Yee Hop Holdings' (1662.HK) Subsidiary APEL Triumphs with Three Medals at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva

HONG KONG, May 6, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - Absolute Pure EnviroSci Limited ("APEL"), under the strong support of its parent company, the listed company Yee Hop Holdings Limited (stock code: 1662.HK), has achieved remarkable development. The company's team has demonstrated outstanding innovation and pioneering research results, quickly gaining international recognition. APEL performed excellently at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, with three scientific research entries respectively winning two gold and one bronze medals, achieving a 100% success rate. This exhibition is one of the largest international exhibitions of inventions, providing inventors and researchers with a unique opportunity to showcase research results and new products. The 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva was held in April in Geneva, Switzerland, featuring over 1,000 inventions from 38 countries and regions. The awards were selected by an international panel of experts.

Boasting Remarkable Achievements and Demonstrating Leadership in Innovative Technology

APEL, with its outstanding technological innovation capabilities, has proposed innovative solutions to urgent global problems, making significant contributions to Hong Kong, Mainland China, and even the world. APEL garnered several awards at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, including:

Gold Medal - Low-carbon Multi-purpose Silica Encapsulating Technology

This technology brings revolutionary changes to human society by using silica capsule to alter the size and structure of products, greatly reducing waste and carbon emissions throughout the product lifecycle, thereby providing a sustainable and low-carbon alternative for human life. This technology can encapsulate concentrated ingredients and enable smart release with water, thereby enhancing the product's lifespan and effectiveness. Products compressed into silica capsules also correspondingly reduce their volume and weight by over 80%, significantly reducing manufacturing, transportation, packaging, and storage requirements, and lowering carbon emissions by over 90%. This technology has been applied in daily care, disinfection, and cleaning products for both humans and pets, with expectations to expand into cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and the food industry in the future, providing more low-carbon alternatives in different fields.

Gold Medal - Light-based devices for disinfection and deodorization

This light-based technology selects a specific wavelength spectrum and is programmed using an asynchronous intermittent (AI) lighting system for disinfection and deodorization purpose. It is widely compatible and can be use seamlessly in conjunction on different devices, offering more mobility compared to most market-available light-disinfection devices. It is also safer, more effective, and quicker in killing microorganisms, including bacteria, spores, viruses, and multidrug-resistant microorganisms compared to traditional UV light disinfection technology. This technology was first integrated into household robot vacuum and multipurpose handheld devices in medical field, including surfaces and items disinfection in hospital wards. Recently, there has been a breakthrough in developing products using the technology for pet skin and fur care, which provide a rapidly elimination of microorganisms residing on pets' skin and fur. The technology allows pets' hair and skin disinfection, deodorization and acts as a deterrent for biting insects, promoting skin health and coat luster for pets.

Bronze Medal - Safe and Environmentally Friendly Multilevel Antimicrobial & Pest-Repellent Formulated Products

This product applied the synthesized advanced functional polymer using nano-assembly technology to create multi-functional microcapsules. This microcapsule is designed with antibacterial shells and capable of storing multiple formulas targeting different purposes. In this invention, safe and natural pest repellent formulation is stored inside the microcapsule for controlled release purpose, it therefore achieves a dual-purpose protection, a long-term disinfection of surface microorganisms and insect repellent. It effectively eliminates viruses and microorganisms upon contact while preventing adhesion through its "contact-killing" and "anti-adhesion" properties. Its long-lasting effectiveness, safety, and environmental friendliness, combined with compatibility with everyday products, have garnered significant attention and recognition in the market.

Pioneering Research: Crucial for Proposing Innovative Solutions to Urgent Global Issues

This January, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and APEL established a joint laboratory dedicated to developing novel health and environmental innovations and translating research outcomes into practical products. These include highly effective and long-lasting pest repellent against bedbugs that can also inactivate up to 99.9% of highly-infectious viruses, bacteria and hard-to-kill spores. Additionally, artificial organoids have been developed for quantifying pollution’s risks on human health and providing essential data for establishing a health monitoring system in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

This March, APEL established its presence in Hong Kong Science Park with the opening of the Biomedical Technology Innovation and Translational Commercial Laboratory. The opening event was attended by guests including Ms. Lillian Cheong, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and Dr. Grace Lau, Head of Institute for Translational Research of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP). Ms. Lillian Cheong highlighted the importance of transforming upstream research and development outcomes into products as a crucial component of developing innovation and technology. APEL has achieved significant success in this area through its accumulated research and development efforts, while the HKSAR Government has been proactively developing the basic research in life and health technology, and promoting the transformation of upstream research and development outcomes into products. With the distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems,” the HKSAR Government will further the transformation of scientific research and development of life and health technology in Hong Kong through such measures as the setting up of life and health technology research institutes and InnoLife Healthtech Hub.

