MEXC Leads SOL and DOGE Market-Price Liquidity in CoinGecko's 2026 CEX Report

MUTSAMUDU, Comoros, Sept. 30, 2026/PRNewswire/ -- MEXC, a pioneer in 0-fee digital asset trading, led the exchanges studied in order book liquidity at the market price for both SOL and DOGE in CoinGecko Research's 2026 Crypto Liquidity on CEXes Report. The report measured order book depth for the top five non-stablecoin assets, BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and DOGE, across eight exchanges over 60 days from July 6 to September 3, 2026.

MEXC Records Highest SOL Liquidity at the Market Price

CoinGecko found that SOL liquidity was more evenly distributed across exchanges in 2026 compared with the previous year. Within this more competitive landscape, MEXC recorded approximately $934,000 in SOL order book liquidity at the market price, the highest among the eight exchanges studied.

The report also noted that SOL liquidity became more distributed across exchanges despite overall liquidity declining from 2025 levels. Beyond the immediate market price, other venues gained depth, with Bitget and Coinbase overtaking MEXC past the ±$0.20 range.

MEXC Leads DOGE Liquidity at the Market Price and Further Out

For DOGE, MEXC recorded more than $443,000 in order book liquidity at the market price, the highest among the exchanges studied. Only Binance, MEXC and OKX exceeded $200,000 at this level.

Further from the market price, MEXC regained the lead past the ±$0.0006 (0.3%) range, surpassing Binance and Bitget. Its liquidity then leveled off beyond the ±1% interval at roughly $2 million on each side of the order book.

MEXC Maintains Deep DOGE Liquidity During Market Shifts

The report also examined DOGE liquidity during individual market events. On August 21, as DOGE market depth shifted alongside broader price movements, MEXC remained among the venues showing substantial depth across the order book. The report's observations also found that MEXC traders placed larger block orders around key price levels during subsequent DOGE price movements.

"For retail traders, liquidity is fundamental to market quality. It determines execution efficiency, price stability and the ability to enter or exit positions with confidence," said Vugar Usi Zade, CEO of MEXC. "Deep liquidity is therefore central to how MEXC lowers barriers to trading and provides more efficient access to global market opportunities."

Taken together, the findings show MEXC maintaining strong liquidity close to the market price for both SOL and DOGE, while its DOGE depth also extends further into the order book. For traders, deeper liquidity can support more efficient execution by allowing orders to be absorbed with less impact on market prices.

Looking ahead, MEXC will continue to strengthen market depth and execution quality as part of its broader effort to provide users with a more efficient trading experience under its "Infinite Opportunities" vision.

About MEXC

Founded in 2018, MEXC is a leading global multi-asset trading platform built as your 0-fee gateway to infinite opportunities. Serving users across 170+ markets, MEXC provides simple and efficient access to crypto, stocks, tokenized assets, derivatives, and a growing range of TradFi-linked opportunities through one account and one gateway.

With 0 trading fees, deep liquidity, broad asset coverage, and a high-performance trading experience, MEXC is designed for retail users who want to discover earlier, act faster, and trade with fewer barriers. As crypto and traditional finance continue to converge, MEXC is committed to making global opportunities more accessible, helping users trade freely and MEXCmize every opportunity.

MEXC Official Website｜ X ｜Telegram｜How to Sign Up on MEXC

Risk Disclaimer:

This content does not constitute investment advice. Given the volatility of financial markets, including digital assets, tokenized assets, and traditional financial products, investors should carefully assess market conditions, underlying asset fundamentals, and potential financial risks before making any investment or trading decisions.

SOURCE MEXC

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Refik Anadol Uses 84 Epson 4K Large-Venue Projectors to Transform the Data Pavilion into a Seamless, Multisensory Environment Where Art, AI and Architecture Converge

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Internationally renowned media artist, director and pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence, Refik Anadol has spent years redefining what's possible at the intersection of technology and art. His most ambitious project to date, DATALAND, is the world's first Museum of AI arts. Opened in Los Angeles in June 2026 and founded by Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç of Refik Anadol Studio, the museum is a living canvas where multisensory experiences lie at the convergence of art, architecture and audience. DATALAND spans 25,000 square feet of exhibition space across five galleries, the largest of which – Gallery A – is powered by 84 synchronized Epson large-venue laser projectors.

"From the early days of our collaboration to today, my relationship with Epson has always been much more than working with a technology provider – they've been a true creative partner," said Anadol. "At DATALAND, every projection is part of a living artwork, where visuals, sound, scent, touch and even taste, work together to tell a single story. Epson's projection technology has given us the confidence to push the boundaries of immersive storytelling, and today our vision is being brought to life with the precision, reliability and scale needed to create an omni-sensory experience that feels truly alive."

