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Rice’s Biotech Launch Pad to lead commercialization of bioelectrical implant treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes

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2 years ago

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$34.9M ARPA-H project aims to disrupt therapies’ market and radically improve treatment options

HOUSTON, Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Rice University is part of a multiuniversity research team that has secured an award of up to $34.9 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to accelerate the development of a bioelectronic implant designed to improve adherence for obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) treatment while reducing development and manufacturing costs.

Rice University’s Biotech Launch Pad will lead the commercialization effort for “Rx On-site Generation Using Electronics” (ROGUE), a self-contained, durable implantable device that houses cells engineered to produce T2D and obesity therapies in response to patients’ physiological needs.

Carnegie Mellon University leads the team of researchers driving the accelerated development and testing of ROGUE, which functions as a “living pharmacy” designed to make biologic drugs, or biologics (a rapidly expanding group of therapies derived from living cells), accessible in the body on demand. With a target cost of goods below $1,000 for at least one year of therapy, ROGUE aims to significantly lower the costs of biologics-based treatments.

ROGUE uses closed-loop bioelectronics to support, monitor and adjust drug production and dosing as well as communicate with patients. The implant will be recharged using a wearable device weekly or even less frequently, eliminating the need for managing daily, weekly or monthly medication administering, storage and restocking. This technology is designed for rapid and cost-effective deployment via a minimally invasive procedure in an outpatient clinic.

“ROGUE’s innovative design combines efficient biological manufacturing, long-term durability and patient-friendly features that have the potential to transform the landscape of biologics delivery,” said Omid Veiseh, professor of bioengineering and faculty director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad. “With the Rice Biotech Launch Pad leading the clinical translation and commercialization efforts, this funding will allow us to expedite the development and clinical trials of this groundbreaking technology, making it accessible to patients sooner.”

In-house entrepreneur and executive director of the Rice accelerator, Paul Wotton, will be involved in every step of the process to ensure the evolution of this technology from research to clinical translation to an independent company.

“With the Biotech Launch Pad, our goal is venture creation in parallel to the groundbreaking research at Rice and its collaborating institutions,” Wotton said.

Including backing for ROGUE, the team of researchers developing the project has received over $100 million through cooperative agreements from ARPA-H and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for two other “living pharmacy” projects — THOR and NTRAIN.

“This level of support speaks volumes to just how transformative these innovations could be, and therefore how important it is to facilitate their translation,” Wotton said.

“I am absolutely thrilled by ARPA-H’s strong support for the Rice Biotech Launchpad’s efforts in accelerating breakthrough bioelectronic technology transition from the bench to the bedside,” said Paul Cherukuri, Rice’s vice president for innovation and chief innovation officer.

Carnegie Mellon materials science and bioengineer Tzahi Cohen-Karni said that ROGUE’s bioelectronic integration represents a revolutionary advancement in biologics production.

“Our approach enables on-demand production of therapeutics in a highly energy-efficient manner,” said Cohen-Karni, who serves as primary investigator on the ARPA-H award. “This technology not only simplifies the delivery of life-saving medications but also enhances patient comfort and adherence. ROGUE’s precision and adaptability offer a much-needed improvement in both treatment efficacy and patient experience.”

Jonathan Rivnay, a professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University, said that biologics, including antibodies, hormones, growth factors and cytokines, are expensive and account for a significant portion of health care expenses.

“ROGUE’s ability to produce glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) on site will address these high costs and improve patient adherence by eliminating the need for frequent injections,” Rivnay said. “GLP-1 RAs have proven effective in enhancing insulin secretion, reducing glucose levels and promoting significant weight loss, making them a first-line therapy for diabetes and obesity.

“Our collaborative efforts are paving the way for the ROGUE platform to become a revolutionary force in the field of biologics. This technology not only addresses the limitations of current biologics but also offers a sustainable, long-term solution for managing chronic diseases.”

GLP-1 RAs are a leading class of drugs for treating patients with T2D and obesity. Unlike other T2D therapies, GLP-1 RA-based drugs are also effective against obesity. Despite their efficacy, GLP-1 RAs are expensive and often inaccessible to many patients. ROGUE’s sustainable, on-demand production system will mitigate these challenges by providing a cost-effective, widely available solution, according to the research team. The ROGUE device is expected to offer the same benefits as traditional GLP-1 RAs, including the prevention of cardiovascular and kidney disease progression in high-risk patients.

This pioneering project was rigorously assessed as a potential project for ARPA-H, a federal funding agency established in 2022 to support research that has “the potential to transform entire areas of medicine and health.” This effort is funded under ARPA-H’s REACT program and includes funding for a first-in-human clinical trial for patients facing obesity and T2D. The trial preparation is slated to begin in the fifth year of the six-year project.

