Tag: Asean

Announcing the successful completion of a joint demonstrator for fail-operational architecture

QUEBEC CITY, Canada and VIENNA, Austria, Dec. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LeddarTech^®, an automotive software company that provides patented disruptive AI-based low-level sensor fusion and perception software technology for ADAS and AD and TTTech Auto, a technology leader in automotive safety software, are pleased to announce the completion of a joint demonstrator for a fail-operational architecture based on LeddarTech’s LeddarVision software and TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot solution.

TTTech Auto’s innovative Safety Co-Pilot solution tackles the challenges of a safety architecture suitable for autonomous driving on SAE Level 3 and beyond. It is based on a doer channel, which is responsible for the main driving task, and an independent checker channel. In the event of an abnormal situation identified by the checker, the doer channel is seamlessly overridden, and a fallback channel brings the vehicle to a safe stop.

In this collaboration, TTTech Auto leverages its proficiency in safety mechanisms and automotive platforms, complemented by LeddarTech’s advanced fusion and perception capabilities. TTTech Auto contributes operational platforms and frameworks, facilitating the development of decomposed architectures for safety applications. LeddarTech enhances the partnership with its high-performance fusion and perception stack, grounded in low-level fusion. It provides valuable datasets for agile architecture exploration and demonstration of decomposed perception paths. Both companies exemplify an agile approach, employing risk assessment and safety-critical event feasibility assessments to showcase a potential solution. This collaborative effort aims to support car OEMs constructing their SAE Level 2-3 safety solutions.

To demonstrate the viability of this approach and its potential for vehicle safety and cost-efficiency, TTTech Auto and LeddarTech have partnered up to combine LeddarTech’s LeddarVision with TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot, creating a demonstrator focused on the checker channel. Key features include:

• LeddarTech’s LeddarVision: A powerful AI-based low-level fusion and perception software stack that leverages raw sensor data from cameras and radars to build an environmental model. Depending on the sensor set and the diversity concept, LeddarVision can be deployed either in the doer or the checker channel.
• TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot: A versatile solution for the checker channel equipped with a set of validation modules, each encompassing checks related to critical safety requirements. The demonstrator showcases validation modules addressing probabilistic risks associated with physically unfeasible trajectories and potentially dangerous collisions. A crucial element in ensuring safety is that these checks are performed based on a separate environment model –in this case, LeddarVision, ensuring full independence from the doer channel.

The testing of this demonstrator was conducted on data collected from highways in Germany and Israel. The results demonstrate that LeddarTech’s high-quality environmental model and TTTech Auto’s probabilistic checking implement an efficient and reliable checker channel. This advancement provides a robust safety argument for AD systems operating at SAE Level 3 and beyond.

“We are paving the way to autonomous driving safety with true fail-operational architectures,” stated Stefan Poledna, CTO at TTTech Auto. “TTTech Auto’s groundbreaking architecture, in conjunction with LeddarTech’s LeddarVision, confirms our commitment to SAE Level 3 and 4 autonomous driving.”

Frantz Saintellemy, President, COO and incoming CEO of LeddarTech, added: “Through our partnership with TTTech Auto in the integration of our LeddarVision AI-based software and TTTech Auto’s Safety Co-Pilot, our collective aim has been to showcase a high-level fail-operational architecture suitable for safe driving automation. This collaboration demonstrates our belief that by aligning ourselves with other industry leaders in win-win partnerships, we accelerate technology deployment and adoption.”

About TTTech Auto

TTTech Auto provides solutions for future vehicle generations and the shift towards software-defined vehicles. The company specializes in delivering safe software and hardware solutions along with a range of services to support the advancement of automated driving and beyond, applicable in series production programs. With its leading technology solutions, TTTech Auto reduces the required time for system designing, integration and testing of a series production-ready software platform. This ensures safety and electronic robustness for a more automated world.

TTTech Auto was founded in 2018 by TTTech Group and technology leaders Audi, Infineon and Samsung to build a global, safe vehicle software platform for automated and autonomous driving. In 2022, the company raised USD 285 million (EUR 250 million) from Aptiv and Audi in its latest funding round. At TTTech Auto’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria and in more than 10 locations across Europe and Asia, 1 100 employees work with leading car manufacturers on their software-defined vehicle, ADAS and autonomous driving programs. The company has acquired and invested in technology companies in France, Spain, Turkey, China and central and Eastern Europe. www.tttech-auto.com/

About LeddarTech

A global software company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Quebec City with additional R&D centers in Montreal, Toronto and Tel Aviv, Israel, LeddarTech develops and provides comprehensive AI-based low-level sensor fusion and perception software solutions that enable the deployment of ADAS and autonomous driving (AD) applications. LeddarTech’s automotive-grade software applies advanced AI and computer vision algorithms to generate accurate 3D models of the environment to achieve better decision making and safer navigation. This high-performance, scalable, cost-effective technology is available to OEMs and Tier 1-2 suppliers to efficiently implement automotive and off-road vehicle ADAS solutions.

