Dryad Wins International XPRIZE Wildfire Award for Autonomous Wildfire Detection and Suppression

 European finalist demonstrates ultra-early wildfire detection with Silvanet and autonomous suppression with Silvaguard

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dryad Networks, a leader in ultra-early wildfire detection, today announced it has been awarded $800,000 in the XPRIZE Wildfire competition for its performance in the Autonomous Wildfire Response finals in Alaska.

Dryad advanced from an original field of approximately 300 entrants in the four-year competition. In June 2026, three finalists were challenged to autonomously detect and completely suppress a high-risk wildfire within 10 minutes of ignition across 1,000 km² of Alaskan wilderness, leaving any decoy fires untouched. It was the most demanding live test to date of what it will take to stop a destructive fire before it grows out of control.

During the tests, the Dryad’s Silvanet sensor network successfully detected and verified target fire in 12 minutes or less and autonomously launched a response, ignoring any decoy fires. The autonomous Silvaguard Observation Drone provided situational awareness and the Suppression Drone accurately hit the fire with suppressant – providing a strong proof of concept for the competition end goal.

The XPRIZE Wildfire Judging Panel awarded $2.5 million across three Track B Finalist teams, recognizing distinct breakthroughs across the autonomous wildfire response cycle. Together, this demonstrates meaningful advances toward the competition’s ambitious goal and provided a clearer picture of what is possible today — and where further innovation is still needed.

With the award, XPRIZE recognized in particular Dryad’s 170-sensor persistent Silvanet field network combined with Silvaguard drones for demonstrating end-to-end autonomy.

“This award is a tremendous external validation of our technology and vision,” said Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO and Co-Founder of Dryad Networks. “Our vision is fully aligned with XPRIZE Wildfire: detect and extinguish fires within 10 minutes of ignition. To achieve this, fires must be detected within minutes, ideally during the smoldering phase before open flames appear and spread rapidly.”

“Ultra-early detection is a prerequisite for autonomous suppression. Drones can suppress a small ignition, but their limited payload makes them largely ineffective once a wildfire has grown out of control. Silvanet detects the fire when it is still tiny, and Silvaguard can verify, locate and suppress it autonomously.”

Silvanet uses solar-powered, AI-enabled gas sensors as an “electronic nose” to detect wildfire signatures within minutes of ignition. Its solar-powered mesh network enables sensors to communicate deep inside forests, off-grid and independently of mobile networks. The fully industrialized system has more than 40,000 sensors manufactured, including recent deliveries of 10,000 sensors to France and more than 7,000 to Italy.

Silvaguard extends Silvanet from detection to autonomous response. When a sensor triggers an alert, a Silvaguard Observation Drone autonomously launches, verifies and precisely geolocates the fire using infrared and optical cameras. A Suppression Drone then deploys up to 100 liters of suppressant on the fire. Both operate autonomously with no human operator in the loop and are designed to be stationed in forests in solar-powered protective hangars, continuously charged and ready to respond.

Dryad will now invest significantly in productizing Silvaguard, with real-world operational pilots planned for 2027 and commercial availability targeted for 2028.

“Wildfires are a race against time,” Brinkschulte concluded. “Instead of building bigger machines to fight bigger fires, our goal is to prevent fires from becoming big in the first place. XPRIZE has provided powerful validation that autonomous wildfire response can make that vision a reality.”

For XPRIZE, the end of the competition is not the end of the work. XPRIZE Wildfire will move into an Impact Phase focused on helping translate promising technologies into durable, deployable solutions for real-world wildfire management.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at xprize.org.

More info: https://www.xprize.org/wildfire

About Dryad Networks

Dryad Networks mission is to detect wildfires in their earliest stages and enable autonomous suppression before they become catastrophic. Dryad’s solutions protect forests, communities, critical infrastructure, and the climate from the growing threat of wildfires.

 

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Acadia Pharmaceuticals Announces Phase 3 Enabling Topline Results from Phase 2 RADIANT Study of Remlifanserin for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease Psychosis (ADP)

SAN DIEGO - Thursday, 24. September 2026

-- Meaningful and consistent efficacy trends across endpoints support continuing with Phase 3 development of 60 mg once daily remlifanserin in ADP, with demonstrated evidence of dose effect

-- Narrowly missed primary endpoint of SAPS H+D (p=0.0603) with significance (nominal) on key secondary endpoint of CGI-S-ADP (p=0.0077)

-- Favorable safety and tolerability profile across both doses

-- Detailed results to be presented at upcoming Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference in November

-- Conference call and webcast to be held today at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) today announced Phase 3 enabling topline results from the Phase 2 portion of the ongoing RADIANT clinical trial program evaluating remlifanserin for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Alzheimer’s disease psychosis (ADP).

