Day: July 28, 2022

COUPEVILLE, Wash., July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Whidbey and Camano Islands Tourism is undergoing strategic planning in partnership with the Transformational Travel Council (TTC) in a bold step to adapt to a forever-changed travel industry, and to lay the groundwork for a future-fit destination. An early adopter of the TTC’s Regenerative Places Program, the year-long process cultivates shared values and vision, builds stakeholder capacity, and facilitates the co-creation of a Regenerative Action Plan. This process is designed to develop the self-regulation of the islands’ tourism systems, and ultimately plant the seeds for a tourism industry that improves the lives of residents, enriches the visitor experience, and benefits the natural environment of the islands.

DURHAM, N.C., July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Researchers from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) presented updated results from the HPTN 084 long-acting cabotegravir (CAB) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) study at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal. New findings show reductions in HIV incidence were sustained in the 12 months following trial unblinding (November 5, 2020, through November 5, 2021).

“These results are encouraging as CAB efficacy was sustained during the 12 months following unblinding, confirming a high level of protection against HIV acquisition among study participants assigned female at birth,” said Dr. Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, HPTN 084 protocol chair, director of research at Wits RHI, and research professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

HPTN 084 is an ongoing Phase 3 randomized, controlled trial that previously demonstrated the superiority of ViiV Healthcare’s long-acting cabotegravir compared to daily oral tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) for HIV prevention in individuals assigned female at birth. The blinded portion of the trial was stopped at a planned interim review in November 2020 due to evidence of superior efficacy when compared to daily oral TDF/FTC. Participants were subsequently unblinded and continued their original randomized study regimen pending a protocol amendment to offer open-label CAB.

“HIV infection continues to threaten the health of women worldwide,” said Dr. Myron Cohen, HPTN co-principal investigator, and director of the Institute for Global Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “Empowering women with safe and effective PrEP options is critical to reducing HIV as a global health threat.”

HPTN 084 enrolled 3,223 cisgender women at research sites in Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Twenty-three incident infections (3 CAB, 20 TDF/FTC) were detected in the 12-month unblinded period. Of these, two (1 CAB, 1 TDF/FTC) were determined to have occurred during the blinded phase. Only one of the CAB cases (blinded phase case) had ever received an injection. An additional 83 confirmed pregnancies (43 CAB, 40 TDF/FTC) occurred in the unblinded period. No congenital anomalies were reported.

“The additional pregnancy incidence data highlight the importance of establishing the safety and pharmacology of CAB among pregnant individuals,” said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, HPTN co-principal investigator, director of ICAP, and professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University in New York.

HPTN 084 was co-funded by NIAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and ViiV Healthcare. Study product was provided by ViiV Healthcare and Gilead Sciences, Inc. Three other NIH institutes also collaborated on HPTN 084: the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

About HPTN

The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) is a worldwide collaborative clinical trials network that brings together investigators, ethicists, community members, and other partners to develop and test the safety and efficacy of interventions designed to prevent the acquisition and transmission of HIV. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, Office of The Director, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, all part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, co-fund the HPTN. The HPTN has collaborated with more than 85 clinical research sites in 19 countries to evaluate new HIV prevention interventions and strategies in populations with a disproportionate HIV burden. The HPTN research agenda – more than 50 trials ongoing or completed with over 161,000 participants enrolled and evaluated – is focused primarily on discovering new HIV prevention tools and evaluating integrated strategies, including biomedical interventions combined with behavioral risk reduction interventions and structural interventions. For more information, visit hptn.org.

Eric Miller
HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN)
9193846465
emiller@fhi360.org

Ferrer wants to drive a new way of doing business and being in the world, because they believe that their activity as a company has to create more social and environmental value than the one it consumes

BARCELONA, Spain, July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In 2021 the pharmaceutical company Ferrer invested 61.4% of its net profits in social and environmental causes, as part of its purpose to make a positive impact in society. As the company’s Sustainability Report states, Ferrer reinvested the major part of its profits in several projects aimed at fostering equal opportunities for people in vulnerable situations, as well as projects aimed at protecting the planet. In this way, Ferrer materialized its purpose to make a positive impact. And the number of net profits invested represent a 53.2% rise in comparison to 2020.

Among the main projects in which Ferrer invested its profits in 2021, it is worth highlighting the one million healthy menus supplied in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area to people in an extreme situation of vulnerability. These meals, elaborated with food grown in biodynamic urban social gardens and with a permaculture regime, want to promote a green, sustainable and agroecological city model. The company also supports boys and girls at risk of social exclusion through music education programs. These are aimed at preventing school failure and enhance their educational, cultural, and emotional development.

As Mario Rovirosa, Ferrer’s CEO explained, the company has set its profit margin “in less than a half compared to the other companies in the sector”. The purpose is to “reinvest in initiatives with a social and environmental impact to create a fairer and more egalitarian society.” Likewise, Rovirosa asserted that the company has been working for years on its transformation towards being a “positive impact organization.” “We know we still have a long way to go, but we want to be promoters of a new way of doing business and being in the world because we believe that our activity as a pharmaceutical company must create more social and environmental value than it consumes”, Rovirosa stated.

