15 2 月, 2023

Innovation is the Key Benchmark, Focus on Four Healthcare Industry Sub-Sectors in 2023, Says Jafar Wang of Legend Capital

HONG KONG, Feb 15, 2023 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Legend Capital invested in 29 healthcare companies that officially disclosed financing rounds in 2022, according to the VBDATA Database. Since 2007, Legend Capital has continuously invested in healthcare across industry sub-sectors including innovative drugs, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostic technology, professional services and supply chain. Overtime, it has built a powerful healthcare ecosystem encompassing more than 140 portfolio companies. Through value-added initiatives including strategic management and business empowerment activities, Legend Capital has the capability to bring far more value to the table in addition to financial resources.Breakthrough and global innovations are the key benchmarks by which Legend Capital judges and selects projects in a changing external environment. How did Legend Capital navigate the challenges of 2022 and how does it see the market in 2023? What are the key healthcare investment themes? In an interview with VCBeat, Jafar Wang, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Legend Capital, shared his perspectives:"Five significant changes in primary market investments"Legend Capital observed several important evolvements in the healthcare investment market during 2022:First, the industry's overall investment pace slowed down, with considerable decrease in deal count, deal size, and the speed of decision-making. Activity level of the healthcare investment market has returned to normalcy after an overheated period of 2020-2021, which now appears on the same level as 2019. Second, there has been significant changes in investors' selection criteria. Institutional investors need to evaluate whether a project has demonstrated breakthrough innovation, whether it is among the top three in its field, and whether it has the potential to compete on the global stage for first-in-class or best-in-class status. As a result, investors look to sector leaders for investment opportunities.Third, there is growing emphasis on exit and exit management.Fourth, emerging markets are receiving more attention as industry participants turn their overseas focus from developed markets to emerging economies. On the one hand, investors have increased their allocation to emerging markets, such as Legend Capital's expansion into Southeast Asia. Similarly, more players are aggressively expanding abroad in the hope that their products and services will reach the wider emerging markets. For Chinese healthcare companies, these markets will be a key destination in the next five to ten years.Lastly, there is general awareness in the industry that the window for biotech companies to transition into biopharma has closed for the moment. Biotech companies should continue to focus on their core competencies in technology innovation and product development, while actively pursue collaborations in manufacturing, supply chain, and downstream commercialization with top-tier industry players."An investment strategy focused on innovation and early-stage opportunities" Regardless of changes to the external environment, Legend Capital continues to uphold the importance of being an investor in value, innovation, in early-stage firms, in core technologies, and taking the long view. Our selection criteria for deals remain consistently high.In 2022, Legend Capital established a Frontier Biotechnology Fund to invest in innovative seed and start-up stage biotechnology and MedTech companies. Although such investments carry higher risks, they could potentially create game-changing results for the industry. This fund will mainly focus on the commercialization of ideas and products from academia, overseas returnees, and well-known spin-off teams or founders. Legend Capital values cutting-edge, innovative, and disruptive technologies, and we are willing to make bigger bets and dedicate more resources towards these seed and angel stage projects.Legend Capital is also devoted to investing in the independence and security of the healthcare supply chain. Two years ago, we put forward the view that an independent and secure supply chain, as well as import substitution, are among the best investment opportunities over the next five years. We are not only focused on the China market, but with an eye to the international potential of investee companies. The idea of supply chain investment is to help resolve bottlenecks faced by the industry while also serving the global market.In terms of Legend Capital's healthcare ecosystem, we are continuously expanding this ecosystem and improving synergies within. In the past, our value-added services were geared towards management guidance, but two years ago, we increased efforts to empower our portfolio companies with industry perspectives. To date, Legend Capital has invested in more than 140 healthcare companies, and established a complete, one-stop value-added service system across research, production, supply chain, and commercialization function. Our presence in sub-sectors from life science tools to preclinical