Inaugural Exhibition: An Immersive Rainforest Journey

The inaugural exhibition at DATALAND, 'Machine Dreams: Rainforest', is an immersive journey across the museum's five galleries where visitors influence ever-evolving artworks inspired by live data from 16 rainforest locations, fostering a deeper connection to nature and its inherent intelligence.

Powered by Refik Anadol Studio's Large Nature Model (LNM) – one of the world's most advanced AI systems – the exhibition opens a dialogue between human presence and the memories of Earth. Continuously interpreting live environmental signals, the LNM transforms them into evolving visual, sonic and multisensory experiences, creating a single responsive environment in real time.

Anadol said, "It's unlike any other museum experience; it's a living artwork that continually evolves through the collaboration of human creativity, artificial intelligence and nature. By connecting visitors to live rainforest data, every visit becomes uniquely responsive and immersive."

Gallery A – Data Pavilion: A Descent into Immersive Projection

Before entering the Data Pavilion, visitors are introduced to the experience and fitted with wearable biosensing wristwatch and scent emitters. As they descend into the gallery, shapes, colors and patterns are already in motion, flowing seamlessly across the walls, floor, ceiling and mirrored columns as the entire room becomes the canvas.

To realize the vision for this gallery, the team at Refik Anadol Studio collaborated closely with Epson throughout the creative process. "Epson provided projectors early on in the design phase, allowing us to explore how imagery would interact with mirrored ceilings, reflective columns and the gallery's mirrored entrance," said Anadol. "Every surface became part of the canvas, requiring meticulous planning to ensure the reflections enhanced the experience rather than distract from it."

Projection was fundamental to the design because the technology needed to disappear, allowing the artwork, not the display, to take center stage. Powered by 84 Epson EB-PQ2220B 20,000-lumen1 4K laser projectors, the gallery transforms into a living sculpture where towering walls, mirrored surfaces and continuous imagery immerse visitors in an ever-evolving environment. Delivering nearly 700 million pixels and over 1.5 million lumens, the scale and architectural integration would have been extremely challenging to achieve with a traditional display solution.

The installation dramatically increases brightness, delivering remarkably sharp, edge-to-edge imagery. Epson's interchangeable lens portfolio allowed every projector to be tailored to the gallery's unique geometry, ensuring consistent brightness, accurate colors and image quality across its complex architecture. Camera-assisted software continuously calibrates, aligns and edge blends all 84 projectors into a single, unified canvas. The result is a seamless environment where art, architecture and projection become one.

"Despite the extensive use of mirrors, we are able to create a seamless visual experience through precise projector alignment, exceptional image quality and our team's technical expertise," added Anadol. "Visitors often can't tell where the architecture ends and the projected imagery begins, which allows for full immersion in the artwork."

"The entire Epson team – from our optical engineers in Japan to product managers and global leadership – is incredibly proud to see DATALAND open its doors," said Gavin Downey, group product manager, Epson America. "For nearly a decade, we've collaborated with Refik and his team as they have pushed the boundaries of art, AI and display technology. DATALAND demonstrates what's possible when visionary creativity is paired with purpose-built projection technology."

Leveraging Epson's flagship EB-PQ Series projectors, DATALAND brings to life what's possible through a partnership built on innovation, trust and a shared passion for pushing creative boundaries. As the Refik Anadol Studio team continues to imagine experiences beyond today's technological limits, Epson remains committed to developing the projection technologies that help turn those visions into reality.

For more information on Epson's large venue laser projectors, visit www.epson.com/largevenue.

About DATALAND

DATALAND is the world's first Museum of AI Arts and digital ecosystem where human imagination meets the creative potential of machines. DATALAND's flagship Los Angeles location has five galleries across 25,000 square feet of public space with an additional 10,000 square feet of space that houses the museum's advanced technologies. Situated at Frank Gehry's The Grand LA, DATALAND unites pioneers across multidisciplinary fields including the arts, science, and technology under the artistic leadership of Refik Anadol Studio. Opening on June 20, 2026, DATALAND joins the renowned visual and performing arts institutions in the city's Grand Avenue Cultural District including The Broad, LA Phil, MOCA, The Music Center, REDCAT, and The Colburn School. DATALAND's mission includes serving as a public repository for large-scale nature-focused data sets, providing online access and learning platforms, and collecting and exhibiting artworks by digital and AI artists. In October 2025, DATALAND established an artist residency program in partnership with Google Arts & Culture to support creatives working with machine intelligence. DATALAND is designed in collaboration with award-winning architecture firm Gensler and engineered by global built environment consultancy Arup. Aspiring to set the standard for the presentation, curation, and exploration of AI Arts, DATALAND embodies a new model for cultural institutions in the 21st Century.