In this way, all Ferrer’s strategy is related to the people and the development of their talent, the protection of the planet and the battle to achieve a fairer and more egalitarian society.

As a result of the work completed in 2021, Ferrer also became in early 2022 the first Spanish pharmaceutical laboratory to enter the B Corp community, the companies’ association aimed at building a more inclusive and sustainable economy. In the certification process carried out by B Lab Spain, Ferrer was highly valued for its strategy to develop innovative therapeutic solutions capable of transforming the lives of patients that suffer serious and debilitating diseases. Also, they recognized the company’s ability to operate with the highest standards of quality and safety, transparency, ethics, and honesty.

Commitment to talent and a fairer and more liveable world 

The 2021 Ferrer Sustainability Report’s data also reflects the company’s commitment, through its Great People axis, to a culture focused on people, based on trust and responsibility. In this sense, the company was recognized in Spain, Mexico, and Portugal as an excellent place to work (Great Place to Work®). This proved their ability to attract and retain the best professionals, with almost 96% of its workforce on indefinite contracts at the end of 2021, and 103,139 cumulative hours of training for their teams.

“Ferrer’s people are the main activists of our purpose. Each one of us, in our day-to-day decisions, contributes to the creation of our culture. A culture that has to do with how we lead, how we communicate, and how we organize ourselves, but that also involves a compromise with a more sustainable world. That is because, as a company, we want to contribute to the environmental preservation of our planet and the equality of opportunities. Moreover, we want to make Ferrer not only a great company to work for, but also a company with a positive impact and, therefore, focused on the benefit for all our stakeholders,” highlighted Bea Vila, Chief People & Sustainability Officer of Ferrer.

The people at Ferrer were also a driving force behind the Social Justice axis, through which the company intends to create a fairer and more equitable society. Therefore, the company mobilized 420 volunteers during the Days for Good, dedicating more than 1,300 hours to social and environmental projects. Within the same axis oriented towards social justice, the company itself promotes the defense of human rights to prevent and guarantee non-discrimination, health, and freedom of association. Furthermore, they want to achieve decent working conditions among its people and contribute to correct social inequality.

Through the actions for the environmental preservation of the planet that are part of the  Liveable Planet axis, Ferrer achieved a reduction of its global carbon footprint of 18.9% in 2021. This way, they approached the objective of having reduced it by 25% by 2030. To this extent, the company works with a 100% electricity coming from renewable sources, avoiding the emission of 7,500 tons of CO2 each year. Besides, the company also achieved to recover 76.5% of its waste globally, thanks to actions such as treatment, recycling, recovery, and composting, among others.

In the packaging field, Ferrer reaffirmed its commitment to the circular economy with the launch of the Packaging for good program, which includes the promotion of eco-design and the recovery of materials. The program works in line with the company’s vision of reducing by 25% the carbon footprint of its packaging in 2030 through the eco-design of 50% of its products. In addition, in June 2021 Ferrer started the Ecoins project in Costa Rica, a reverse logistics project that allowed the recovery of more than 4,500 tons of materials at more than 450 recollection points. With this project, Ferrer positioned itself as the first pharmacist to assume the recovery of waste medicines and fulfill the indications of the Costa Rican law regarding the Extended Responsibility of the Producer.

Moreover, to achieve Ferrer’s goal of becoming a carbon-positive company, they have joined to the Business Ambition 1’5°C, promoted by the United Nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the company participated as well in the Conference on Climate Change (COP26) to align its commitment with the recommendations and experiences of the scientific community.

Contact information:

gortizdez@ferrer.com
Tel.: +34 936 003 779

Related Files

280722 Ferrer Sustainability Report.docx

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Image 1: Ferrer for good

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• Ferrer for good

The CDMO’s Milan facility provides lentiviral vector and autologous CD34+ cell-based drug products for clinical testing

SEATTLE, MILAN, July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AGC Biologics, a leading global Biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), today announced a new partnership with Altheia Science, a gene therapy company pioneering cell and gene therapy strategies to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. Through this partnership, Altheia Science will advance its development of autoimmunity treatments, focused on modulating PD-L1 expression in patients’ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, into clinical testing.

AGC Biologics is performing drug product development at its Milan facility using lentiviral vector (LVV) and autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell systems. The cells will be transduced using a highly efficient ex vivo lentiviral material to encode the human PD-L1 DNA.

“The AGC Biologics Milan site has a long-standing expertise in successfully developing stem cell-based gene therapies, from clinical testing up to commercialization,” said Paolo Rizzardi, Chief Executive Officer of Altheia Science. “We believe this partnership is key in supporting our gene therapy programs and  making these innovative therapies available to patients.”

The AGC Biologics Milan facility has one of the strongest development and manufacturing track records in the global cell and gene industry, working with virtually any cell type and lentiviral, retroviral and adeno‐associated viral vectors. The site has 25 years of expertise, including manufacturing three commercial products, and teams of scientists with significant development and regulatory experience. The site was the first ex-vivo cell and gene therapy site approved in Europe for GMP manufacturing of clinical and commercial supplies.

