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GenSight Biologics Announces Publication of Results from LUMEVOQ^® REVERSE Pivotal Phase III Trial and Non-Human Primate Study in Science Translational Medicine

• First publication based on Phase III data to document sustained and clinically meaningful bilateral improvement in visual acuity from unilateral injection of a gene therapy
• Non-human primate study clarifies mechanism behind contralateral effect

PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Regulatory News:

GenSight Biologics (Paris:SIGHT) (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible), a biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, today announced that the journal Science Translational Medicine has published results from the REVERSE pivotal Phase III clinical trial of LUMEVOQ^® gene therapy in ND4 Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) subjects along with key results from a non-human primate study investigating the contralateral effect of the gene therapy. The paper*, published in the December issue under the title “Bilateral visual improvement with unilateral gene therapy injection for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy”, is the first peer-reviewed article based on Phase III clinical trial data to document sustained and clinically meaningful bilateral improvement in visual outcomes from a unilateral injection of a gene therapy.

The findings from the REVERSE trial and the non-human primate study were key components of the data package submitted by GenSight Biologics in September 2020 to the European Medicines Agency when it applied for marketing authorization for LUMEVOQ^® as treatment for patients with visual loss due to LHON caused by a confirmed mutation in the ND4 mitochondrial gene. The agency’s decision is expected in Q4 2021.

“The treatment has been shown to be safe and the outcomes can be life changing,” said Dr. Patrick Yu-Wai-Man, MD, PhD, lead author, REVERSE principal investigator and Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist at the University of Cambridge, Moorfields Eye Hospital, and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom.

“Our study provides great hope for treating this blinding disease in young adults,” said Dr.José-Alain Sahel, MD, co-corresponding author, co-founder of GenSight and Director of the Institut de la Vision (Sorbonne-Université/Inserm/CNRS), Paris, France, where LUMEVOQ^®’s underlying mitochondrial targeting technology was developed. “Our approach isn’t just limited to vision restoration: other mitochondrial diseases could be treated using the same technology,” added Dr. Sahel, who is also Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophtalmologie des XV-XX, Paris, France, and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), USA.

REVERSE Trial outcomes

37 ND4 LHON subjects, who experienced onset of vision loss from 6 months to one year before enrollment, participated in the REVERSE trial. The results show a clinically meaningful improvement over baseline of +15 ETDRS letters (−0.308 LogMAR) in the average best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of injected eyes of the 37 REVERSE patients 96 weeks after treatment. The patients’ other eye, which received a sham injection, experienced an average visual acuity gain over baseline of +13 letters equivalent (−0.259 LogMAR). Against nadir, or the worst recorded BCVA, the gains were even more impressive, at +28.5 ETDRS letters for the LUMEVOQ^®-injected eyes and +24.5 ETDRS letters for sham-injected eyes.

81% of subjects showed a clinically relevant recovery (CRR) from the nadir in one or both eyes. CRR, a measure of treatment response established by an international consensus meeting on the management of LHON¹, is defined as either an improvement from off-chart BCVA to on-chart, or an on-chart improvement BCVA of at least -0.2 LogMAR, or +10 ETDRS letters.

The improvement in quality of life metrics relative to baseline values taken before treatment, which were evaluated using the well-established National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25), was compelling and largely above the thresholds of clinical relevance. The composite NEI VFQ-25 score showed a mean improvement of 9.5 points, exceeding the clinically relevant threshold of +3.9-+4.3 points.²

Non-human primate study outcomes

The non-human primate study, launched to investigate the mechanism behind the unexpected improvement in the contralateral eye’s visual function, was designed to mimic the REVERSE trial, with monkeys given a unilateral LUMEVOQ^® injection. The study demonstrated the transfer of viral vector DNA from the injected eye to the anterior segment, retina, and optic nerve of the noninjected eye. This result, the authors conclude, provides a plausible mechanistic explanation for the bilateral improvement in visual function after unilateral LUMEVOQ^® injection.