LeddarTech is responsible for several remote-sensing innovations, with over 150 patent applications (80 granted) that enhance ADAS and AD capabilities. Better awareness around the vehicle is critical in making global mobility safer, more efficient, sustainable and affordable: this is what drives LeddarTech to seek to become the most widely adopted sensor fusion and perception software solution.

Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.LeddarTech.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter (X), Facebook and YouTube.

Contact:
Daniel Aitken, Vice-President, Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations, LeddarTech Inc. Tel.: + 1-418-653-9000 ext. 232 daniel.aitken@LeddarTech.com

• Investor relations website: investors.LeddarTech.com
• Investor relations contact: Kevin Hunt, ICR Inc. kevin.hunt@icrinc.com
• Financial media contact: Dan Brennan, ICR Inc. dan.brennan@icrinc.com

Leddar, LeddarTech, LeddarVision, LeddarSP, VAYADrive, VayaVision and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8986857

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Curia, a leading contract research, development and manufacturing organization, today announced it has been recognized as one of the top 10 CDMOs in India by India Pharma Outlook. The full list can be viewed in the November 2023 edition of the India Pharma Outlook magazine.

This recognition acknowledges the contributions of Curia’s Aurangabad and Hyderabad sites. The Aurangabad facility provides contract manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, and the Hyderabad site includes the Hyderabad Research Center with expertise in medicinal chemistry and chemical and analytical development. These sites also house Curia’s quality control center and Global Shared Services (GSS) center, which support the company’s global organization, enabling process standardization and scalability.

Curia’s focus on continuous improvement for its comprehensive suite of services and investments in innovative technologies position the company as a strong partner to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across the drug research, development and manufacturing continuum. The report also highlights Curia’s commitment to being an employer of choice, providing employees with a workplace culture rich in opportunities for professional development and recognition.

“This achievement is a testament to the talent and hard work from our Aurangabad and Hyderabad facilities, and it is a well-deserved honor for the team,” said Philip Macnabb, CEO, Curia. “Our India sites relentlessly pursue excellence and are vital to our goal of improving patients’ lives.”

India Pharma Outlook’s editorial board compiled the list with a panel of judges with expertise in the industry, including CXOs and analysts. Winners were chosen for their impact on India’s economy through job creation, fostering research and development and for their high-quality offerings in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

About Curia
Curia is a leading contract research, development, and manufacturing organization providing products and services from R&D through commercial manufacturing to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers. Curia’s nearly 4,000 employees at 27 locations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia help its customers advance from curiosity to cure. Learn more at CuriaGlobal.com.

Curia Contact Information:
Viana Bhagan
+1 518 512 2111
corporatecommunications@CuriaGlobal.com

A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/faac19ea-f26f-4811-946f-e03d10480984

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8989258

QUEBEC CITY, Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LeddarTech Inc.^® (“LeddarTech” or the “Company”), an automotive software company that provides patented disruptive AI-based low-level sensor fusion and perception software technology for ADAS and AD, and Prospector Capital Corp. (“Prospector”) (NASDAQ: PRSR, PRSRU, PRSRW), a publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company led by former Qualcomm President Derek Aberle and chaired by former Qualcomm Vice Chairman Steve Altman, today announced that on December 4, 2023 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) declared effective the Registration Statement on Form F-4, as amended, filed by LeddarTech Holdings Inc. (“Newco”) in connection with the previously announced proposed business combination (the “Business Combination”). The filing can be viewed in its entirety on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Prospector also commenced mailing the definitive proxy statement/prospectus on December 4, 2023, which was included in the Registration Statement, relating to the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to be held in connection with the Business Combination (the “Extraordinary General Meeting”). The Extraordinary General Meeting is scheduled to be held on December 13, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Extraordinary General Meeting will be held at the offices of White & Case LLP located at 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, and virtually via a live webcast at www.cstproxy.com/prospectorcapital/egm2023. Holders of Prospector’s ordinary shares at the close of business on the record date of November 14, 2023 are entitled to notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting and to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting. More details about the Business Combination and the resolutions to be voted upon at the Extraordinary General Meeting can be found in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus filed by Prospector, available at www.sec.gov.