“We are pleased Altheia Science placed their trust in our cell therapy and viral vector services, and our Milan site, at this important stage in their product’s lifecycle,” notes JB Agnus, Chief Business Officer of AGC Biologics. “Our global Cell Therapy and Viral Vector services are powerful tools for partners creating life-changing treatments for patients. We pride ourselves on our ability to collaborate with cell and gene developers and work within their unique specifications and requirements.”

AGC Biologics’ cell therapy services and viral vector capabilities leverage the latest technology and processes, including proprietary platforms developed to address the evolving advanced therapies industry. To learn more about the company and its complete list of biologics and cell and gene services, visit www.agcbio.com.

 

About Altheia Science  

Altheia Science has been founded by Prof. Alessandra Biffi, MD, and Prof. Paolo Fiorina, MD, Ph.D., together with the investment company AurorA-TT (www.aurora-tt.com). Altheia Science develops pioneering cell & gene therapy strategies to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer.  To learn more, visit www.altheiascience.com.

About AGC Biologics  
AGC Biologics is a leading global biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with a strong commitment to delivering the highest standard of service as we work side-by-side with our clients and partners every step of the way. We provide world-class development and manufacture of mammalian and microbial-based therapeutic proteins, plasmid DNA (pDNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), viral vectors, and genetically engineered cells. Our global network spans the U.S., Europe, and Asia, with cGMP-compliant facilities in Seattle, Washington; Boulder and Longmont, Colorado; Copenhagen, Denmark; Heidelberg, Germany; Milan, Italy; and Chiba, Japan and we currently employ more than 2,500 employees worldwide. Our commitment to continuous innovation fosters the technical creativity to solve our clients’ most complex challenges, including specialization in fast-track projects and rare diseases. To learn more, visit www.agcbio.com.

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• AGC Biologics Signs Contract with Altheia Science

Nick McDonald
AGC Biologics
4254193555
nmcdonald@agc.com

TORONTO, July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EV Technology Group Ltd. (the “Company” or “EV Technology Group”) (NEO: EVTG, OTCQB: EVTGF, DE: B96A) announces today that its wholly owned subsidiary MOKE France SAS (“MOKE France”) has finished renovating its flagship MOKE showroom and is open for business in the heart of Saint-Tropez.

‘Casa MOKE’ is a built-for-purpose experience and retail centre where MOKE France will display the new electric MOKE vehicles. The development of ‘Casa MOKE’ was a made-to-order project and has been designed by architects Olivia Siri and Julien Fuentes, as a laid-back charming hub for the much-loved beach and luxury lifestyle brand. Additionally, MOKE France has collaborated with French artist Quentin Monge who has installed a life-size wall mural and created limited-edition artworks dedicated to the brand.

The Côte d’Azur has been a popular home to the MOKE brand since it was founded by Sir Alec Issigonis in the 1960s, with many associating the vehicle as a staple vacation accessory, suitable for adventures on country roads to sand dunes. MOKE France is now making it much easier for clients to experience the brand in ‘Casa MOKE’ Saint-Tropez, the flagship retail store which will carve the way for the future of MOKE across the world.

Casa MOKE

In an initial pilot of direct-to-consumer sales, MOKE France generated over €500,000 in total value for orders.

“This summer is the perfect opportunity to bring the Electric MOKE to Saint-Tropez and we are so excited to be able to revive the brand in an authentic spirit!” Said Willy Gruyelle, CEO of MOKE France. “I am really proud of what the design team has achieved: a house combining the glory of the Sixties, the spirit of the Mediterranean Sea and modern touches to welcome our clients and share past and future MOKE stories together!”

“The French Riviera was the obvious place to open our first hub as the area resonates with our brand so well. We hope to learn from our successes with the Electric MOKE in France, as EV Technology Group takes the brand to a global level,” said Wouter Witvoet, CEO and Founder of EV Technology Group.

EV Technology Group
EV Technology Group was founded in 2021 with the vision to electrify iconic brands – and the mission to redefine the joy of motoring for the electric age. By acquiring iconic brands and bringing beloved motoring experiences to the electric age, EV Technology Group is driving the EV revolution forward. Backed by a diversified team of passionate entrepreneurs, engineers and driving enthusiasts, EV Technology Group creates value for its customers by owning the total customer experience — acquiring and partnering with iconic brands with significant growth potential in unique markets, and controlling end-to-end capabilities. To learn more visit: https://evtgroup.com/

Casa MOKE

MOKE
MOKE and the MOKE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of MOKE International Limited (“MOKE International”) in the European Union and other territories. MOKE International, a company registered in England, is the only manufacturer of genuine MOKE vehicles worldwide. The mark was acquired from Casti S.p.A. and derives from the original 1964 British Motor Corporation registration. MOKE France is the official French licensee. For more information visit: https://mokeinternational.com

Media
Rachael D’Amore
rachael@talkshopmedia.com
+1519-564-9850

Investor Relations
Dave Gentry
dave@redchip.com
+14074914498

EV Technology Group
Wouter Witvoet
CEO and Chairman of the Board
wouter@evtgroup.com

Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: its Casa MOKE flagship store and orders for the electric MOKE. Often, but not always, these Forward-looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as “estimated”, “potential”, “open”, “future”, “assumed”, “projected”, “used”, “detailed”, “has been”, “gain”, “planned”, “reflecting”, “will”, “containing”, “remaining”, “to be”, or statements that events, “could” or “should” occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-looking Statements, including those factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in the filing statement of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-looking Statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except where required by law. There can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

THE NEO STOCK EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

Global Telco Webtel.mobi’s Briefing Document to International Consultancy Frost & Sullivan for Valuation of its TUV Digital Currency / CBDC-equivalents reveals that the TUVs’ fully-operational capacities exceed prevailing theories of Digital Currency / CBDC capacities by so far as to be startling – and potentially herald the biggest changes in over a Century to money and finance as we know it

LONDON and NEW YORK, July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Webtel.mobi (“WM”), the global telephony company that has developed the world’s first functional Global Digital Currency equivalent and Global CBDC equivalent – the “TUV” – has issued its Briefing Document to International Consultancy Frost & Sullivan for the valuations of its three types of TUV (the “Standard”, “Secured” and “Smart” TUVs).

The Briefing Document revealed the scope, range and capacities of WM’s fully-operational Digital Currency / CBDC equivalent – using, as it does, 21^st Century technologies and the Global Telco’s worldwide connectivity.

The results surpass – by multiple factors – all the most optimistic predictions and forecasts of the advancements that a functioning Digital Currency or CBDC could bring across all sectors and markets worldwide, and to the global digital economy itself. They are significant to the extent that they could potentially usher in the most significant changes to the existing concepts of money, currencies, finance and economics in over a Century.

Moreover, WM’s TUVs and WM’s Global Financial System equivalent – having been operationally tested and refined for over eight years – are currently fully operational not only for company/merchant and individual/consumer use worldwide, but also for immediate adoption by Central & Commercial Banks and other Foundational Financial entities if they choose to.

This is because the WM System and TUVs have been structured to enable seamless and worldwide “Whole Market” access and use – without requiring systemic change or alteration by any parties, and across all sectors, countries, currencies, and systems. This enables all persons and/or entities worldwide to benefit from its profound advancements, which include the following:

Geostrategic Attributes (7 examples of over 100):
Seven of the 100+ fully-operational and proven new capacities brought about by the TUVs and the WM System are as follows:

• A fully-operational Global Unitary World Currency equivalent:
  Achieved without countries having to change their own currencies or systems – because the TUVs are instantly interchangeable between all world currencies – so can be in any of the world’s currencies, but instantly convertible to any of the other world currencies, at the election of the owner.

• A fully-operational alternative to current systems of both Digital Currency and Cash – combined:
  The secure storage, transfer and/or payment facilities – all from any internet-enabled electronic device, Smart Phone or Pre-Smart Phone – and the capacity for cash to be converted to Digital TUVs, and for refunds of TUVs to bank accounts or via kiosks, give the TUVs the functionality and usability characteristics of both digital money and cash – simultaneously.

• A fully-operational, more Rapid & Secure and Lower Cost alternative to the Global SWIFT System:
  TUVs can be transferred or used for transfers or payments worldwide, in secure and instant transfers 24/7/365 over the WM System. This provides a fully-operational alternative to the SWIFT / IBAN and other systems that is more rapid (1/100^th of a second), more secure and exponentially lower-cost than the other systems.

• A fully-operational alternative to the Global FX Market:
  TUV currencies can be swapped across all currencies on the WM System 24/7/365 in a fully secure manner with permanent Full Reserve coverage – for fully secured global currency conversions at rates set by currency owners. Can be used for fully-secure and instant retail and wholesale FX conversions, as well as for RTGS and PvP transactions of any size.

• A Return to Gold-Standard Currencies equivalent:
  WM’s Secured TUVs are fully-backed not just by 100% Reserves of their face-value in currency, but also by their full face-value in Physical Gold. This returns currencies back to Gold-Standard status with the corresponding securing of value.

• A Permanent Hedge against Inflation and Currency Depreciation:
  The capacity for instant conversion of the TUV to alternative currencies in the Standard TUVs – as well as the securing of the Secured TUVs with Physical Gold on top of the capacity for conversion to other currencies – provide a permanent hedge against currency depreciation and inflation – and in the case of the Secured TUVs – also a hedge against Systemic failures.

• A Fully-Operational and Global eKYC and eAML System:
  With the most thorough and advanced application that sees in-situ attorneys and notaries carry out the KYC in all countries, and then re-certify KYC once provided, and with the WM System further managing transactions within rules and carrying out permanent KYC and AML monitoring of all transactions – 24/7/365.

The number of new Geostrategic Attributes is moreover dwarfed by the number of new General Systemic and Process Improvements to current systems and processes.

A small selection of these is as follows:

General Systemic and Process Improvements (5 examples of over 250)

• Instant Global Multicurrency Accounts for Companies/Merchants and Individuals/Consumers:
  Enabling instant expansion of business and lowering of costs for Merchants and Consumers worldwide in/for all currencies and countries.