Other topics discussed

The paper also presents detailed safety data, which document the overall good safety profile of LUMEVOQ^®, with no viral vector biodissemination and mostly mild ocular adverse events that were controlled with local topical therapy. Additionally, the authors discuss other results from REVERSE, such as other responder analyses and visual outcomes, and place these in context against the natural history insights found in analyses of visual acuity in non-treated patients.

The paper can be obtained from www.sciencemag.org.

*About the paper:

Bilateral visual improvement with unilateral gene therapy injection for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy

Authors: Patrick Yu-Wai-Man^1,2,3,4, Nancy J. Newman⁵, Valerio Carelli^6,7, Mark L. Moster⁸, Valerie Biousse⁵, Alfredo A. Sadun⁹, Thomas Klopstock^10,11,12, Catherine Vignal-Clermont^13,14, Robert C. Sergott⁸, Günther Rudolph¹⁵, Chiara La Morgia^6,7, Rustum Karanjia^9,16, Magali Taiel¹⁷, Laure Blouin¹⁷, Pierre Burguière¹⁷, Gerard Smits¹⁸, Caroline Chevalier¹⁷, Harvey Masonson¹⁸, Yordak Salermo¹⁸, Barrett Katz¹⁸, Serge Picaud¹⁹, David J. Calkins²⁰, José-Alain Sahel^14,19,21,22

Affiliations:

¹ Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair and MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0PY, UK.

² Cambridge Eye Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.

³ Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK.

⁴ UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK.⁵ Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

⁶ IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, UOC Clinica Neurologica, 40139 Bologna, Italy.

⁷ Unit of Neurology, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy.

⁸ Departments of Neurology and Ophthalmology, William H. Annesley, Jr. EyeBrain Center, Wills Eye Hospital and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.

⁹ Doheny Eye Institute and UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90086, USA.

¹⁰ Friedrich Baur Institute at the Department of Neurology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany.

¹¹German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 80336 Munich, Germany.

¹² Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), 80336 Munich, Germany.

¹³ Department of Neuro-Ophthalmology and Emergencies, Rothschild Foundation Hospital, 75019 Paris, France.

¹⁴ Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophtalmologie des Quinze Vingts, FOReSIGHT, INSERM-DGOS CIC 1423, 75012 Paris, France. 15Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany.

¹⁶ Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Ottawa Eye Institute, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6, Canada.

¹⁷ GenSight Biologics, 75012 Paris, France.

¹⁸ GenSight Biologics, New York, NY 10016, USA.

¹⁹ Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, 75012 Paris, France.

²⁰ The Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.

²¹ Fondation Ophtalmologique A. de Rothschild, 25-29 Rue Manin, 75019 Paris, France.

²² Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.

Notes:

¹ V. Carelli, M. Carbonell, I. F. de Coo, A. Kawasaki, T. Klopstock, W. A. Lagrèze, C. La Morgia, N. J. Newman, C. Orssaud, J. W. R. Pott, A. A. Sadun, J. van Everdingen, C. Vignal-Clermont, M. Votruba, P. Yu-Wai-Man, P. Barboni, International consensus statement on the clinical and therapeutic management of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. J. Neuroophthalmol.37, 371–381 (2017).

² I. J. Suñer, G. T. Kokame, E. Yu, J. Ward, C. Dolan, N. M. Bressler, Responsiveness of NEI VFQ-25 to changes in visual acuity in neovascular AMD: Validation studies from two phase 3 clinical trials. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 50, 3629–3635 (2009).

About GenSight Biologics

GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics’ pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics’ lead product candidate, LUMEVOQ^® (GS010; lenadogene nolparvovec), has been submitted for marketing approval in Europe for the treatment of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease affecting primarily teens and young adults that leads to irreversible blindness. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics’ product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery.

About Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON)

Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) is a rare maternally inherited mitochondrial genetic disease, characterized by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells that results in brutal and irreversible vision loss that can lead to legal blindness, and mainly affects adolescents and young adults. LHON is associated with painless, sudden loss of central vision in the 1^st eye, with the 2^nd eye sequentially impaired. It is a symmetric disease with poor functional visual recovery. 97% of patients have bilateral involvement at less than one year of onset of vision loss, and in 25% of cases, vision loss occurs in both eyes simultaneously. The estimated incidence of LHON is approximately 800-1,200 new patients who lose their sight every year in the United States and the European Union.

