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AST Celebrates 60 Years of Excellence in Innovation and Looks to the Future of Drug Product Manufacturing

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This milestone celebration sets the stage for AST’s next phase of strategic growth, anchored by its revitalized Mission, Vision, and Purpose statements

TACOMA, Wash., April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — AST marked the launch of its 60th anniversary year at INTERPHEX 2025, using the prestigious industry event as a springboard to highlight six decades of innovation. Building on the momentum of being named “Best in Show” at INTERPHEX 2024, AST entered its 60th anniversary receiving another reputable honor: the INTERPHEX Efficiency Champion award. This back-to-back recognition highlights not only AST’s legacy of innovation but also its forward-looking approach to advancing excellence across the industry.

AST was founded in Tacoma, Washington, in 1965. From the beginning, the company pursued a clear vision: provide advanced automated manufacturing solutions driven by a commitment to quality engineering, American ingenuity, and a customer-first approach. Now, for six decades, AST has been a leader in the advanced manufacturing space, and in 2004, the company leveraged its combined expertise and experience to begin providing flexible automation for life science applications.   

AST’s initial success was found in innovative manufacturing solutions designed and built by a small team of engineers, including prototypes and first-of-its-kind technologies that would set new standards in what was possible with automation. These early solutions would serve as the foundation for the later technologies that AST would become recognized for. AST continued to grow over the years, and the advanced solutions they provided gained a reputation for excellence across multiple industries, including hygiene, carbon fiber, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.   

A Timeline of Life Science Innovation.
AST has steadily evolved into a pioneer in aseptic manufacturing automation, marked by a series of industry-first innovations. In 2004, AST served its first life science customer, laying the foundation for what would become a legacy of excellence. By 2010, the company redefined industry standards with the launch of the ASEPTiCell®—the industry’s first robotic multiformat machine capable of processing RTU vials, syringes, and cartridges on a single line. Building on this momentum, AST introduced the GENiSYS® product family, starting with the GENiSYS C solution in 2016, followed by the GENiSYS Lab in 2017 and the fully robotic GENiSYS R in 2018.

In 2019, AST debuted its first isolated GENiSYS C line, reinforcing its leadership in integrated aseptic solutions. Most recently, with the 2024 launch of the Atmos™ isolator, AST became the only US-based manufacturer of integrated aseptic filling lines with isolator technology, underscoring its commitment to continued innovation and turnkey solutions. Now in 2025, AST is marking the next chapter in its mission to support the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing by expanding its portfolio with the introduction of the Shield™ glove integrity testing system and its digital suite of products and services with the launch of its digital twin tool—a preview of AST’s’ advanced solutions dedicated to digital and data integration.

AST’s Most Trusted Partners.
One of the cornerstones of AST’s strategic framework is providing innovative, customer-centric solutions for numerous stakeholders throughout the industry, comprising leading CDMOs, commercial pharmaceutical companies of every size, 503 entities, and biotech ventures. AST solutions support the broad scope of sterile product manufacturing applications, including advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), vaccine development, compounded products for hospital and health care settings, and breakthrough research and development initiatives.  

AST customers have been at the forefront of delivering innovative parenteral treatments that have advanced patient-centered medicine and have led to significant progress in the treatment of rare diseases, cancers, autoimmune, and other highly targeted conditions.

“As I reflect on this significant anniversary for AST, I think of the many customers that we’ve been privileged to serve, the A&Es and consultants we’ve worked with and alongside, and the exceptional AST Team that have made this journey possible – so many of whom have become close friends,” commented AST President and CEO Joe Hoff. “In marking our 60th year, AST is looking towards the future with optimism and intention. Our industry continues to move towards advanced technologies with improved, integrated processes that produce higher standards of quality and efficiency.”

Looking Towards the Future: AST Revitalizes Its Mission.
As AST reflects on six decades of innovation and impact, the company remains firmly focused on the future. In alignment with this forward momentum—and to support its next phase of strategic growth—AST is proud to introduce its revitalized Mission, Vision, and Purpose statements, thoughtfully crafted to guide the company’s continued evolution and long-term success.

These statements reinforce the company’s core values while aligning its focus on innovation, operational excellence, and customer partnership—ensuring AST remains a trusted leader in the life science industry for decades to come.

Mission
AST develops intelligent, intuitive, and innovative solutions that minimize (and where possible eliminate) process, efficacy, and safety risks associated with drug product manufacturing. We will consider all format applications, including but not limited to vials, syringes, cartridges, infusion bags, inhalers, bottles, and devices. 

Vision
AST strives to be one of our customers’ most trusted partners for drug product manufacturing. 