• Instant Global Multicurrency Payment and Payment-Acceptance Systems for all Currencies and Countries:
  In all currencies and countries and without the requirement for any new payment terminals or processes, as Smart Phone or Pre-Smart Mobile Phones are used as payment and receipt terminals. Also lowers the costs for Merchants and Consumers worldwide while increasing speed and security.

• Instant Replacement of Expensive Intermediary entities for the majority of Transactions via the “Smart TUV”:
  The world’s first “Programmable Money” equivalent enables parties to transactions, to tailor the payment of funds according to deal / transaction structures / terms / dates / times / other attributes. Removes the requirement for intermediaries for the majority of transaction types including in Letter of Credit transactions, Global Trade transactions, etc. Exponentially lowers costs, increases speed and heightens security.

• Instant Integration of the 30% of the world’s Unbanked / Underbanked into the 21^st Century Digital Economy:
  The TUVs and the WM System have been structured to allow for the safe and KYCd + AMLd process of conversion of cash into digital TUVs, and the refunding of TUVs via Kiosks. Other than replicating and improving the instant usability and convenience of cash in many global cash market economies, this has also provided an instant solution for full inclusion of the 30% of the world’s Unbanked and Underbanked population into the Global Digital Economy.

• Instant Transaction Cost Lowering, Transaction Security Raising and Transaction & Settlement Speed Increasing:
  Use of the TUVs and the WM System results in instant and exponential lowering of transaction costs, raising of transaction security, increasing of transactions speeds to instant and increasing of settlement speeds to instant for consumers and merchants, in all currencies and countries, and for all amounts, for all transfers and payments.

A more extensive list of the innovations, new capacities and improvements to existing systems are listed in the Briefing Document provided to Frost & Sullivan by WM – a redacted copy of which is attached to this article.

Its contents are continuing to stimulate very significant interest and debate worldwide – especially because the WM TUVs, System and capacities are not theoretical future propositions. They are rather factual characteristics of tested, due diligenced, proven and fully-operational realities and measured benchmarks – confirmed in over eight years of global operational testing and refinement.

The Briefing Document was made public by WM as a disclosure requirement; because WM is listing a Special Purpose Vehicle holding WM shares on a Retail Stock Exchange in the United States in late 2022.

As the Valuation of the TUVs – the value of which will be added to WM and its shares and therefore to the Special Purpose Vehicle’s value – will have a material effect on the value of the Special Purpose Vehicle after it has been listed, it was a disclosure requirement for WM to make the Briefing Document public.

The Geostrategic nature of the WM System and TUVs and their capacities has already resulted in various international entities approaching WM for its input on CBDCs and related matters, and it is anticipated that potential acquisition-interest in the Company from Foundational or Strategic financial and economic entities internationally may ensue. However, WM has, at this time, not expressed interest in a Trade Sale.

Resources:

To contact WM: wm@thoburns.com

Research Papers on the WM System’s Converged Capacities by Professor Jan Kregel – former Chief Rapporteur, Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System:

• Another Bretton Woods Reform Moment: Let us Look Seriously at the Clearing Union
  https://tinyurl.com/WM-System1

• Keynes’s Clearing Union is Alive and Well and Living in your Mobile Phone
  https://tinyurl.com/WM-System2

• Money and Credit: Potential Expansion of the WM System
  https://tinyurl.com/WM-System3

• New Dimensions for the TUV in the Webtel.mobi System
  https://tinyurl.com/WM-System4

• The Economic Problem: From Barter to Commodity Money to Electronic Money
  https://tinyurl.com/WM-System5

Attachments:

• Redacted – Updated Briefing to Frost & Sullivan – Valuation of WM’s TUVs
  
• Research Papers on WM’s TUVs and Global Clearing System

Details on WM’s TUVs:

Examples of TUVs: https://tinyurl.com/TUV-Examples

Standard TUVs: https://tinyurl.com/Standard-TUVs

Secured TUVs: https://tinyurl.com/Secured-TUVs

Smart TUVs: https://tinyurl.com/Smart-TUVs

Media Articles on WM:
https://webtel.mobi/info/current-media/

WM’s urls:

https://webtel.mobi/pc (Tablets / Laptops / Desktops)

https://webtel.mobi (Smart Phones)

https://webtel.mobi/wap (Pre-Smart Mobile Phones)

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/22c7f0ef-6021-4cdc-9877-20fcc8fd4b17

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

New Product Launch Leans Heavily on Customer Retention, Monetization and Streamlining Revenue Operations

San Francisco, Calif., July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Chargebee, the leading subscription management platform, today announced its Summer 2022 Product Release. The slate of new products and features is focused on enabling high-performing subscription businesses to monetize their existing customers and fend off the growing threats of a tumultuous economy. These new products help businesses build their cash reserves and maintain their customer base at a time when many businesses – and their customers – are struggling with the realities of inflation and drying up of venture capital, the lingering effects of COVID-19 and a decimated global supply chain.

The centerpiece of Chargebee’s Summer 2022 Product Release is Chargebee Retention, formerly Brightback, which along with Chargebee Receivables (numberz), and RevRec (RevLock), all acquired by Chargebee over the last 18 months, represent Chargebee’s initial foray into becoming a true multi-product company.

