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ATLANTA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / October 13, 2025 / The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation today announced a landmark $50 million, 10-year scholarship investment to support students at four of Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The funding will provide gap scholarships intended to increase the number of students graduating from Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College and Spelman College.

For many students, financial barriers-not academics-stand in the way of earning their diplomas. The foundation’s investment in gap scholarships is designed to overcome the financial barrier, helping more students complete their education. Beginning in 2026, the program is projected to support nearly 10,000 students, helping raise graduation rates across Atlanta’s HBCUs and serve as a model for other philanthropies to expand investment in HBCU student success.

“Atlanta holds a special place in my heart and will always be an integral part of our family foundation’s giving,” said Arthur M. Blank, chairman, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “We know Spelman, Morris Brown, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta are vital to Atlanta’s future, and we are deeply committed to supporting the students who will carry that legacy forward. We recognize that these campuses, like many across the country, are home to generations of students whose promise inspires us. Our hope is that by helping more students earn their degrees, launch successful careers and become alumni who give back, we are investing in a cycle of opportunity that benefits young people and their families in Atlanta and communities across the nation for years to come.”

Investing in Student Success

“Even a small financial gap can be the difference between walking across the graduation stage or walking away,” said Fay Twersky, president, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “We are proud to stand with Atlanta’s HBCUs and help more students achieve their dreams. These grants are a material investment in hope.“

Students who are in good academic standing and have fully exhausted other financial options, including scholarships, federal grants, state assistance and loan programs, will be eligible to receive funding at the discretion of their respective institution. The funding will largely support students in their junior and senior years, when financial stress can be most acute as family resources may be spread thin or additional siblings begin college.

Continuing a Legacy of HBCU Support
In addition to its $50 million investment, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has maintained a longstanding commitment to HBCUs, including:

$10 million to Spelman College for the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab

$6 million for athletic field refurbishments at Clark Atlanta, Albany State, Miles College and Savannah State

$3 million to Morris Brown College to digitize a one-year hospitality credential

$400,000 to Morehouse College Golf Program with PGA TOUR Superstore

New football helmets for Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University student-athletes

Economic and Community Impact

The scholarships are expected to fuel long-term benefits for students and the broader community:

HBCU graduates will earn 57% more in their lifetimes than they would without a degree.

An HBCU graduate working full-time can expect to earn $1M+ in additional income over the course of their career.

Atlanta’s HBCUs contribute $1 billion in annual economic impact to the region.

HBCU Presidents on the Impact of Scholarship Funding

Dr. George T. French Jr., President, Clark Atlanta University
“This transformative gift empowers Clark Atlanta students to succeed and lead globally. It provides the critical resources they need to graduate and prepare for leadership in the global marketplace.“

Dr. F. DuBois Bowman, President, Morehouse College
“This monumental investment will empower our students to remain focused on their academic studies and ensure that their talent, ambition, hard work, and integrity, not financial hardship, will determine their futures.”

Dr. Kevin E. James, President, Morris Brown College
“The Blank Foundation’s commitment provides critical support for Morris Brown students in their educational journeys. It removes economic barriers that have historically stood in the way of achieving their aspirations.”

Rosalind “Roz” Brewer, Interim President, Spelman College
“This investment affirms that every Spelman scholar deserves access to a world-class education. It expands our ability to bridge financial gaps and support students through to graduation.“

About the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is a philanthropy founded to help transform lives and communities by uniting people across differences to find common cause. Started in 1995 by Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, the foundation has granted more than $1.5 billion to charitable causes. Our collective giving areas are Atlanta’s Westside, Democracy, Environment, Mental Health and Well-Being, and Youth Development. Across these areas, we take on tough challenges by uniting the courage and compassion of our communities so we can all thrive together.

In addition to the priority areas of giving, the foundation oversees a large portfolio of grants including support of essential Atlanta nonprofit institutions, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Shepherd Center, and enduring founder-led initiatives, such as veterans and the military and stuttering, among others. The foundation will also continue to guide the six associate-led giving committees operating across the Blank Family of Businesses. For more information, please visit www.blankfoundation.org.