research, clinical CRO, manufacturing and commercialization allow Legend Capital to bring synergy to portfolio companies. As this value-add ecosystem evolve and portfolio companies reap the benefits, oftentimes prospective investees become more receptive to our investment; they see Legend Capital as an investor with abundant industry resources, rather than a pure financial investor.Additionally, Legend Capital cooperates closely with industry-leading firms to bring additional resources to our healthcare ecosystem, which helps portfolio companies in their business development. Through product licensing and strategic collaborations, we have strengthened the connection among the ecosystem, portfolio companies, and industry peers. Working with healthcare companies in the industry not only aids the development of our portfolio companies, but also present potential new opportunities for Legend Capital. For instance, we have been able to generate new investments with our industry partners through efforts such as co-investments, incubation, and spin-offs. This may very well become a common investment practice in the future.Throughout 2022, Legend Capital had five healthcare-related IPOs, including Recbio Technology, R&G Pharmastudies, MicuRx Pharmaceutical, Sipai Health Technology, and Lunit; in addition, nearly 10 portfolio companies were exited through M&A. A RMB 300+ million GP-led secondary transaction was completed during the year after concluding a $270 million one in 2021. We will continue to utilize secondary tools in the future to generate large-scale exits for existing LPs, which also create opportunities to partner with new LPs while supporting our portfolio companies on their journeys, to ultimately achieve a win-win for all parties."Opportunities are bred from innovation" Legend Capital maintains a diversified portfolio of companies in innovative drugs and biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostic technology, professional service and supply chain, and will continue to actively invest going forward. In 2023, our healthcare investment efforts will focus on three main areas.For biotech, Legend Capital will concentrate on small nucleic acid medicines and CGT-related verticals such as gene editing and induced pluripotent stem cells. In MedTech, more focus will be placed on life science tools, import substitution, and consumer healthcare. In professional services and supply chain, with the evolvement of CGT and small nucleic acid pharmaceuticals, CRO and CDMO may present new investment prospects. In addition to investing in pharmaceutical CRO and CDMO, Legend Capital saw success in 2022 with investments in medical device and diagnostic CRO and CDMO so we will continue to invest in these fields.Leveraging our vast portfolio ecosystem, Legend Capital will continue to make significant investments in supply chain independence, including upstream consumables, machinery, and life science tools. To achieve the best outcomes, Legend Capital will collaborate with its leading portfolio companies in the future on co-investments and help them with potential M&A opportunities.In summary, Legend Capital believes that the best investment opportunities arise from breakthrough innovation. For instance, our portfolio company Harbour BioMed recently announced that the U.S. FDA has cleared the IND application to commence clinical trials of its globally first-in-class fully human monoclonal antibody HBM1020 targeting B7H7 (also known as HHLA2) in the U.S. HBM1020 is also the globally first-ever monoclonal antibody targeting B7H7 cleared by the regulatory agency for clinical trials. HBM1020 may present a novel anti-tumor therapeutic complementary to PD-(L)1 therapeutics to patients, especially for PD-L1 negative/refractory patients. Regardless of the outcome, we believe a company will stand a better chance to break out from intense competition when it has the courage and boldness to be the innovator.About Legend CapitalFounded in 2001, Legend Capital is a leading VC&PE investor focusing on the early-stage and growth-stage opportunities in China, with offices across Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Seoul, Korea. It currently manages USD and RMB funds of over US$10 billion in commitments, and has invested in around 600 companies, covering technology, healthcare, consumer, enterprise service and intelligent manufacturing sectors. Rooted in China, Legend Capital participated in the rise of many world-leading companies by solid investment coverage and systematic post-investment value-add. Over the years, Legend Capital has also become a widely recognized name in bridging key resources in China and overseas through cross-border activities, and a valuable partner to Chinese and overseas investors. Legend Capital values long-term sustainable investment and incorporates ESG into its long-term development strategy. As a UNPRI signatory since November 2019, Legend Capital is among the first group of top VC/PE firms in China to join the initiative. For more information, please visit www.legendcapital.com.cn/index_en.aspx and follow us on LinkedIn @Legend Capital (https://www.linkedin.com/company/legend-capital). Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