Website: www.dataland.art; Socials: @datalandmuseum

About Epson

Epson is a technology innovation and engineering company whose philosophy of efficient, compact, and precise innovation enriches lives and helps create a better world. The company uses technology and engineering ability to implement real-world solutions in precision innovation, industrial and robotics, office and home printing, and visual and lifestyle.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of more than JPY 1.4 trillion. corporate.epson/en/

Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif., is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), X (x.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/epsonamerica) and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

1 Color brightness (color light output) and white brightness (white light output) will vary depending on usage conditions. Color light output measured in accordance with IDMS 15.4; white light output measured in accordance with ISO 21118.

EPSON is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2026 Epson America, Inc.

SOURCE Epson America, Inc.

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Chinese robot hand learns Suzhou embroidery as AGILINK surpasses 15,000 dexterous hands shipped

SUZHOU, China, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A robotic hand developed by Chinese firm AGILINK has been taught foundational Suzhou embroidery techniques by master craftswoman Fu Xianghong, including separating silk threads, threading a needle, stretching fabric on an embroidery hoop and stitching.

The demonstration puts a robotic hand to work with one of the most delicate and deformable materials it can encounter: silk. A silk thread can bend, slip and change shape with slight changes in contact. Splitting silk requires one finger to separate individual strands while others maintain support and tension; twisting thread requires opposing fingertips to maintain contact while allowing the thread to turn. Threading a needle and stitching add further demands on positioning, force and coordination.

The OmniHand 3 Ultra combines 21 active degrees of freedom with a fully direct-drive architecture and tactile sensing across the fingertips, finger pads and palm. Vision-based tactile sensors at each fingertip detect changes in the contact surface, providing feedback as the hand handles thin, deformable materials.

"A single silk thread gives OmniHand 3 Ultra's fingertip dexterity a visible measure," said Qiao Tianjie, Vice President of AGIBOT and CEO of AGILINK. "It also reveals the possibility of handing more delicate work to machines."

The demonstration comes as AGILINK reaches a new stage of commercial scale. Spun out from AGIBOT in January 2026, the company has shipped more than 15,000 dexterous hands to date. In August, its OmniHand series competed across all eight dexterous-hand events at the World Humanoid Robot Games, winning seven gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

AGILINK reached unicorn status five months after launch, backed by investors including Hillhouse Ventures and Mirae Asset. Its fourth funding round in June valued the company at more than US$1 billion. The company sees dexterous manipulation of flexible and delicate materials as relevant to applications including cable handling, flexible-material assembly and precision-component manipulation.

"We'll have another pair of hands for delicate work," Fu said.

About AGILINK

AGILINK specializes in dexterous robotic manipulation, combining dexterous hardware, tactile sensing and control for delicate and deformable objects.

Watch the film: [https://youtu.be/uRy589aDp48]

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Paladone WeCool strengthens US leadership team with new appointment

POINT PLEASANT, N.J., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Paladone WeCool, the global consumer products company behind a portfolio of licensed and proprietary toys, gifts and creative play products, has announced the appointment of Matthew Lauderbach as Product Development Director.

Matthew joins Paladone WeCool with more than 25 years of experience in toy design and product development. Throughout his career, he has held leadership roles with organizations including Fisher-Price, Spin Master, Skip Hop and Just Play. His expertise spans concept creation, design management, engineering and commercialization.

Commenting on his appointment, Matthew Lauderbach said:

"I've long admired Paladone WeCool's ability to create products that inspire creativity and encourage hands-on play. I was already a fan of the Compound Kings and iLY Sticker Maker ranges, having seen firsthand how engaging those products can be for kids.

"The company's commitment to innovation, quality and product development made this an exciting opportunity, and I'm looking forward to helping expand the portfolio and bring new products to market."

Jeff Osnato, President of WeCool Toys, added:

"Matthew brings valuable experience and industry insight to Paladone WeCool at an important time in our growth. His expertise across product development will strengthen our US operation and help us continue to deliver products that connect with consumers, retailers and our licensing partners.

"We're delighted to welcome Matthew to the team and look forward to seeing the impact he'll make."

