KUALA LUMPUR and CYBERJAYA, Malaysia, Dec. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Letitu, the global EdTech company behind the AI-powered academic and career planning platform The Pond, has established a new joint venture (JV) in Malaysia to spearhead its expansion across Southeast Asia. The new entity, TeXphere, was incorporated in September and will begin full-scale operations in early 2026.

Letitu’s flagship solution, The Pond, has gained wide international traction for helping students, teachers, and counselors navigate complex academic and career decisions. The AI-driven platform recommends suitable courses, activities, and university pathways based on students’ interests, strengths, and career aspirations. It is already being used across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Japan, and Kazakhstan, where the company currently derives 70% of its revenue.

“Students often struggle to find clear, structured guidance because information is scattered,” said Sean Lee, Co-Founder of Letitu and Director of Malaysia JV. “The Pond brings everything together through AI, enabling students and educators to make confident decisions about academics, university admissions, and even early career planning.”

Malaysia Chosen as Strategic Hub for Southeast Asia

Letitu selected Malaysia as its regional base due to the country’s rapidly growing EdTech landscape and strong emphasis on digital innovation. The global EdTech community has also recognized Malaysia’s rising influence, with Kuala Lumpur serving as the Asian host city for the world-renowned BETT exhibition for several consecutive years.

“Malaysia is emerging as one of Asia’s most dynamic EdTech markets,” Lee said. “Its forward-looking educational environment makes it the ideal launchpad for our Southeast Asia expansion.”

Joint Venture with Local EdTech Leader Shft

To ensure strong local execution, Letitu partnered with Shft, a Malaysian EdTech company that works closely with leading institutions such as the University of Malaya. The two companies were introduced during a major EdTech exhibition in Kuala Lumpur and quickly identified strong synergy in supporting learning innovation.

The JV, named TeXphere, is structured with Letitu holding 80% and Shft holding 20%. Lee will lead the venture as Managing Director and oversee business development, partnerships, and product rollout across Malaysia.

“Shft’s deep network and on-the-ground expertise will allow us to scale faster and respond effectively to local needs,” Lee added.

WelKo and Additional Services to Launch Through TeXphere

Beyond The Pond, Letitu plans to introduce WelKo, a new platform designed to help international students navigate Korean university admissions independently, without intermediaries. The service will formally launch in Malaysia through the JV and target both local and international school communities.

TeXphere will also explore further collaborations with schools and develop tech-focused education programs tailored to Malaysia’s rapidly advancing digital ecosystem.

“Starting next year, Southeast Asia will become one of Letitu’s key growth pillars,” Lee said. “Through TeXphere, we are committed to contributing to Malaysia’s EdTech innovation and supporting students across the region.”

 

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Coder, a deep-tech innovator specializing in invisible digital security codes, announced the establishment of a joint venture (JV) in Taiwan, marking a major milestone in its global expansion. The move follows growing demand from international brands seeking advanced anti-counterfeiting and supply-chain authentication solutions.

The Coder’s proprietary technology embeds an invisible, camera-readable code into virtually any material surface – such as paper, plastic, leather, or metal – using existing printing, laser engraving, molding, or pressing equipment. The code is invisible to the naked eye but instantly readable through smartphones and standard digital devices, enabling fast verification without requiring new hardware or major workflow changes.

“Our technology offers global brands a highly secure and practical way to authenticate products and block unauthorized distribution,” said Haeng-Woon Park, CEO of The Coder. “Unlike RFID or NFC tags, our invisible codes cannot be cloned or removed, providing a much stronger layer of protection.”

JV Strategy to Accelerate Market Entry

With rising interest from cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and luxury brands, The Coder selected Taiwan as its first overseas base due to its strong connections with European luxury brands and Southeast Asia’s high-value footwear manufacturing brands.

To speed up market entry and reduce operational risk, The Coder adopted a JV-based approach, partnering with Taiwanese manufacturer MINZ. The company also received support from Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and the Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN), which provided legal, administrative, and business development.

The JV is scheduled to complete setup by year-end and begin operations on January 1.

Global Growth Platform Built Through the Taiwan JV

The Taiwan JV will function as The Coder’s central platform for scaling multiple global initiatives. Its initial focus is to support international brands implementing invisible code–based authentication, where demand is rapidly increasing, especially among luxury and high-value product categories.

Beyond authentication, the JV will lead The Coder into new regulatory and industrial markets. With the European Union advancing its Digital Product Passport (DPP) framework, The Coder plans to offer manufacturers a secure method to track product origins, material composition, and sustainability metrics across the supply chain.

The JV will also support expansion into the China security market and serve as a launchpad for broader growth across Indonesia, Turkey, India, and Pakistan beginning in 2025. These markets represent significant global manufacturing and consumer hubs, giving The Coder a strong foundation for long-term international scaling.

The company aims to surpass USD 3.2 million in overseas revenue next year.

Advancing Machine-Readable Identity for the AI Era

At its Korea headquarters, The Coder continues strengthening its core technologies for future AI and robotics applications. The company is also developing new formats, including sound-based codes, to expand the possibilities of secure machine-readable identification.

 

Announcement Highlights:

• Patient enrolment has been completed in Cynata’s Phase 2 clinical trial of CYP-001 in acute graft versus host disease.
• The study has enrolled a total of 65 participants in the US, Europe and Australia, each of whom was randomised to receive either steroids plus CYP-001, or steroids plus placebo.
• Primary evaluation period expected to complete in March 2026, with results in June 2026.
• CYP-001 has potential to address a major unmet need for the treatment of aGvHD, a life-threatening condition.

MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX: “CYP” or “Cynata”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specialising in cell therapeutics, is pleased to announce that patient enrolment has been completed in its Phase 2 clinical trial of CYP-001 in adults with newly diagnosed, high risk acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD).

A total of 65 participants have been enrolled in the trial across numerous clinical centres in the US, Europe and Australia. Each participant was randomised to receive either steroids plus CYP-001, or steroids plus placebo.

The trial involves a 100-day primary evaluation period, which is expected to conclude in March 2026, with results anticipated around June 2026. The primary endpoint is Overall Response Rate at Day 28.

Dr Kilian Kelly, Cynata’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to complete patient enrolment in this trial, which has huge importance to Cynata, as well as to patients afflicted with aGvHD, an extremely debilitating and potentially life-threatening disorder. There remains a significant unmet need for safer and more effective treatments, given that existing treatments often fail to prevent poor outcomes, as well as potentially causing serious safety concerns. We are optimistic that the results of this trial will build on the very encouraging results we saw in Phase 1.”

About aGvHD and CYP-001

Acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD) is a serious and often life-threatening complication of bone marrow transplantation and similar procedures, where the donor’s immune cells (the graft) attack the recipient’s tissues (the host). aGvHD affects up to 50% of patients who receive transplants from other donors. Standard first-line treatment with steroids fails in around half of all aGvHD cases, which are known as “steroid-resistant” or SR–aGvHD cases. Historical two-year survival rates in patients with SR–aGvHD are less than 20%.^[1]

Cynata’s Cymerus™ iPSC^[2]-derived MSC^[3]  product for intravenous use, CYP-001, is designed to modulate the immune system and improve both response rates and survival outcomes in aGvHD. In a successful Phase 1 trial in patients with SR–aGvHD, 87% of patients showed an Overall Response, 53% showed a Complete Response, and 60% survived for at least two years. Importantly, there were no serious adverse events or safety concerns related to CYP-001 treatment. This ground-breaking trial led to two publications in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine.^[4],[5] CYP-001 has been granted Orphan Drug Designation^[6] by the US FDA for the treatment of aGvHD.

Investors are encouraged to visit the Company’s InvestorHub, where they can view a video of Dr Kelly summarising this announcement.

-ENDS-

Authorised for release by Dr Kilian Kelly, CEO & Managing Director 

About Cynata Therapeutics (ASX: CYP)

Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX: CYP) is an Australian clinical-stage stem cell and regenerative medicine company focused on the development of therapies based on Cymerus™, a proprietary therapeutic stem cell platform technology. Cymerus™ overcomes the challenges and limitations of conventional MSC production by using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to achieve economic manufacture of cell therapy products, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), at commercial scale without the necessity to obtain tissue from multiple donors on an ongoing basis, and without the complexity and product inconsistency resulting from conventional methods.

Cynata has demonstrated positive safety and efficacy data for its Cymerus™ product candidates CYP-001 and CYP–006TK in Phase 1 clinical trials in steroid-resistant acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) and diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), respectively. Further clinical trials are now ongoing: a Phase 2 trial of CYP-001 in GvHD under a cleared US FDA IND; a Phase 1/2 trial of CYP–001 in patients undergoing kidney transplantation; and a Phase 3 trial of CYP-004 in osteoarthritis. In addition, Cynata has demonstrated utility of its Cymerus™ technology in preclinical models of numerous other diseases, including critical limb ischaemia, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, heart attack, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine release syndrome.

Cynata Therapeutics encourages all current investors to go paperless by registering their details with the designated registry service provider, Automic Group.  

[1] Westin JR et al. Adv Hematol. 2011;2011:601953

[2] iPSC = induced pluripotent stem cell.

[3] MSC = mesenchymal stem (or stromal) cell.

[4] Bloor AJC, et al. Nat Med. 2020;26:1720–1725

[5] Kelly K, et al. Nat Med. 2024;30:1556–1558

[6] Orphan Drug Designation qualifies Cynata for incentives including extended marketing exclusivity, tax credits and fee waivers.

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — THE HONEST FARMER Co Ltd, a food manufacturer based in Yeongcheon, Gyeongbuk, announced its entry into the U.S. health snack market with the launch of its export-exclusive brand WELLINUS. The company plans to introduce its Black Barley Brown Rice Chips—made only with Korean-grown black barley and brown rice—starting with its participation in the 2025 LA Korean Festival held at Seoul International Park in Los Angeles.

In the U.S., health-focused consumption continues to grow, particularly within the processed foods category. Demand is increasing for low-calorie, grain-based snacks, as well as gluten-free and additive-free products. THE HONEST FARMER’s chips contain 0g trans fat, 0g sodium, and 0g sugar, with each piece delivering approximately 29–32 kcal, positioning it as an attractive option for clean-label-minded consumers.

The company is currently preparing export agreements with U.S. distributors specializing in health foods, online snack platforms, and organic-focused retailers. Packaging and labeling will also be adapted to meet U.S. regulatory requirements. The brand name WELLINUS reflects the meaning “well in us,” emphasizing health, trust, and a commitment to clean, transparent food values.

A company spokesperson stated, “Our additive-free grain chips made from Korean black barley and brown rice align perfectly with the clean label trend among U.S. consumers. We plan to position the product not just as a snack, but as a health-conscious option that supports long-term brand growth in the American market.”

THE HONEST FARMER expects its U.S. expansion to serve as more than a simple export initiative—marking a strategic step toward becoming a global health snack brand and a key opportunity to demonstrate the competitiveness of K-snacks in North America.