Singapore Probes Nvidia AI Chip Shipments By Middlemen To Malaysia Amid DeepSeek Scrutiny

 One month after US officials launched an investigation into whether Chinese AI startup DeepSeek acquired Nvidia AI chips through shell companies in Singapore to bypass US trade restrictions, a new report suggests that Singapore has opened a probe into intermediaries allegedly funneling AI semiconductors into Malaysia.

Bloomberg reports that Singaporean officials are investigating middlemen who shipped Dell and Super Micro servers with AI chips from Singapore to Malaysia and potentially misrepresented the end users of the hardware, raising fresh concerns that these chips may have ultimately reached China.

Law Minister K Shanmugam told reporters earlier that several people have been arrested for procuring and shipping Nvidia chips to Malaysia, violating US chip restrictions. 

"The question is whether Malaysia was a final destination or from Malaysia it went to somewhere else, which we do not know for certain at this point," Shanmugam said. 

A little more than a month ago, we asked: Did DeepSeek Use Shell Companies In Singapore To Procure Nvidia Blacklisted Chips?

The new probe underscores the huge risk that Singapore-based companies may have funneled Nvidia chips through shell entities, ultimately delivering them to China and accelerating the country's AI sector despite chip restrictions from the US.

Officials in the Trump administration have spent the last month trying to determine whether DeepSeek used intermediaries in Singapore to evade US export controls.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently suggested that DeepSeek evaded US export controls. 

"Nvidia's chips, which they bought tons of, and they found their ways around it, drive their DeepSeek model," Lutnick said, adding, "It's got to end. If they are going to compete with us, let them compete, but stop using our tools to compete with us. So I'm going to be very strong on that."

Late last year, public trade data showed Brussels and Washington's efforts to block Moscow from accessing cutting-edge Western chips encountered a massive stumbling block after an Indian shell company was found to be exporting these chips to Russia. 

The Trump administration should consider slapping countries like Singapore with strict licensing requirements on Western chips and chip-making equipment to avoid this problem.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/singapore-probes-nvidia-ai-chip-shipments-middlemen-malaysia-amid-deepseek-scrutiny

Pentagon Deploys Mechanized Infantry And Air Support To Secure Mexico Border, Including 4,400 Soldiers

 The Pentagon is deploying a Stryker Brigade Combat Team and a General Support Aviation Battalion to the southwestern border, accelerating efforts to fulfill President Trump's directive to bolster military support in securing the U.S. – Mexico border. The units, equipped with wheeled vehicle and air capabilities, are set to reinforce border operations in the coming weeks, Pentagon Press Secretary Sean Parnell announced over the weekend.

Each SBCT is a mechanized infantry force of approximately 4,400 soldiers, and the Army's nine SBCTs — seven active-duty and two National Guard — are known for their rapid deployment and versatility. Built around the Stryker vehicle — an eight-wheeled armored platform — the brigade balances mobility, protection and firepower. Capable of transport via C-130 Hercules aircraft within 96 hours, the Stryker excels in operations requiring swift response. 

Complementing this, the GSAB, with roughly 650 troops, brings aviation muscle — UH-60 Black Hawks for command and medical evacuation, and CH-47 Chinooks for heavy lift — enhancing operational reach and support.  

The Stryker's design — lighter than tanks, yet more robust than light infantry — makes it ideal for the border's vast terrain, while the aviation battalion's air traffic control and lift capacity ensure seamless coordination. 

"These forces will arrive in the coming weeks, and their deployment underscores the department's unwavering dedication to working alongside the Department of Homeland Security to secure our southern border and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the United States under President Trump's leadership," Parnell said in a statement today.

This deployment marks the latest wave of active-duty troops sent to the border since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. Following his declaration to "seal the border" and combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking, initial deployments included 1,600 Marines and soldiers by late January, joining 2,500 reservists already mobilized.  

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing the mission's scope on his first official day in late January, emphasized adaptability. "Whatever is needed at the border will be provided," he said, signaling a robust commitment to the president's homeland defense priority.