About Paladone WeCool:

Paladone is a global leader in licensed and non-licensed toys, games, gifts and branded merchandise. With showrooms worldwide and a commitment to trend-led, quality products, Paladone continues to delight consumers and build trusted partnerships with retailers globally.

WeCool Toys Inc. is a global designer and manufacturer of innovative toys, compounds, crafts and sensory products. With end-to-end capabilities spanning concept development through to worldwide distribution, the company has launched thousands of products across more than 35 countries. WeCool is focused on redefining creative play through innovation, speed to market and category-leading product experiences.

Together, the two companies combine creative innovation, manufacturing expertise and global retail reach to deliver market-leading products to consumers around the world.

Media contact: Harriette Bond, PMW Communications

T: +44 1403 783400 Ext 211, M: +44 7849 759899, E: [email protected]

SOURCE Paladone WeCool Toys

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Ittikar Is Live and Open to New Members

The private capital network for family offices has been in the hands of its 100 Founding Members since March and has already closed two of Mondevo Group's own acquisitions.

ABU DHABI, UAE and GENEVA, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In November 2025, Mondevo Group announced its vision: to create a private capital network for global family offices, with AI at its core. Four months later the platform was live, ahead of plan. It is now open beyond its founding group.

Ittikar is where family offices analyse deals, invest and raise capital. Behind it sits a family office with a 25-year investment track record and relationships across 500 family offices. Mondevo Group used the platform to acquire Caruso, the Italian menswear house, in February, and Underscore District, the Milan-based brand accelerator behind Magliano, GR10K and the multi-brand retailer WOK Store, in August. Ittikar's due diligence engine carried both deals from analysis through to completion.

"We did not launch Ittikar with a demonstration. We launched it on our own deals, with our own capital. The Group bought Caruso and Underscore District with the same engine our members use: the whole data room read and graded in days, every finding sourced, the investment committee memorandum drafted before the advisers would normally have finished their first pass."

Fabio Brambilla, Co-founder, Ittikar and Mondevo Group

Mondevo Tech, the Group's technology division, builds Ittikar in-house: more than 50 engineers directing 120 AI coding agents. It is developed in alignment with GDPR, NIS 2 and the EU AI Act. Each member family holds its data in its own sovereign Data Pod, in a jurisdiction of its choice, under its own encryption.

"A family's data is the family's. That principle determined the architecture, and it is why we built to the strictest European standards rather than the most convenient ones."

Cristiano Motto, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ittikar and Mondevo Group

The intelligence behind the platform is vertical. Every member has their own assistant, Itti, and the specialist agents behind it work in one domain: private markets. They are calibrated to each family's investment profile, its Capital DNA™, and built on how a deal team reads a data room, how an investment committee weighs risk, and how a raise is structured and matched.

"Generic AI can summarise a document. It cannot take a family office through a transaction. Ittikar's AI was built by people with experience executing real transactions and applying institutional investment standards. The AI does the analysis. Ittikar's investment team reviews every deal before it is published on the platform. The family decides."

Chris Shann, Head of Investment and AI Enablement, Ittikar

The Founding Members are deliberately diverse: founding families, single family offices, multi-family offices, entrepreneurs and family conglomerates, across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, and across industries from consumer and luxury to real estate, finance, industry and Technology. With the first release complete, Ittikar now opens at tiered levels of membership. Details are at ittikar.com.

"Ittikar is a business enabled by AI. It analyses data at a depth no single family office could resource, and shortens the deal cycle from months to days. It is a buy-side platform, built for family offices, not a place where deals are sold to investors. Members see only what matches their Capital DNA™, rather than the unfiltered deal flow the market is used to."

Hussam Otaibi, Founder, Ittikar and Mondevo Group

Development of the second release began in September. Like the first, it will run for nine months, with capabilities delivered progressively up to June 2027: portfolio analysis, monitoring and reporting in early 2027, negotiation tools in the second quarter, and by mid 2027 the ability for members to tokenise assets and settle co-investments on distributed ledgers, delivered through licensed partners. A first tokenisation proof of concept is planned before the end of this year.

