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The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Beeban Kidron joins calls against PM's AI tsar over tech-firm interests
Beeban Kidron, the film director who is campaigning against government plans to overhaul copyright rules for AI companies, has become the latest high-profile figure to complain about the role being played by the prime minister's AI tsar, Matt Clifford. Lady Kidron, an award-winning film director whose work includes Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, said ministers were only listening to people who stood to benefit from the controversial proposals, which will take another step forward on Tuesday. Clifford, a technology investor who is advising Keir Starmer on his AI strategy, continues to hold shares in dozens of AI companies, attracting criticism from anti-corruption campaigners. Ministers will on Tuesday close a consultation on whether they should make it easier for AI companies to train their algorithms on creative content such as films, songs and books – proposals which have sparked a backlash from cultural heavyweights such as Sir Elton John. Kidron said Clifford's appointment was part of a pattern of behaviour whereby the government pays more attention to the technology industry than those who stand to be affected by it. She said: 'It is for Peter Kyle [the technology secretary] and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to explain why they are taking advice exclusively from tech sector people such as Matt Clifford.' She added: 'It is obvious, that if you only listen to those who stand to benefit from a policy then you will hear that it is a great idea … This is a shameful policy based on lobbyist numbers and takes no account of the national interest.' Kidron's comments add to concerns among campaigners against the proposed changes that they are being sidelined in favour of corporate interests. Clifford began working as Starmer's AI adviser last year, having also advised his predecessor, Rishi Sunak. As an investor in technology stocks, he holds shares in dozens of companies in the AI sector, including many British startups. He is also the chair of Entrepreneur First, an investment firm he set up, which has holdings in more than 100 companies of its own. The government announced on Monday, however, that Clifford had sold all his shares in Faculty AI, the strategy company which has worked closely with the government on AI safety, the NHS and education. Downing Street defended Clifford, saying he had stuck to government disclosure rules since taking up his role. The prime minister's spokesperson said: 'He has followed the process … There is a process on appointment where you declare all of your interests, you work through necessary mitigations to manage any interests.' Sources have told the Guardian that Clifford has agreed not to buy or sell any of the companies he part-owns while working for the government, or to be involved in decisions on new investments made by Entrepreneur First. In the coming weeks, ministers will have to decide how easy they want it to be for AI companies to access creative content to build their models. The government has said it wants such content to be available by default, with an option to opt out of any such arrangement. But industry figures including John have argued it should instead be an opt-in system.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Miist Therapeutics Announces $7M In Funding to Develop Instant-Acting Medicine
Funding Will Accelerate Miist's Two Active Programs in Migraine and Smoking Cessation Phase 1 Smoking Cessation Trial Demonstrates Unmatched Speed with 92% Symptom Relief in Only 2 Minutes Scalable Approach and Technology Opens Up Instant Relief for Many Therapeutic Areas ALAMEDA, Calif., February 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Miist Therapeutics, a physics-based developer of inhaled medicines, today announced $7M in seed funding from investors including Refactor Capital, 1517 Fund, Freeflow Ventures, Entrepreneur First, and California Innovation Fund, among others. Miist has clinically validated its approach and is currently advancing two assets: MST-01 for the treatment of smoking addiction and MST-02 for the treatment of migraine. Phase 1 results for MST-01 demonstrate the speed of Miist's therapies, with patients achieving 92% symptom relief in only 2 minutes post dosing. Drawing on the experience of Miist's CTO Jeff Schuster, a Berkeley Physics PhD and aerosol drug delivery veteran, the company has developed a proprietary inhaler that generates sterile aqueous drug particles small enough to reach the peripheral lung. These aerosol drug particles are created using vibration, not heat, and are solely composed of water (the carrier) and the selected pharmaceutical molecule. When these particles reach the peripheral lung, where the blood-air barrier is 100x thinner than a single human hair, they are instantly absorbed across this barrier and into the bloodstream. Miist has clinically validated that this approach achieves peak plasma drug levels in less than 30 seconds, approximately 100x faster than the absorption of a pill. "So many therapeutic areas today are dominated by oral treatments that work far slower than patients want. A great example is migraine: when someone is suffering through debilitating migraine symptoms, they don't want to wait an hour for their pill to kick in. Their #1 priority is getting fast relief and that's what we're uniquely positioned to deliver," said Miist Therapeutics' CEO and co-founder, Dalton Signor. Zal Bilimoria, GP of Refactor Capital, is one of the earliest and largest backers behind Miist's mission. "The Miist team has executed across every phase of development, from early technical R&D through human clinical studies. With these Phase 1 trial results validating the rapid action of their peripheral lung delivery and multiple active programs already in development, there is a real opportunity here to set a new treatment standard for many conditions," says Bilimoria. Miist Therapeutics' founding team brings a diverse set of experiences and viewpoints that have been key to the company's success. Before joining forces and setting up their Bay Area HQ, Dalton Signor (CEO) was recruited by Entrepreneur First and started building Miist full time in London, Eric Ezerins (Head of R&D) had begun a career in ocular biotherapeutic drug delivery, and Jeff Schuster (CTO) had already established himself as one of the top technical minds in inhalation drug delivery. With this funding, the company is now positioned to accelerate its assets one step closer to the nearly 100 million patients who need them globally. About Miist Therapeutics Miist Therapeutics applies a physics-based approach to develop inhaled therapies that are faster acting and more effective than today's standard of care. The company's core technology is an inhaler that uses ultrasonic vibration to generate and deliver 2-micron aqueous drug particles to the peripheral lung, where they are instantly absorbed into the bloodstream. Using this novel approach, Miist is developing new inhaled therapies that will deliver instant relief for some of our most common and debilitating conditions. Learn more at View source version on Contacts Media Contact Treble Josh Georgioumiisttherapeutics@ Sign in to access your portfolio