For the primary endpoint of change from baseline in the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms-Hallucinations and Delusions subscales (SAPS-H+D), once daily 60 mg remlifanserin demonstrated a change of -12.6 versus a -10.4 change for placebo at week 6, yielding a standardized effect size of 0.26 (p=0.0603). For the key secondary endpoint, Clinical Global Impression – Severity (CGI-S-ADP), the 60 mg dose achieved a change from baseline of -1.3 versus a change of -0.9 for placebo at week 6, yielding a standardized effect size of 0.37 [p=0.0077 (nominal)]. On both efficacy measures, the difference in the 60 mg dose versus placebo increased through the 6-week treatment period. The 30 mg dose showed minimal improvement across endpoints compared to placebo. All analyses were performed in the pre-specified modified full analysis set (mFAS1) population.

In this study, across both doses, remlifanserin demonstrated a favorable safety profile, with rates of adverse events, serious adverse events, and discontinuations due to adverse events, similar to placebo. There was no signal of QT prolongation versus placebo. This dataset suggests no negative impact on motor symptoms or cognition. Additionally, there were no deaths in the remlifanserin treatment arms.

Given these data, Acadia plans to continue enrolling its two ongoing Phase 3 studies evaluating remlifanserin in ADP while implementing amendments to the Phase 3 program, including removing the 30 mg dosage arm.

“We are pleased that the Phase 2 RADIANT data support continuation of the Phase 3 ADP program, with new insights helping us to refine the program for future regulatory success. These results provide valuable information regarding the efficacy, safety and tolerability of once daily remlifanserin in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis,” said Catherine Owen Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Acadia Pharmaceuticals. “We are excited about the potential of remlifanserin in this area of high unmet need, for which there are no currently approved therapies.”

“The Phase 2 RADIANT findings provide encouraging evidence that 60 mg once daily remlifanserin may have the potential to reduce hallucinations and delusions in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Jeffrey Cummings, M.D., Sc.D., Director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “This patient population has a significant need for an efficacious medication that is well tolerated, convenient to administer, and is compatible with the many concomitant medications commonly used by patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, avoiding negative impacts on motor symptoms and cognition is encouraging, and such a medicine could be an important treatment option for patients.”

Acadia plans to present detailed safety and efficacy results from the RADIANT Phase 2 study in an oral presentation at the upcoming Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference, taking place November 16-19, 2026 in Boston.

Additionally, remlifanserin is currently being investigated in an additional Phase 2 study to evaluate its efficacy, safety and tolerability for the treatment of Lewy body dementia psychosis.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Acadia will discuss top-line results from its Phase 2 RADIANT study of remlifanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease psychosis via conference call and webcast today at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call webcast is available at this registration link and will be available on Acadia’s website, acadia.com under the investors section and will be archived there for at least 90 days following the event.

About RADIANT

RADIANT is a global, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, operationally seamless Phase 2 and 3 clinical trial program evaluating remlifanserin for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Alzheimer’s disease psychosis (ADP). The Phase 2 portion of the program was designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of remlifanserin at 60 mg and 30 mg once-daily doses compared with placebo. Patients who complete the study will have the option of participating in a long-term open-label extension (OLE) study.

About Alzheimer’s Disease Psychosis

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 7 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).2,3 Approximately 30% of patients with AD experience psychosis, commonly consisting of hallucinations and delusions.4 These symptoms may be frequent and severe and may recur over time.5 A hallucination is defined as a perception-like experience that occurs without an external stimulus and is sensory (seen, heard, felt, tasted, sensed, smelled) in nature. A delusion is defined as a false, fixed belief despite evidence to the contrary. Serious consequences have been associated with psychosis in patients with dementia, such as increased likelihood of nursing home placement, more severe dementia, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality.6,7 There is no FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.

About Remlifanserin

Remlifanserin is a novel, highly selective 5HT2A receptor inverse agonist being developed to treat Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis.

