Category: 3. Business

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sinicrope et al found that a tissue-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assay had strong prognostic value in patients receiving FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin)-based adjuvant therapy for stage III colorectal cancer.

Study Details

The study used data from 2,260 evaluable patients with stage III disease receiving FOLFOX-based adjuvant therapy in the phase III Alliance N0147 trial. Plasma samples collected after surgery and before adjuvant FOLFOX alone or with cetuximab were assessed by tissue-free ctDNA assay. In ctDNA-positive patients, tumor fraction (TF) was quantified and genotyping was performed with a 739-gene panel.

Key Findings

Among the 2,260 patients, 461 (20.4%) were ctDNA-positive; significantly higher positivity rates were found among advanced T-/N-stage, high-grade, obstruction/perforation, and BRAF V600E–mutant tumors.

At a median follow-up of 6.1 years, ctDNA positivity was independently associated (all P < .0001) with poorer time to recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.11–6.96), disease-free survival (HR = 5.03, 95% CI = 4.36–5.81), and overall survival (HR = 4.45, 95% CI = 3.76–5.27). For the ctDNA-positive group vs the ctDNA-negative group, 5-year disease-free survival was 27.7% vs 77.1 and 5-year overall survival was 50.4% vs 86.8%. The adverse prognostic impact of ctDNA positivity was greater in lower T/N stage, low-risk, and deficient mismatch repair subgroups (interaction P = .0012–.041).

Among ctDNA-positive patients, TF was approximately twice that in those with recurrence or death (P = .0002), and TN-stratified patients for time to recurrence, disease-free survival, and overall survival (all adjusted P < .002). On genotyping, mutations in FLT1 (odds ratio [OR] = 8.99) and PREX2 (OR = 7.73) were the most strongly associated with recurrence (P < .03).

The investigators concluded: “Evaluation of ctDNA in resected stage III [colorectal cancer] using a tissue-free assay provided robust and independent prognostic value. Higher ctDNA burden, [deficient mismatch repair], and specific mutations defined poor prognostic groups among ctDNA-positive patients.”

Frank A. Sinicrope, MD, of the Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, is the corresponding author for the Journal of Clinical Oncology article.

DISCLOSURE: The study was supported by the Mayo Foundation for Research and Education and Guardant Health, Inc. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ascopubs.org.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Feb. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reworld™, a leader in sustainable waste solutions, proudly announces the appointment of Mauro Gregorio to its Board of Directors. A longtime executive at Dow Inc. with extensive global leadership and board experience, Gregorio brings a proven track record of supporting growth, strengthening operations and creating long-term value within complex, asset-intensive industries.

“With his extensive leadership background and keen understanding of customer needs across industrial value chains, Mauro will make a meaningful impact on our Board,” said Azeez Mohammed, President and CEO of Reworld™. “We are confident in Mauro’s ability to help us drive profitable growth while advancing the company’s long-term vision of sustainability and innovation.”

Gregorio most recently served as President of Dow’s Performance Materials & Coatings division, with annual sales of approximately $10 billion, delivering material science solutions for infrastructure, transportation, renewable energy, electronics and consumer markets. Earlier in his career, Gregorio held several senior leadership roles spanning more than two decades, including President of Dow Consumer Solutions and Chief Executive Officer of Dow Silicone Corporation where he led the integration of Dow Corning following its acquisition by Dow Chemical.

“Mauro has an impressive history of delivering performance improvements across a diverse set of businesses,” stated Howard Lance, Chairman of the Reworld™ Board of Directors. “He will provide important perspective to our Board and help Reworld™ continue to innovate and lead in the industry.”

“I’m proud to join the Board of Directors at Reworld™,” said Gregorio. “I look forward to leveraging my experience to support the organization’s mission of driving smarter, more sustainable solutions that positively impact people and the environment.”

In addition to his executive leadership background, Gregorio has served on the boards of several public and private companies, including Eagle Materials, Graham Corporation and Radius Recycling, one of North America’s largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products.