Chargebee Retention allows businesses to focus on keeping the customers they already have at a time when both businesses and consumers are being forced to evaluate everything in their portfolios and make difficult decisions. Chargebee Retention enables businesses to customize cancellation experiences with offers geared towards continuing the customer relationship and allows businesses to test out personalized retention-magnet strategies to minimize voluntary churn and strengthen customer lifetime value with an ROI of as much as 800%.

“For subscription businesses, acquiring new customers is at least 2.5 times more expensive than upselling or expanding an existing customer. This factor can be even higher with intelligent automation that decreases customer churn while increasing the chances of expansion,” said Mark Thomason, IDC Research Director responsible for Digital Business Models and Monetization practice. “While these retention capabilities are critical during these tumultuous times, keeping happy customers is always in vogue.”

Chargebee Receivables helps businesses improve their cash flow management processes by automating accounts receivable workflows. Subscription businesses will now be able to efficiently automate their entire accounts receivables workflow and process from purchase to payment. In addition, Chargebee Receivables also lets businesses proactively engage with customers on predicted payment failure to minimize involuntary churn and increase customer retention.

“Customer retention has become an even bigger focus for us over the past year or so,” said Bob Viscount, Vice President at Silhouette U. “The economy has changed a lot, and we’ve been looking for a solution that helps mitigate some of the cancellations we’ve been seeing.  Customers have chosen to cancel due to cost and having an option to deflect some of these cancellations with a tailored offer in the moment has been a huge boost to our business. Chargebee Retention has proven to be a value-add to our business and has allowed us to provide customers with a comprehensive review of what they’d be giving up while also leveraging offers when needed. The results in a very short amount of time have convinced me that this needs to be a critical component to our business moving forward.”

The volatility of today’s market landscape has forced businesses to become adaptable and nimble in ways they hadn’t previously expected, tinkering with package and feature offerings and providing new and different services to customers at different price points.  The new Chargebee Entitlements offers businesses more control over this new path and enables them to upsell to existing customers by showing them value. Chargebee Entitlements enables businesses to “value-test” and experiment with different packaging and pricing options, better control feature launches with roll-outs to small subsets of customers, and go to market faster. Chargebee Entitlements helps go-to-market teams provide feature access to customers beyond their plan on the flip of a switch, which can be used to incentivize plan upgrades and free-to-paid conversions.

“We’ve spent months engaging with our customers, learning the ins and outs of their businesses and working with them to determine what types of tools they want and need to face their current challenges head-on,” said John Pearce, Vice President of Product Management at Chargebee. “In those conversations, the focus almost always homed in on retaining customers, building long-lasting customer relationships and understanding how Chargebee can help businesses monetize their existing customer base. Chargebee Retention, Chargebee Receivables and Chargebee Entitlements are a direct result of our findings and our desire to give our customers exactly what they need to build and scale their businesses, even in these trying times.”

The complete list of features in Chargebee’s Summer 2022 Product Release, which also includes in-app purchase management, multi-entity management, integration with PandaDoc to manage quote-based subscription workflows, a RevRec integration that helps businesses recognize revenue in local currency and avoid challenges that hinder growth, and RevRec’s ASC 606 expense recognition, can be found here: https://www.chargebee.com/summer-release-2022/

About Chargebee

Chargebee is the subscription management platform that automates revenue operations of over 4,500 subscription-based businesses from startups to enterprises. The SaaS platform helps subscription businesses across verticals, including SaaS, eCommerce, e-learning, IoT, Publications, and more, manage and grow revenue by automating subscription billing, invoicing, payments, and revenue recognition operations, provides key metrics, reports, and business insights and now offers Chargebee Retention and Chargebee Receivables. Founded in 2011, Chargebee counts businesses, like Okta, Freshworks, Calendly, and Study.com amongst its global customer base. Learn more about Chargebee at www.chargebee.com.

Jake Katz
Chargebee
jake.katz@chargebee.com

London, July 28, 2022

“With volatile energy markets and the ongoing need for action to tackle climate change, 2022 continues to present huge challenges for consumers, governments, and companies alike. Consequently, we are using our financial strength to invest in secure energy supplies which the world needs today, taking real, bold steps to cut carbon emissions, and transforming our company for a low-carbon energy future.

And, crucially, our Powering Progress strategy is delivering strong results for our shareholders on the back of years of portfolio high grading, combined with robust operational performance. We are increasing shareholder distributions through a $6 billion share buyback programme which is expected to be completed by Q3 2022 results.”

Shell plc Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden

DISCIPLINE DELIVERING RESULTS: MORE CASH, MORE RESILIENCE

• Strong performance in a turbulent economic environment with Adjusted Earnings of $11.5 billion in Q2 2022. Adjusted EBITDA of $23.1 billion in Q2 2022 versus $19.0 billion in Q1 2022.
• Announced $6 billion share buybacks are expected to be completed by Q3 2022 results; total distributions significantly in excess of 30% of CFFO for the last four quarters. With the current energy sector outlook and subject to Board approval, shareholder distributions are expected to remain in excess of 30% of CFFO.
• In the first half of 2022 shareholder distributions have doubled from those in the first half of 2013, a decade ago, when Brent prices were similar, with increased discipline, integrated value delivery and improved resilience driving better results.
• Strengthening energy security through natural gas investments in Pierce and Jackdaw (UK), participation in the North Field LNG expansion (Qatar) and Crux FID (Australia). Positioning for the future of energy with a final investment decision for Holland Hydrogen I (Netherlands) and progressing the completion of the acquisition of Sprng Energy (India).
• Disciplined cash capex: expected to be in the $23 – 27 billion range in 2022.