8 9 月, 2022

AscendEX Announces Revamped Earn Platform

New York, NY, September 08, 2022 – (SEAPRWire) – AscendEX, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, is excited to announce the overhaul of its native earning platform, AcendEX Earn, including increased yields on 100+crypto assets such as BTC, ETH, USDT, and CRV. The updates are inspired by AscendEX’s ongoing commitment to offering everyone, from the novice investor to the crypto veteran, the opportunity to access the power of DeFi with confidence. The new and improved interface allows users to visualize their potential returns, manage the assets in their portfolio, and explore new ways to earn using the most comprehensive portfolio management tools on the market. The user’s Earn Dashboard features not only the functionality to view historical returns, but also the opportunity to project future earnings across various timeframes. For maximum transparency, AscendEX allows users to toggle between the yield-generating products available for eligible assets within their portfolio, or browse by their preferred mechanism for earning yield and then see the featured and suggested assets associated with it. Efficiency, clarity, and ease-of-use were at the forefront of these user-centered designs. AscendEX Earn’s new quick trade tools allow for one-click delegation of your crypto assets. These quick trade tools make buying and earning more streamlined than ever, allowing users to instantly purchase and delegate using a credit or debit card. Additionally, the “Earn Max. Yield” feature allows users to achieve their maximum earning potential on the platform with a one-click delegation of their entire AscendEX portfolio. The new Earn Dashboard is optimized for both browsing and seamlessly comparing all earning opportunities. The section dedicated to these Earn opportunities allows users to quickly compare AscendEX’s full suite of yield generating mechanisms such as staking, lending, DeFi yield farming, and promotional products, so users always know where AscendEX is holding or placing their funds. If users are interested in a particular set of assets, the “Opportunities by asset” view compares the individual assets available in Earn for generating yield and allows users the chance to create a tailored “Favorites” list of only the assets they care about. Filter 100+Earn products by risk profile, earning potential, or assets of interest to find the products that best suit your goals. Additionally, AscendEX is excited to announce as part of this launch the Earn platform’s new “Passive Income” feature, which offers users the chance to put their investing on autopilot by setting their income goals, their desired timeframes, and letting AscendEX do the rest. AscendEX continues to revamp and revitalize its products to honor the commitment to its users to offer the best access to DeFi opportunities, to maintain the transparency and usability of a leading centralized exchange, and to help enable users to reach their highest peak. To read more about the offering, see AscendEX’s Official Website: https://ascendex.media/3qd0567 Media Contact Brand: AscendEX Contact: Media team Email: dan.mulligan@ascendex.com Website: https://ascendex.com/ PR Contact info@finpr.agency https://finpr.agency SOURCE: AscendEX The article is provided by a third-party content provider. SEAPRWire ( https://www.seaprwire.com/ ) makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith. Any questions, please contact cs/at/SEAPRWire.com Sectors: Top Story, Daily News SEA PRWire: PR distribution in Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: AsiaExcite, EastMud; AsiaEase; Singapore: SEAChronicle, VOASG; NetDace; Thailand: SEAsiabiz, AccessTH; Indonesia: SEATribune, DailyBerita; Philippines: SEATickers, PHNotes; Malaysia: SEANewswire, KULPR; Vietnam: SEANewsDesk, PostVN)

7 7 月, 2022

Global Portfolio and Work Management Leader Planview Expands with Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore; Two Asian Tech Veterans to Lead Regional Operations out of Singapore