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/pentagon-deploys-mechanized-infantry-and-air-support-secure-mexico-border-including-team

Obesity Late-Comer AbbVie Inks Up to $2.2B Amylin Deal With Gubra

 

AbbVie is joining the amylin arena, though the pharma is still far behind leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

AbbVie on Monday jumped into the hot weight-loss space, looking to gain ground on its Big Pharma peers, with a licensing deal with Danish company Gubra that aims to bring a long-acting amylin drug to the market.

Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will front $350 million and put up to $1.875 billion on the line for development, commercial and sales milestones. Gubra, a service provider for pre-clinical research and peptide-based drug discovery, will be eligible to receive tiered royalties on global net sales of GUB014295, the asset at the center of Monday’s partnership.

Designed to be administered via an injection under the skin, GUB014295 is a long-acting analog of the amylin hormone, which acts on corresponding receptors to elicit feelings of satiety and suppress appetite, in turn lowering the overall intake of food. Amylin agonists such as GUB014295 also exert an inhibitory effect on the gastrointestinal system, helping to slow the emptying of the stomach, according to AbbVie’s press announcement.

The current obesity landscape is dominated by GLP-1 medicines like Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide franchise of Mounjaro and Zepbound. But recently, more and more companies have been looking to amylin agents as an alternative weight-loss treatment.

According to a December 2024 note from Leerink Partners, which called amylin the “hottest new mechanism for obesity,” targeting this pathway could potentially improve the quality of weight loss, with greater reductions in fat instead of lean muscle. Amylin agonists could also be safer and more tolerable than GLP-1 drugs, the analysts said.

At the forefront of the amylin push is Novo, which is advancing CagriSema, a combo regimen of its semaglutide, with the long-acting amylin drug cagrilintide. Late last year, however, the pharma unveiled Phase III data for CagriSema, baring an efficacy estimate that fell below its own prior projections and sending its shares crashing 20%. The readout wiped some $72 billion off Novo’s market cap.

Fellow obesity leader Eli Lilly is also working on its own set of amylin programs, of which the mid-stage eloralintide is closest to the market. The pharma is testing a combination of the amylin drug eloralintide with tirzepatide in participants with obesity but without diabetes, for which data is expected in mid-2025. Eloralintide is also being assessed in patients with obesity and overweight with type 2 diabetes.

Several other biopharma players are advancing their own amylin hopefuls, including Zealand Pharma and AstraZeneca.

https://www.biospace.com/business/obesity-late-comer-abbvie-inks-up-to-2-2b-amylin-deal-with-gubra

TG Therapeutics upbeat Q4 results

 TG Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:TGTX) shares climbed 14% after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations and showed significant revenue growth. The biopharmaceutical firm announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024, which included a positive earnings per share (EPS) and a substantial increase in revenue.

The company reported a Q4 EPS of $0.15, which was $0.07 higher than the analyst estimate of $0.08. Revenue for the quarter came in at $108.19 million, outpacing the consensus estimate of $97.66 million. This performance is particularly notable when compared to the same quarter last year, representing approximately 250% growth YoY.

TG Therapeutics’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael S. Weiss, commented on the results and the company’s progress. "2024 was a year of significant outperformance and growth for TG, highlighted by the strong adoption of BRIUMVI for adult patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, which surpassed our initial expectations," said Weiss.

The company’s net product revenue from BRIUMVI in the U.S. for the fourth quarter was $103.6 million, contributing to a full-year total of $310 million. Looking ahead, TG Therapeutics has set a target for approximately $540 million in total global revenue for 2025, with BRIUMVI U.S. net product revenue expected to be around $525 million.

The growth has been further supported by the expansion of BRIUMVI’s patent protection through 2042, the launch in Europe through a partnership with Neuraxpharm, and positive data presentations. The company has also made strides in its development pipeline, including launching new clinical trials and entering a global license agreement for a CAR T therapy program.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/tg-therapeutics-stock-rises-following-upbeat-q4-earnings-93CH-3903132

Biohaven 'Positive Degrader Data with Potential First-in-Class' autoimmune therapy

 Biohaven Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN) ("Biohaven"), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies to treat a broad range of rare and common diseases, today highlighted the success of BHV-1300, its potential first-in-class IgG_1,2,4 selective degrader, in achieving rapid and deep reductions in total IgG, advancing a novel and transformative MoDE platform molecule for the potential treatment of autoimmune disease.