SOURCE: Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

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FOSTER CITY, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 13, 2025 / MATRIXX Software, a global leader in monetization solutions, proudly celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 3GPP SA5 Charging Working Group, a global community that has transformed telecom monetization from its earliest days to the dawn of 6G.

Founded in 2000 in Cork, Ireland, the SA5 Charging Working Group has been at the heart of every major advance in mobile charging, from the first harmonized voice and messaging usage records to today’s real-time, API-driven monetization and AI-ready charging for 6G. Over the past quarter of a century, the group’s work has enabled billions of users worldwide to connect, communicate and innovate.

“Cork 2000 was the first time we sketched a charging architecture that worked across operators. We couldn’t imagine then that it would scale to billions of users,” said MATRIXX Software’s Gerald Görmer, chair of the SA5 Charging Sub-Working Group. “The commitment to precision and collaboration remains unchanged, and as we complete Release 19, we’re ready to charge the future.”

Under MATRIXX Software’s leadership, the SA5 Charging Working Group has delivered groundbreaking achievements, including the Converged Charging System (CCS), unified online and offline charging and the integration of charging into the Service-Based Architecture (SBA) for 5G and beyond. Release 19 marks the completion of the 5G Advanced charging model, setting the stage for new frontiers in energy efficiency, AI/ML monetization and cross-domain charging.

“As we move toward 6G and an ecosystem driven by APIs and intelligent AI agents, charging will continue to uphold the core values of fairness, transparency and trust-principles first defined in Cork 25 years ago,” stated Marc Price, chief technology officer of MATRIXX Software. “We are proud to guide this community and look forward to the breakthroughs ahead.”

MATRIXX Software congratulates the entire SA5 Charging Working Group on 25 years of technical rigor, global cooperation and relentless evolution. Every mobile call placed, every video streamed, every API called and every AI agent invoked that results in a charge owes a debt to this group’s work.

For more information, please visit https://www.matrixx.com/blog/25-years-of-3gpp-charging/.

About MATRIXX Software

MATRIXX Software delivers a dynamic billing, monetization and charging solution proven at scale. Global service providers like Telefónica, IoT providers like Tata Communications and network-as-a-service providers like DISH rely on MATRIXX to overcome the limitations of existing billing applications. MATRIXX provides a unified platform that transforms and simplifies billing operations across consumer, enterprise and wholesale businesses. With MATRIXX, operators can rapidly configure, deploy and monetize personalized offerings, enabling commercial innovation and real-time customer experiences that drive revenue and growth.

Media Contact
mediainquiry@matrixx.com

SOURCE: MATRIXX SOFTWARE

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

mRNA-4359 has advanced into the Phase 2 portion of the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial

CAMBRIDGE, MA / ACCESS Newswire / October 12, 2025 / Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) today announced that clinical, safety and translational data from its Phase 1/2 study evaluating mRNA-4359 in combination with pembrolizumab in checkpoint inhibitor-resistant/refractory(CPI-R/R) melanoma patients will be presented at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, October 17-21, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. mRNA-4359 is an investigational immune-evasion targeted cancer antigen therapy (CAT) that encodes epitopes of two common immune escape pathways, PD-L1 and IDO1, to elicit antigen-specific T cell responses that may directly kill tumor cells and deplete tumor suppressor cells.

The presentation includes data from 29 participants with CPI-R/R melanoma who have had ≥1 prior checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy. Participants received the combination therapy at 400 µg (n=14) or 1,000 µg (n=15), given intramuscularly every three weeks for up to nine doses. Across all evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 24% and disease control rate (DCR), or the combination of patients achieving tumor response and stable disease, was 60%. Among those with response-evaluable disease and PD-L1+ (TPS≥1%) tumors, the ORR was 67% (6 of 9 participants), with treatment successfully inducing peripheral antigen-specific T cell responses and novel T cell receptor clones. The median duration of response (DOR) was not reached. The improved efficacy in PD-L1+ patients supports PD-L1 as a potential predictive biomarker in this high unmet need population.