SINGAPORE and AUSTIN, Texas, Jul 7, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Planview, a global leader in Portfolio Management and Work Management, today announced the establishment of its regional headquarters in Singapore. The expanded Asia Pacific operations will support the growing demand for software solutions to accelerate agility and business transformation.The business disruptions accelerated by global events over the past year, together with major changes in work culture, processes, and business demands, have exposed the weaknesses of 'digital transformation' initiatives around the world, including in Asia.Despite investments in new technology and methodologies, disconnects in the operating environment have shown that many of these transformation initiatives have fallen short, Razat Gaurav, Chief Executive Officer at Planview, said at the launch of its regional headquarters."After a surge in digital transformation investments for over a decade, most transformation initiatives have failed to yield the rapid insights, innovation, and deep connectivity needed to respond to the multiple challenges faced in recent times.Business initiatives have become more complex across multiple locations, with shorter business cycles and much less predictability. It's critical that employees across the business can see how their work connects to the organisation's strategic outcomes and are enabled to make fast decisions on the front lines while staying on point strategically. To do so, the C-suite needs software that can facilitate agility, empower, measure individual and team outcomes, and offer visibility, all while achieving a holistic vision," Gaurav said.Named a leader in both the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Agile Planning Tools[1] and the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Strategic Portfolio Management[2], Planview addresses these gaps through solutions that enable strategic alignment to support organizations on their transformation journeys.Planview was acquired for US$1.6 billion in December 2020 by TPG Capital, the private equity platform of global alternative asset firm TPG, and TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm. In the last six quarters, Planview has acquired four companies to enhance its leadership in how companies drive on-strategy delivery at speed and accelerate the achievement of what matters most.The launch of the APAC office is taking place just days after Planview completed its acquisition of Tasktop, a pioneer and leader in Value Stream Management (VSM). Based in Vancouver, Canada, Tasktop was founded by Dr. Mik Kersten, author of best-selling Project To Product: How to Survive and Thrive in the Age of Digital Disruption with the Flow Framework. Kersten is now Planview's Chief Technology Officer.After completing the Tasktop acquisition, Planview now has 1,300 employees, more than 4,500 customers, and over 2.6 million users worldwide.Planview's operations in the region will be led by Managing Director and President for APAC, Vishal Dhawan, and Head of Strategy, Marketing and Alliances for APAC, Harsh Vardhan. The former is an Indian national and a Singapore permanent resident and the latter is a naturalised Singaporean."Our expanded footprint in APAC will allow us to support global clients at a time of increasing business activity in the world's fastest-growing economic region. We already have major customers in Australia and Southeast Asia, and will increase our presence through partnerships with consulting and transformation firms, as well as global systems integrators," said Dhawan. "We also intend to collaborate with Asian institutes of higher learning to help build future leaders equipped to handle agile planning."[1] Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Agile Planning Tools by Bill Blosen, Mike West, Keith Mann, Deacon D.K. Wan, Akis Sklavounakis, Hassan Ennaciri, and Sarah Davies, April 25, 2022.[2] Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Strategic Portfolio Management by Anthony Henderson and Daniel Stang, April 18, 2022. About PlanviewPlanview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview's full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.Media inquiriespr@planview.com Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

25 2 月, 2022

NEC Expands Open Networks Portfolio with 18 New O-RAN Radios

TOKYO, Feb 25, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) has dramatically expanded its open RAN Radio Units (O-RUs) portfolio with the introduction of several new products and configurations. These 18 new Radio Units help NEC maintain its leadership position in the O-RU segment as ORAN deployments gain momentum globally. The new RU products complement NEC?s existing portfolio to help meet the demands of private and public mobile networks that will drive Open RAN initiatives forward this year.These launches add new configurations (4T4R, 8T8R, 32T32R, 64T64R) to NEC?s industry-leading portfolio of massive MIMO radios. All the new configurations are built on modular platforms, allowing fast time to market and adaptation to customer-specific needs. For instance, the majority of the new RUs are available in 5G NR and 4G LTE with dual-band versions for the most popular band combinations. Network operators will benefit from several technological advancements, including natural convection cooling, high performance digital beamforming, small volume and weight and aggressive cost-efficiency.Patrick Lopez, NEC's global VP for product management 5G, commented, "NEC has been at the forefront of Open RAN and massive MIMO deployments at scale in commercial urban environments. These additions to our portfolio, featuring new configurations and bands, enable us to address the overall RAN market. This is a great advancement for NEC Open Networks, our radically open approach to deliver an end-to-end portfolio of products and services, within an open multivendor ecosystem, that allows operators to pick and choose options fitting their needs and strategic objectives."Operators around the globe are accelerating 5G deployments to enhance coverage and network capacity in a wide range of environments, including dense, urban areas with high-rises, urban locations with mid-rise structures, rural areas, broadband hot-spots and enterprises. Customers are looking towards Open RAN as a game-changing alternative to the closed architecture of incumbent equipment suppliers. NEC has taken an active role in driving the need for Open RAN solutions, incorporating superior radio architecture design with cost and power efficiency and using state-of-the-art silicon and RF components to achieve a smaller form factor with modular design. NEC will be presenting its industry leading NEC Open Networks at MWC Barcelona 2022, at Fira Gran Via, Hall 2 2F10https://www.nec.com/en/event/mwc2022/About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of "Orchestrating a brighter world." NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