Assuming satisfaction of the conditions of the closing of the Business Combination, including approval of the Business Combination by Prospector shareholders, the combined company intends to operate as LeddarTech Inc. and is expected to be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “LDTC”, with warrants under the ticker “LDTCW”. The NASDAQ listing is subject to the closing of the Business Combination and fulfillment of all NASDAQ listing requirements.

About LeddarTech

A global software company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Quebec City with additional R&D centers in Montreal, Toronto and Tel Aviv, Israel, LeddarTech develops and provides comprehensive AI-based low-level sensor fusion and perception software solutions that enable the deployment of ADAS and autonomous driving (AD) applications. LeddarTech’s automotive-grade software applies advanced AI and computer vision algorithms to generate accurate 3D models of the environment to achieve better decision making and safer navigation. This high-performance, scalable, cost-effective technology is available to OEMs and Tier 1-2 suppliers to efficiently implement automotive and off-road vehicle ADAS solutions.

LeddarTech is responsible for several remote-sensing innovations, with over 150 patent applications (80 granted) that enhance ADAS and AD capabilities. Better awareness around the vehicle is critical in making global mobility safer, more efficient, sustainable and affordable: this is what drives LeddarTech to seek to become the most widely adopted sensor fusion and perception software solution.

Additional information about LeddarTech is accessible at www.LeddarTech.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter (X), Facebook and YouTube.

About Prospector Capital Corp.

Prospector is a special-purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses with a focus on companies with advanced and highly differentiated solutions for the technology sector. The company is led by a team of experienced investors and executives focused on identifying and investing in high-growth companies with strong management teams and attractive market opportunities. Prospector’s securities are traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbols “PRSR,” “PRSRU” and “PRSRW.”

Important Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed business combination, Prospector, LeddarTech and Newco have prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) the registration statement on Form F-4 (the “Registration Statement”), and Prospector will mail the proxy statement/prospectus contained within the Registration Statement to its shareholders and file other documents regarding the business combination with the SEC. This press release is not a substitute for any proxy statement, registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus or other documents Prospector or Newco may file with the SEC in connection with the business combination. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED BY PROSPECTOR OR NEWCO WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE BUSINESS COMBINATION, BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and other documents filed with the SEC by Prospector or Newco through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act (which forward-looking statements shall also include forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws), including, but not limited to, statements regarding the business combination involving Prospector, LeddarTech and Newco, the ability to consummate the business combination and the timing thereof, the anticipated benefits from the business combination, the closing of the private placement financing and expected proceeds therefrom and statements relating to Newco’s anticipated strategy, future operations, prospects, objectives and financial projections and other financial metrics. Forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “likely,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend” and other similar expressions among others. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the risk that the conditions to the closing of the business combination are not satisfied, including the failure to timely or at all obtain shareholder approval for the business combination or the failure to timely or at all obtain any required regulatory clearances, including of the Superior Court of Justice of Québec; (ii) uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the business combination and the ability of each of Prospector, LeddarTech and Newco to consummate the business combination; (iii) the possibility that other anticipated benefits of the business combination will not be realized, and the anticipated tax treatment of the business combination; (iv) the occurrence of any event that could give rise to termination of the business combination; (v) the risk that shareholder litigation in connection with the business combination or other settlements or investigations may affect the timing or occurrence of the business combination or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; (vi) changes in general economic and/or industry-specific conditions; (vii) possible disruptions from the business combination that could harm LeddarTech’s business; (viii) the ability of LeddarTech to retain, attract and hire key personnel; (ix) potential adverse reactions or changes to relationships with customers, employees, suppliers or other parties resulting from the announcement or completion of the business combination; (x) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the business combination that could affect LeddarTech’s financial performance; (xi) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; (xii) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism, outbreak of war or hostilities and any epidemic, pandemic or disease outbreak (including COVID-19), as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors; (xiii) access to capital and financing and LeddarTech’s ability to maintain compliance with debt covenants; and (xiv) other risk factors as detailed from time to time in Prospector’s reports filed with the SEC, including Prospector’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, periodic Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, periodic Current Reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the SEC, as well as the risk factors to be contained in the Registration Statement. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Neither Prospector nor LeddarTech can give any assurance that the conditions to the business combination will be satisfied. Except as required by applicable law, neither Prospector nor LeddarTech undertakes any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Prospector or Newco, a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

Participants in Solicitation

Prospector, LeddarTech and Newco, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and employees, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the business combination. Information about the directors and executive officers of Prospector can be found in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the business combination, including a description of their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the Registration Statement and other relevant materials when they are filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the source indicated above.

