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Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) invests $10M in Alamar Biosciences, Inc. to Advance Precision Medicine in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Largest DxA investment to date supports development of Alamar’s ARGO™ DX System and future in vitro diagnostic tests

NEW YORK and FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)‘s Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) today announced a $10M investment in Alamar Biosciences, Inc. This landmark investment, the largest in DxA history, will expedite the translation of the ARGO-HT research platform into an FDA-cleared system to support the development of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests – the gold standard of diagnostics. Alamar’s ARGO HT System automates high-throughput NULISA™ assays, offering ultrasensitive protein detection and multiplexing for analyzing blood-based biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

“In cancer and other diseases of aging, we have biomarker panels that allow clinicians to better differentiate from many underlying causes of the disease and more importantly, how to tailor treatments based on each patient’s individual biomarker profile,” said Howard Fillit, MD, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at the ADDF. “There is a pressing need to have biomarker panels for Alzheimer’s patients so we can better diagnose and develop new treatments. Alamar’s innovative platform provides the opportunity for a first of its kind blood panel in Alzheimer’s, which will be an important step as we move forward to delivering a more personalized approach for patients.”

“The powerful combination of ultra-high sensitivity and multiplexing unlocks the potential to measure novel biomarker signatures, enabling differential diagnosis in neurodegeneration,” said Niranjan Bose, Managing Director, Health and Life Sciences at Gates Ventures. “The investment in the development of ARGO DX focuses on translating this capability onto a scalable platform for widespread clinical use. We are excited to partner with the Alamar team to bring this vision to reality and advance the molecular diagnostics landscape in Alzheimer’s disease.”

The holy grail for Alzheimer’s diagnostics is to develop an accessible and scalable blood panel that can detect multiple biomarkers, providing clinicians with a better understanding of each patient’s individual disease biology. Alamar’s NULISA™ technology is unique in that it enables ultra-high sensitivity with the ability to test for multiple targets at once.

“Experts in the field have showcased the performance of the NULISA technology in detecting essentially all the important biomarkers in blood for Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” said Yuling Luo, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Alamar Biosciences, Inc. “The ARGO DX platform can potentially revolutionize the biomarker space by allowing researchers to go from discovery to detection of biomarker panels that stratify patient subsets and disease factors that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.”

“A diagnostic platform such as Alamar’s, that can detect and measure multiple disease pathways, will be instrumental in paving the way for early detection, biology of aging-based differential diagnosis, allowing for a precision medicine approach in Alzheimer’s,” commented Dr. Fillit.

This recent investment in Alamar reflects the DxA’s larger vision to accelerate the development of new biomarkers and diagnostic tools to enable early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. To date, the DxA has invested more than $80 million in nearly 70 projects, underscoring its commitment to bringing accessible, affordable, and scalable diagnostics to patients struggling with Alzheimer’s disease. Along with blood tests, the DxA’s diverse portfolio includes retinal scans and digital tools that will not only provide patients with early and accurate diagnoses but also work in tandem and have the potential to be used for screening, prognostic, and prevention efforts. 

About The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s disease. The ADDF is the only public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer’s, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. The ADDF’s leadership and contributions to the field have played a pivotal role in bringing the first Alzheimer’s PET scan (Amyvid®) and blood test (PrecivityAD®) to market, as well as fueling the current robust and diverse drug pipeline. Through the generosity of its donors, the ADDF has awarded more than $360 million to fund over 760 Alzheimer’s drug discovery programs, biomarker programs and clinical trials in 21 countries. To learn more, please visit: http://www.alzdiscovery.org/.

ABOUT THE DIAGNOSTICS ACCELERATOR (DxA)
The Diagnostics Accelerator, created in July 2018, is a $100 million global research initiative from partners including ADDF Co-Founder Leonard A. Lauder, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, the Dolby family, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, among others, to develop novel biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

This research initiative is dedicated to accelerating the development of affordable and accessible biomarkers to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and advance the clinical development of more targeted treatments. Through translational research awards and access to consulting support from industry experts, this program will challenge, assist and fund the research community in both academia and industry to develop novel peripheral and digital biomarkers.

About Alamar Biosciences, Inc.
Alamar Biosciences is a privately held life sciences company with a mission to power precision proteomics to enable the earliest detection of disease. The company’s proprietary NULISA Platform along with the ARGO™ HT System work seamlessly with the latest advances in genomics to achieve single digit attomolar detection sensitivity, greatly surpassing the most sensitive protein detection technology on the market today. For more information, please visit alamarbio.com.