About Reworld™ Reworld™ is a leader in sustainable waste solutions, providing innovative and environmentally responsible services to a global community. Reworld™ is committed to advancing zero waste initiatives and supporting sustainability goals through state-of-the-art technologies that reimagine, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and renew. For more information, visit www.reworldwaste.com.

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SOURCE Reworld Holding Corporation

Up to $50 Million Strategic Investment to Establish Autonomous Robotics Manufacturing and Offshore Services Hub in the UAE

HOUSTON, Feb. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nauticus Robotics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITT, “Nauticus”), a developer of autonomous subsea robotics and software solutions for offshore energy and industrial applications, today announced the signing of an agreement for a strategic investment of up to $50 million with Master Investment Group.

The agreement contemplates an initial $3 million investment tranche for Nauticus’ UAE business unit startup activities, with additional capital available to support further expansion. The proposed investment is intended to fund the establishment of Nauticus’ first international manufacturing and offshore robotics services hub in the United Arab Emirates, accelerating global deployment of Nauticus’ Aquanaut^® autonomous subsea robotic platform.

ESTABLISHING A REGIONAL HUB FOR ADVANCED OFFSHORE ROBOTICS
Under the proposed transaction, Nauticus plans to form a dedicated manufacturing, sales, and offshore services business unit in the UAE. Initial facility sites are already under evaluation. Master Investment Group is expected to fund facility development, workforce localization, and initial manufacturing capability, positioning the operation as a regional center for advanced subsea robotics.

Nauticus has already initiated the formation of a local legal entity in the UAE and completed preliminary identification of a potential site for the planned facility. These early actions are intended to accelerate mobilization and reduce time to operational readiness following execution of definitive agreements.

In addition, Master Investment Group has committed to support Nauticus in securing an initial Aquanaut^® deployment contract within the region, leveraging its local relationships and market access to facilitate early commercial adoption of Nauticus’ autonomous subsea technology.

Once operational, the facility is expected to support expanded production of the Aquanaut^® platform, delivery of offshore robotic services across the Middle East and adjacent regions, and future deployment of additional Nauticus robotic and software technologies.

STRATEGIC CAPITAL TO ACCELERATE COMMERCIALIZATION
The proposed collaboration supports Nauticus’ strategy to scale manufacturing, expand international market access, and accelerate revenue-generating offshore services, while leveraging regional investment and infrastructure. For Master Investment Group, the partnership aligns with its objective of positioning the UAE as a regional leader in advanced robotics and industrial automation.

By working together, Nauticus and Master Investment Group plan to bring local job creation, technology sharing, and alignment with national industrial strategies to the region.

MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY
Sheikh Abdulla Al Qassimi, Managing Director of Master Investment Group, stated, “We are excited to enter into this strategic relationship with Nauticus and to support the establishment of advanced autonomous robotics capabilities in the UAE. This initiative reflects our commitment to attracting world-class technology, building high-value industrial capacity, and positioning the UAE as a regional center for robotics, automation, and next-generation offshore services. We see significant long-term potential in this collaboration, not only for Nauticus’ growth, but for the development of local talent, innovation, and sustainable industrial infrastructure across the UAE.”

John Gibson, President and CEO of Nauticus Robotics, commented, “This proposed investment represents a meaningful step forward in our global growth strategy. Establishing Aquanaut^® manufacturing and offshore services in the UAE allows us to accelerate deployment, reduce delivery timelines, and better serve customers across international markets. Fleet expansion is fundamental to building the company, and this relationship represents an important first milestone toward that objective.”

TRANSACTION STATUS
The proposed transaction remains subject required third-party and governmental approvals. The parties anticipate initial operational capability in 2026, subject to final approvals.