Other Rice co-principal investigators include Jacob Robinson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering who leads integration efforts for the project in line with the focus on clinical translation and commercialization; and Oleg Igoshin, a professor of bioengineering and chemistry and associate chair of the bioengineering department who oversees pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics modeling. 

ROGUE is a collaboration between multiple institutions, including Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Boston University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California Berkeley, the Mayo Clinic and New York City-based Bruder Consulting and Venture Group. The consortium brings together experts in biomedical engineering, synthetic biology, materials science, electrical engineering and related fields to co-design and develop the implant technology.

Download associated media assets:
https://rice.box.com/s/qc0a3wq29oyw9wobiipwnz1rxrirlo5m

About the Rice Biotech Launch Pad 

The Rice Biotech Launch Pad is a Houston-based accelerator focused on expediting the translation of Rice University’s health and medical technology discoveries into cures. This initiative is designed to help advance internally discovered platform technologies from concept to clinical studies and commercialization. The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will identify and support highly differentiated projects while driving the expansion of Houston as a world-class medical innovation ecosystem. The accelerator will bring together local researchers with a network of industry executives. For more information, please visit https://biotechlaunchpad.rice.edu/. 

About Rice University

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,574 undergraduates and 3,982 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction, No. 2 for best-run colleges and No. 12 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

Media Contacts: 

Chris Stipes
713-348-6778
cs216@rice.edu

Silvia Cernea Clark
713-348-6728
silviacc@rice.edu

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rices-biotech-launch-pad-to-lead-commercialization-of-bioelectrical-implant-treatment-for-obesity-type-2-diabetes-302260599.html

SOURCE Rice University

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Tradr to Ring Opening Bell at Cboe to Celebrate SpaceX ETF Launches

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2 hours ago

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June 14, 2026

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Tradr ETFs will ring Cboe’s Opening Bell on June 15 to celebrate the launch of SPCM and SPCG, ETFs providing 200% leveraged long and short exposure to the newly public SpaceX stock.

Firm to commemorate the launch of SPCM and SPCG from the center of the world’s largest options trading floor

NEW YORK, June 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tradr ETFs, a provider of ETFs designed for sophisticated investors and professional traders, today announced that its team will ring the Opening Bell at Cboe Global Markets at 8:30 am on Monday, June 15, 2026. The ceremony, to be broadcast live on CNBC, will commemorate the expected start of trading for the Tradr 2X Long SpaceX Daily ETF (Cboe: SPCM) and the Tradr 2X Short SpaceX Daily ETF (Cboe: SPCG).

We’re excited to bring both bullish and bearish leveraged exposure to one of the market’s most closely watched stocks

SPCM and SPCG seek to provide traders with 200% leveraged bullish and bearish exposure to SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX), one of the most anticipated public offerings in market history.

“Few companies have captured the imagination of investors quite like SpaceX, and we’re proud to mark the launch of SPCM and SPCG by ringing the Opening Bell at Cboe,” said Russell Tencer, President of Tradr ETFs. “Cboe has been an outstanding partner to Tradr since our inception, and there is no better place to celebrate products built for traders by traders. We’re excited to bring both bullish and bearish leveraged exposure to one of the market’s most closely watched stocks and to do so from the center of the options trading world.”

Monday’s expected launch expands Tradr’s growing lineup of leveraged ETFs focused on the rapidly evolving space economy. The firm also offers the Tradr 2X Long ASTS Daily ETF (Cboe: ASTX) and the Tradr 2X Long FLY Daily ETF (Cboe: FLYT), providing 200% leveraged long exposure to two other closely watched companies helping shape the future of space-based communications and aerospace innovation.

Tradr’s lineup of 65 leveraged ETFs represents over $7 billion in assets under management. Some of its notable tickers on trending stocks include SNXX and SNDQ, which provide long and short exposure to SanDisk (SNDK). Tradr’s strategies can be accessed through most brokerage platforms and allow investors to avoid the hassle of using margin and the complexity of options trading. The firm continues its mission of providing sophisticated investors with innovative trading tools that enhance their ability to express market views with precision and efficiency.

For detailed information on Tradr ETFs and the significant risks involved with leveraged ETFs, please visit www.tradretfs.com.

About Tradr ETFs
Tradr ETFs are designed for sophisticated investors and professional traders who are looking to express high conviction investment views. The strategies include leveraged and inverse ETFs that seek short or long exposure to actively traded stocks and ETFs.

IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION
Tradr ETFs are for sophisticated investors and professional traders with high conviction views and are very different from most other ETFs. The Funds are intended to be used as short-term trading vehicles and pursue leveraged investment objectives, which means they are riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Funds magnify the performance of their underlying security. The volatility of the underlying security may affect a Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the underlying security.