About LUMEVOQ^® (GS010)

LUMEVOQ^® (GS010) targets Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) by leveraging a mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) proprietary technology platform, arising from research conducted at the Institut de la Vision in Paris, which, when associated with the gene of interest, allows the platform to specifically address defects inside the mitochondria using an AAV vector (Adeno-Associated Virus). The gene of interest is transferred into the cell to be expressed and produces the functional protein, which will then be shuttled to the mitochondria through specific nucleotidic sequences in order to restore the missing or deficient mitochondrial function. “LUMEVOQ” was accepted as the invented name for GS010 (lenadogene nolparvovec) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in October 2018.

About RESCUE and REVERSE

RESCUE and REVERSE are two separate randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled Phase III trials designed to evaluate the efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of GS010 (rAAV2/2-ND4) in subjects affected by LHON due to the G11778A mutation in the mitochondrial ND4 gene.

The primary endpoint measured the difference in efficacy of GS010 in treated eyes compared to sham-treated eyes based on Best‑Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), as measured with the ETDRS at 48 weeks post-injection. The patients’ LogMAR (Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution) scores, which are derived from the number of letters patients read on the ETDRS chart, was used for statistical purposes. Both trials were adequately powered to evaluate a clinically relevant difference of at least 15 ETDRS letters between treated and untreated eyes adjusted to baseline.

The secondary endpoints involved the application of the primary analysis to best‑seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those receiving sham, and to worse‑seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those that received sham. Additionally, a categorical evaluation with a responder analysis was evaluated, including the proportion of patients who maintain vision (< ETDRS 15L loss), the proportion of patients who gain 15 ETDRS letters from baseline and the proportion of patients with Snellen acuity of >20/200. Complementary vision metrics included automated visual fields, optical coherence tomography, and color and contrast sensitivity, in addition to quality of life scales, bio‑dissemination and the time course of immune response. Readouts for these endpoints were at 48, 72 and 96 weeks after injection.

The trials were conducted in parallel, in 37 subjects for REVERSE and 39 subjects for RESCUE, in 7 centers across the United States, the UK, France, Germany and Italy. Week 96 results were reported in 2019 for both trials, after which patients were invited to a long-term follow-up study that will last for three years.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers:

REVERSE: NCT02652780

RESCUE: NCT02652767

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Rich Mollura shares information from his personal experience in ‘Autobiography of a New York City Salesman’

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Aegon Capital Markets Day: Leader in investment, protection, and retirement solutions

THE HAGUE, Netherlands–(BUSINESS WIRE)–At today’s Capital Markets Day, Aegon CEO Lard Friese announces the company’s new strategy and financial targets for the period 2021 to 2023.

Financial Targets 2021 – 2023

• Reduce gross financial leverage to EUR 5.0 to 5.5 billion
• Implement expense savings program of EUR 400 million
• Achieve cumulative free cash flows of EUR 1.4 to 1.6 billion
• Grow dividend per share to around EUR 0.25 per share over 2023

Aegon’s CEO, Lard Friese will be joined by Matt Rider, Chief Financial Officer, Duncan Russell, Chief Transformation Officer and Allegra van Hövell-Patrizi, Chief Risk Officer, to outline the planned transformation of Aegon, and to discuss the steps taken to strengthen the business as well as how these actions will create value for Aegon’s customers and shareholders.

“We are taking significant steps to transform Aegon in order to change our performance trajectory and create value for our customers and shareholders”, commented Lard Friese, CEO of Aegon. “We are narrowing our strategic focus to selected core and growth markets and, within these, have made choices that allow us to focus on those areas where we believe that Aegon is well positioned to create value. We have developed an ambitious plan comprised of detailed initiatives designed to improve the operating performance of our business by reducing costs, expanding margins and growing profitably. We are simplifying our capital framework, and continuing to strengthen our balance sheet, in part by further deleveraging. In addition, we are taking proactive risk management actions to improve our risk profile and reduce the volatility of our capital ratios. We are building a high-performance culture, investing in talent development and focusing on delivery. We intend to build on our strengths: our brands, our base of 29 million customers, and our deep expertise in designing solutions, managing assets, and creating distribution networks. We are excited about the opportunities we have to better reach our customers and to help them achieve a lifetime of financial security.”

