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IndiaFirst Life Strengthens Its Leadership with Two Industry Veterans

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Varun Gupta joins as President & CDO – Bancassurance and
Sumeet Sahni joins as President & CDO – Agency & Alliances

MUMBAI, India, July 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd (IndiaFirst Life) announced the appointment of Varun Gupta as President & Chief Distribution Officer (CDO) – Bancassurance and of Sumeet Sahni as President & Chief Distribution Officer (CDO) – Agency & Alliances. The new appointments are part of the company’s strategy to further strengthen its distribution network in line with its growth plans.

Rushabh Gandhi, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life, said, “We are delighted to welcome Varun and Sumeet to our core leadership team. Their experience and expertise in building and managing robust distribution networks will be instrumental in driving our strategic growth initiatives. Varun and Sumeet’s dynamism in building sustainable and value-driven business, aligns well with IndiaFirst Life’s #PeopleFirst and #CustomerFirst ideologies. I am confident that their contributions will be pivotal in our journey towards becoming a leading life insurance provider in India.”

Varun Gupta comes with 27+ years of experience in building businesses with strong fundamentals. He was previously associated with Max Life Insurance for more than 23 years in key leadership roles. Varun has over the years created and inspired high performing teams and led change & distribution transformation at scale. In his new role, Varun will be responsible for spearheading IndiaFirst Life’s Bancassurance partnerships and fostering new relationships to grow a strong distribution network.

Sumeet Sahni brings 26+ years of overall experience and is a veteran in the life insurance industry. He was previously associated with organisations like Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and Max Life Insurance. Sumeet has a proven track record of building and scaling up agency and partnership channels, driving business growth and profitability, and leading large and diverse teams. In his new role, Sumeet will be responsible for building the Agency & Alliances channel at IndiaFirst Life.

With a strong leadership team in place, IndiaFirst Life is poised for continued success and growth.

About IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd:

Headquartered in Mumbai, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited (IndiaFirst Life), with a paid-up share capital of INR 754 crores, is one of the country’s youngest life insurance companies. Its current shareholders include Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, and Carmel Point Investments India Private Limited, which hold 65%, 09%, and 26% stakes in the company. Carmel Point Investments India Pvt Ltd. is incorporated by Carmel Point Investment Ltd, a body corporate incorporated under the laws of Mauritius and owned by private equity funds managed by Warburg Pincus LLC, New York, United States. The company’s key differentiator is its simple, easy-to-understand products that are fairly-priced and efficiently serviced. For details, please visit https://www.indiafirstlife.com/

 

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HiTHIUM Partners with the University of Cambridge to Advance International Industry-Academia Collaboration in Long-Duration Energy Storage

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XIAMEN, China, Nov. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On November 12, the Global Energy Storage Colloquium was held in Xiamen. During the colloquium, HiTHIUM and the University of Cambridge signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), establishing a strategic partnership. The two parties will collaborate on frontier scientific research, key technology innovation and industrial applications in battery energy storage, bringing academic research into closer alignment with industry needs and exploring new models for international industry-academia collaboration. The partnership aims to contribute to the advancement of global energy storage technology and the industry.

The UK has a strong track record in the development of modern battery technologies and fundamental research. The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s leading universities, with internationally recognized expertise in engineering, materials science and fundamental research. As a leading global energy storage technology company, HiTHIUM has long focused on energy storage technology development and commercialization. It continues to advance integrated research and innovation across the value chain, from high-capacity energy storage cells to long-duration energy storage systems and grid integration technologies.

The collaboration is intended to bring internationally leading academic research into closer engagement with innovation across China’s energy storage industry. The University of Cambridge’s strengths in fundamental science, materials research and engineering will offer new perspectives and approaches to key scientific questions and emerging technologies in energy storage. HiTHIUM will bring its experience in long-duration energy storage (LDES), product development and large-scale deployment, connecting research with real industry needs and application scenarios, and supporting the engineering validation and commercialization of research outcomes. By drawing on the strengths of both research and industry, the partnership will strengthen the links between frontier innovation and practical applications.

Under the cooperation plan, the two parties will establish joint management and research collaboration mechanisms, bringing together academic resources and corporate R&D capabilities. They will work together to plan research projects, facilitate scientific exchange and support the translation of research outcomes, strengthening connections between fundamental research, technology development and industrial applications so that innovation in energy storage can better serve industry needs.

The partnership also marks an important step in HiTHIUM’s efforts to expand its international innovation network. Building on this collaboration with the University of Cambridge, HiTHIUM will further strengthen academic exchanges and research partnerships with leading universities and research institutions around the world. By bringing together international research resources and talent, the company aims to encourage collaboration across disciplines and technology fields, explore the development of technologies such as LDES from a global perspective, and bring technical challenges and application needs from the front lines of industry into research and innovation. This will help research and industrial practice reinforce one another.