Contact:
Daniel Aitken, Vice-President, Global Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations, LeddarTech Inc. Tel.: + 1-418-653-9000 ext. 232 daniel.aitken@LeddarTech.com

• Investor relations website: https://investors.LeddarTech.com
• Investor relations contact: Kevin Hunt, ICR Inc. kevin.hunt@icrinc.com
• Financial media contact: Dan Brennan, ICR Inc. dan.brennan@icrinc.com

Leddar, LeddarTech, LeddarVision, LeddarSP, VAYADrive, VayaVision and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeddarTech Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8989420

Expanded strategic and operational leadership positions Zenas for growth as obexelimab advances in late-stage clinical trials for multiple potential I&I indications

WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Zenas BioPharma, a global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of inflammation and immunology (I&I) directed therapies, today announced the appointment of Jennifer Fox as its Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Tanya Fischer, M.D., Ph. D as Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tanya and Jen to our executive team,” said Lonnie Moulder, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zenas BioPharma. “Tanya is a deeply experienced physician-scientist leader and Jen is a seasoned healthcare finance and corporate development leader. With their decades of industry leadership experience, they will each be an invaluable addition to Zenas as we head into our next phase of growth, advancing multiple global programs in late-stage clinical development with a goal to deliver differentiated I&I directed therapies to patients in need around the world.”

Ms. Fox is an experienced finance and corporate development executive with an extensive track record in corporate finance and healthcare investment banking, advising numerous private and public companies with respect to strategy, financings and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Zenas, Ms. Fox served as Chief Financial Officer at Nuvation Bio, a publicly traded biotechnology company. She previously served as a Managing Director and Co-Head of North America Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking Group at CitiGroup. Prior to CitiGroup, Ms. Fox held senior positions in investment banking at Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns, Bank of America and Prudential Securities. She holds B.S. degrees in finance and marketing from Manhattan College.

Dr. Fischer is a physician-scientist with deep experience in academia and at both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, leading early and late-stage research and development programs across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology and rare diseases. Prior to joining Zenas, she served as Chief Development Officer and Head of Translational Medicine at Biohaven, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Fischer began her industry career at Bristol Myers Squibb and held R&D leadership roles of increasing responsibility at EMD-Serono, Sanofi-Genzyme and Alnylam. She is a neurologist and held appointments at Yale University School of Medicine following the completion of her Neurology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. She obtained MD and PhD degrees from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, respectively, and was awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

About Zenas BioPharma

Zenas BioPharma is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of inflammation and immunology (I&I) directed therapies for patients in need around the world. With clinical development capabilities and operations globally, Zenas is advancing a portfolio of potentially differentiated autoimmune therapeutics in areas of high unmet medical need. Our experienced leadership team and network of business partners drive operational excellence to deliver potentially transformative therapies to improve the lives of those facing autoimmune and rare diseases. For more information about Zenas BioPharma, please visit www.zenasbio.com and follow us on Twitter at @ZenasBioPharma and LinkedIn.

About Obexelimab

Obexelimab is an investigational Phase 3-stage, bifunctional, non-cytolytic, humanized monoclonal antibody that mimics the action of antigen-antibody complexes by binding CD19 and FcγRIIb to inhibit B-lineage cell activity. In several early-stage clinical studies, including in various autoimmune diseases, 198 subjects were treated with obexelimab. In these clinical studies, obexelimab demonstrated inhibition of B cell function without depleting the cells, resulting in encouraging treatment effect in patients with various autoimmune diseases. Zenas acquired exclusive worldwide rights to obexelimab from Xencor, Inc. Obexelimab is currently being studied in a global Phase 3 clinical study in patients with IgG4 Related Disease and a global Phase2/3 study in patients with warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA). Clinical development of obexelimab for Multiple Sclerosis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is under evaluation.

More information on the Phase 3 (INDIGO) study for the treatment of IgG4 Related Disease is available at clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05662241. More information on the Phase 3 (SApHiAre) study for the treatment of wAIHA is available at clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05786573.