Highlights of Aegon’s new strategy include:

– Going forward, we will focus on three core markets (the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), three growth markets (Spain & Portugal, China, and Brazil) and one global asset manager. In small markets or markets where we have sub-scale or niche positions, we will manage capital tightly and have a bias to exit. The recently announced sale of our Central & Eastern European businesses and Stonebridge in the UK are good examples of actions we are taking to increase our focus. Additionally, we have decided to separate the businesses in our core markets into Financial Assets and Strategic Assets, each requiring specific skillsets and possessing different opportunities to create value. Financial Assets are blocks of business which we have closed for new sales, and which are capital intensive with relatively low returns on capital employed. Strategic Assets are businesses with a greater potential for an attractive return on capital, where we are well positioned for growth. We aim to release capital in Financial Assets over time, and re-allocate capital to Strategic Assets and growth markets.

– In the United States, several product lines are considered to be Financial Assets. These are variable annuities with significant interest rate sensitive living and death benefit riders, stand-alone individual long-term care, and fixed annuities. We have taken the decision to stop new sales for these products. We are reviewing the potential to implement a dynamic hedging strategy for variable annuities with income and death benefit riders. Subsequently, we will consider a broad range of options for this block of business. Furthermore, we will take actions to reduce the interest rate sensitivity of our US business through asset-liability management and other management actions.

– Strategic Assets in the United States are comprised of Workplace Solutions and select life and investment products that are part of Individual Solutions. In Individual Solutions, we will leverage our affiliated distribution channels to increase sales momentum and aim to regain top-5 positions in key individual life-insurance markets. We will also continue to sell select mutual funds and individual retirement products, like accumulation variable annuities with limited interest rate sensitivity. In Workplace Solutions, we will leverage our leading position in the small and mid-sized retirement market, and further modernize our platform proposition aimed at profitable growth.

– In the Netherlands, we will no longer offer new defined benefit group pension products and individual life products, with the exception of direct annuities, while we support employers in their transition towards defined contribution solutions. We consider the existing defined benefit group pensions and individual life insurance portfolios to be Financial Assets. We are taking actions to reduce the volatility of the Dutch Solvency II capital ratio, and have implemented a new capital management policy that allows for quarterly remittance payments to the Group. We aim for profitable growth in defined contribution workplace solutions and mortgage origination, and to maintain our leadership positions in those segments. We will also expand our niche position with our bank, Knab, which will serve as a digital gateway to individual retirement solutions.

– In the United Kingdom, we will continue to invest in our market-leading platform to improve the digital experience for customers, advisers and employers, and return to profitable growth as we aim to increase our margins in both the retail and workplace businesses.

– The retirement platforms in all three core markets provide a great opportunity to offer our asset management solutions to our customers, enabling them to achieve attractive investment returns. Our asset management business will implement a new global operating platform, allowing the business to maximize synergies, and grow in third-party assets. In addition, we aim to increase the share of our proprietary investment solutions amongst the assets that we administer.

– We have developed a rigorous and granular operating plan aimed at materially improving our performance. We will operate within a stricter and more disciplined governance framework with clear accountabilities, and increase the organizational rhythm to realize our transformation ambition. We are implementing an expense savings program aimed at reducing expenses by EUR 400 million in 2023 compared with 2019, representing 13% of the addressable expense base. Of this saving, EUR 150 million will be reinvested in growth. Associated one-time investments are expected to be around EUR 650 million over the period 2021 to 2023, and will be booked as Other charges.

