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BERLIN, Sept. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — At IFA 2025, GlocalMe, the global connectivity brand under uCloudlink Group Inc. (NASDAQ: UCL), introduced its 3-3-5 Digital Inclusion Framework, a comprehensive strategy designed to eliminate the world’s most persistent digital divides through actionable innovation and market-ready products.

The framework is built around closing 3 core digital gaps: those between carrier networks, between local and international users, and between people and pets. It is powered by 3 breakthrough technologies, CloudSIM®, AI HyperConn®, and 6-Layer Precision Positioning, and delivered through 5 innovative product lines already available to consumers worldwide.

These product lines are:

• Pet Network, led by the award-winning PetPhone—the first smartphone for pets, which has won IFA2025 Innovative Honoree and Yanko Design’s – The Best of IFA2025
• Personal Mobile Network, featuring eSIM Trio—the first universal SIM for iOS and Android
• Travel Network, featuring high-performance hotspots including Numen Air (the world’s first SIM-free 5G mobile hotspot), MeowGo G40 Pro (a multi-travel/life setting device for in-flight and home use with unified account access and offers better network with cost-effective solutions), which was given IFA25 Innovative Award by SlashGear, and G50 Pro (incorporating satellite connectivity for comprehensive air-to-ground network coverage)
• Life Network, offering multi-functional Hotspot-enabled devices such as UniCord Pro and RoamPlug. In that, UniCord Pro was double winner of Tusted Review as the Best In Show Award, and Yanko Design’s – The Best of IFA2025.
• Home Network, including GuardFlex Pro (5G) for uninterrupted internet access, with expanding IoT applications across smart cameras, in-vehicle systems, and more

Each product reflects GlocalMe’s dual approach to connectivity: offering high-performance 5G where available while maintaining inclusive 4G coverage so no one is left offline. AI HyperConn® technology plays a key role across these devices—intelligently integrating satellite, in-flight cabin, terrestrial, Wi-Fi (both paid and free), and cellular networks (4G/5G) access to form a high-performance yet cost-effective connectivity solution.

“For over a decade, we’ve turned vision into reality,” said Jeff Chen, CEO of uCloudlink. “This framework isn’t theoretical—it’s a practical roadmap used to develop products that matter.”

With its innovative products already driving growth in multiple billion-dollar markets, GlocalMe is demonstrating that inclusive connectivity isn’t just a mission—it’s a measurable reality.

Experience GlocalMe’s connected future at IFA 2025, Booth H3.2-171, Messe Berlin from September 5-9.

About GlocalMe
GlocalMe is a digital lifestyle brand under uCloudlink Group Inc. (NASDAQ: UCL), dedicated to bridging digital divides—including the one between people and their pets—through patented technology and love-centered design. By enabling seamless emotional connections across species and geographies. Its products deliver seamless, affordable mobile internet across more than 200 countries and regions.

SOURCE uCloudlink Group Inc.

CDK4/6 inhibitors—including palbociclib (Ibrance), ribociclib (Kisqali), and abemaciclib (Verzenio)—are standard-of-care therapies for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. While initially effective, resistance to these agents inevitably develops, limiting long-term benefit. A recent study published in NPJ Precision Oncology identifies interleukin-6 (IL-6) as a key noninvasive biomarker that predicts resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors and highlights the IL-6/STAT3 pathway as a promising therapeutic target. The work provides preclinical evidence supporting the combination of STAT3 inhibitors with CDK4/6 inhibitors—especially in patients who progress after at least 6 months of therapy.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, senior author Khandan Keyomarsi, PhD, professor in the Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, discussed the findings and their potential clinical implications.

“The clinical trials that led to the approval of CDK4/6 inhibitors showed amazing results,” said Keyomarsi. “With estrogen receptor inhibitors alone, progression-free survival (PFS) was around 14 months. Adding CDK4/6 inhibitors increased PFS to 25 months—almost doubling it.”

However, the durability of this response remains limited. “Thirty percent of patients don’t respond to these agents at all,” she explained. “And among the 70% who do respond, 100% will eventually progress over 2 to 4 years—because these are targeted agents and resistance develops.”

The central question driving this study, led by Nicole Kettner, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Keyomarsi’s lab, was: What can be done for patients once resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors develops?