Notes to editors

About Ittikar. Ittikar is the private capital network for global family offices, built by a family office and enabled by AI. It is where family offices analyse deals, invest and raise capital: institutional-grade due diligence, curated co-investment and direct capital raising on one buy-side platform, where every member sees only what matches its Capital DNA™. Live since March 2026. Part of the Mondevo Group.

www.ittikar.com

About Mondevo Group. Mondevo Group is a global private holding company operating at the intersection of investment, technology and luxury. It harnesses AI-native capabilities and a worldwide network of ultra-high-net-worth families to build enduring businesses in sectors with high barriers to entry and strong long-term growth. www.mondevogroup.com

Media contact

Roberta Callegari, Head of Media and Communications, Mondevo Group and Ittikar

[email protected]

This press release is for general information purposes only and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer, invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity, or a solicitation to buy, sell or subscribe for any security or other financial instrument. It is not investment, legal, tax or other professional advice and should not be relied upon in connection with any investment decision. Membership numbers, network figures and references to transactions completed with the support of the platform are stated as at the date of this release, may be approximate, and are provided as illustration only; past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. References to licences, authorisations or certifications described as in process, expected or being finalised indicate an intention only, with no assurance that they will be obtained or obtained on the timetable indicated. Statements about future platform capabilities are forward looking and subject to change; actual outcomes may differ materially. Regulated services, where offered, are provided only by an appropriately licensed entity, in the jurisdictions where it is permitted to do so, under separate agreement. This release is not directed at, and must not be acted upon by, any person in a jurisdiction where doing so would be contrary to applicable law or regulation.

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Hotel Royal Hoi An - The Legacy By The River named Vietnam's Leading Riverfront Hotel 2026 at the World Travel Awards

HOI AN, Vietnam, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotel Royal Hoi An – The Legacy By The River has been named Vietnam's Leading Riverfront Hotel 2026 at the World Travel Awards 2026, recognising its distinctive sense of place, riverside setting and commitment to creating meaningful experiences for guests in one of Vietnam's most cherished cultural destinations.

Set along the tranquil Thu Bon River in the heart of Hoi An, the hotel offers a refined retreat where the spirit of the destination naturally becomes part of the guest experience. Art-inspired interiors, thoughtful design and a deep connection to Hoi An's cultural heritage create an atmosphere that feels both timeless and contemporary.

The hotel's story is closely connected to the historic relationship between Vietnam and Japan, brought to life through the enduring love story of Vietnamese Princess Ngoc Hoa and Japanese merchant Sotaro Araki. This heritage-inspired narrative is reflected throughout the hotel, inviting guests to discover Hoi An through its history, art, architecture and distinctive sense of place.

The World Travel Awards celebrate excellence across the global travel and tourism industry. This recognition marks a meaningful milestone for Hotel Royal Hoi An as it continues its journey to offer thoughtful, memorable hospitality in Central Vietnam.

A Legacy By The River

Rather than simply reflecting its surroundings, the hotel invites guests to experience Hoi An in a more personal way — through its architecture, cuisine, riverside setting and warm, attentive service.

The hotel's dining and lifestyle experiences offer different ways to connect with the destination. Royal Café provides a relaxed setting for coffee and light dining, while The Deck, the highest rooftop bar in Hoi An, offers sweeping views across the Thu Bon River and the historic town. At Wakaku Restaurant, Japanese cuisine and design echo the cultural connection at the heart of the hotel's story.

For moments of relaxation, The River Lounge and The Maison surround the Art Nouveau-inspired pool, creating elegant spaces to slow down, reconnect and enjoy the gentle rhythm of the river.

The hotel also offers distinctive settings for weddings, celebrations and private occasions. From intimate gatherings beside the Art Nouveau-inspired pool to celebrations at The Deck and elegant ballroom events, each venue provides a unique backdrop for memorable moments in Hoi An.

Hotel Royal Hoi An . The Legacy By The River

Hoi An . Da Nang . Vietnam

39 Dao Duy Tu, Hoi An, Da Nang City, Vietnam

https://hotelroyalhoian.vn/

SOURCE HOTEL ROYAL HOI AN, The Legacy by the River

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JIATF-401 coordinates counter-UAS efforts across the U.S. military and federal agencies, working with government and industry partners to address evolving drone threats.

The contract supports JIATF-401's Domestic Shield Program and associated global operational missions, addressing force protection, base defense, and counter-UAS requirements in the United States and overseas. The contract's scope includes hardware, software and updates, training, and support services. The quantity, scope, and timing of future deliveries will be determined through individual delivery orders.

Combining artificial intelligence, computer vision, and advanced target-tracking algorithms, Smart Shooter's lightweight, rifle-mounted SMASH fire control systems track the target, calculate the firing solution, and synchronize shot release when the weapon is precisely aligned. This brings precise kinetic counter-drone capability to the individual soldier through the standard service weapon, while preserving its normal use against ground targets. The operator retains the decision to engage, and the system can connect with external sensors and battle management systems.

The agreement follows Smart Shooter's earlier contract with JIATF-401, announced in March 2026, and a series of new and follow-on awards Smart Shooter secured over the past year to support the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Thousands of SMASH systems are already deployed across U.S. military services.

"Domestic Shield is about giving defenders the tools to stop small, fast-moving drones before they can harm forces, bases, and critical assets," said Michal Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of Smart Shooter. "This award, and the framework it provides for future orders of up to $150 million, marks a significant milestone in the expansion of our activity in the U.S. defense market."

"JIATF-401 is continuously working with industry partners to provide the counter-UAS capabilities needed to protect warfighters and installations," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF-401. "Our approach allows us to identify the right capabilities for specific operational requirements and rapidly deliver those capabilities to the warfighter."

Smart Shooter's SMASH family of fire control systems is deployed by defense and security forces in the United States, Israel, the UK, Germany, and other NATO and allied nations. The company has offices in Israel, the United States, Europe, and Australia. For further information, visit https://www.smart-shooter.com/

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE SMARTSHOOTER

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SALOMON Golden Trail World Series Returns to the Great Wall

CHENGDE, China, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race, the penultimate stop of the 2026 SALOMON Golden Trail World Series (GTWS), closed on Sunday as the last points-scoring race before the season-ending Grand Final.

Founded by SALOMON in 2018, the GTWS was built on a simple premise: short, fast racing on spectacular terrain, staged at landmark locations and stacked with the sport's best athletes. Jinshanling, back at the Great Wall for a second year, has become the one race in China where the country's top runners and the world's share the same course on the same day.

A world-class field on an ancient ridge

Thirty-six elite runners toed the line — one of the strongest international fields ever assembled for a race in China — and it raced like it: a hard, tactical fight from the gun rather than a procession.

The course is why the race travels. Ancient stone underfoot, the Yan Mountains on the horizon, and long, grinding climbs that punish anyone who goes out too fast. There is nothing else like it on the GTWS calendar, and that uniqueness is increasingly why international athletes build China into their season rather than treating it as a one-off.

SALOMON international elite athlete Joey Hadorn of Switzerland used the descents to move through the field and took third in the men's race in 2:15:42. In the women's race, SALOMON international elite athlete Caroline Kimutai of Kenya stayed with the front group all day and finished third in 2:43:33. China's Chi Lingjie, one of the most accomplished trail runners in the country, was the leading Chinese finisher, crossing in 2:51:22 for seventh.

From solo speed runs to squad tactics

SALOMON has rebuilt the format this season. A new team ranking system puts eight brand teams — Team SALOMON among them — on a collective leaderboard, and points are now awarded on designated uphill, downhill and sprint segments. Team SALOMON also finished top of the Team Ranking at Jinshanling.

The effect is that racing is no longer a straight test of who is fastest on the day. Runners have to decide where to spend their energy; teams have to decide who runs where. For anyone following the series on broadcast, it also turns a season of one-off results into a story with a through-line.

Bigger prize money, tighter governance

SALOMON has raised the stakes. Prize money across the series is up 50% on 2025, to €451,000, with the men's and women's season champions each taking €30,000 — enough to make committing to the full circuit worth an athlete's season, not just a single stop.

The same logic runs through integrity. Every GTWS race now carries 10 anti-doping tests across multiple substance categories, including EPO screening, with a further 50 out-of-competition tests spread across the season. It is a heavier programme than trail running has generally been used to, and it is deliberate: the series wants to be read as a governed competition, not just a spectacle.

Why Jinshanling matters to trail runners everywhere

For the global trail community, Jinshanling has become the clearest window onto how far the sport has come in China. Now in its third year in the country, the series has given Chinese runners world-class racing at home, and given international athletes a first-hand look at the terrain, the crowds and the culture that define trail running here.

5 days before the race, SALOMON staged the Great Wall Chase Challenge, sending international elites, members of the SALOMON Next-Gen squad and runners from local clubs out along the Wall together. The weekend fell over the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, folding one of China's oldest traditions into a modern trail race — competitors and spectators got the racing, and they got the atmosphere that comes with it.

Through its strategic partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and its work with media partners in China, SALOMON is carrying all of that well beyond the mountains. Chinese landscapes, Chinese racing and Chinese trail culture are now on screens worldwide, which is the point: this is how a scene that has been building for years gets seen.

From China to the world

Athletes are where it becomes concrete. Chi Lingjie returned to Jinshanling and showed again what Chinese trail talent looks like at international level. Alongside her, Zhu Yutao of the SALOMON Next-Gen — with teammates Zhang Ziyue and Chang Miaomiao — represents the wave behind her. Racing the world's best on home terrain gives them a direct read on elite pace and race craft; it also puts China's emerging runners in front of a global audience that is watching closely.

Underneath the racing is a longer project. Over three seasons in China, SALOMON has consistently done four things: imported international race standards, funded a professional prize structure, built a youth pathway through the Next-Gen squad, and used its global broadcast reach to put Chinese racing in front of the world. The aim is not a single race weekend. It is to give a fast-growing national scene a route into the mainstream of the sport — and to let Chinese athletes race at world level at home before they go abroad.

Three years in, Jinshanling is no longer an exotic one-off on the GTWS calendar. It is a fixture: the race that brings the world's best to a Chinese mountainside, and the one that sends Chinese runners back out into the world.

SOURCE SALOMON

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EQT Foundation commits more than €1 million to help unlock new ways of delivering medicines to the brain

- 11 research projects working to improve how therapeutics reach the brain and central nervous system are supported through the latest EQT Foundation Science Grant

- Researchers are pursuing multiple routes through and around the blood-brain barrier, including engineered biological carriers, molecular shuttles, gene therapy vectors, nanoparticles and AI-designed delivery technologies

- The program targets a fundamental challenge in CNS medicine that limits the development of treatments for neurological, neurodegenerative, oncological and rare genetic diseases

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT Foundation has committed more than EUR 1 million to 11 research projects aiming to develop new ways to overcome that challenge, supporting technologies that could make a wider range of medicines viable for diseases of the central nervous system.

The projects, based at 10 research institutions across the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and Canada, approach brain delivery from very different scientific directions. Some are engineering the body's own transport mechanisms to carry therapeutic cargo. Others are designing new molecular shuttles, viral vectors and nanoparticles, or exploring less conventional routes into the central nervous system. Several of the projects are already applying these technologies to specific diseases, including brain cancer, ALS and rare genetic disorders.

The common challenge is the blood-brain barrier: a highly selective biological interface that protects the brain from potentially harmful substances circulating in the bloodstream, but at the same time makes many otherwise promising medicines difficult to deliver. This has implications well beyond any single disease. New delivery technologies could enable emerging modalities such as gene editing, RNA medicines, antibodies and other large-molecule therapeutics to reach targets in the brain that are currently inaccessible.

Cilia Holmes Indahl, Head of EQT Foundation, said: "I believe that science can now design increasingly sophisticated medicines. For the brain, the question is whether they can get to where they need to go, which makes delivery the problem underneath all the others. This group is trying a remarkably wide set of answers, from borrowing pathways the body already has to building entirely new ones. If any of them work, they could potentially work for many diseases at once. That is exactly the kind of early, step-change science we want to back."

The researchers receiving funding are developing technologies that span both established and emerging approaches to CNS delivery:

- Elga de Vries, Amsterdam UMC (Netherlands): Developing extracellular vesicles — naturally occurring particles used by cells to transport biological material — as carriers capable of bringing therapeutic cargo across the blood-brain barrier.

- Sophia Shi, Harvard University (United States): Developing "GlycoShuttles", a new approach that seeks to use glycans on the surface of brain blood vessels as an entry mechanism for therapeutics and improve their distribution within the brain.

- Maarten Dewilde and Els Henckaerts, KU Leuven (Belgium): Creating a modular VHH-based adaptor designed to redirect AAV gene therapies toward alternative transport receptors at the blood-brain barrier, potentially expanding the options for systemic gene delivery to the brain.

- Ana Raquel Pato Santa Maria, Wyss Institute at Harvard University (United States): Developing dual-target brain shuttles intended to improve both the transport and retention of antibody and oligonucleotide therapeutics in the central nervous system.

- Praveen Raju, University of California San Diego (United States): Developing a targeted nanomedicine approach that aims to transport drugs into the brain specifically where disease has altered the blood-brain barrier, with an initial application in pediatric brain tumors.

- Jeroen Pasterkamp, University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands): Investigating engineered extracellular vesicles as carriers for gene-editing tools targeting motor neurons, initially focusing on a genetic form of juvenile ALS.

- Niek van Til, Amsterdam UMC (Netherlands): Developing an approach with the aim to enable therapeutic intracellular proteins to move across the blood-brain barrier through transcytosis, with an initial application in neurometabolic disease.

- Saman Fatima, Seattle Children's Hospital / University of Washington (United States): Using artificial intelligence to design compact macrocyclic peptides that could act as reusable shuttles for carrying different therapeutic payloads into the brain.

- Umar Iqbal, National Research Council Canada (Canada): Developing lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery to the central nervous system, combining blood-brain barrier targeting with receptor-mediated transport.

