Category: 3. Business

By Steve Goldstein

Bank says allegations are ‘entirely false’

Standard Chartered shares dropped in late London trade.

Standard Chartered PLC shares slumped on Friday after a lawmaker close to the Trump administration requested that the Justice Department probe the bank over alleged sanctions violations.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, in a letter she released to the public, wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging sanctions evasion by the U.K.-headquartered bank.

Standard Chartered was fined $1.1 billion in 2019 by U.S. and U.K. authorities over evading sanctions and lacking proper money-laundering controls. It’s also facing a $1.9 billion lawsuit in the U.K. by investors over Iran sanctions violations.

The New York Republican said an existing deferred-prosecution agreement is due to expire on Aug. 19.

Standard Chartered shares (UK:STAN) fell in London as the letter was released, losing 7% in late trade.

“The underlying allegations – including the claim that there are $9.6 billion in unlawful transactions – are entirely false and have been rejected by the U.S. courts multiple times,” the bank said in a statement.

The bank said it will “fully cooperate” with any relevant authority.

Stefanik also alleged that New York Attorney General Letitia James – whose agency oversees most foreign banks operating in the U.S. with a New York office – did not take action on the allegations when briefed last year.

Stefanik requested that the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, be in charge of an investigation.

-Steve Goldstein

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Treatment with the combination of bortezomib (Velcade), mitoxantrone hydrochloride liposome (Lipo‐MIT), and dexamethasone (VMitD) led to responses and displayed a manageable safety profile in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to data from a phase 1 trial (NCT05052970).

Findings published in Cancer Medicine demonstrated that evaluable patients (n = 15) experienced an overall response rate (ORR) of 86.7%, which comprised complete response (CR) or stringent CR (sCR; n = 3); very good partial response (VGPR; n = 6); PR (n = 4); and minor remission (n = 1). One patient experienced stable disease. The 12-month duration of response (DOR) rate was 66.0% (95% CI, 23.92%-88.63%).

Regarding safety, hematologic and non‐hematologic adverse effects (AEs) were common, but the vast majority were mild to moderate. Treatment‐related AEs (TRAEs) did not lead to deaths in any patients. The only common grade 3/4 non-hematologic AE was infectious pneumonia, which occurred in 20% of patients (n = 20). Common grade 3/4 hematologic AEs included thrombocytopenia (70%), neutropenia (55%), lymphopenia (30%), and anemia (10%).

“This trial is the first to present outcomes using a triplet regimen including Lipo‐MIT for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, demonstrating good tolerance and promising efficacy,” lead study author Ya‐Lan Zhou, MD, of Department of Hematology at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University in China, and colleagues wrote in the publication. “However, further studies are required to more accurately assess patient outcomes, and in‐depth mechanistic studies are needed to identify potential biomarkers that could predict response to this regimen.”

Why Was Lipo‐MIT Evaluated for Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma?

In China, Lipo-MIT is currently approved for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T‐cell lymphoma. Given the superior efficacy displayed by Lipo-MIT compared with conventional anthracyclines, investigators sought to evaluate the use of this agent as part of a combination regimen for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

The multicenter, open‐label, phase 1 study enrolled patients at least 18 years of age with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who had measurable disease and received at least 1 prior line of treatment. Prior treatment with bortezomib was permitted if patients were not resistant or intolerant to the agent.

Investigators excluded patients with compromised hematologic reserve, liver dysfunction, or diminished performance status. Those in need of hemodialysis were also excluded. Other key exclusion criteria included a history of plasma cell leukemia, HIV, or active hepatitis.

Patients were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to receive varying doses of Lipo-MIT as part of the VMitD regimen. LipoMIT was dosed at 12 mg/m² on day 1 of each 4-week cycle in cohort A, 16 mg/m² in cohort B, and 20 mg/m² in cohort C. In all 3 cohorts, patients received bortezomib at 1.3 mg/m² on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 of each cycle plus dexamethasone at 20 mg on days 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, and 12 of each cycle. Eight cycles of treatment were planned for each cohort.

The incidence of treatment-emergent AEs served as the trial’s primary end point. Secondary end points comprised ORR, DOR, clinical benefit rate, disease control rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival.

Among the overall population (n = 20), the median age was 61.5 years (range, 42-70), and most patients were male (60%), had IgG myeloma (55.0%), and did not have extramedullary plasmacytomas (80%). Patients received a median of 2.5 prior lines of therapy (range, 1-8), and patients had either relapsed (90%) or refractory (10%) disease.