Through mechanistic studies, the team identified the IL-6/STAT3/JAK signaling pathway—a key inflammatory axis—as central to acquired resistance. CDK4/6 inhibitors induce senescence in tumor cells, but resistant cells bypass this process. IL-6, a cytokine associated with the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, not only reflects this bypass but amplifies tumor aggression. “Because IL-6 circulates in the blood and because patients remain on CDK4/6 inhibitors, IL-6 levels continue to rise as cancer cells bypass senescence,” said Keyomarsi. “We hypothesized that these rising IL-6 levels—detectable in the blood—could serve as an early indicator of CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance.”

To test this hypothesis, the researchers collected blood samples from 166 patients with HR+/HER2− metastatic breast cancer, both at baseline and at radiographic progression. IL-6 levels significantly increased at progression. Moreover, in patients with longitudinal samples, IL-6 levels steadily rose prior to progression, suggesting IL-6 could serve as an early warning sign of emerging resistance. Because IL-6 can be measured using an existing clinical assay, it offers a readily translatable, noninvasive biomarker for patients on CDK4/6 inhibitors.

Supporting this hypothesis, tumor samples from the time of progression showed increased phosphorylation of STAT3 (pY-STAT3)—a downstream target of IL-6—compared to baseline (8.3% vs. 3.6%, P =.02). Importantly, there was a significant correlation between circulating IL-6 levels and tumor pSTAT3 (P =.04), further supporting IL-6/STAT3 pathway activation during resistance.

To determine whether targeting this pathway could reverse resistance, the researchers conducted functional experiments in both in vitro and in vivo models. Knocking down IL-6 in resistant cells restored sensitivity to palbociclib and endocrine therapy, while treatment with a small-molecule STAT3 inhibitor (TTI-101) effectively suppressed tumor growth in patient-derived xenografts (PDX). However, this approach was only effective in tumors from patients who had initially responded to CDK4/6 inhibitors and then progressed—suggesting the therapy is most beneficial in the setting of acquired, rather than de novo, resistance. “The 30% of patients who don’t respond to CDK4/6 inhibitors initially also don’t respond to STAT3 inhibition,” explained Keyomarsi. “This strategy only works in patients with acquired resistance—those who initially responded and then progressed.”

In parallel, current studies in the lab are pursuing another, potentially more direct and promising therapeutic strategy: targeting the IL-6 receptor itself. By blocking the receptor, elevated circulating IL-6 can be prevented from entering tumor cells and activating oncogenic transcription factors like STAT3. This upstream blockade may offer a more precise and effective method of circumventing resistance and is the focus of ongoing investigations.

While IL-6 is elevated in the majority of patients at progression, this is not universal. About 60% of progressing patients showed increased IL-6 levels, but 40% did not. To understand this divergence, the research team is now analyzing tumor tissue from both subsets of patients. “We’re actively examining the molecular differences between patients who progress with high IL-6 and those who progress with low IL-6,” said Keyomarsi. “What we’re finding is that they involve different pathways, and we’re fortunate to have inhibitors that target both.”

The team is also expanding their translational pipeline by collecting fresh tumor samples and generating patient-specific ex vivo organoid models. These models allow rapid testing of treatment strategies in real time, providing a personalized medicine approach for patients currently undergoing treatment. “These are living patients, and we’re developing treatments for them using their own tumor organoids,” said Keyomarsi. “We only test drugs that are either already in clinical trials or close to entering trials, so our work can be translated rapidly.”

REFERENCE:
Kettner NM, Bui TN, Navarro-Yepes J, et al. IL-6 predicts CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance, identifying STAT3 as a target in HR+/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. NPJ Precision Oncology. 2025 Jul 25;9(1):260. doi: 10.1038/s41698-025-01041-1

By Charles Passy

The lessons of managing a significant sum can also apply to plenty of other investors

How should you manage your jackpot money? Financial pros have plenty of suggestions.

We’ve all heard stories of lottery-jackpot winners who have blown through their fortunes. So, if you happen to be that incredibly lucky person who takes home the current $1.8 billion Powerball prize, how can you ensure you don’t end up penniless?

Through smart financial planning and investing, of course.

We gathered advice from a range of financial advisers about how to do just that. The $1.8 billion jackpot is the second-largest in U.S. lottery history, with the next Powerball drawing set for Saturday night.

Granted, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to managing even a modest portfolio, let alone one equivalent to the market capitalization of some companies.

It’s also worth stating the obvious: You can have plenty of fun with your jackpot money – buy a private plane! or a private island! – but you can’t go to such an extreme that you have nothing left over to invest. The goal is to make sure your winnings last a lifetime, and to maybe even grow your fortune along the way.