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SOURCE Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

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Synagie Unveils Geene 2.0 – BytePlus, SingData and FLY Entertainment Among 12 Founding Partners Building Trusted AI Commerce

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Co-developed by leaders across AI, data, media, commerce and blockchain, the Trusted AI Commerce Intelligence Ecosystem gives enterprises a practical way to scale AI with confidence.

SINGAPORE, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Synagie, the flagship digital commerce and technology brand of Hong Kong-listed Synagistics Limited (HKEX: 2562), today unveiled Geene 2.0, a Trusted AI Commerce Intelligence Ecosystem (a SaaS platform) designed to help businesses move beyond isolated AI applications towards trusted, scalable business transformation.

While many organisations have adopted AI for content generation, analytics and workflow automation, these capabilities often operate independently, making it difficult to translate intelligence into measurable business outcomes while maintaining governance and accountability.

Geene 2.0 addresses this challenge by bringing together specialised capabilities across data, artificial intelligence, media, commerce and blockchain into a single software-as-a-service platform. Businesses can analyse markets, formulate strategies, generate content, automate operations and verify products through one connected ecosystem.

The platform will be commercially available in early August 2026.

The preview was witnessed by Guest-of-Honour Mr Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), alongside more than 200 business leaders, ecosystem partners, customers and invited guests.

Built by Twelve Industry Leaders

Geene 2.0 was co-developed by twelve founding partners, each contributing deep expertise across data, artificial intelligence, commerce, media and blockchain.

Rather than relying on a single vendor to provide every capability, Geene 2.0 combines best-in-class technologies into one coordinated platform, enabling enterprises to deploy AI faster while reducing implementation complexity.

At the heart of the platform is the ecosystem’s proprietary ASSET intelligence engine, which orchestrates every stage of AI-driven commerce through five interconnected intelligence layers:

ASSET Layer

Business Outcome

Analyse

Transform market, customer and business data into actionable intelligence

Strategise

Recommend AI-driven commercial strategies and business decisions

Storytelling

Generate multilingual marketing, commerce and customer content

Execute

Automate commerce operations, customer engagement and sales workflows

Trust

Verify products, AI actions and business claims through blockchain-backed traceability

Together, these five intelligence layers transform AI from standalone tools into a coordinated business capability spanning insight, execution and trust.

The founding partners are:

BytePlus

China Mobile International

DataCloud

DU-MAS

FLY Entertainment

International Brand Centre

Masverse

Mei Ah Entertainment

SingData

Synagie

Yiwise

Zeneva

A Vision for the Next Generation of AI Commerce

Ms Pei Gy Wong, Chief Digital Officer of Synagie Group Asia and Europe, said:  “The next generation of AI will not be won by the companies with the largest models. It will be led by those who can build the greatest trust.

Businesses do not need more AI tools. They need AI they can trust to make better decisions, execute with confidence and deliver measurable business outcomes.

Geene 2.0 reflects our belief that the future of enterprise AI lies in collaboration. By bringing together industry leaders across data, AI, commerce, media and blockchain, we are giving businesses a practical pathway to adopt AI with confidence and at scale.”

Demonstrating the Enterprise Intelligence Ecosystem in Action

Geene 2.0 has already moved beyond concept into commercial deployment through AGONG Durian, a premium Malaysian durian brand supplied and blockchain-tagged by founding partner DU-MAS.

The implementation demonstrates how AI-powered market intelligence, content creation, commerce automation and blockchain verification can operate together in a real business environment to improve operational efficiency while strengthening consumer confidence.

The same framework can be applied across industries including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, consumer goods and luxury products where authenticity, compliance and trust have become increasingly important.

Accelerating Trusted AI Adoption in Singapore

Technology alone is not enough to accelerate AI adoption. Businesses also need access, practical implementation pathways and a workforce equipped with the right skills.

Synagie’s Geene 2.0 is one example of a digital solution that can help companies address common business challenges such as improving operational efficiency, strengthening decision-making, streamlining workflows and enhancing customer engagement. Companies seeking such solutions may explore implementation through the NTUC Company Training Committee (CTC) initiative. Through the CTC Grant, eligible companies can receive up to 70% funding support for projects that drive business transformation and workforce outcomes, including job redesign, skills development and productivity improvements. Workers could also benefit from wage increase, structured career pathways and/or skills allowance.

Synagie is also collaborating with the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union to strengthen AI readiness for its workers, including PMEs.

Looking Ahead

As enterprise AI adoption accelerates across Asia, Synagie believes the next phase of innovation will be defined by trusted ecosystems rather than standalone AI applications.

By combining intelligence, execution and accountability in one platform, Geene 2.0 provides businesses with a practical foundation to scale AI confidently while positioning Singapore as a leader in responsible enterprise AI innovation.