Investors in the fund should: (a) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage; (b) understand the consequences of seeking inverse and leveraged investment results; (c) for short ETFs, understand the risk of shorting; (d) intend to actively monitor and manage their investment. Fund performance will likely be significantly different than the benchmark over periods longer than the specified reset period and the performance may trend in the opposite direction than its benchmark over periods other than that period.

Leverage increases the risk of a total loss of an investor’s investment, may increase the volatility of the Funds, and may magnify any differences between the performance of the Funds and their reference security. The Funds seek leveraged investment results for a specific period (daily, monthly or quarterly). The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intra-period will depend upon the movement of the reference security from the end of the prior period until the time of investment by the investor.

The Fund will not attempt to position its portfolio to ensure it does not gain or lose more than a maximum percentage of its net asset value on a given trading day. As a consequence, investors in a Fund that seeks two times daily performance would lose all of their money if the Fund’s underlying security moves more than 50% in a direction adverse to the Fund on a given trading day.

ETFs involve risk including possible loss of the full principal value. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Principal risks and other important risks may be found in the prospectus. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

ETF shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the ETF. There can be no guarantee that an active trading market for ETF shares will develop or be maintained, or that their listing will continue or remain unchanged. Buying or selling ETF shares on an exchange may require the payment of brokerage commissions and frequent trading may incur brokerage costs that detract significantly from investment returns.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Funds. This and other important information about the Fund is contained in the Prospectus, which can be obtained by visiting www.tradretfs.com. The Prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc, which is not affiliated with AXS Investments or its Tradr ETFs. AXI000965

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SOURCE Tradr ETFs

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Changan Group Unveils Its In-house Developed ADAS — SDA Pilot

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4 hours ago

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June 14, 2026

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CHONGQING, China, June 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the 28th Chongqing International Auto Exhibition, Changan Group showcased its full brand lineup including CHANGAN NEVO, CHANGAN DEEPAL and AVATR at Hall N8, and officially launched its self-developed Advanced Driver-Assistance System, SDA Pilot.

At the press conference, Zhu Huarong, Chairman of Changan Group, stated: “Changan will work together with partners and users worldwide to make ADAS better, more practical, and more accessible, protecting every journey with smart technology.” It is announced that the CHANGAN NEVO Q06 will come standard with SDA Pilot across all trim levels and hit its domestic market in the second half of 2026.

SDA Pilot Takes the Spotlight: Three-tier Safety Defenses Upgrade the ADAS Experience

As Changan’s latest technological achievement in smart mobility, SDA Pilot breaks the boundaries of traditional physical safety and establishes three comprehensive safety defense systems covering physical well-being, mental comfort and emotional interaction.

The entry-level SDA Pilot Pro comes standard with LiDAR, capable of identifying obstacles in low-light conditions such as at night or in tunnels two seconds faster than the human eye. Supported by the globally leading SDA Central Ring Network Architecture, the system cuts response time by an additional 150 milliseconds. SDA Pilot Max, leverages over 20 million high-quality real-world driving data segments for training, delivering exceptional perception and predictive capabilities to confidently navigate complex, high-frequency commuting scenarios. The top-tier SDA Pilot Ultra is integrated with the VLM (Vision Language Model), which greatly enhances the vehicle’s environmental perception and enables interactive advanced driver-assistance functions, turning the vehicle into an intuitive travel companion. In the future, an active driver incapacitation protection function will also be introduced to safeguard driving safety at the first moment.

While continuously evolving its ADAS user experience, Changan remains committed to its safety bottom line, clearly reminding: “Driver assistance is not autonomous driving. Drivers are still required to take on the core responsibilities of real-time monitoring and taking over control at any time.”

Advancing the “1445” Global Strategy: 17 Years of Intelligent R&D Build Solid Safety Foundations

Changan Group lives by the tenet of “Intelligence defines Changan.” As a core component of the “1445” Global Strategy that underpins four transformation priorities (The four priorities refer to: intelligent mobility, electrification, a unified ecosystem, and globalization), intelligent mobility stands as the primary driving force for Changan’s upgrading. The company is committed to building a world-class auto group with global competitiveness and independent core technologies, aiming to rank among the world’s top 10 automobile brands by 2030. The launch of SDA Pilot marks a landmark achievement of this strategy in the advanced driving-assistance sector.

Behind this technological breakthrough lies a solid intelligent foundation built by Changan over 17 years. Since establishing its intelligent R&D team in 2009, Changan has forged ahead in uncharted technological territories and built the China’s only national key laboratory dedicated to intelligent vehicle safety technology — CHANGAN SDA LAB. The lab supports round-the-clock global collaborative testing with more than 400,000 virtual simulation scenarios.