Investor and Media Contact:
Joe Farmer, President & COO
Zenas BioPharma
IR@zenasbio.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8987984

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

• Most successful dinosaur exhibit of all-time
• More than 1.5 million visitors see Barbara and Peter – a world-first male & female T. rex pairing
• Barbara is one of only three female T. rex specimens ever discovered
• Auckland Museum breaks new ground by open access publication of scientific research of the specimens
• Visitor numbers equivalent to a third of the population of New Zealand have seen the Barbara and Peter T. rex exhibit

AUCKLAND, New Zealand and LONDON, Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With just days left to run, the world’s first display of an adult male and female T.rex side by side is believed to be the most successful dinosaur exhibition of all time.

Already, 1.5 million people have visited Auckland Museum to see this spectacular exhibition, which has run for a year, and which will draw to a close on December 10, 2023. Given that New Zealand itself has a population of just 5.1 million inhabitants, the numbers who came to see the two T.rex dinosaurs, named Barbara and Peter, are unprecedented.

David Reeves, CEO of Auckland Museum, hailed the impact of the exhibition: “Not only have we seen visitor numbers equivalent to almost the whole of Auckland’s population of 1.6 million come through the doors, but Barbara and Peter have provided a once-in-a-lifetime, educational experience for many, many thousands of school children. It has been a joy to see people’s reactions as they encounter these magnificent specimens for the first time.”

Tyrannosaurus rex fossils are extremely rare, with only about 20 T. rex on display in museums worldwide. These were the first T. rex exhibits in the Southern Hemisphere. The world’s most famous dinosaur is so scarce that there is no T. rex on permanent exhibit in the Middle East, the whole of Asia, Africa or Latin America. There are only four T. rex on display in Europe.

Female T. rex specimens are rarer still, with Barbara representing only the third ever pregnant Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur skeleton to be discovered. Barbara is 44.7 per cent complete, making her the 8th most complete T. rex in the world. She measures an impressive 11.7 metres long and 3.4m high.

Close viewing of the T.rex reveals some of the incredible anatomical features of one of the largest land predators of all time and offers the ability to inspect injuries that pathological findings revealed, specifically an injury to Barbara’s leg, likely to have been caused by another T.rex. It is remarkable that a massive animal like Barbara, which relied on walking or running on two legs as the primary method of locomotion, could survive such an injury. She lived for a long period after the injury, as can be seen by the evidence of a healed metatarsal.

Dr Andre Lujan, President of the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences, said: “The Auckland Museum should be congratulated on this ground-breaking world first exhibit of a male and female T.rex together. Visitor numbers show that a huge percentage of New Zealand’s children got to see these magnificent specimens, which is a wonderful inspiration for the next generation of paleontologists.”

Alongside the exhibiting of Barbara and Peter, Auckland Museum has made public the preliminary scientific research on the specimens, undertaken by expert academics. According to David Reeves: “The publication of this research, made available to the museum and its visitors, is a novel and hugely important concept, designed to bridge the gap for the lay observer between the learned, peer-reviewed academic reports and the very limited data typically supplied to visitors by museums in support of such exhibits. This has truly ignited the imagination of young scientists in New Zealand.”

These preliminary reports have been prepared by two of the world’s top theropod paleontologists, Dr David Burnham (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum) and Dr John Nudds (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester), who studied both Barbara and Peter in their university laboratories for many months.

Dr Nudds commented: “These reports are designed to encourage children and young people to learn about the extraordinary world of theropods, a subject that has fascinated me for my entire professional life.”

Dr Burnham added: “Barbara and Peter each represents an individual animal that was a living and breathing organism. Studying and reporting publicly about each individual specimen means it becomes part of the entire body of knowledge about Tyrannosaurus rex. Therefore, every documented specimen counts enormously, not least because there are so very few.”

This unique display, together with published research, has afforded the public to gain a deeper understanding of the history and mysteries of the T.rex, providing insights into their origins, lives, and the remarkable process of finding and mounting fossil specimens.

The exhibition will close soon, but already 1.5 million people have been thrilled by the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stand face-to-face with two real T. rex, brought together for the first time in 66 million years.

For further information

Seven Dials City

Simon Kelner
simon@sevendialspr.com
+44 7775 788898

James Devas
james@sevendialscity.com
+44 7885 813 114

ABOUT AUCKLAND WAR MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand’s first museums. The Museum tells the story of New Zealand, its place in the Pacific and its people. The Museum is a war memorial for the province of Auckland and holds one of New Zealand’s top three heritage libraries. It has pre-eminent Māori and Pacific collections, significant natural history resources and major social and military history collections, as well as decorative arts and pictorial collections.

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1000902476