In the four-week Phase 1 study, subcutaneously administered BHV-1300 at a dose of 1000 mg weekly achieved rapid, deep and sustained reductions in total IgG of up to 84%, with a median reduction of 80% (Figure 1). Reductions occurred within hours of each dose, were progressive, and were sustained compared to baseline over the four-week period.

Tova Gardin, MD, MPP, Chief Translational Officer at Biohaven, commented, "BHV-1300 has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in deep lowering of total IgG, leveraging the groundbreaking technology of the MoDE platform, to potentially revolutionize treatment of patients with autoimmune disease. Biohaven's unique extracellular degrader technology leverages the body's natural hepatic clearance mechanism to remove targeted antibodies contributing to disease and promises to usher in a new era of tunable, selective and self-administered immune therapy."

BHV-1300 was safe and well-tolerated in subcutaneous doses up to 2000 mg with no clinically significant increases in ALT, AST, or bilirubin, no clinically significant reductions in albumin, and no clinically significant increases in cholesterol over the four-week dosing period compared to placebo. There were no clinically significant reductions in IgG₃, IgA, IgE, or IgM compared to baseline. Most AEs were mild and self-resolving, there were no discontinuations due to AEs related to study drug, and there were no serious or severe AEs. The Phase 1 study is ongoing with plans to continue to escalate multiple doses to explore the full range of targeted IgG lowering possible with this technology to customize an ideal treatment approach for different disease indications.

https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Biohaven+Pharma+%28BHVN%29+Reports+Positive+Degrader+Data+Achieving+%3E+80%25+Sustained+Reductions+in+Total+IgG+with+Potential+First-in-Class+BHV-1300/24435443.html

Ocular Therapeutix Inc earnings, revenue fell short

 Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ: OCUL) reported first quarter EPS of $-0.29, $0.04 worse than the analyst estimate of $-0.25. Revenue for the quarter came in at $17.08M versus the consensus estimate of $17.21M.

Ocular Therapeutix Inc's stock price closed at $7.14. It is down -22.22% in the last 3 months and down -34.38% in the last 12 months.

https://www.investing.com/news/ocular-therapeutix-inc-earnings-missed-by-004-revenue-fell-short-of-estimates-3902127

BioLife Solutions gains on outlook

 Cell Processing revenue up 7% sequentially to $20.3 million in the fourth quarter; 2024 Cell Processing revenue up 12% over prior year to $73.5 million

GAAP gross margin of 60% and non-GAAP adjusted gross margin of 63% for the fourth quarter

GAAP net loss from continuing operations of $2.0 million and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $4.0 million, or 18% of total revenue for the fourth quarter

Expects 2025 Cell Processing revenue of $86.5 to $89.0 million, up 18% to 21% over 2024 and total revenue of $95.5 to $99.0 million, up 16% to 20% over 2024

Conference call begins at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time today 

2025 Revenue Guidance

BioLife Solutions is introducing 2025 revenue guidance of $95.5 million to $99.0 million, representing growth of 16% to 20% compared with 2024. This is based on expectations for our Cell Processing platform and our evo and Thaw platform, as follows:

• Cell Processing platform: $86.5 million to $89.0 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 18% to 21%.
• evo and Thaw platform: $9.0 million to $10.0 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 3% to 15%.

Management expects 2025 gross margin (GAAP) in the low 60% range, adjusted gross margin (non-GAAP) in the mid-60% range, reduction in net loss (GAAP), and continued expansion of adjusted EBITDA margin (non-GAAP).

Conference Call & Webcast

Management will discuss the Company's financial results, provide a general business update and answer questions during a conference call and live webcast today at 8:00 a.m. ET (5:00 a.m. PT).

To access the webcast, log onto the Investor Relations page of BioLife's website at https://www.biolifesolutions.com/earnings. In addition, the conference call will be accessible by dialing toll-free 1-833-630-0431 or 1-412-317-1808 for international callers. A webcast replay will be available approximately two hours after the call ends and will be archived on https://investors.biolifesolutions.com for 90 days.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biolife-solutions-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2024-financial-results-302389494.html