Over the past five years, more than 2,000 Changan engineers have completed over 5 million kilometers of real-road tests across Chongqing’s notoriously complex road conditions, covering 185 typical driving scenarios. Rich field experience has been embedded into the system, which keeps evolving based on user feedback and forms the unshakable safety strength of SDA Pilot.

Empowered by intelligent technologies, Changan continues to accelerate its global footprint. To date, the group has established 22 overseas manufacturing bases with an annual capacity of 350,000 vehicles, and 1,124 overseas sales outlets, covering 118 countries and regions, with 41 global models launched. In 2025, Changan’s overseas sales reached 637,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%.

Since the start of 2026, Changan has made successive moves in its globalization strategy: launching the Vast Ocean Plan 2.0 during the AutoChina 2026 in Beijing, establishing four core principles: long-term development, localization, systematization, and responsible ESG practices; and more recently, partnering with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) to become the Official Global Partner of the Portugal National Football Team, using sports as a bond to deepen global user connections and brand engagement.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/changan-group-unveils-its-in-house-developed-adas–sda-pilot-302799729.html

SOURCE Changan Group

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Kakunin Announces Cryptographic Compliance Shield for Google Gemini and OpenAI Agent Ecosystems

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11 hours ago

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June 14, 2026

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SaaS Compliance Leader Launches First-Class SDK Integrations for Google Antigravity, OpenAI Swarm, and OpenAI Assistants API to Meet Strict MiCA and EU AI Act Standards.

LONDON, June 13, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Kakunin, the leading compliance infrastructure platform for autonomous AI agents, today announced the release of first-class SDK integrations for Google Antigravity SDK, OpenAI Swarm, and the OpenAI Assistants API.

Autonomous agents are executing high-value, real-world tasks—but without strict boundaries, they represent a massive security risk,” said Palash Bagchi, Founder, at Kakunin.

As organizations move autonomous AI agents from sandboxes to production, securing the tools they run has become a critical operational hurdle. The new integrations allow developers to cryptographically secure and audit agent actions in real time, meeting the strict requirements of upcoming regulations like the EU AI Act and MiCA.

Preventing Agent Drift at the Tool Layer

Instead of relying on prompt engineering or system instructions—which are susceptible to jailbreaks—Kakunin secures agent tool execution at the cryptographic layer:

Pre-Flight Scope Verification: Validates that an agent possesses the required permission scope (e.g., trade.execute, file.write) before executing local code.Active-Agent Enforcement: Dynamically halts execution if the agent’s underlying X.509 certificate has been revoked or suspended.Tamper-Evident Auditing: Automatically logs session starts, prompts, responses, tool successes, and error anomalies.

Ecosystem Compatibility out of the Box

The new releases bring seamless, code-first integrations to the industry’s leading agent frameworks:

Google Antigravity SDK: Hook-based runtime protection that automatically secures Gemini-powered tool workflows.OpenAI Swarm: A lightweight class wrapper (KakuninSwarm) that dynamically gates multi-agent handoffs and task executions.OpenAI Assistants API: A polling-loop helper (handle_assistants_requires_action) that streamlines safety checks and tool output formatting in a single call.

Beyond these core OpenAI and Google environments, the new releases also extend Kakunin’s cryptographic shield to the broader agent development community. Out-of-the-box templates and shims are now available for LangChain (KakuninToolGuard), LlamaIndex (KakuninFunctionToolGuard), CrewAI (KakuninCrewAgent), and AutoGen (KakuninConversableAgent), alongside native middlewares for Next.js API routes and raw client libraries for Go, TypeScript, and Python.

“Autonomous agents are executing high-value, real-world tasks—but without strict boundaries, they represent a massive security risk,” said Palash Bagchi, Founder, at Kakunin. “By bringing cryptographic X.509 validation directly to Google’s and OpenAI’s agent loops, we are giving developers the peace of mind to deploy agents in highly regulated environments like fintech and healthcare.”

Availability

The new SDK integrations are available immediately:

Python Package: Available on PyPI via pip install kakunin.Playground Notebooks: Developers can test the integrations in 1-click via the official OpenAI Cookbook and Google Gemini Cookbook.Reference Samples: Available on the public Kakunin Samples Repository.

To learn more about securing your autonomous agent workflows, visit kakunin.ai/docs. or visit Conversational GTM for more enquiries.

Media Contact
Palash Bagchi, Immortal Reality PA LLC, 1 4125437290, ai@kakunin.ai, https://www.kakunin.ai/

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SOURCE Kakunin

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