Additional Efficacy and Safety Data

At a median follow‐up of 12.1 months, patients achieved a median OS that was not reached; the estimated 12‐month OS rate was 78.2% (95% CI, 51.36%-91.32%). The 12-month PFS rate was 58.2% (95% CI, 26.94%-79.98%).

In patients with extramedullary plasmacytoma (n = 4), 3 underwent at least one efficacy evaluation. One patient achieved an sCR, and 2 had a VGPR. Disease progression led to death in 1 patient in this subgroup prior to their first evaluation.

Any-grade TRAEs occurred in 85.0% of patients. Other common grade 3 or higher TRAEs included hypokalemia (10.0%), hyponatremia (5.0%), headache (5.0%), and diarrhea (5.0%).

Reference

Zhou YL, Zhang JQ, Wang W, et al. Bortezomib, mitoxantrone hydrochloride liposome, and dexamethasone for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a multi-center, open-label phase I trial. Cancer Med. 2025;14(8):e70890. doi:10.1002/cam4.70890

Nemvaleukin alfa monotherapy demonstrated modest antitumor activity and durable disease control in patients with advanced melanoma or renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to findings from the phase 1/2 non-randomized ARTISTRY-1 trial (NCT02799095).

Findings published in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer showed that from July 2016 to March 2023, 74 patients enrolled in part B of the study received nemvaleukin alfa monotherapy (melanoma, n = 47; RCC, n = 27). In the melanoma cohort, the objective response rate (ORR) was 9% (95% CI, 2%-21%), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 50% (95% CI, 35%-65%). Stable disease persisted for at least 6 months in 7% of patients.

In the RCC cohort, the ORR was 14% (95% CI, 3%-35%), and the DCR was 50% (95% CI, 28%-72%); 9% of patients achieved stable disease for longer than 6 months.

The most common grade 3/4 nemvaleukin alfa–related treatment-emergent adverse effect (TEAE) was neutropenia, reported in 57% of patients with melanoma and 33% of patients with RCC. No patients in either cohort experienced grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or infusion-related reactions, and there were no reported cases of capillary leak syndrome or febrile neutropenia.

“Nemvaleukin [alfa] demonstrated pharmacodynamic proof of mechanism, with single-agent antitumor activity and manageable safety in patients with advanced melanoma and RCC,” lead study author Emiliano Calvo, MD, PhD, director of Clinical Research at START Madrid-CIOCC and START Madrid-FJD in Spain, and colleagues wrote in the publication of the data.

ARTISTRY-1 Trial Breakdown

The phase 1/2 ARTISTRY-1 trial was a global, multicenter, open-label study conducted across 32 sites in 7 countries. The trial comprised three parts: part A (dose-escalation monotherapy), part B (dose-expansion monotherapy), and part C (nemvaleukin alfa in combination with pembrolizumab [Keytruda]).

Eligible patients for part B were at least 18 years of age, had an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1, and had at least one measurable target lesion per RECIST 1.1 criteria.

The melanoma cohort included patients who had received prior immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy with or without anti–CTLA-4 therapy, and, when appropriate, molecularly targeted therapy. Patients could have received no more than one prior cytotoxic chemotherapy regimen. In the RCC cohort, enrollment was permitted regardless of prior ICI exposure, provided patients with prior anti–PD-(L)1 treatment had received no more than 2 prior systemic regimens, including the ICI-containing regimen.

Patients were required to have achieved at least stable disease or better with prior ICI therapy unless approved for enrollment on a case-by-case basis by the medical monitor. Key exclusion criteria included active autoimmune disease requiring systemic therapy within 3 months, history of severe autoimmune disease necessitating systemic immunosuppression, or prior IL-2– or IL-15–based therapy.

In part B, nemvaleukin alfa was administered at the recommended phase 2 dose of 6 µg/kg once daily on days 1-5 of each cycle. Cycle 1 lasted 14 days, with 9 days off treatment; subsequent cycles were 21 days, with 16 days off treatment.

Primary objectives for part B were ORR per RECIST 1.1 criteria and to characterize the safety profile, including incidence and severity of TEAEs. Secondary objectives included evaluating pharmacokinetics, antidrug antibody incidence, DCR, duration of response, progression-free survival, and changes in peripheral immune cell subsets, including CD8-positive T cells, regulatory T cells, and natural killer cells.

Patient Demographics

In part B of the ARTISTRY-1 trial, the median age was 66 years (range, 37-82) for patients in the melanoma cohort and 69 years (range, 39-77) for those in the RCC cohort. Males comprised 53% of the melanoma cohort and 89% of the RCC cohort. Most patients were White (melanoma, 89%; RCC, 93%), with smaller proportions identifying as Asian (11%; 4%) or Black/African American (0%; 4%).