About Acadia Pharmaceuticals

Acadia is committed to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation that makes the difference for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world. Our commercial portfolio includes the first and only FDA-approved treatments for Parkinson’s disease psychosis and Rett syndrome. We are developing the next wave of therapeutic advancements with a robust and diverse pipeline that includes mid- to late-stage programs in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and Lewy body dementia psychosis, along with earlier-stage programs that address other underserved patient needs. At Acadia, we’re here to be their difference. For more information, visit us at acadia.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact and can be identified by terms such as “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “potential” and similar expressions (including the negative thereof) intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release, include, but are not limited to, statements about: (i) our clinical development plans to continue the Phase 3 portion of the program related to remlifanserin in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and the Phase 2 study of remlifanserin in Lewy body dementia psychosis, (ii) our plans to implement protocol amendments to the Phase 3 portion of the program, and (iii) the safety profile of remlifanserin, and the potential benefits that remlifanserin could provide to patients suffering with psychosis associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied by our forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the discovery, development and regulation of pharmaceutical products in general; risks that our future clinical trials may not support approval of our product candidates; risks that future clinical trial results may not be consistent with interim, initial, preliminary or topline results or results from prior preclinical studies or clinical trials; our dependency on the continued successful commercialization of Nuplazid (Pimavanserin) and Daybue (Trofinetide) and our ability to maintain or increase sales of Nuplazid and Daybue; our ability to generate or obtain the necessary capital to fund our clinical development plans; the timing and results of our clinical trials; our ability to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property; and our ability to continue to stay in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Given the risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these and other risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ, please refer to our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2026 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 5, 2026, as well as our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update them after this date, except as required by law.

References:

1 The Modified Full Analysis Set (mFAS) includes all randomized subjects who received at least one dose of study drug and who have a baseline SAPS-H+D total score ≥10 and at least one post-baseline value for SAPS-H+D total score. Subjects were analyzed based on their planned randomized treatment.
2 Alzheimer’s Association. 2025 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer’s Dement 2025;21(4).
3 Rajan KB et al. Population estimate of people with clinical Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment in the United States (2020-2060). Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2021: 1-10.
4 Cummings J et al. Criteria for Psychosis in Major and Mild Neurocognitive Disorders: International Psychogeriatric Associations (IPA) Consensus Clinical and Research Definition. Am J of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2020; 28(12): 1256-1269.
5 Ballard C et al. A prospective study of psychotic symptoms in dementia sufferers: psychosis in dementia. Int Psychogeriatr. 1997; 9(1): 57-64.
6 Scarmeas N et al. Delusions and hallucinations are associated with worse outcome in Alzheimer Disease. Arch Neurol. 2005; 62(10): 1601-1608.
7 Peters ME et al. Neuropsychiatric symptoms as predictors of progression to severe Alzheimer’s dementia and death: the Cache County Dementia Progression study. Am J Psychiatry. 2015; 172(5): 460-465.

 

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ir@acadia-pharm.com

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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(858) 261-2950
ir@acadia-pharm.com

Media Contact:
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Deb Kazenelson
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media@acadia-pharm.com

Boomi Appoints Mike Hickman as Chief Financial Officer

 CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - Thursday, 24. September 2026 AETOSWire  

Three-decade technology finance leader joins Boomi to scale global operations, bringing experience across IPO, take-private, and large-scale acquisition integration

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Boomi, the data activation company for AI, today announced the appointment of Mike Hickman as Chief Financial Officer. Hickman will lead Boomi's global finance and accounting organization, spanning financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury, tax, and financial reporting. He reports to Boomi Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Lucas.

Hickman brings three decades of senior finance leadership in high-growth SaaS and technology companies, with experience across the full corporate lifecycle: scaling through IPO, executing a take-private, and integrating large acquisitions. He joins from Proofpoint, where he spent seven and a half years, most recently as Senior Vice President of Finance, helping guide the company through its $12.3 billion take-private and the $1.8 billion acquisition of Hornetsecurity while it grew its topline several times over. Earlier, Hickman held finance leadership roles at Adobe, built the FP&A function at Marin Software ahead of its IPO, and began his career at eBay and Vitria Technology.

“Boomi has built the platform: more than 30,000 customers, a network of 800 partners, and more than 2,200 employees. Scaling that profitably is the work ahead, and it is a finance challenge as much as a product one,” said Steve Lucas, Chairman and CEO at Boomi. “Mike has done this at every stage of the corporate lifecycle: through an IPO at Marin, through a twelve-billion-dollar take-private at Proofpoint, and through acquisitions that had to be integrated while the business kept growing. He is joining us to help set the pace.”