– Throughout our transformation, we will ensure that we maintain sufficient capital in our business units and at the Holding so that we can focus our time and energy on increasing return on capital, and distributing capital to shareholders. As part of a new capital management policy, we will manage the capital positions of our business units to their operating levels over time, and maintain them above their minimum dividend payment levels. For our business in the United States the operating level is set at an RBC ratio of 400%. For our main insurance entities in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom, the operating levels are set at a Solvency II ratio of 150%. The minimum dividend payment level is an RBC ratio of 350% in the US, and a Solvency II ratio of 135% for our main insurance entities in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom. The Cash Capital at Holding operating range is set at EUR 0.5 to 1.5 billion, and is available to cover holding expenses, near-term dividends and contingencies. To reduce our risk profile and strengthen our balance sheet, we will target a reduction on our gross financial leverage from EUR 6.6 billion on June 30, 2020, to EUR 5.0 to 5.5 billion by 2023.

– By improving our performance and installing more disciplined capital management, we expect to grow capital generation over the plan period and translate this into increasing free cash flows. We expect total free cash flows to amount to EUR 1.4 to 1.6 billion, cumulatively over the period 2021 to 2023. Dividends are expected to grow in line with free cash flows while allowing us to execute on our planned deleveraging, and providing room to undertake our planned management actions to improve and de-risk the company. As a result, we aim to grow our dividend per share to around EUR 0.25 over 2023, barring unforeseen circumstances. Should there be surplus free cash flow above and beyond that, then we would expect that to be returned to shareholders, most likely via share buybacks, unless we invest it in value-creating opportunities.

Lard Friese: “Today, we have announced several important strategic choices to transform Aegon and have laid out a road map on how we will achieve our goals. We have an experienced management team with a track record of managing large and cash-generating balance sheets and creating value for shareholders. And with our talented and dedicated employees, we are confident that we have what it takes to successfully execute our plans. We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us and are determined to make this transformation a success.”

Capital Markets Day details

The Capital Markets Day presentations are available at 7.00 am CET on www.aegon.com. The conference will commence at 9.00 am CET and will be livestreamed via a link on the corporate website. A replay will be available later today.

About Aegon

Aegon’s roots go back more than 175 years – to the first half of the nineteenth century. Since then, Aegon has grown into an international company, with businesses in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Today, Aegon is one of the world’s leading financial services organizations, providing life insurance, pensions and asset management. Aegon’s purpose is to help people achieve a lifetime of financial security. More information on aegon.com.

Forward-looking statements

The statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, could, is confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to Aegon. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following:

• Changes in general economic and/or governmental conditions, particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom;
• Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as with regard to:

– The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon’s fixed income investment portfolios;

– The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in the value of equity and debt securities Aegon holds; and

– The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain public sector securities and the resulting decline in the value of government exposure that Aegon holds;

• Changes in the performance of Aegon’s investment portfolio and decline in ratings of Aegon’s counterparties;
• Lowering of one or more of Aegon’s debt ratings issued by recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Aegon’s ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
• Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegon’s insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the written premium, policy retention, profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
• The effect of the European Union’s Solvency II requirements and other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital Aegon is required to maintain;
• Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing interest rate levels;
• Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates;
• Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
• Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets;
• Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, including by way of example acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics, could result in material losses and significantly interrupt Aegon’s business;
• The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
• Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon’s insurance products;
• Aegon’s projected results are highly sensitive to complex mathematical models of financial markets, mortality, longevity, and other dynamic systems subject to shocks and unpredictable volatility. Should assumptions to these models later prove incorrect, or should errors in those models escape the controls in place to detect them, future performance will vary from projected results;
• Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks may fail to meet their obligations;
• Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related to, among other things, the type of products Aegon sells, including legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet changing customer expectations;
• Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels;
• As Aegon’s operations support complex transactions and are highly dependent on the proper functioning of information technology, operational risks such as system disruptions or failures, security or data privacy breaches, cyberattacks, human error, failure to safeguard personally identifiable information, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including with respect to third parties with which we do business may disrupt Aegon’s business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its results of operations, financial condition and cash flows;
• The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegon’s ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions;
• Aegon’s failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies, as well as other management initiatives related to cost savings, cash capital at Holding, gross financial leverage and free cash flow;
• Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments;
• Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay significant damages or change the way Aegon does business;
• Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect profitability, the distribution cost of or demand for Aegon’s products;
• Consequences of an actual or potential break-up of the European monetary union in whole or in part, or the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and potential consequences if other European Union countries leave the European Union;
• Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting Aegon’s operations’ ability to hire and retain key personnel, taxation of Aegon companies, the products Aegon sells, and the attractiveness of certain products to its consumers;
• Regulatory changes relating to the pensions, investment, and insurance industries in the jurisdictions in which Aegon operates;
• Standard setting initiatives of supranational standard setting bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors or changes to such standards that may have an impact on regional (such as EU), national or US federal or state level financial regulation or the application thereof to Aegon, including the designation of Aegon by the Financial Stability Board as a Global Systemically Important Insurer (G-SII); and
• Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by Aegon in applying such regulations and policies, voluntarily or otherwise, which may affect Aegon’s reported results, shareholders’ equity or regulatory capital adequacy levels.

This document contains information that qualifies, or may qualify, as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in its filings with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Aegon expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Aegon’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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Toyoda Gosei Starts Operation of High Pressure Hydrogen Tanks for FCVs at Inabe Plant in Japan

KIYOSU, Japan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:7282) has conducted a line-off ceremony at the Inabe Plant in Inabe, Mie Prefecture, Japan for the production of high pressure hydrogen tanks, a crucial component of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Mie Governor Eikei Suzuki, Inabe Mayor Yasushi Hioki, Toyota Motor Corporation Motomachi Plant Manager Masamichi Okada and others were invited to the ceremony and Toyoda Gosei executives and employees attended.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201209005307/en/

High pressure hydrogen tank (Photo: Business Wire)

The Inabe Plant started producing high pressure hydrogen tanks in November for the new MIRAI, which was launched by Toyota Motor Corporation in December 2020. Production capacity at the plant will continue to be built up gradually to meet growth in demand with the expected increase in number of FCV models.

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L&T Technology Services wins USD 100 Million plus Plant Engineering engagement from global O&G major

Under a 5-year engagement, LTTS will provide engineering services at two integrated refining and chemicals manufacturing facilities in USA

BANGALORE, India–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a leading global pure-play engineering services company, announced that it has been selected by a global O&G major to be the primary engineering partner to support two of their integrated refining and chemicals manufacturing facilities in USA. This is a multi-year engagement with a potential value of more than USD 100 Million.

Under the five-year engagement, LTTS will provide multi-discipline plant engineering activities including site sustenance, discipline engineering and control automation support for both facilities. LTTS will leverage its in-house digital engineering tools and new age technology & solutions to optimize project execution and drive efficiency improvements for the customer. The two sites covered under LTTS’ scope are integrated refining, chemical and polymer complexes and are currently among the top 10 biggest downstream sites in the U.S.

Dr. Keshab Panda, CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services, said,“Our focus on multi vertical, large engagements with customer intimacy, leveraging digital and new age technologies is yielding the desired outcomes. This latest instance of a major customer awarding LTTS a large multi-year program is testimony to our global plant engineering expertise.”

“LTTS is delighted to partner with one of the world’s leading O&G companies who are focused on providing affordable & sustainable energy and chemical products. Having worked in the Oil & Gas industry for a long time, our engineers have a unique appreciation of the challenges and opportunities in the energy and chemical industry. This is a prestigious win for LTTS, and we are excited to engage with our customer to deliver value in improving operational efficiency,” Dr. Panda added.

About L&T Technology Services Ltd

L&T Technology Services Limited (LTTS) is a listed subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited focused on Engineering and R&D (ER&D) services. We offer consultancy, design, development and testing services across the product and process development life cycle. Our customer base includes 69 Fortune 500 companies and 53 of the world’s top ER&D companies, across industrial products, medical devices, transportation, telecom & hi-tech, and the process industries. Headquartered in India, we have over 15,900 employees spread across 17 global design centers, 28 global sales offices and 52 innovation labs as of September 30, 2020. For more information please visit https://www.ltts.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201209006093/en/

Media Contact:

Aniruddha Basu

L&T Technology Services Limited

E: [email protected]

T: +91-80-67675173

KEYWORDS: Africa India South America North America Asia Pacific Europe

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Software Other Energy Professional Services Oil/Gas Energy Technology Other Manufacturing Other Professional Services Engineering Other Technology Consulting Manufacturing

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