Performance status was evenly distributed in the melanoma group, with 49% having an ECOG performance status of 0 and 51% having a score of 1. In contrast, the RCC cohort, 26% had an ECOG performance status of 0, and 74% had a score of 1. Patients were heavily pretreated, with a median of 3 prior lines of therapy (range, 1-8) in the melanoma cohort and 2 (range, 1-8) in the RCC cohort.

Prior ICI exposure was common, with anti–PD-1 therapy received by 96% of patients with melanoma and 56% of patients with RCC; prior anti–PD-L1 therapy was given to 6% and 7% of patients, respectively; anti–CTLA-4 therapy was received by 36% and 15%, respectively; and combination anti–PD-1 plus anti–CTLA-4 therapy was administered to 6% and 4%, respectively.

Among the melanoma cohort, 40% had baseline lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels above normal, with a median of 438 U/L (range, 233-1921 U/L); 60% had levels within normal limits. In the RCC cohort, 74% had clear cell histology, with the remainder having variants including clear cell and oncocytoma (n = 1), clear cell and non–clear cell (n = 1), and clear cell with rhabdoid features (n = 1).

Safety and Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Findings

In part B, patients with advanced melanoma or RCC received a median of six treatment cycles, corresponding to a median treatment duration of 14.7 weeks in both cohorts. Relative dose intensity was high, with a median of 98% in each group. Rates of dose interruptions and dose reductions were similar between cohorts.

Nearly all patients experienced at least one nemvaleukin alfa–related treatment-related AE (TRAE), with incidences of 96% in the melanoma cohort and 100% in the RCC cohort. Grade 3 or 4 TRAEs occurred in 77% and 74% of patients, respectively. In the melanoma group, the most common TRAEs of any grade reported in at least 25% of patients included fever (68%), nausea (47%), and neutropenia (47%), whereas in RCC, these were fever (59%), chills (52%), and neutropenia (41%). Neutropenia was the most frequent grade 3/4 TRAE, reported in 57% of patients with melanoma and 33% of patients with RCC.

Nemvaleukin alfa–related serious AEs were observed in 15% of patients with melanoma and 30% of patients with RCC. Infusion-related reactions occurred in 2% and 15% of patients, respectively, while CRS was reported in 2% of patients with melanoma. Filgrastim was used in 5% of patients for neutropenia management.

TRAEs leading to treatment discontinuation were uncommon (4% in melanoma; 4% in RCC). One death due to COVID-19 occurred in the RCC cohort and was deemed unrelated to treatment.

Pharmacokinetic analyses demonstrated similar nemvaleukin alfa exposure between cohorts. Following the first intravenous infusion at 6 µg/kg, peak serum concentrations were reached at approximately 0.5 hours post infusion—106 ng/mL in melanoma and 132 ng/mL in RCC—and declined slowly in a monophasic pattern, remaining detectable at 24 hours post-dose. Trough concentrations decreased from cycle 1, day 2 to cycle 1, day 5, with stabilization during cycle 2, suggesting achievement of steady state by cycle 2, day 2. Area under the concentration-time curves and time to last quantifiable concentration were comparable across cohorts.

“Overall, nemvaleukin [alfa] demonstrated preliminary antitumor activity in patients with advanced melanoma and RCC, along with a manageable safety profile, and selective activation of the proinflammatory immune pathways, supporting its potential as an active and tolerable cytokine therapy,” said Calvo. “Future research should focus on identifying optimal patient subsets, tumor types, and combination strategies to maximize the therapeutic benefit.”

Reference

Calvo E, Boni V, Dumas O, et al. Nemvaleukin alfa monotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma and renal cell carcinoma: results from the phase 1/2 non-randomized ARTISTRY-1 trial. J Immunother Cancer. 2025;13(8):e010777. doi:10.1136/jitc-2024-010777

TLDRs:

• OpenAI pivots to enterprise with GPT-5, providing faster setup and cost-effective AI for startups.
• Box, Vercel, and Factory adopt GPT-5, citing improved coding and complex task management.
• GPT-5 pricing undercuts competitors, aiming to capture market share from Anthropic’s Claude models.
• Enterprise adoption drives AI market growth, with OpenAI expanding sales teams globally.

OpenAI is accelerating its enterprise strategy with the rollout of GPT-5, targeting startups and established businesses seeking faster, more affordable AI solutions.

While the model faced initial criticism, OpenAI reinstated GPT-4 access for paid subscribers, highlighting its commitment to user flexibility.