$ million		Adj. Earnings1	Adj. EBITDA	CFFO	Cash capex
Integrated Gas		3,758	6,529	8,176	919
Upstream		4,912	11,167	8,110	2,858
Marketing		751	1452	(454)	1,620
Mobility		413	938		1,223
Lubricants		225	333		206
Sectors & Decarbonisation		113	181		191
Chemicals & Products		2,035	3,184	2,728	1,226
Chemicals		(158)	2		848
Products		2,193	3,182		378
Renewables & Energy Solutions		725	1,013	(558)	321
Corporate		(626)	(197)	652	81
Less: Non-controlling interest		82
Shell	Q2 2022	11,472	23,150	18,655	7,024
	Q1 2022	9,130	19,028	14,815	5,064

¹ Income/(loss) attributable to shareholders for Q2 2022 is $ 18.0 billon. Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures can be found in the unaudited results, available on www.shell.com/investors.

• CFFO increased by $3.8 billion versus Q1 2022 to $18.7 billion, driven by higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower working capital outflows. In Q2 2022, Tax paid & other includes tax payments of $3.2 billion, offset by current cost of supplies adjustment and other movements. Working capital in Q2 2022 is mainly impacted by inventory price and volume hurt of $6.8 billion, offset by favourable accounts receivable and payable movements and initial margin inflows.
• Net debt reduced by ~$2.1 billion (~4%), to $46.4 billion in Q2 2022.

$ billion	Q2 2021	Q3 2021	Q4 2021	Q1 2022	Q2 2022
Divestment proceeds	1.3	1.3	9.1	0.7	0.8
Free cash flow	9.7	12.2	10.7	10.5	12.4
Net debt	65.7	57.5	52.6	48.5	46.4

Q2 2022 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE DRIVERS

INTEGRATED GAS

Key data	Q1 2022	Q2 2022	Q3 2022 outlook
Realised liquids price ($/bbl)	88.76	90.37	—
Realised gas price ($/mscf)	10.31	11.28	—
Production (kboe/d)	896	944	890 – 940
LNG liquefaction volumes (MT)	8.00	7.66	6.9 – 7.5
LNG sales volumes (MT)	18.29	15.21	—

• Adjusted Earnings below Q1 2022, reflecting lower trading and optimisation results as well as impact of Sakhalin derecognition partly offset by higher realised prices and Pearl Train 1 and Prelude returning to operations in Q2 2022.
  • Trading and optimisation results in Q2 2022 were strong, but lower than Q1 2022, driven by lower sales volumes and fewer portfolio optimisation opportunities.
• Q3 2022 outlook includes substantially more planned maintenance compared with Q2 2022 and uncertainty around the impact of “Permitted Industrial Actions” at Prelude.

UPSTREAM

Key data	Q1 2022	Q2 2022	Q3 2022 outlook
Realised liquids price ($/bbl)	88.63	101.42	—
Realised gas price ($/mscf)	8.79	13.85	—
Liquids production (kboe/d)	1,403	1,325	—
Gas production (mscf/d)	3,606	3,428	—
Total production (kboe/d)	2,025	1,917	1,750 – 1,950

• Production was lower than in Q1 2022, mainly driven by higher scheduled maintenance.
• Adjusted Earnings benefited from higher prices and a gain related to storage and working gas transfer effects in a joint venture.
• The Q3 2022 production outlook reflects that Salym-related volumes in Russia are no longer recognised.

MARKETING

Key data	Q1 2022	Q2 2022	Q3 2022 outlook
Marketing sales volumes (kb/d)	2,372	2,515	2,350 – 2,850
Mobility (kb/d)	1,591	1,672	—
Lubricants (kb/d)	92	86	—
Sectors & Decarbonisation (kb/d)	690	757	—

• Marketing margins were higher than in Q1 2022, with seasonal impact of higher volumes in Mobility, partly offset by lower Lubricants margins due to higher feedstock costs.
• Marketing Adjusted Earnings also impacted by deferred tax charges.

CHEMICALS & PRODUCTS

Key data	Q1 2022	Q2 2022	Q3 2022 outlook
Refining & Trading sales volumes (kb/d)	1,598	1,596	—
Chemicals sales volumes (kT)	3,330	3,054	3,100 – 3,600
Refinery utilisation **(%)	81	84	90 – 98
Chemicals manufacturing plant utilization ** (%)	85	78	82 – 90
Global indicative refining margin ($/bbl)	10	28	—
Global indicative chemical margin ($/t)	98	86	—

• Higher realised refining margins reflecting the dislocation in product markets, particularly middle distillates.
• Trading and optimisation results in Q2 2022 were strong as demand outpaced supply, but below exceptional Q1 2022 results.
• Lower chemicals margins due to higher feedstock and utility costs and higher turnaround activities.