“While early, today’s mRNA-4359 melanoma data in highly CPI-refractory metastatic patients are unique in the field and incredibly promising for future development options. We are encouraged by its potential to address such a high unmet need for many patients,” said Dr. Kyle Holen, Head of Development, Therapeutics and Oncology, Moderna. “Where other checkpoint inhibitors restore non-specific T cell activity, mRNA-4359 encodes two critical immune escape pathways to help generate new, target-directed T cells. This could enable broader and more durable immune responses for patients who have not had success with prior lines of therapy. We are proud to present these data and to demonstrate the role our mRNA-based therapies could play in transforming the lives of those affected by cancer.”

mRNA-4359 in combination with pembrolizumab demonstrated a consistently manageable safety profile, with no new immune-related adverse events (AEs). mRNA-4359 continues to be evaluated in an ongoing phase 1/2 study (NCT05533697) as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

“After failing to respond to first-line immunotherapy, existing options for PD-L1+ patients are limited, underscoring a clear need for effective, tolerable therapies,” said Prof. David J. Pinato, Clinical Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics at Imperial College London and Consultant Medical Oncologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and lead author and presenter of the abstract. “mRNA-4359 has the potential to rebalance the tumor microenvironment to overcome this immunotherapy resistance. These data are encouraging as we continue to investigate the potential of mRNA-4359.”

The details of the presentation are as follows:

• Mini Oral Presentation #1515MO: Clinical Outcomes and PD-L1 Expression Analyses from a Trial of mRNA-4359 Plus Pembrolizumab in Checkpoint Inhibitor-Resistant/Refractory (CPI-R/R) Melanoma

• Time: Friday, October 17, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30 PM CET

• Location: Nuremberg Auditorium – Hall 5.2

• Presenter: David J. Pinato

Moderna’s Oncology Investor & Analyst Event

Moderna will host a live webcast for investors and analysts on Friday, October 17, 2025, at 6:00 PM CET (12:00 PM ET), which will be available under “Events and Presentations” in the Investors section of the Moderna website at investors.modernatx.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on Moderna’s website for at least 30 days following the presentation.

About mRNA-4359

mRNA-4359 is an immune-evasion targeted cancer antigen therapy that encodes broad epitopes of PD-L1 and IDO1. With its dual mechanism of action, it elicits antigen-specific T-cell responses to simultaneously: (1) kill tumor cells expressing PD-L1 and IDO1, and (2) deplete immunosuppressive cells that shield the tumor from attack. This is hypothesized to rebalance the tumor microenvironment into an immune-permissive state, supporting sustained and durable anti-tumor activity with a manageable safety profile.

About Moderna

Moderna is a leader in the creation of the field of mRNA medicine. Through the advancement of mRNA technology, Moderna is reimagining how medicines are made and transforming how we treat and prevent disease for everyone. By working at the intersection of science, technology and health for more than a decade, the company has developed medicines at unprecedented speed and efficiency, including one of the earliest and most effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Moderna’s mRNA platform has enabled the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases and autoimmune diseases. With a unique culture and a global team driven by the Moderna values and mindsets to responsibly change the future of human health, Moderna strives to deliver the greatest possible impact to people through mRNA medicines. For more information about Moderna, please visit modernatx.com and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding: the potential of Moderna’s mRNA-based therapies for cancer patients; the potential of PD-L1 as a predictive biomarker; the response rate and safety profile of mRNA-4359; and the potential for mRNA-4359 to enable broader and more durable immune responses for patients who have not had success with prior lines of therapy. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna’s control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, among others, those risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Moderna’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current expectations and speak only as of the date of this press release.

Moderna Contacts

Media:
Chris Ridley
Head of Global Media Relations
+1 617-800-3651
Chris.Ridley@modernatx.com

Investors:
Lavina Talukdar
Senior Vice President & Head of Investor Relations
+1 617-209-5834
Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com

SOURCE: Moderna, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire