On June 18, the Chinese start-up Energy Singularity developed and built the tokamak device "Honghuang 70" to achieve plasma discharge, which carried out a discharge experiment based on two pre-ionization methods, local spiral flux injection (electron gun) and ion cyclotron heating (ICRF), and successfully obtained the first plasma.
This means that the engineering feasibility of the world's first all-high-temperature superconducting tokamak has been verified.
The design work of Honghuang 70 began in March 2022, and since September 2022, all components and assemblies have entered the processing stage one after another, and the overall installation will start in August 2023, and the installation will be completed in March 2024, and the plasma discharge will be realized three months later. The speed is truly amazing!
According to public information, Energy Singularity was established in 2021 and completed two rounds of financing from 2022 to 2023, with a total financing amount of nearly 800 million yuan, and its shareholders include miHoYo, NIO, Sequoia, etc. In March 2022, the company signed an agreement with the Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry to jointly develop the world's first tokamak device based on all-high-temperature superconducting magnets. The main engine system of Honghuang 70 (including vacuum chamber, cold screen and dewar) is manufactured by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Group as a whole, and the overall installation is undertaken by China Nuclear Industry Fifth Construction Co., Ltd.
Honghuang 70 has independent intellectual property rights, and the localization rate exceeds 96%. The device has a central field strength of 0.6 Tesla, a large plasma radius of 0.75 meters, and a magnet system consisting of 26 high-temperature superconducting magnets. It is the world's first all-high-temperature superconducting magnetic confinement fusion device, the world's first all-high-temperature superconducting tokamak, the world's first all-superconducting tokamak built by a commercial company, and one of the four all-superconducting tokamaks in operation in the world.
Tokamak is a former Soviet scientist Lev Azimovich in the 50s of the 20th century invented a ring magnetic confinement controlled nuclear fusion experimental device, Tokamak's name comes from the toroidal, vacuum chamber (kamera), magnet (magnet), coil (kotushka), through the confinement of electromagnetic wave drive, to create deuterium, tritium to achieve fusion environment and ultra-high temperature, and to achieve human control of fusion reactions, It is currently one of the main ways to achieve controlled nuclear fusion.
Controlled nuclear fusion is considered to be the "ultimate energy source for mankind", which has many advantages such as unlimited, economical, plannable, clean, and safe. The small size, low cost, and potential for commercial power generation of high-temperature superconducting tokamak devices are known as "artificial suns", which is one of the important ways for mankind to explore clean and sustainable energy.
Although mankind began to explore controlled nuclear fusion as early as the 50s of the last century, it is still a complex problem that challenges human science and technology in terms of ignition, heating, and long-term maintenance, especially to succeed in commercialization, there are still great challenges. With the involvement of scientific research institutions in various countries, as well as more and more entrepreneurial teams and business capital, it is hoped that breakthroughs can be made as soon as possible.
Cutting-edge technology trends
01 TDK develops new solid-state battery materials
On June 17, TDK, a Japanese electronic components company, announced that it has opened the material for the next-generation solid-state battery CeraCharge, which uses an oxide solid electrolyte and a lithium alloy anode with an energy density of 1000Wh/L, which is about 100 times the energy density of its traditional solid-state battery. The material is expected to be used in a variety of wearable devices, such as wireless headphones, hearing aids, small electronic devices such as smart watches, as well as environmental sensors and alternative coin cell batteries.
Comments: All-solid-state batteries are regarded as the next generation of battery technology, replacing the liquid in traditional batteries with solids, which not only improves the safety of the battery, but also provides the possibility to further improve the performance of the battery. TDK's breakthrough is an important milestone in the development of all-solid-state battery technology, which not only demonstrates the potential of solid-state batteries to improve energy density, but also provides the possibility of miniaturization and long battery life for future electronic devices, which is expected to bring unprecedented range experience to small electronic devices. (Lai Yiqi)
02 Runway发布Gen-3 Alpha
On June 17, Runway, an AI video technology company, released Gen-3 Alpha, which has achieved significant improvements in video detail, consistency, and dynamic performance. It can create high-detail videos with complex scene changes, and supports the control modes of text-to-video, image-to-video, and video-to-video. It is trained through a mix of video and images, demonstrating a delicate grasp of human movements, gestures, and emotional expression, as well as a deeper understanding of the physical world.
Comments: Since the release of OpenAI's large model Sora in February 2024, it has sparked a wave of innovation in the field of AI video generation. During this time, emerging contenders such as Kuaishou's Kling and Luma AI's Dream Machine have emerged. The advent of Runway Gen-3 not only poses a substantial challenge to Sora, but also intensifies competition in the entire industry. Video generation technology is in a period of rapid change, and a new era of creative expression may begin. (Yaxin Chen)
03 Anthropic发布Claude 3.5 Sonnet
On June 20, Anthropic released its latest AI model, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, which outperformed competitors including GPT-4o in multiple performance tests in reading, programming, math, and vision. Claude 3.5 Sonnet delivers significant improvements in understanding complex instructions, humor, content iteration, and visual analysis, while processing twice as fast and at a lower cost than its predecessor. In terms of visual analysis, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is able to interpret charts and graphs more accurately, and can transcribe text from "imperfect" images with distortions and visual artifacts.