- Servio Ramirez, University of Florida (United States): Developing next-generation AAV vectors designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and selectively deliver therapeutic genes to microglia, the brain's resident immune cells. The platform is being developed initially for CSF1R-related disorders, a group of rare and devastating neurodegenerative diseases, with the potential to be adapted to other disorders involving microglial dysfunction.

- Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke, VIB and Ghent University (Belgium): Examining whether the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier could provide an alternative route into the central nervous system, and how its effectiveness compares with delivery directly across the blood-brain barrier.

The grants are intended to provide researchers with early, flexible capital with the aim to generate the evidence needed to help advance promising concepts toward further translational development.

The initiative sits within EQT Foundation's Science program, which backs entrepreneurial researchers developing early-stage climate and health technologies with the potential for significant impact. Alongside grant funding, researchers can access commercialization expertise and EQT's global network of scientific, industry and entrepreneurial experts as they work to move their discoveries beyond the laboratory.

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Milestone initiates Newronika's international pivotal study comparing adaptive and conventional deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease

MILAN, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Newronika S.p.A., a medical technology company developing adaptive deep brain stimulation therapies, today announced that the first participant in the pivotal ADVENT study has received the αDBS® implant. The procedure was performed on September 21st at the Hospital Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori in Monza.

The milestone marks an important step in the ADVENT pivotal study, which is currently enrolling participants.

ADVENT is evaluating Newronika's αDBS® adaptive deep brain stimulation system in people with Parkinson's disease who have been referred for bilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus.

"Completing the first implantation procedure in the ADVENT study at an Italian study site is an important milestone for Newronika and for the clinical development of adaptive deep brain stimulation," said Lorenzo Rossi, Co-Founder and CEO of Newronika. "This study is designed to generate rigorous evidence by comparing adaptive and conventional stimulation in the same participants. We are grateful to the participant, the clinical team, and all the investigators contributing to this international study."

"Performing the first implantation in ADVENT marks an important milestone for the study and for the neuromodulation program at Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, reflecting our multidisciplinary team's commitment to advancing surgical care for people with Parkinson's disease," said Prof. Giorgio Carrabba, Principal Investigator for ADVENT at Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori. "We thank the participant for their trust and the entire clinical team for their dedication as we begin this important phase of clinical research."

About the ADVENT study

ADVENT—registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT06891781—is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind crossover study comparing the safety and effectiveness of adaptive and conventional deep brain stimulation delivered by Newronika's αDBS® system.

The study is expected to enroll 104 adults with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who have been referred for bilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus. Up to 18 specialist clinical sites across the United States and the European Union are expected to participate.

Because ADVENT uses a crossover design, each participant experiences both conventional and adaptive modes of stimulation in a randomly assigned order. Participants and the clinicians assessing their outcomes remain blinded to the active mode during the comparative study periods.

Newronika received FDA approval of an Investigational Device Exemption, allowing the company to initiate the ADVENT pivotal study in the future. The study is intended to support a future Premarket Approval application for Newronika's DBS system in the United States.

Enrollment is currently underway at participating study sites in Italy and soon in the United States. Additional information about the study, including general eligibility criteria, is available on ClinicalTrials.gov under NCT06891781.

In the European Economic Area, the AlphaDBS® is CE-marked for conventional or adaptive deep brain stimulation as an adjunctive therapy to reduce symptoms of levodopa-responsive Parkinson's disease that are not adequately controlled by medication.

About Parkinson's disease and deep brain stimulation

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological condition that can cause a range of symptoms, including movement-related symptoms such as slowness of movement, stiffness, and tremor.

Deep brain stimulation is an established treatment option for selected people whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by medication. Conventional DBS delivers stimulation using clinician-programmed settings that remain constant until they are adjusted. Adaptive DBS is designed to respond dynamically to recorded brain activity and adjust the stimulation within parameters established by the treating clinical team.

About Newronika

Newronika S.p.A. is a Milan-based medtech company and spin-off of two of Italy's leading research institutions — Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico and the University of Milan. Built on more than 20 years of advanced research and development, Newronika develops αDBS® technology that continuously senses, analyzes, adapts to, and learns from brain signals.

Parkinson's disease is where we start. The brain is where we're going.

For more information, visit www.newronika.com

In the United States, the device is investigational and limited by federal law to investigational use only. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. αDBS® is a registered trademark of Newronika S.p.A.

Media contact

Communications & Investor Relations

Newronika S.p.A.

Tel: +39 02 84109381

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.newronika.com

SOURCE Newronika S.p.A.

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