About Nauticus Robotics™
Nauticus Robotics, Inc. develops autonomous robots for the ocean industries. Autonomy requires the extensive use of sensors, artificial intelligence, and effective algorithms for perception and decision allowing the robot to adapt to changing environments. The company’s business model includes using robotic systems for service, selling vehicles and components, and licensing of related software to both the commercial and defense business sectors. Nauticus has designed and is currently testing and certifying a new generation of vehicles to reduce operational cost and gather data to maintain and operate a wide variety of subsea infrastructure. Besides a standalone service offering and forward-facing products, Nauticus’ approach to ocean robotics has also resulted in the development of a range of technology products for retrofit/upgrading traditional ROV operations and other third-party vehicle platforms. Nauticus’ services provide customers with the necessary data collection, analytics, and subsea manipulation capabilities to support and maintain assets while reducing their operational footprint, operating cost, and greenhouse gas emissions, to improve offshore health, safety, and environmental exposure. https://nauticusrobotics.com/

About Master Investment Group
Master Investment Group is a regional investment company headquartered in United Arab Emirates (UAE) offering its clients integrated investment solutions in different kinds of businesses and services. Master Investment Group was established to create a portfolio of investments in various industry sectors to generate a long-term wealth enhancement to the economic field and developments. Through Master Investment Group’s investment strategy, communities are developed that will fit international standards and multinational culture. Master Investment Group will accomplish its mission and goals to satisfy the economic industry and its community by developing activities across the UAE and internationally. https://www.miguae.com/

Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”), and are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Act as well as protections afforded by other federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: the expected timing of product commercialization or new product releases; customer interest in Nauticus’ products; estimated operating results and use of cash; and Nauticus’ use of and needs for capital. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events, or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by, or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates,” “intends,” or “continue” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results, or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Nauticus’ management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. There can be no assurance that the events, results, or trends identified in these forward-looking statements will occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Nauticus is not under any obligation and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update, alter, or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review the statements set forth in the reports which Nauticus has filed or will file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and that could cause actual outcomes to be materially different from those indicated in the forward-looking statements made by the Company, in particular the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in documents filed from time to time with the SEC, including Nauticus’ Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 15, 2025 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC from time to time. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties, or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. The documents filed by Nauticus with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Nauticus Robotics, Inc.

BEIJING—Despite Latin America’s evolving rightward political shift, China’s investments in green-tech sectors in the region are growing—and rapidly. The sale of what the Asian giant calls the “new three”—solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs)—to countries across the hemisphere is surging, even as more traditional infrastructure projects have declined in recent years.

Under its “Green Belt and Road” framework, China’s policy banks and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have underwritten massive solar, wind, and hydroelectric projects across the region—as well as the power grids necessary to connect them to customers, thereby supporting the so-called energy transition. According to the Latin America and the Caribbean Academic Network on China (RedALC-China), between 2010 and 2024, China invested almost $34 billion in 70 renewable energy projects in the region. The scope extends from upstream mining of key resources such as lithium to downstream local manufacturing.

The trend is likely to accelerate in the coming year, even as the U.S. seeks to displace China’s influence in the region and several countries have elected right-wing presidents in recent months. The three key forces driving China’s strategy are as present as ever: its domestic industrial overcapacity, its need for new markets, and its related stance on global supply chains.

The scale of what China needs to offload is enormous. Consider one example: The world’s total installed electricity capacity from all forms of generation was about 10 terawatts in 2024, and today China can produce a terawatt’s worth of solar panels alone every year. These new peaks in Chinese supply are intersecting with Latin America’s growing demand for green tech, especially clean energy and EVs. In the region, as total spending on clean energy projects—renewables, grids, energy efficiency, and electrification—was projected to have reached $70 billion last year, the IEA projects that investments in the sector will exceed $110 billion by 2035, offering an even larger opportunity.

As China and Chinese enterprises seek to capitalize on these opportunities, the best way for Latin America to realize the benefits of these investments will be to ensure that its institutions are prepared to manage potential downsides.

What China sees

While Chinese state-sponsored loans from China Development Bank and Ex-Im Bank to Latin America have fallen dramatically over the last 10 years, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) “has soared” across the developing world as Chinese firms gain experience overseas, according to Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center.