9 2 月, 2022

TrueFi Launches First Protocol-to-protocol Lending Portfolio for Perpetual Protocol, Powering Up to $100m in DEX Liquidity

San Francisco, Feb 9, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TrustToken, builders of the leading unsecured lending protocol TrueFi, as well as popular stablecoins like TrueUSD, announces its partnership with Perpetual Protocol (PERP), an Ethereum-based decentralized derivatives exchange with up to 10x leverage. As part of the collaboration, TrueFi launches its first protocol-to-protocol lending portfolio, supporting market makers with access to competitively priced loans to support even deeper liquidity on Perpetual Protocol. The portfolio opens with a $5 million asset cap, to be expanded over time.The decentralized finance ecosystem expanded by 1,200 percent in 2021 in total value locked'a dramatic upshoot in parallel with increased interest from traditional financial institutions and institutional investors. Decentralized exchanges - trading platforms powered by smart contracts - have emerged as one of the key cornerstones of the space. Since they rely on algorithmic market-making instead of the usual order book, they need a community of dedicated liquidity providers to maintain pools large enough to avoid slippage on executing trades.TrueFi helps Perpetual scale its liquidity efforts by launching a dedicated lending portfolio to market makers providing liquidity directly to Perpetual's trading pairs. While launching with support for a limited list of participants, drawn largely from the Perpetual Foundation and PERP's ecosystem supporters like Multicoin Capital and Dragonfly Liquid, the portfolio is designed to support a broad scope of lenders in the future. Future Perpetual Protocol portfolios may also benefit from added lender rewards, including TRU and PERP incentives. TrueTrading, a TrustToken affiliate company, will manage the portfolio on behalf of Perpetual Protocol and provide compliance services to create the smoothest experience for Perpetual Protocol and its partners. Additionally, the collaboration benefits from TrueFi's large and growing network of trusted crypto-native funds, such as Amber Group, who will be able to engage with Perpetual on TrueFi with ease."Smart contracts allow us to build sophisticated financial products in a transparent way," says Rafael Cosman, CEO of TrustToken. "Perpetual's decentralized futures contracts, with no settlement date, are a prime example of novel financial engineering enabled by the promise of blockchain technology. TrueFi is thrilled to support Perpetual as its first protocol-to-protocol lending partner, powering liquidity for Perpetual's groundbreaking offerings, in a portfolio we expect to pass $100 million by year's end.""Committed market makers are crucial for any user-driven decentralized exchange, as they are the engine that keeps it going," says Yenwen Feng, Co-Founder at Perpetual Protocol. "By teaming up with TrustToken, we bring our market makers more liquidity to tap into as they support our own trading pairs. This grants liquidity providers more confidence through greater market stability and reduced slippage which ultimately results in a better trading experience for all of our users."About TrustTokenTrustToken is building the protocol for global lending. TrustToken's TrueFi platform brings uncollateralized lending and credit scoring on-chain, offering borrowers the highest possible capital efficiency at competitive rates, while offering lenders the broadest marketplace of financial products in DeFi. TrueFi has completed over $1B in loan originations with a perfect record of repayment, and has approximately $1B in total assets under management. The company's TrueCurrencies are the world's first independently-verified, fully collateralized stablecoins, trading on top exchanges like Binance, Huobi, and OKEx, generating billions in monthly trade volume. TrueCurrency users enjoy lightning-fast transactions, the lowest transaction costs of any stablecoin, easy exchange to and from fiat currency, and obsessive customer service. Start using TrueFi at https://truefi.io, or learn more about TrustToken products at https://trusttoken.com. For interested borrowers or asset managers looking to build financial products on TrueFi, please contact ryan.rodenbaugh@trusttoken.comAbout Perpetual ProtocolPerpetual Protocol is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange operating on the cutting edge of decentralized finance. The protocol allows its users to go long or short using crypto's most popular financial instrument: perpetual futures contracts. Perpetual Protocol also empowers developers with its highly composable and deeply liquid protocol, providing an all-new design space for builders to create on while tapping into the exciting potential of Web3. For more information, please visit their website at https://perp.fi/ Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)