Here are five steps to consider, according to the pros. Keep in mind: These lessons can apply to most anybody who has come upon a significant sum – say, through an inheritance or by selling a business. Or, yes, by winning Powerball.

Figure out if you’re an annuity person or a lump-sum person

When you win the big Powerball prize, you have a choice: Take the full jackpot spread out over 30 payments – annuitizing your money – or take a smaller sum at once. In the case of the $1.8 billion jackpot, that works out to a choice between annual distributions of $40 million-plus or a single upfront payment of $826.4 million. (Naturally, you’ll have to pay taxes on the money in either case.)

Financial pros are divided on what to do. Some say you’re better off with the smaller (though hardly small!) upfront sum because it puts you in control of the money, with the chance for greater investment returns. John Loyd, an adviser based in Fort Worth, Texas, also warns that the problem with annuitizing is that you can never predict what the future tax situation might be – meaning you run the risk of taxes going way up. “I typically lean towards the lump sum, given we have something known now versus the unknown in the future,” he says.

At the same time, other advisers say that some people might not be able to keep their extravagant ways in check, so an annuity could be a safer option. At least that’s how Stephen Maggard, a South Carolina-based adviser, views the matter. “Your greatest risk in this situation is not the math – it’s yourself,” he says.

The bottom line: You need to make a judgment call as to how prepared you are to manage the money and pick the option that’s most prudent.

Diversify away

Regardless of whether you take the lump sum or smaller annual payments, you’ve got to park the money somewhere. Most financial pros suggest a diversified investment strategy that’s not much different than what they’d suggest for clients with modest portfolios – namely, putting the money in a mix of stocks, bonds and perhaps some alternative investments.

“There’s no reason you couldn’t have a traditional 60/40 portfolio,” says Rodney Loesch, an adviser based in Kansas City, Mo., referring to the classic mix of 60% stocks (typically, a broad index fund) and 40% bonds (typically, an aggregate bond fund).

If you’re more aggressive – and having hundreds of millions of dollars can potentially afford you some latitude – you can increase the stock allocation, advisers say. But you also have to prepare yourself for some big losses: If you have $300 million in equities, a sudden one-day 5% loss – such as that which the stock market SPX experienced this past April – would equate to a $15 million hit.

There’s also room for alternatives in the portfolio: Many advisers suggest putting a small portion in real estate (think REITs), for example.

And when you have the big bucks, you also have opportunities aplenty to consider investments open to high-net-worth individuals, such as private equity or hedge funds. But Patrick Huey, an adviser with offices in Naples, Fla., and Portland, Ore., said to consider such opportunities “only after thorough vetting and always as a complement, not a core, holding.”

Oh, and he added this basic caveat: “Don’t chase hot tips.”

Keep tax strategies in mind

It’s great to earn money on your investments – and for a jackpot winner, that can mean millions of dollars each year. But you’ll have to pay Uncle Sam for the privilege, in the form of a big federal tax hit. And don’t forget state and local taxes.

But there are ways to guard against that. Advisers frequently mention municipal bonds as an important option to consider in the bond portion of the portfolio because they can be tax-free.

If you’re feeling charitable – and you certainly have the means to become a philanthropist – you can always make large tax-deductible contributions, advisers are quick to note, or even establish a foundation.

Have a ‘fun’ budget

Advisers are also quick to say that you should enjoy your jackpot money. But the key is to put a cap on how much you spend, so that you don’t fall into the trap of whittling away your winnings.

Think of it as a “fun fund,” explains Andrew Matz, a financial planner with Oak Road Wealth Management. For those who annuitize their lottery winnings, he advises keeping it to 10% to 15% of the annual payment. “Sticking to a yearly budget ensures that your spending habits are sustainable for life,” he says.

Bring in the professionals

Perhaps it’s no surprise that financial advisers recommend working with, well, a financial adviser to manage your money. But let’s face it: Most people aren’t born with the knowledge and skills to manage $1.8 billion – or even $1.8 million.

But advisers also say you’ll need more professionals on your team. Think of hiring an attorney, a tax adviser and maybe even a therapist. The point is that you can’t do it alone, says Dennis Huergo, a New Jersey-based adviser. “Sudden wealth is a gift, but without guidance, it can become a burden,” he said.

-Charles Passy

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  09-06-25 1459ET
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