**With effect from Q2 2022, the methodology applied in calculating both Chemicals manufacturing plant utilisation and Refinery utilisation has been revised. For details, see the Quarterly Results Announcement.

RENEWABLES & ENERGY SOUTIONS

Key data	Q1 2022	Q2 2022
Adj. Earnings ($ billion)*	0.3	0.7
Adj. EBITDA ($ billion)	0.5	1.0
External power sales (TWh)	57	54
Sales of pipeline gas to end-use customers (TWh)	257	188
Renewable power generation capacity	4.6	5.7
in operation (GW)	1.0	1.1
under construction and/or committed for sale (GW)	3.6	4.6

*Segment Earnings for Q2 2022 is -$ 0.2 billion. Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures can be found in the unaudited results, available on www.shell.com/investors

• Exceptionally strong Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA resulting from higher trading and optimisation margins for gas and power, due to extraordinary gas and power price volatility in North America, Europe and Australia.
• Final investment decision taken to build a 200 MW electrolyser Holland Hydrogen I, Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant once operational in 2025.
• Progressing with the acquisition of Sprng Energy group, one of India’s leading renewable power platforms.
• Signed 10-year renewable energy supply agreement with Air Liquide to provide 52 GWh of solar energy per year to power industrial and medical gas production operations in Italy.
• Launched the Shell Energy brand into the residential power market in the United States of America, offering 100% renewable electricity plans to eligible customers in Texas.
• Acquired minority stake in Carbonext, Brazil’s largest developer of REDD+ carbon credit generating projects.

The Renewables and Energy Solutions segment includes Shell’s Integrated Power activities, comprising electricity generation, marketing, trading and optimisation of power and pipeline gas, and digitally enabled customer solutions. The segment also includes production and marketing of hydrogen, development of commercial carbon capture & storage hubs, trading of carbon credits and investment in nature-based projects that avoid or reduce carbon. 

CORPORATE

Key data	Q1 2022	Q2 2022	Q3 2022 outlook
Adjusted Earnings ($ million)	(548)	(626)	(650) – (450)

• The Adjusted Earnings outlook is a net expense of $2,000 – 2,400 million for the full year 2022. This excludes the impact of currency exchange rate effects.

UPCOMING INVESTOR EVENTS

6 October 2022	Shell Insights: Marketing Business Update
27 October 2022	Third quarter 2022 results and dividends

USEFUL LINKS

Results materials Q2 2022

Quarterly Databook Q2 2022

Dividend announcement Q2 2022

Webcast registration Q2 2022

ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE (NON-GAAP) MEASURES

This announcement includes certain measures that are calculated and presented on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) such as IFRS, including Adjusted Earnings, Adjusted EBITDA, CFFO excluding working capital movements, Cash capital expenditure, free cash flow, Divestment proceeds and Net debt. This information, along with comparable GAAP measures, is useful to investors because it provides a basis for measuring Shell plc’s operating performance and ability to retire debt and invest in new business opportunities. Shell plc’s management uses these financial measures, along with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, in evaluating the business performance.

This announcement contains a forward-looking Non-GAAP measure for cash capital expenditure. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of this forward-looking Non-GAAP measure to the most comparable GAAP financial measure because certain information needed to reconcile the Non-GAAP measure to the most comparable GAAP financial measure is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of the company, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measure with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are estimated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements.

 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

All amounts shown throughout this announcement are unaudited. The numbers presented throughout this announcement may not sum precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures, due to rounding.

The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. “Subsidiaries”, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. “Joint ventures” and “joint operations” are collectively referred to as “joint arrangements”. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”, “ambition”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “goals”, “intend”, “may”, “milestones”, “objectives”, “outlook”, “plan”, “probably”, “project”, “risks”, “schedule”, “seek”, “should”, “target”, “will” and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions;                     (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, July 28, 2022. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.

Shell’s Net Carbon Footprint

Also, in this announcement we may refer to Shell’s “Net Carbon Footprint” or “Net Carbon Intensity”, which include Shell’s carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers’ carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers’ carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the terms Shell’s “Net Carbon Footprint” or “Net Carbon Intensity” is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.

Shell’s Net-Zero Emissions Target

Shell’s operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and Net Carbon Footprint (NCF) targets over the next ten years. However, Shell’s operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target and 2035 NCF target, as these targets are currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell’s operating plans to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.

The content of websites referred to in this announcement does not form part of this announcement.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

The financial information presented in this announcement does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434(3) of the Companies Act 2006 (“the Act”). Statutory accounts for the year ended December 31, 2021 were published in Shell’s Annual Report and Accounts, a copy of which was delivered to the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales, and in Shell’s Form 20-F. The auditor’s report on those accounts was unqualified, did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report and did not contain a statement under sections 498(2) or 498(3) of the Act.

The information in this announcement does not constitute the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements which are contained in Shell’s second quarter 2022 and half year unaudited results available on www.shell.com/investors.

CONTACTS

• Media: International +44 207 934 5550; USA +1 832 337 4355