In addition, Anthropic launched a preview version of Artifacts that allows users to edit and iterate on AI-generated content, further enhancing interactivity with AI models and content management optimization.
Comments: Stronger performance, lower price, and easier interaction, the debut of the Claude 3.5 Sonnet demonstrates Anthropic's ambitions in the field of AI. Will it be able to achieve its stated goal of becoming the preferred model for all enterprise businesses? Let's wait and see. (Yaxin Chen)
Biomedicine
04 The world's first drug for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma based on the JAK/STAT pathway was approved
On June 19, Dizhe Pharmaceutical (688192. SH), a class I new drug independently developed by Gao Ruizhe ® (generic name: golixitinib capsules), has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) as a single agent for adult patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (r/r PTCL) who have received at least first-line systemic therapy in the past. It is the world's first and only highly selective JAK1 inhibitor in the field of lymphoma, and is also a new mechanism therapy for PTCL acting on the JAK/STAT pathway.
The approval through priority review is based on the global pivotal registration clinical study "Part JACKPOT8 B". The results of the study showed that the ® IRC-confirmed ORR and complete response (CR) rate of 23.9% in the monotherapy treatment of r/r PTCL were nearly twice that of the previous targeted therapy regimens. Tumor responses were observed in all subtypes of PTCL, with a median duration of response (DoR) of up to 20.7 months (less than 12 months for other available therapies).
Comments: PTCL is a malignant tumor originating from mature T/NK cells in the postthymic gland, with the lowest survival rate among all non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and the first-line standard treatment is quadruple chemotherapy based on CHOP (4 chemotherapy drugs, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone), and patients have a very high risk of recurrence. Gao Ruizhe's new mechanism of action can effectively treat various subtypes of PTCL, filling the gap in the treatment of multiple subtypes of previous drugs. In addition, this is the second innovative drug approved for marketing within 10 months, and its first commercial product, suvotinib (trade name: Suvozhe), was approved for marketing in August 2023, and achieved sales revenue of 91 million yuan by the end of 2023. (Luo Xianxian)
05 The first DMD gene therapy was approved for expanded indications
On June 20, the U.S. FDA approved the expanded indication of Elevidys, a gene therapy jointly developed by American biotechnology company Sarepta (SRPT.O) and Roche, to include patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who are at least 4 years old and confirmed to have DMD gene mutations. The U.S. FDA granted traditional approval for ambulatory patients; For patients who are unable to walk, accelerated approval is granted, and continued approval is contingent upon the results of a follow-up confirmatory trial. Elevidys is contraindicated in patients with deletions in exons 8 and/or 9 of the DMD gene.
Elevidys is a recombinant gene therapy that packages a transgene expressing micro-dystrophin in an AAV viral vector and gives patients a recombinant protein with partial dystrophin function through a single intravenous injection, which can be effective in patients carrying any type of DMD-causative gene mutation.
Comments: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness, most of which develop before the age of 4 years. In June 2023, the U.S. FDA granted accelerated approval to Elevidys for children with DMD mutations who are still able to walk at the age of 4 and 5. As the world's first DMD gene therapy, the approval of this expanded indication undoubtedly brings options to more DMD patients. It is worth mentioning that last week (June 12), Pfizer's DMD gene therapy fordadistrogene movaparvovec did not meet its primary endpoint in the phase 3 clinical trial, that is, it did not improve motor function in treated boys aged 4 to 7 years compared to placebo. (Luo Xianxian)
06 Gilead achieves 100% HIV prevention with twice-a-year medication
On June 20, Gilead Sciences announced an interim analysis of a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of its HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis drug Lenacapavir, which showed that it achieved 100% HIV prevention in women with only twice a year.
Lenacapavir (brand name Sunlenca) is a long-acting HIV-1 capsid inhibitor that works by directly binding to the interface between the HIV-1 viral capsid protein (p24) subunit, interfering with key steps in viral replication, and was approved by the US FDA for the treatment of HIV/AIDS in 2022. The PURPOSE 1 study, a double-blind, randomized, Phase 3 study, showed that among 2,134 women in the Lenacapavir group, there was not a single case of HIV infection (incidence rate 0.00 per 100 person-years).
Comments: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy is the administration of antiviral drugs when you are not infected. The anti-HIV products Descovy and Truvada developed by Gilead can almost 100% avoid HIV infection by oral administration every day. Lenacapavir only needs to be injected twice a year, and as a relatively long-acting PrEP therapy, it offers a new option for preventing HIV. (Luo Xianxian)
Science and Technology Innovation Research Center
Editor-in-charge: Huang Jinping
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