredients and FoodNavigator from July 16 to 18 in Singapore.

About 60 leading nutrition health companies and more than 300 guests from around the world participated in this year’s summit, which brings together the biggest players in the global food, beverage, and nutrition sectors to explore the latest business opportunities across the Asia Pacific region. The three-day event covered various topics from infant and child nutrition, women’s health, healthy lifestyle, protein trends, intestinal health, healthy aging, and more.

“Angel Yeast is honored to join Growth Asia 2024, where we introduced our yeast protein product and innovative application solutions in the Asia-Pacific region. We shared insights on the advantages of yeast protein compared to other proteins and showcased successful global case studies. This summit helped raise awareness of our yeast protein and the AngeoPro brand,” said Chen Zhixian, deputy general manager of Angel Yeast Nutrition and Health Technology Center.

Chen gave the keynote “The Science Behind AngeoPro” which centered on the background of Angel Yeast’s R&D of yeast protein, the nutritional advantages, the latest research findings, application examples, and typical products. Around 20 companies showed interest in pursuing the innovative protein solution further at the summit.

Globally, consumers are growing more aware of food nutrition and achieving better health management, especially paying more attention to vitamins, minerals, proteins, and probiotics which are fundamental, as well as low-calorie, low-sugar, and high-protein solutions to improve intestinal, sleep, psychology health as well as sports nutrition.

The protein sources for most of the population in the Asia-Pacific region are mainly eggs, lean meat, and fish, as well as yogurt, protein ready-to-drink beverages, protein bars, and protein powders. Australia has the world’s largest market for high-protein yogurt reaching 47 million USD in scale, South Korea has 63 percent of the protein bar market share amounting to 7.2 million USD, while Thailand’s market for read-to-drink protein beverages and protein snacks totals 4 million USD.

Yeast proteins can meet the growing consumer demand for health foods with high nutritional values and excellent functionality, and Angel Yeast is committed to leading the development of a healthy and sustainable food industry.

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HONG KONG, July 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — SU Group Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: SUGP) (“SU Group” or the “Company”), an integrated security-related engineering services company in Hong Kong, today announced it was awarded a material new order at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), increasing market share and position as a leading one-stop security-related services provider. The Hong Kong International Airport is recognized as one of the world’s busiest airports and one of the most popular Asian hubs for regional and international travel, and commercial transport. Financial terms were not disclosed but the Company noted it expects this to have a positive material impact on its sales growth.

SU Group began providing security solutions at the Hong Kong International Airport in 1998, providing maintenance services for X-ray machines for cargo screening, supplying pedestrian lane gates in certain terminal locations, and high-security turnstiles in certain restricted areas. As part of the new order being announced today, SU Group will supply its high-quality pedestrian gates in 20 additional pedestrian lanes and 10 high-security vehicle barrier gates at the Hong Kong International Airport’s new Terminal Concourse and associated areas.

The Hong Kong International Airport is connected to nearly 200 destinations, with more than 1,000 daily flights. Hong Kong is estimated to be 5 hours away from half the world’s population, with a projected multi-year increase in passenger traffic resulting in the promulgation of the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030 on June 2, 2011 to expand the currently operating two runways into a three runway system (“3RS“) in support of the anticipated increased demand.

SU Group’s Chairman and CEO, Dave Chan, commented, “This is an excellent opportunity for us, highlighting a key aspect of our core strategy. By offering top-tier security-related solutions at high-value locations, we can grow alongside them over time. Specifically, at the Hong Kong International Airport, the recent surge in passenger traffic post-COVID-19 and the global economic reopening has necessitated new capital expenditures from municipalities, government agencies, and our customers to ensure comprehensive security. It’s crucial to have an orderly process for handling incoming and outgoing passengers to prevent security breaches, delays, and other issues that could harm the travel experience. SU Group excels in these areas, which we believe will drive our long-term growth.”

About SU Group Holdings Limited

SU Group (Nasdaq: SUGP) is an integrated security-related services company that primarily provides security-related engineering services, security guarding and screening services, and related vocational training services in Hong Kong. Through its subsidiaries, SU Group has been providing turnkey services to the existing infrastructure or planned development of its customers through the design, supply, installation, and maintenance of security systems for over two decades. The security systems that SU Group provides services include threat detection systems, traffic and pedestrian control systems, and extra-low voltage systems in private and public sectors, including commercial properties, public facilities, and residential properties in Hong Kong. For more information visit www.sugroup.com.hk.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expect,” “we believe,” “we intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “could” and similar expressions. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company’s ability to renew contracts with recurring customers; the Company’s ability to secure new contracts; the Company’s ability to accurately estimate risks and costs and perform contracts based on the Company’s estimates; the Company’s relationship with the Company’s suppliers and ability to manage quality issues of the systems; the Company’s ability to obtain or renew the Company’s registrations, licenses, and certificates; the Company’s ability to manage the Company’s subcontractors; the labor costs and the general condition of the labor market; the Company’s ability to effectively manage inventories; the Company’s ability to compete effectively; the Company’s dependence on a small number of suppliers for a substantial portion of the Company’s supplies; the Company’s ability to successfully manage the Company’s capacity expansion and allocation in response to changing industry and market conditions; implementation of the Company’s expansion plans and the Company’s ability to obtain capital resources for planned growth; the Company’s ability to acquire sufficient products and obtain equipment and services from the Company’s suppliers in suitable quantity and quality; the Company’s dependence on key personnel; the Company’s ability to expand into new businesses, industries, or internationally and to undertake mergers, acquisitions, investments, or divestments; changes in technology and competing products; general economic and political conditions, including those related to the security-related engineering services industry; possible disruptions in commercial activities caused by events such as natural disasters, terrorist activities, political, economic, and social instability, and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F and its subsequent filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and other filings with the SEC.

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