Purpose
The solutions AST delivers today enable life-changing therapies to reach more patients, in a race against time, where every day matters. 

“This revitalized mission statement sets a bold course for AST’s future. As we continue to lead in aseptic fill-finish solutions, we are also expanding to meet the growing demand for integrated and downstream technologies — prioritizing product efficacy, safety, and, most importantly, the long-term success of our customers,” said Joe Hoff.

ABOUT AST 
AST is a pioneering force in aseptic fill-finish processing technology, committed to pushing the boundaries of industry standards. With a rich history of innovation, AST delivers cutting-edge solutions that enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to achieve optimal efficiency and product quality. To learn more about AST, visit https://www.ast-inc.com/

To keep up with AST’s latest anniversary initiatives and highlights throughout the year, please visit: https://www.ast-inc.com/the-ast-story-60-years-of-innovation/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Brittany Cooksey
Marketing Manager
marketing@ast-inc.com

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SOURCE AST

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LYKSTAGE Launches Patented Video Platform That Pays Creators and Viewers — Now Live Across Five Countries

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MUMBAI, India, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LYKSTAGE, a video-sharing platform owned by LYK Inc., a Delaware-based entity, and founded by New York-based entrepreneur Adris Chakraborty, is redefining how the creator economy works — with a patented monetization model no other platform can legally replicate.

Built by a technology team in India under Manhattan Tech Ventures, LYKSTAGE runs on a patented Watch-Time Monetization Model that fundamentally changes who earns from video content. Creators earn whenever their content’s watch time gets monetized — no subscriber minimums, no waiting periods, and no thresholds to cross before earning begins.

What makes the model unprecedented is that viewers earn too. Logged-in viewers are rewarded whenever their watch time gets monetized — when they watch content uninterrupted and the ad served during viewing is fully consumed. When that happens, the creator earns, the viewer is rewarded, and the platform earns. Every reward is funded by actual ad revenue — not venture capital subsidies. The model is entirely self-sustaining.

The platform serves both skippable and non-skippable ads, determined by an ad server algorithm that optimizes based on viewing patterns and content traction. For advertisers, impressions are served intelligently — matching the right ad format to the right moment, delivering higher completion rates and genuine attention.

LYKSTAGE is now live across five markets — India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the UAE — and available on Samsung TV, LG TV, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, desktop, mobile web, and native apps on both the App Store and Google Play Store.

Adris Chakraborty, a Kolkata-born Columbia Business School alumnus based in the US since 2003, co-founded Mediamorphosis Advertising & Technology Inc. in New York in 2006 with his spouse and business partner Poulami Mukherjee. The company expanded to the UK in 2012, followed by Manhattan Communications in India — building a multicultural advertising group spanning five countries with over 100 clients, providing LYKSTAGE with built-in advertiser relationships and market intelligence.

The platform has crossed over one million users across all markets, with more than 20,000 creators on board and growing across all five countries — achieved with minimal paid marketing.

LYKSTAGE is a transparent, patented system where the people who create the value are the ones who earn from it.

Sign up at:
Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lykstage.app
Apple – https://apps.apple.com/in/app/lykstage-video-streaming/id6754064834

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2960187/LYKSTAGE_Logo.jpg

 

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Towngas and Tencent forge strategic partnership to drive “Energy + Tech” smart digital transformation

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HONG KONG, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and Tencent have signed a strategic partnership agreement in Hong Kong. The two companies will collaborate extensively on unified cloud resource management, digital platform development, large artificial intelligence (AI) models and applications, customer engagement enhancement, and R&D tool synergy. Together, they aim to drive the smart digital transformation of the energy sector.

The partnership dates back to 2020, when Towngas Lifestyle, the extended business division of Towngas, first teamed up with Tencent Cloud. In 2021, Towngas Energy, the Group’s renewable energy arm, worked with Tencent Cloud to build a smart energy ecosystem, which currently supports over a hundred integrated energy projects for the business segment. In 2023, Towngas Lifestyle and Tencent Cloud entered into a comprehensive strategic partnership spanning cloud platforms, big data, AI, and customer engagement, delivering one-stop lifestyle solutions to 46 million household customers across Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. This latest agreement marks a comprehensive, group-level strategic partnership between Towngas and Tencent. It is designed to pool their resources, achieve cross-divisional synergy, drive quality and efficiency gains, and accelerate AI innovation.

Over the past six years, this collaboration has yielded remarkable results. Powered by Tencent Cloud, Towngas Lifestyle has upgraded the digital foundation and driven application innovation for its Towngas Lifestyle Cloud (TLC) platform. Furthermore, leveraging Tencent Cloud’s TBDS (Tencent Big Data Suite), it built the Towngas Analytics Platform (TAP), which currently supports big data applications for over 70 affiliated city-gas companies as well as its Hong Kong operations.