After receiving three awards at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, Dr. David Chung, Chairman of APEL said, “As one of the flagship innovative technology companies in Hong Kong, APEL has experienced rapid development in both national and global markets. This includes our establishment in the Hong Kong Science Park, where we inaugurated the Biomedical Technology Innovation and Translational Commercial Laboratory. Today, we are delighted to receive recognition from international research institutions and achieve remarkable results at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. The success of industry-academia-research collaboration relies on excellent scientific research and further requires involvement from the business community, both of which APEL possesses. In the future, the company will continue to drive the transformation of innovative ideas into market products and solutions by facilitating the commercialization of research and development results, contributing to the growth of the innovation and technology sector in Hong Kong and globally.”

Professor Yeung King Lun from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Division of Environment and Sustainability at the HKUST stated, “APEL has achieved remarkable success at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. APEL has established a long-term partnership with HKUST, in translating research discoveries into commercial offerings in the areas of health, environment, and sustainability that can have immediate positive impact on lives and well-being of Hong Kong people.”

Successful Development: Innovative Technology Effectively Reduces the Main Components of Sewer Gas

The innovative research and development achievements of Professor Yeung's research team are extraordinary facilitated by the collaboration between APEL and HKUST. The innovative technology in odors suppression, in particularly hydrogen sulfide, has gained significant attention and benefiting humanity in recent years. Hydrogen sulfide commonly occurs in most drainage systems, including stormwater drains, gully or sewage systems and is one of the main components of sewer gas that lead to respiratory suppression and ultimately death in high concentration. While the gas has a distinct odor at low concentrations, it quickly overwhelms the sense of smell and becomes imperceptible to humans when concentration increase. Recently, there was an industrial accident in Hong Kong where workers, during the maintenance work inside the manhole, fainted and resulting in severe injuries and fatalities due to inhalation of high concentration of hydrogen sulfide.

In light of recent safety issues, APEL aims to actively seek innovative technological developments to create a safer environment and therefore, proactively support and transform the successful research developed. This technology provide a safe environment for manhole workers by effectively reduces hydrogen sulfide concentrations by 99% in the way of killing odor-producing micro-organisms. Throughout the collaboration with various government and private organizations for years, this technology has proven to effectively control odors, bacteria and viruses in drainage and flushing systems, providing a safe and healthy environment for human society. Professor Yeung's achievement in this technology was recognized with a Silver Medal at the 2022 Geneva International Invention Exhibition, highlighting the importance of technology in ensuring human and environment safety. APEL will continue to collaborate with HKUST to develop more technologies that improve the quality of human life.

Commercialization of High-Quality Scientific Research Results: “The Pet Care Trio” Sets to Debut This Month

Commercialization is an important stage in the success of scientific research. GERMAGIC™ PET, a brand under APEL, will jointly participate in the 11th Premium Pet Supplies Expo 2024 together with Pet Space Group, the largest veterinary group in Hong Kong with veterinary clinics across Hong Kong, Kowloon, and the New Territories, as well as in Singapore from 10 May (Friday) to 12 May (Sunday) at Booth G01, Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. At the expo, GERMAGIC™ PET will unveil “The Pet Care Trio,” which includes a deodorizer, an itch relief, and a skin healer. These products utilize GERMAGICTM's encapsulation technology and are made from natural materials. The long-lasting antibacterial product series not only caters to pets but also effectively eliminates various bacteria and viruses, providing up to 28-day antibacterial protection. Moreover, GERMAGIC™ PET products have received the Quality Pet Protection (QPP) certification. QPP is a scheme led by the IBH Pet Industry Development Standing Committee, supported by Pet Space Group for veterinary professional support, with SGS serving as the scheme secretary for providing testing and certification services. Exclusive offers and free veterinary consultations will also be provided at the expo to comprehensively support and safeguard the health of pets. The new products have already been launched in Hong Kong and Macau this month and are available for sale on HKTVmall, the largest e-commerce platform in Hong Kong, Pricerite, a major home furnishing retailer in Hong Kong, and various pharmacies. Additionally, GERMAGICTM PET plans to enter the Chinese market in mid-June and establish more business partnerships.

APEL has established partnerships with industry leaders in various fields such as biological research, health technology, veterinary clinics, international certification and new materials. By promoting the implementation of scientific research results and transforming innovative ideas into market products and solutions, APEL seizes the opportunity of the continuous and thriving global biotechnology market. According to data from Grandview Research1, the global biotechnology market is expected to reach US$1.55 trillion in 2023 and is projected to continue grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.96% to reach US$3.88 trillion in the coming years. This shows that the biotechnology industry is ushering in a golden era, and APEL, as a key industry player, will actively promote the development of local and global biomedical technology through the commercialization of scientific research results.

About APEL

Absolute Pure EnviroSci Limited (APEL), an indirect non-wholly owned subsidiary of Yee Hop Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock Code: 1662.HK), with a mission to improve the quality of life and living environment, is principally engaged in the business of distribution, research and development of specialty biomedical and biochemical products. APEL looks forward to working with researchers who aspire to help the green industries in Hong Kong grow, contributing together to the city and the Greater Bay Area’s low- carbon transformation and advance towards carbon neutrality, and also give the city impetus to pursue reindustrialization vital to her long-term prosperity.

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1 Data source: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/biotechnology-market

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