“The hard part is never the growth itself. It is building the discipline that lets you keep growing,” said Hickman. “Boomi has the two things that are genuinely difficult to build: a platform global enterprises run their businesses on, and a market expanding underneath it. My job is to make sure our financial operations scale with the opportunity, in every region we operate in.”

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Boomi Enterprise Platform

Meet the Boomi leadership team

Follow Boomi on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube

About Boomi

Boomi, the data activation company for AI, powers the agentic enterprise by bringing data to life across the business. The Boomi Enterprise Platform is the active data foundation that delivers essential agentic infrastructure to drive agentic transformation. By unifying agent design and governance, API and MCP management, integration and automation, and data management into a single platform, Boomi enables organizations to harness the power of AI with secure, scalable connectivity. Trusted by over 30,000 customers and supported by a network of 800+ partners, Boomi helps organizations of all sizes achieve agility, efficiency, and innovation at scale. Discover more at boomi.com.

© 2026 Boomi, LP. Boomi, the 'B' logo, and Boomiverse are trademarks of Boomi, LP or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved. Other names or marks may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

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ParaScript Acquired by Stakk to Create a Global Digital Trust Platform Focused on Combating Fraud

 BOULDER, Colo. -

ParaScript’s AI-powered document intelligence technology integrates with Stakk’s SaaS platform to provide regulated organizations with a stronger defense against AI-driven digital identity fraud.

Complementary technologies establish digital trust by continuously assessing identity, documents, behavior and context, making explainable decisions in milliseconds.

Combined businesses serve more than 300 enterprise customers and processes more than 110 billion digital interactions annually across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

 

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- ParaScript, an Al-powered document processing company, today announced that Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK) (“Stakk”), a company publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), has successfully completed its US$63 million (A$88.7 million) acquisition of ParaScript, LLC and ParaScript Management, Inc. (“ParaScript”), creating a scaled and profitable AI-native digital trust platform.

Stakk acquired ParaScript for its industry-leading AI-powered document processing and recognition technology, which uses advanced machine learning to process large volumes of documents with high speed and accuracy, helping organizations detect fraud earlier, prevent losses and improve outcomes.

The combined business becomes one of the largest AI-native digital trust infrastructures serving regulated industries, with more than 300 enterprise customers and more than 110 billion digital interactions processed annually across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Customers include many of the world's leading financial institutions, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

ParaScript’s technology integrates into Stakk’s SaaS platform, Digital Persona Graph, combining AI-powered document processing and recognition capabilities with identity, behavioral and contextual data to provide a more complete view of each digital interaction. This enables organizations to better identify AI-driven digital identity fraud and make explainable decisions in milliseconds.

The combined platform can support a broader range of workflows across regulated industries and jurisdictions, while its increased scale creates a continuously expanding intelligence base of emerging fraud signals. This gives customers greater visibility into evolving threats and strengthens their ability to detect and prevent fraud as new patterns emerge.

Emiliano Giacchetti has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Stakk IQ and ParaScript. Pending shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting, he is expected to assume the role of Group Chief Executive Officer of Stakk Limited, giving him responsibility for the strategy, operations and financial performance of Stakk Limited and its subsidiaries.

“Stakk and ParaScript have come together around a clear and urgent global requirement: helping highly regulated organizations properly vet digital interactions, identities and documents,” said Giacchetti. “The combined group has the technology, intelligence, enterprise relationships and international reach required to address that challenge at scale. It also has a substantial contracted revenue base and a clear pathway to deliver the financial commitments made to shareholders.”

Stakk board member Arthur Lo added, “The completion of this acquisition establishes Stakk as an international digital trust platform at a time when the need for stronger AI-based fraud solutions has never been greater. As generative AI, synthetic identities, deepfakes and document manipulation continue to proliferate, this deal closes the gap needed to address one of the world’s fastest growing markets.”

About ParaScript

ParaScript develops AI-powered recognition solutions that process over 100 billion documents annually, touching nearly everyone in the U.S. and people in more than 15 countries worldwide whenever they send mail, write checks or interact with financial institutions and government agencies. Leading corporations in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Australia rely on ParaScript to automate their document processing, improving efficiency and accuracy, while reducing costs. Visit parascript.com to learn more.