Startups such as Cursor, Vercel, and Factory have already integrated GPT-5 as the default model for coding and planning tasks, citing its faster setup and lower operational costs. Box, a leading cloud content management firm, reported notable improvements in document analysis and complex workflow handling using GPT-5. Other tech companies, including Qodo and JetBrains, echoed similar praise for the model’s capabilities.

Faster, Smarter, Cheaper

The visual impact of GPT-5 adoption extends beyond efficiency gains. Startups leveraging the model are able to streamline operations and accelerate development timelines.

OpenAI has made GPT-5 accessible through both Microsoft Azure and its proprietary API, ensuring enterprises can integrate AI tools with existing infrastructure.

This dual-access strategy positions OpenAI as a flexible partner for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.

Startups Lead GPT-5 Adoption

The shift toward enterprise represents a strategic departure from OpenAI’s historically consumer-focused approach.

Currently, ChatGPT Plus subscriptions account for 80% of OpenAI’s revenue, in contrast to competitors like Anthropic, which derive most of their earnings from enterprise API usage. Analysts suggest that focusing on enterprise adoption offers more sustainable revenue streams and broader growth potential.

Market projections reinforce this trend. The generative AI sector is expected to expand from $10.9 billion in 2023 to $42.6 billion by 2028, with enterprise clients driving much of this growth. OpenAI’s pricing strategy for GPT-5—significantly cheaper than Anthropic’s Claude models, indicates a deliberate move to capture enterprise market share even at the cost of short-term margins.

Market Moves and Strategy

Enterprise clients represent both an opportunity and a risk for AI providers. Anthropic’s revenue, heavily concentrated among just two major customers, illustrates the vulnerability of relying on a narrow client base.

GPT-5’s competitive pricing offers enterprises a cost-efficient alternative, creating a potential shift in the AI-powered coding market.

Historically, losing a single large client in enterprise software can drastically impact growth, highlighting OpenAI’s advantage in diversifying its customer base early.

OpenAI Expands Access Globally

OpenAI’s expanded enterprise sales team, combined with aggressive market positioning, signals a decisive push into the business segment.

As startups and established companies increasingly adopt GPT-5 for coding, planning, and complex task management, the AI landscape is poised for a new phase of competition and innovation.

With GPT-5, OpenAI aims to balance cutting-edge AI performance with affordability, ensuring enterprises gain both speed and cost efficiency. The model’s uptake among startups and tech companies demonstrates its growing influence, potentially reshaping how businesses deploy AI in the coming years.

 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, has died following a battle with Lewy body dementia, he announced on Instagram. She was 78.

Gise Bezos died in her Miami home on Thursday, according to the Bezos Scholars Program, a foundation she started with her husband, Mike Bezos.

“After a long fight with Lewy Body Dementia, she passed away today, surrounded by so many of us who loved her — her kids, grandkids, and my dad,” Bezos, her eldest son, wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. “I know she felt our love in those final moments.”

Lewy body dementia is a type of dementia in which protein bodies called Lewy bodies develop in the brain’s nerve cells, impacting the regions involved in movement, memory and thinking, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Lewy body dementia causes a decline in mental abilities that gradually gets worse over time,” the Mayo Clinic said. “People with LBD might see things that aren’t there, known as visual hallucinations. They also may have changes in alertness and attention.”

Other symptoms of LBD include slowed movement, confusion, depression and memory loss, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is the second most common type of the dementia after Alzheimer’s.

Gise Bezos was born in Washington D.C. and eventually moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico with her family, according to the Bezos Scholars Program. She had her first child, Jeff, when she was in high school at the age of 17.

“As a young, single mom, Jackie was relentless — taking night school classes following high school and working in a bank by day,” the foundation said in their announcement of her death. “Her shift overlapped with a young Cuban immigrant who worked the night shift named Miguel (Mike) Bezos. The two fell in love and were married on April 5th, 1968, in what would be the beginning of a deep lifelong partnership across every aspect of their lives.”

The couple had two children together, Christina and Mark, and Gise Bezos “dedicated her life to her family and poured her heart into raising her children with compassion, patience, and wisdom,” the foundation said.

In his statement on her death, Bezos highlighted that his mother’s adulthood started early because she had him young.

“That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work,” Bezos wrote. “She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish. For the rest of her life, that list of people to love never stopped growing. She always gave so much more than she ever asked for.”

But Gise Bezos was also dedicated to education. At the age of 45 in 1991, she went back to school and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Elizabeth University in New Jersey.

“Returning to college as an adult and pursuing her own education was just another example of Jackie’s determination and grace,” the foundation said. “Her commitment to personal growth was an inspiration to all who knew her and a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to follow your dreams.”

In 2000, Gise Bezos founded the Bezos Family Foundation with her husband, children and their families, and in 2005, they founded the Bezos Scholars Program, helping to offer leadership development programs to outstanding students from the U.S. to Africa, per their website.

Gise Bezos’ death comes just shy of two months after her billionaire son married Lauren Sánchez in Italy. The lavish events celebrating the couple were attended by Oprah, Queen Rania of Jordan, Ivanka Trump and many other VIPs.

“We were all so lucky to be in her life,” Bezos wrote about his mother. “I hold her safe in my heart forever.”

“I love you, mom.”

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is Samsung Electronics’ global education program in the form of an open competition in which youth apply STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) knowledge to address community challenges while developing analytical skills. More than an ideas contest, the program provides participants with Samsung’s Design Thinking training — offering hands-on experience at every stage of innovation, from defining problems and generating ideas to developing prototypes and validating solutions. Through this process, youth gain essential practical and creative problem-solving skills.

Initially launched in the U.S. as an essay competition in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow now operates in 68 countries — serving as a platform for youth around the world to collaborate on solutions for a better future.

Beginning in 2025, Solve for Tomorrow introduced global themes to the competition — starting with Environmental Sustainability via Technology and Social Change Through Sports & Technology — further strengthening its role in addressing universal challenges through cross-border collaboration.

Samsung remains committed to increasing educational opportunities that build future-ready skills such as design thinking while addressing pressing community issues, including those related to the environment, sports and quality education. The company aims to expand support to turn students’ ideas into reality, empowering them to play an active role in shaping a brighter world.

Explore the 15-year journey of Samsung’s global CSR education program Solve for Tomorrow in the infographic below.

The UK’s largest bioethanol plant will begin closing down operations on Monday, after the government decided not to offer the sector a rescue package.

Hull-based Vivergo Fuels, owned by Associated British Foods, told the BBC the first redundancies would take effect on Tuesday.

AB Foods and Ensus, which owns the UK’s second large bioethanol plant in Redcar on Teesside, had both previously warned that without government support they would be forced to close, after a deal to allow US ethanol to be imported tariff-free.

The government said it had worked closely with the companies since June, but had decided it was not “in the national interest” to provide them with taxpayer funds.

The US-UK trade pact, agreed in May, removed a 19% tariff on ethanol imported from the US up to a quota of 1.4bn litres. That is approximately equivalent to the current size of the UK market and the firms claim the trade agreement had made their businesses “commercially unviable”.

AB Foods said it had been in talks with the government over the last few months and had presented a plan to return the firm to profitability.

“In making this decision, the government has thrown away billions in potential growth in the Humber, a sovereign capability in clean fuels that had the chance to lead the world.”

It said jobs in clean energy would now move overseas.

“This plant should always have been profitable under the right regulatory environment, as similar plants in western Europe demonstrate,” the firm said.

German-owned Ensus has also been approached for comment.

The two plants employ 270 people, but their closure could affect thousands more in the supply chain.

A government spokesperson said after working with the companies over weeks to understand “the financial challenges they have faced over the past decade”, the government had taken the difficult decision not to offer direct funding “as it would not provide value for the taxpayer or solve the long-term problems the industry faces”.

The government said it recognised this was a “difficult time for the workers and their families” and said it would work with trade unions, local partners and the companies to support those affected.

GMB union national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said the trade deal was costing working people their livelihoods.

“They’re not numbers in a spreadsheet. These are lives put on hold and communities potentially devastated,” she said.

The government was also falling short on building a green energy strategy, she said.

“A clean energy industrial strategy means nothing if we cannot protects plants long enough to deliver clean energy jobs here in the UK.”

Bioethanol is a fuel made from wheat, other grains or sugar beet. The US has provided subsidies and tax credits to corn farmers in midwestern states such as Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska, helping to hold down the price of its ethanol.

In the UK bioethanol is added to fuels such as E10 petrol. But sources within the sector said that government delays over the migration to petrol with higher bioethanol content had hurt the industry.

The government has previously said that by 2030 it wants 10% of all fuel used in planes to come from sustainable sources, one of which is bioethanol.

The bioethanol industry buys thousands of tonnes of wheat from UK farms, and Ensus also produces 30% of the UK’s commercial carbon dioxide – used in soft drinks, medical and nuclear industries.

The government said it would continue to work on measures to ensure the resilience of the CO2 supply chain.

With additional reporting from Olivia Hutchinson