For its part, Latin America is an attractive destination specifically for Chinese green tech investment. This stems from a range of factors. First, the region faces strong demand for clean energy expansion, public transit electrification, and industrial upgrades, but insufficient local capital often limits the capacity to meet these needs. Latin American markets also impose fewer geopolitical restrictions and less regulatory resistance on Chinese firms than those in Europe or the U.S.

For China, investing in manufacturing, such as downstream battery and EV production, serves multiple goals. It enables Chinese companies to position themselves as job creators and industrial partners rather than simply as exporters or commodity importers, thereby enhancing political acceptance and consumer legitimacy. As China pursues the region’s globally significant reserves of strategic minerals such as lithium, copper, and nickel, downstream investment helps build the commercial and diplomatic relationships that ultimately facilitate securing access to upstream resources through mining. It also strengthens China’s control over the entire value chain, and helps Chinese firms avoid tariffs and satisfy local-content requirements that are increasingly common in Brazil, Mexico, and other markets.

How Latin America can benefit

For many countries in the region, Chinese engagement provides the resources and technical know-how to accelerate energy transitions and the adoption of new technologies. This is part of the broader Latin American aim of moving beyond commodity exports to advance up the value chain—in this case, as a “green engine” of sustainable growth.

The growing footprint of Chinese carmaker BYD illustrates these trends. The company opened a massive new plant in Camacari, in Brazil’s Bahia state, in October. The factory, built on a former Ford site, is BYD’s biggest-ever investment outside of Asia, and is projected to create about 20,000 jobs—and safeguard its 74% market share in Brazil’s EV market. The company already had electric buses and battery facilities in Campinas, Brazil, and Antofagasta, Chile, and countries such as Colombia and Uruguay have made bulk purchases of BYD electric buses. For its part, Peru has been courting BYD with a plan to build industrial parks near the Chinese-built Chancay mega-port. In Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, most EV sales are already Chinese imports, and in recent months, more than 80% of EV sales in Brazil have been Chinese.

Meanwhile, due to China’s skyrocketing domestic production of solar and wind energy devices, Latin America will continue to receive competitive offers from Chinese companies to install generation capacity. In Argentina, the Chinese Ex-Im bank helped fund Latin America’s largest solar array, a massive 300-megawatt project built primarily by Chinese firms. Chinese companies have also built large wind farms in places like Coquimbo in Chile and northeast Brazil.

Chinese enterprises also have an interest in resolving another critical bottleneck in the region. Many Latin American nations have ample renewable resources but lack the grid infrastructure to deliver that energy where it’s needed. According to CSIS, Chinese companies are stepping in to build that connective tissue. Chinese firms control all of Lima’s electricity distribution; two-thirds of that in Chile; and about 12% of electricity generation and distribution in Brazil.

Avoiding pitfalls

Dampening the optimism surrounding these projects, questions of governance, sustainability, and sovereignty persist. In several cases, large-scale Chinese-backed projects have sparked local opposition, revealing the tension between developmental promises and environmental or social costs.

Ecuador’s Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric dam, the largest Chinese-led infrastructure project in the region to date, is a good example. Initially hailed as a symbol of green cooperation, the project was later riddled with reports of structural defects, cost overruns, and environmental degradation affecting local communities. Similarly, the Kirchner-Cepernic hydroelectric dams on Argentina’s Santa Cruz River, backed by Chinese funding, have faced legal and environmental scrutiny over potential harms to Patagonian ecosystems.

The challenge ahead is to transform this engagement from a “project-based partnership” to a “governance-based partnership” where transparency, accountability, and local agency are as integral as investment flows. The Coca Codo Sinclair dam stands as a cautionary tale: Without inclusive and robust governance, such projects risk perpetuating extractive, top-down development patterns.

China’s green-tech engagement with Latin America embodies both promise and peril. On one hand, it delivers much-needed patient capital, technology, and policy momentum for a region that has struggled to satisfy its demand for green investment. On the other, it brings the risk of unfavorable deals and ESG harms. The future of this engagement will hinge not on the quantity of investments, but on the quality of the institutions managing them.

Tags: China and Latin America, green technology, renewable energy

Any opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Quarterly or its publishers.