About Stakk

Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK) is a scaled, profitable and globally relevant AI-native digital trust infrastructure group focused on combating fraud. Its integrated platform enables financial institutions, governments, law-enforcement agencies, healthcare providers, insurers, telecommunications companies, and other regulated enterprises to establish trust across the complete interaction – from identity verification and document authentication through to fraud prevention, transaction authorization, and real-time contextual decisioning.

Stakk combines more than 30 years of proprietary AI-powered document intelligence with contextual Digital Personas, federated signal intelligence and pre-execution decisioning. The group serves more than 300 enterprise customers across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Australia and processes more than 110 billion interactions annually, creating a continuously expanding intelligence asset that strengthens its ability to identify and respond to evolving AI-driven fraud threats.

For more information visit stakk.tech.

 

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Future Health - A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi: New Analysis Estimates Modifiable Health Risks Represent $16.4 Trillion Annual Global GDP Opportunity in 2050

 A new whitepaper by Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute, estimates that eliminating modifiable health risks could deliver substantial health and economic benefits

Under a full risk-elimination scenario, annual global GDP could be USD 16.4 trillion higher in 2050, equivalent to 9% of projected global GDP

Analysis finds that eliminating modifiable behavioural, metabolic and environmental risk factors could avert an estimated 1.5 billion disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally and add 12 years to global healthy life expectancy at birth in 2050

The 1.5 billion DALYs are equivalent to approximately 47 percent of projected global disease burden in 2050

The whitepaper sets out a five-step framework for governments to turn healthy-living ambitions into coordinated action, presenting Abu Dhabi’s Healthy Living Strategy as a practical example of government-wide, whole-of-society delivery

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Addressing behavioural, metabolic and environmental health risks could generate an estimated $16.4 trillion in annual global GDP uplift in 2050. These findings are presented in The Future of Healthy Living: A $16.4 Trillion Opportunity, a new whitepaper co-authored by Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi, the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) and Healthy Living at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, and released on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York.

The publication comes as governments look to translate the UN Political Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, adopted in December 2025, into national action. The whitepaper contributes to this wider global agenda by quantifying the health and economic opportunity of healthy living and providing governments with a practical framework for implementation.

H.E. Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said: “As people live longer and the burden of non-communicable diseases continues to rise, the way we think about health must evolve. We need a system that can anticipate risk, intervene earlier and create the conditions for people to remain healthy throughout their lives.”

Under a modelled scenario where all modifiable health risks were eliminated, 1.5 billion disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) could be averted in 2050, equivalent to approximately 47 percent of projected global disease burden. A DALY represents one year of full health lost through illness, disability or premature death. Compared with the baseline forecast for 2050, eliminating risks included in the analysis could add 12 years to average global healthy life expectancy at birth.

The whitepaper presents new analysis from MHI, illustrating how improving population health can deliver benefits that extend beyond the individual, with the potential to strengthen economic participation and productivity at scale.

The analysis also finds substantial differences in the share of disease burden attributable to modifiable risk factors across countries, including for India (49%), the USA (45%), Germany (42%), Italy (40%), and Japan (35%), with potential GDP uplift varying depending on local conditions and progress already underway, among other factors. These findings reinforce the need for healthy living strategies tailored to local priorities.

Lars Hartenstein, Partner and Director of Healthy Longevity at McKinsey Health Institute, said: "The opportunity to improve health outcomes at scale has never been greater. Our analysis demonstrates that addressing modifiable risk factors could add years of healthy life while strengthening economic participation and productivity. Achieving that impact will require coordinated action across sectors to address the wider factors that influence health every day, from where people live and work to how they learn and connect."

The whitepaper argues that healthy living cannot be delivered by healthcare systems alone. Previous research from MHI shows that, of the 23 drivers identified as shaping health, 19 sit outside the formal healthcare system,1 spanning areas such as education, transport, urban planning, food, technology, employment and community development.

The whitepaper makes the case for healthy living as a societal priority, requiring different sectors to work together to create environments that support healthier lives, and proposes a five-step framework for governments: set a clear ambition; identify the greatest health and economic opportunities; design a coordinated portfolio of measures; implement and scale effective measures; and use data and feedback to learn and adapt.

Examples in the whitepaper include Japan’s long-term Health Japan 21 initiative, Finland’s use of population data, Singapore’s technology-enabled national physical-activity programme, and Abu Dhabi’s Population Health Intelligence platform and cross-government Healthy Living Strategy.

Launched in November 2025, Abu Dhabi’s Healthy Living Strategy provides a government-wide framework for coordinated action across the emirate. Healthy Living at the Department of Health Abu Dhabi leads and orchestrates its implementation, working with government entities, businesses and communities across more than 28 initiatives spanning food environments, schools, workplaces, physical activity and preventive healthcare. Guided by data and behavioural science, this whole-of-society approach aims to reshape everyday environments so healthier choices are easier and more accessible, while preserving individual choice. The whitepaper presents Abu Dhabi’s experience as a practical example of how governments can translate healthy-living ambitions into coordinated delivery, offering lessons that can inform action in different national contexts.

H.E. Dr. Ahmed AlKhazraji, Executive Director of Healthy Living at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said: “Our focus is on turning this shared ambition into practical changes that people can see and experience in their daily lives. Early progress includes new nutrition and physical-activity requirements in schools, healthier supermarket and restaurant environments, the introduction of the Nutri-Mark front-of-pack labelling system, responsible public food and beverage advertising. These are important milestones, but lasting impact will depend on shared accountability, using data and behavioural science to understand what works, and adapting as we learn. By sharing those lessons internationally, we hope to support wider action on NCD prevention and healthy living.”

The whitepaper also identifies five shifts that could help healthy living scale globally, spanning science, measurement, technology, economic incentives and social support. It argues that progress will also require stronger mechanisms for governments and businesses to learn from one another, compare evidence and develop shared approaches that can accelerate action across countries and sectors.

The whitepaper forms part of Future Health’s Abu Dhabi Blueprints series examining the future of health. Its themes will be explored through Future Health’s international programme and at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, taking place from 20-22 October 2026.

The full whitepaper can be downloaded here: The Future of Healthy Living – A $16.4 trillion opportunity - Future Health.

About Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi

Future Health is a year-round platform for global collaboration and transformative health innovation, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

Bringing together health researchers, policymakers, business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs from across disciplines and geographies, Future Health drives collective action to strengthen health systems and unlock longer, healthier lives for all.

Through a year-round programme of research insights, publications, impact initiatives, Challenges, R&D funding, and cross-sector convenings, Future Health advances progress across four focus areas: longevity and precision medicine, health systems and sustainability, digital health and AI, and investment in life sciences.

Future Health is curated and convened by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and its Founding Partners: PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi, and Mubadala Bio. Mediclinic Middle East serves as Strategic Partner and Burjeel Holdings as Associate Partner.

For more information, visit www.futurehealthinitiative.ae⁠ and follow Future Health on: X, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About McKinsey Health Institute

The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is an enduring, non-profit-generating institute within McKinsey & Company, founded on the conviction that, over the next decade, humanity could add as much as 45 billion extra years of higher-quality life. Its mission is to catalyze the actions and investment needed across continents, sectors, and communities to realize this possibility, working with a robust ecosystem of organizations to convene and activate leaders, advance research, create and promote data and tools, and stimulate investment and innovation across historically underinvested areas of health.

For more information, visit https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/overview.

1 McKinsey Health Institute. (2023). Table 1: The healthy 23 drivers. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/mckinsey%20health%20institute/our%20insights/the%20secret%20to%20great%20health%20escaping%20the%20healthcare%20matrix/table-1-the-healthy-23-drivers-final.pdf

 

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SLB Awarded Four Multi-Year Integrated Well Construction Contracts by Aramco

 Awards expand deployment of SLB's integrated well construction model across Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas reservoirs

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global energy technology company SLB (NYSE: SLB) today announced it has been awarded four integrated well construction contracts by Aramco to support oil and gas development across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under the contracts, SLB will manage end-to-end well construction services, delivering more than 450 wells in the three-year term, with an optional extension of up to two years.

"Delivering hundreds of wells across a multi-year program and in multiple operating environments requires an integrated model that connects planning, execution, and digital workflows to set new industry performance benchmarks,” said Steve Gassen, executive vice president of Geographies for SLB. “Awarding SLB these advanced well construction programs at scale reflects Aramco’s confidence in our integrated model and capabilities."

SLB's integrated well construction model brings together every aspect of well delivery through a technology-enabled operating model. It combines digital drilling workflows with automated drilling, evaluation, fluids, cementing, and completions products and services to improve efficiency, consistency, and well performance across diverse, large-scale drilling programs.

Building on decades of collaboration between SLB and Aramco, the awards represent a significant expansion of SLB's integrated well construction business in the Kingdom and underscore growing customer adoption of integrated delivery models.

Key Points:

SLB has secured four three-year integrated well construction contracts from Aramco, each with a potential extension of up to two years, to support oil and gas development across Saudi Arabia.

The awards broaden the use of SLB's technology-enabled integrated well construction model, which connects planning, drilling, and well delivery through a single operating approach combining digital workflows, automated drilling and integrated execution.

Building on decades of collaboration between SLB and Aramco, the awards reinforce growing customer adoption of integrated well construction for large-scale drilling programs and highlight the model’s ability to improve execution consistency across the well construction lifecycle.

About SLB

SLB (NYSE: SLB) is a global technology company that has driven energy innovation for 100 years. With a global footprint in more than 100 countries and employees representing almost twice as many nationalities, we work each day on innovating oil and gas, delivering digital at scale, decarbonizing industries, and developing and scaling new energy systems that accelerate the energy transition. Find out more at slb.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws — that is, statements about the future, not about past events. Such statements often contain words such as “expect,” “may,” “can,” “estimate,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “will,” “potential,” “projected" and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as forecasts or expectations regarding the deployment of, or anticipated benefits of, SLB’s new technologies and partnerships; and improvements in operating procedures and technology. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the inability to recognize intended benefits of SLB’s strategies, initiatives or partnerships; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in SLB’s most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development changes), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and SLB disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260922622466/en/

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Contacts

Media

Josh Byerly – SVP of Global Communications

Moira Duff – Director of External Communications

SLB

Tel: +1 (713) 375-3407

media@slb.com

Investors

James R. McDonald – SVP of Investor Relations & Industry Affairs

Joy V. Domingo – Director of Investor Relations

SLB

Tel: +1 (713) 375-3535

investor-relations@slb.com

 

NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS Launches “Pro”, a New docomo business SIGN® Offering for Large-Scale Global Connected Products

 Enhanced Operational Capabilities Through Centralized IoT Connectivity Management, Plus Support for the SGP.32 eSIM Standard

 

(BUSINESS WIRE)--NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc. (formerly NTT Communications Corporation) announced today the launch of "Pro," a new offering in the docomo business SIGN®1 lineup, an IoT-focused Network as a Service (NaaS) with built-in security features. Designed to support the large-scale and global deployment of connected products, “Pro” helps customers manage and operate tens of thousands of IoT connections. The service will be available from March 2027.

This new offering addresses the challenges of achieving more advanced operational management through the centralized management of domestic and international IoT connectivity, operational automation, and system integration, while also enhancing security. It will reduce the operational burden on customers while supporting the continued delivery of value through connected products and services.

1. Background

In recent years, against the backdrop of labor shortages resulting from Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, various industries, such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, social infrastructure and mobility, have been pursuing labor-saving processes and more sophisticated operations through autonomous driving, remote monitoring and the use of AI. To support these initiatives, the adoption of connected products, which include communications functions embedded into vehicles, industrial machinery, surveillance cameras, medical equipment and other devices, has been expanding. GSMA Intelligence2 forecasts that the number of IoT connections worldwide will reach 38.7 billion by 2030, with business connections accounting for 63% of the total.3

Against the backdrop of the growing adoption of connected products, the number of connections and devices operated and managed by companies has expanded from several thousand to tens of thousands, increasing the importance of efficient operation and management. In particular, when providing services using connected products in Japan and overseas, companies face increasingly complex operational challenges, including lifecycle management (activating, suspending and terminating SIMs), integration with external systems, monitoring communications status, and responding to failures.

In addition, it has become increasingly important to address unauthorized communications and malware infections caused by cyberattacks targeting connected products and the networks that connect them. In response to these developments, companies providing services through connected products are required to not only manage connectivity and devices efficiently, but also to operate their services reliably while implementing security measures that incorporate the protection of communications pathways.

2. Key Features and Benefits of “Pro”

In addition to the patented security features provided as standard with this service,4 “Pro” offers advanced connectivity management functions for companies operating large-scale IoT businesses. It supports the entire lifecycle of IoT services, from streamlining SIM activation and initial configuration when deploying large numbers of IoT devices, to centrally managing connectivity and devices distributed across Japan and overseas, as well as facilitating system integration when expanding services. This allows customers to achieve stable service delivery and continued business growth while reducing the operational burden, management costs and security risks associated with business expansion.

The key benefits of “Pro” are as follows.

2.1 Automation of SIM Activation and Configuration

SIM configuration and activation tasks associated with the shipment and deployment of IoT devices can be streamlined through a portal or APIs. In addition, by integrating with customers’ systems and automating processes such as SIM activation, suspension and termination, the time and effort required to launch services when deploying large numbers of devices can be reduced.

2.2 Centralized Management of Domestic and International Connectivity and Devices

Customers can centrally monitor the status and usage of SIMs and devices deployed in Japan and overseas through a common operational platform. In addition, by automating anomaly detection and notifications, as well as processes associated with changes to contracts and configurations, the workload of operations personnel tasked with checking and responding across multiple systems can be reduced.

Furthermore, integration with security features enables customers to centrally monitor the operational status of SIMs and devices and security events through a single operational platform. This allows for faster initial responses when anomalies occur, supporting the safe and stable operation of services.

2.3 Expansion of Value-Added Services Through API Integration

SIM information and device status can be easily integrated with business systems and service platforms through APIs. This enables customers to rapidly provide value-added services, such as remote control and status notifications, while reducing the development burden associated with service expansion.

2.4 Improving Operations and Security Through Real-Time Visibility

By visualizing communications and device status, customers can remotely check conditions and identify the causes of issues when anomalies occur. This enables faster initial responses to failures; it also reduces the amount of work required on-site and helps lower the risk of service interruptions. In addition, integration with the security features enables the detection of unauthorized communications and the blocking of communications on an individual SIM basis, helping to reduce the security risks associated with connected products.

2.5 More Efficient Global Expansion Through the Use of eSIM (SGP.32)5

“Pro” will support SGP.32, the next-generation IoT eSIM standard, and is scheduled to be available from March 2027. This will enable customers to change communications profiles6 through a portal or APIs even after IoT devices have been manufactured and shipped. The most suitable communications profile can be applied without manufacturing separate products for each country or region, simplifying global product rollouts by allowing a single product configuration to be used across multiple countries and regions.7

In addition, communications service providers can be switched remotely after operations have begun without replacing physical SIMs. This will provide greater flexibility in making operational changes after service launch and optimizing the communications environment.

3. Availability

March 2027

4. Fees / Application Process

Interested parties should contact their NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS sales representative.

5. Future Development

Going forward, under the concept of the AI-Centric ICT Platform®,8 a next-generation ICT platform optimized for the AI era, NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS will continue to enhance security features and expand functions that support the effective use of IoT data. These efforts will address the diverse IoT use cases and customer needs emerging in the AI era.

1 An IoT-focused NaaS with built-in security features. See press release of September 16, 2025: Launch of “docomo business SIGN,” a New IoT Service with Built-in Security Features (in Japanese)

2 A research and consulting division of GSMA (GSM Association), an international industry association representing the global mobile communications industry.

3 For details, please refer to the following website: https://www.gsmaintelligence.com/research/iot-market-forecast-to-2030-connections-by-region-and-vertical

4 This patented function uses threat intelligence-based threat detection and blocking capabilities to detect communications between IoT devices and malicious servers in real time. Customers can block communications on an individual SIM basis when necessary.

5 An international standard established by GSMA for the remote management of eSIMs (remote SIM provisioning) for IoT devices. It enables communications profiles to be remotely delivered and changed even after IoT devices have been shipped.

6 Data that combines contract information with a communications service provider and the configuration information required to connect to a network. With an eSIM, the communications service provider being used can be changed by remotely downloading and switching communications profiles, without replacing a physical SIM.

7 Available in countries and regions excluding those where communications are subject to regulatory restrictions.

8 Refers to a next-generation ICT platform optimized for the AI era, in which companies use AI to achieve fundamental improvements in productivity, strengthen competitiveness and transform their business models.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260923562493/en/

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Contacts

For more information

For clients

Services 1, IoT & Physical AI Services, Platform Services Division

NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc.

docomobusinessSIGN_proposal-support-ml@ntt.com

For the media

Public Relations Office

Corporate Communications Office, Corporate Planning Department

NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, Inc.

pr-cp@ntt.com