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SOURCE Synagie

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StarHub Strengthens Position as a Trusted Regional Digital Transformation Partner with HPE APAC Recognition

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SINGAPORE, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — StarHub has been named APAC Service Provider of the Year 2026 by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), recognising its success in helping enterprises modernise critical infrastructure, and deliver secure, resilient and AI-ready digital transformation.

The HPE Partner of the Year Awards recognise partners that have demonstrated excellence in delivering customer outcomes, driving innovation and creating measurable business impact.

StarHub’s recognition reflects its growing role as a trusted digital transformation partner, helping organisations translate technology investments into measurable business outcomes through its Modern Digital Infrastructure (MDI) platform strategy.

Underpinned by a cloud-native, hybrid multi-cloud architecture, MDI brings together networks, cloud, cybersecurity and clean data on a unified data platform. Combining AI-driven automation, operational intelligence and advanced analytics, it helps organisations modernise infrastructure, strengthen resilience and accelerate innovation for sustainable growth.

Through its MDI strategy and collaboration with HPE, StarHub partnered the National University of Singapore (NUS) to realise the Borderless University vision by implementing a smart, safe and sustainable ubiquitous network. By integrating StarHub’s enterprise networking, solar-powered Wi-Fi and private 5G capabilities, the joint initiative has strengthened digital connectivity and supported more flexible, seamless and secure learning experiences for students and faculty across campus beyond traditional boundaries, in Singapore and overseas.

“As organisations accelerate digital transformation and AI adoption, effective implementation increasingly depends on strong industry expertise, collaboration, and the ability to translate ideas into practical outcomes,” said Tan Kit Yong, Chief, Regional Enterprise, StarHub. “Our collaboration with NUS reflects a shared commitment in supporting digital capabilities that will enhance everyday technology experiences for faculty, researchers, staff and students. This recognition highlights the broader importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing evolving technology needs.”

For more information, visit starhub.com/managedservices.

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SOURCE StarHub

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Zeal Connect launches the world’s first AI-native help desk built exclusively for travel and beta customers say it changes how operations are run

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Travel Moves Billions of People a Year on Software That Can’t Read a Booking. Zeal Desk Just Changed That.

PUNE, India, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Anyone who has run a travel operation knows the 2 AM story: a guest standing at a front desk in another time zone, a hotel that never received the amendment, and the ticket that could have prevented it sitting in a queue sorted by age, not urgency inside software built for password resets, not people in transit.

That story ends with today’s launch of Zeal Desk; the world’s first AI-native help desk built exclusively for the travel industry. It wasn’t adapted from a generic tool it was written for travel from the first line of code, so it reads PNRs and hotel confirmation numbers the way a seasoned agent does, opens the live booking behind every ticket, and sorts the queue by check-in date because in travel, urgency is measured in arrivals, not ticket age.

Behind the desk, five specialised AI agents: Classifier, Prioritiser, Resolver, Auditor and Reconfirmation put the routine on Autopilot: amendments, refunds, cancellations and reconfirmations are now resolved end-to-end on the live booking, with every reply audited before it leaves. Every request email, WhatsApp or chat lands in one booking-aware inbox and follows playbooks the operator writes in plain language.

Classic Holidays ran Zeal Desk through its beta and came out convinced.

“We walked in skeptical, every help desk claims AI these days. Then we watched Zeal Desk open the booking, check the fare rule, contact the hotel and close the ticket before an agent could finish reading it. Our first reaction was disbelief. Our second was simpler: we are never running operations the old way again.”
 – Rishabh Doshi, Managing Director, Classic Holidays.

“Travel has spent two decades running the world’s most operationally complex industry on hand-me-down software tools that don’t know what a PNR is. Zeal Desk is what support looks like when it’s built for travel from day one. It isn’t a better ticket queue; it’s a different way to run a travel operation.”
 – Yogesh Chaudhari, Co-founder & CEO, Zeal Connect.

Zeal Desk arrives enterprise-ready SSO/SAML, GDPR tooling, PII redaction, multi-brand workspaces and SLA engines connecting to GDS, mid-office, CRM and booking stacks, and is live today with OTAs, DMCs, bedbanks and agencies across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Zeal Desk is available now at zealconnect.com

ABOUT ZEAL CONNECT

Zeal Connect builds AI-powered products for the B2B travel industry, serving OTAs, DMCs, travel agencies, bedbanks and supplier operations teams worldwide. Its platform spans Zeal Desk, the AI-native travel help desk, and Zeal Reconfirmation, the pre-check-in hotel confirmation service. Zeal Connect is headquartered in Pune, India.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zeal-connect-launches-the-worlds-first-ai-native-help-desk-built-exclusively-for-travel-and-beta-customers-say-it-changes-how-operations-are-run-302831716.html

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