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SOURCE HiTHIUM

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The NYSE Welcomes vVARDIS as a Publicly Listed Company

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NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — vVARDIS (NYSE: VVVV) co-founders Dr. Haley Abivardi and Dr. Goly Abivardi aim to reshape the future of dental care with a drill-free treatment for the world’s #1 non-communicable disease: cavities.

vVARDIS Solves a Problem that Millions FaceTooth decay affects billions of people worldwide, and dental anxiety keeps millions from getting the care they need.vVARDIS is a Swiss dental technology company focused on changing the way early tooth decay is treated.vVARDIS has introduced a new approach that aims to treat decay earlier and more comfortably for patients.Its flagship product, Curodont® Repair Fluoride Plus, uses proprietary peptide technology to help repair early-stage tooth decay by supporting the natural remineralization of enamel — simply put No drill, No needle, or No filling.Tooth Decay is One of the Most Common Health Issues in the World2.5 billion people globally live with untreated tooth decay.Nearly 90% of U.S. adults have experienced tooth decay.Nearly 73% of U.S. adults report dental fear.21% avoid the dentist because of anxiety.The Story that Helped Shape vVARDISFor decades, treating early tooth decay often meant waiting until it worsened or getting a filling. The founders spent 25 years developing Curodont® Repair Fluoride Plus, a treatment that helps repair early tooth decay before it becomes a cavity.Curodont® gives dentists a way to treat early decay while making the experience easier and less intimidating for patients.The technology has already treated more than 2.5 million teethAvailable in more than 20% of U.S. dental practices

Click Here to Learn More about vVARDIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1p9hUR5Glk

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SOURCE New York Stock Exchange

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Innovative Immunology Biotech Windward Bio Lists on Nasdaq

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SHANGHAI, Nov. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Windward Bio, a portfolio company of Qiming Venture Partners and a clinical-stage biotechnology company, successfully listed on Nasdaq on November 13, 2026. Windward Bio (Nasdaq: WWB) priced its IPO at $17.00 per share. Its shares closed at $28.50 on the first trading day, up 68% from the IPO price, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1.69 billion. This is Qiming Venture Partners’ 11th IPO in 2026.

Qiming Venture Partners invested in Windward Bio’s inaugural Series A financing in 2025 and continued to support the company in its Series B financing in 2026. Qiming also participated in this IPO financing round.

Windward Bio was founded in 2024 with a mission to transform the treatment paradigm for patients living with chronic inflammatory diseases through the development of differentiated biologic therapies targeting clinically validated disease pathways. Led by a team with extensive expertise across discovery, development, and commercialization, Windward Bio is advancing a pipeline of ultra-long-acting antibody medicines to improve clinical outcomes, reduce treatment burden and expand treatment options for patients with serious respiratory and dermatologic diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and atopic dermatitis.

Windward Bio’s lead program, WIN378, is a potentially novel anti-TSLP monoclonal antibody engineered for improved potency and extended half-life. WIN378 is currently being evaluated in POLARIS-1, a Phase 2/3 study in severe uncontrolled asthma, and SIRIUS, a Phase 2 study in COPD. The company’s pipeline also includes WIN027, a clinical-stage, long-acting bispecific antibody targeting TSLP and IL-13 with potential applications across multiple inflammatory and immunological diseases. Windward Bio holds exclusive global rights (excluding Greater China and certain Asian countries) to WIN378 through a licensing agreement with Kelun-Biotech and Harbour BioMed, and has separately licensed WIN027 from Qyuns Therapeutics.

“Qiming Venture Partners invests in differentiated, globally competitive biotech innovation designed to address significant unmet needs for patients, and Windward Bio exemplifies this approach. We believe novel, long-acting biologics will reshape the treatment of severe chronic respiratory and skin diseases, and that WIN378 and WIN027 have the potential to expand and meaningfully improve the treatment options available to patients. In the hands of Luca and his team, with their expertise and proven track record, Windward is well-positioned to deliver on this potential, and we look forward to supporting the company through its next phase of growth,” said Alexander Sinclair Wilson, Principal at Qiming Venture Partners.

About Qiming Venture Partners

Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. Currently, Qiming Venture Partners manages eleven US Dollar funds and seven RMB funds with $9.5 billion in capital raised. Since our establishment, we have invested in outstanding companies in the Technology and Healthcare industries at the early and growth stages.

Since our debut, we have backed over 630 fast-growing and innovative companies. Over 290 of our portfolio companies have achieved exits through IPOs at the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, Shanghai Stock Exchange, or Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or through M&A or other means. There are also over 110 portfolio companies that have achieved unicorn or super unicorn status.

Many of our portfolio companies are today’s most influential firms in their respective sectors, including Xiaomi, Meituan, Bilibili, Zhihu, Roborock, Hesai Technology, UBTech, WeRide, HyperStrong, Insta360, Unisound, Biren Technology, Z.AI, Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, Tigermed, Zai Lab, CanSino Biologics, Schrödinger, APT Medical, Sanyou Medical, AmoyDx, SinocellTech, Insilico Medicine, AusperBio, Yuanxin Technology, Medilink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, StepFun, among many others.

 

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SOURCE Qiming Venture Partners

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