In terms of AI applications, Towngas Lifestyle has capitalised on Tencent’s AI computing power and large model technology to launch innovative tools such as smart safety inspections and AI service agents, significantly boosting the efficiency of frontline staff at gas companies. To better serve its customers, the company has deeply integrated Tencent’s WeCom to improve customer outreach. On the R&D front, Towngas Lifestyle has widely adopted Tencent’s AI development tools to streamline workflows. Moreover, the partners have successfully replicated their mainland successes in Hong Kong, completing the cross-border deployment of the TAP platform and advancing the upgrade of the city’s business systems.

Mr Peter Wong Wai-yee, Managing Director of Towngas, said: “Tencent’s leading position in AI and digital technology is obvious to all. Since 2020, the two parties have established a strong partnership, expanding from Towngas Lifestyle’s extended business to cooperation on the smart energy platform for the renewable energy segment, and gradually extending from the mainland to Hong Kong. As an enterprise with a 164-year history, Towngas has grown to possess a customer base of over 120 million since entering the mainland gas utility business in 1994. Facing such a massive number of customers, data security is of paramount importance. How to build a secure and efficient system for management and service has become a critical issue for business development. We are confident in joining hands with Tencent to co-build a secure and efficient digital system, comprehensively elevate the customer service experience and operational efficiency, and jointly pioneer more possibilities for ‘Energy + Tech’.”

Mr Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent and CEO of Tencent Cloud and Smart Industries Group, stated that as a household brand in Hong Kong, Towngas’s “customer-centric” service philosophy aligns closely with Tencent’s corporate mission of “Value for Users, Tech for Good”. Over the past six years, Tencent has engaged in deep collaboration with multiple segments under Towngas, empowering businesses with technology to achieve precise operations. Tencent looks forward to taking this exchange as a new starting point, further consolidating the “Cloud + AI” technological foundation based on existing cooperation, and deeply integrating Tencent’s digital capabilities with Towngas’s rich application scenarios. Through technological innovation, the goal is to achieve better customer service delivery and enhance operational efficiency, exploring a new path to sustainable development for the smart upgrade of the energy industry while ensuring data security and user privacy.

Looking ahead, the two companies will continue to deepen their collaboration in migrating core businesses to the cloud, co-building digital platforms, deploying large models and AI applications, and enhancing customer engagement. This will not only deliver a superior experience for gas customers but also set a benchmark for the high-quality transformational development of the energy industry.

 

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SOURCE Tencent Cloud

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DMEGC Solar Achieves EcoVadis Gold Medal, Underscoring Its Commitment to ESG Excellence

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JINHUA, China, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On April 15, DMEGC Solar, a global leader in magnetic materials and renewable energy solutions, achieved a milestone breakthrough in sustainable development. With outstanding performance in environmental protection, social responsibility, and other key areas, the company earned a Gold Medal from the internationally recognized rating agency EcoVadis, scoring 82 points. This places DMEGC Solar in the top 3% of all rated companies worldwide, surpassing 97% of participants.

EcoVadis is a globally leading sustainability assessment platform, having rated over 150,000 companies across more than 250 industries and 185 countries. Its evaluation framework covers 21 indicators across four core themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. The platform aims to assess the sustainability performance and social responsibility of companies within global supply chains.

DMEGC Solar participated in the assessment at the group level rather than as a single factory, demonstrating outstanding strength across all four dimensions. In the Labor & Human Rights dimension, the company has established a comprehensive employee rights protection system, strictly implemented occupational health and safety standards, and promoted employee development and career growth, ranking in the top 1% of its industry.

In the Sustainable Procurement dimension, the company has built a full-chain green supply chain management mechanism, collaborating with core suppliers to create a “cooperative carbon reduction” ecosystem. Initiatives such as packaging material recycling, green electricity usage, and localized collaborative production have enabled a low-carbon, traceable supply chain, also ranking in the top 1% of the industry.

Coupled with strong performances in environmental governance and business ethics, the company achieved an impressive score of 82, surpassing 97% of evaluated companies and earning the Gold Medal. This distinction places DMEGC Solar at the top in the global solar module manufacturers to receive such recognition.

This Gold Medal rating will for sure strengthen the company’s competitiveness in overseas markets. On one hand, its industry-leading ESG performance helps meet policy requirements related to sustainable supply chains, enhancing both the premium pricing of its products in international markets and its ability to secure orders. On the other hand, this recognition will boost customer and partner trust in the company’s brand, supporting the expansion of market share for its core products—such as photovoltaic modules, residential energy storage systems, and magnetic materials—while consolidating its market leadership.

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