Archive for September, 2020

Nemaura Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: NMRD)

Nemaura Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: NMRD) is a medical technology company developing affordable diagnostic and digital tools for chronic disease management. Its flagship product, sugarBEAT®, is a wearable, non-invasive and flexible Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) designed to help people with diabetes and prediabetes manage their glucose levels. Insulin users can adjunctively use sugarBEAT when calibrated with a finger-stick glucose reading.

sugarBEAT consists of a daily disposable adhesive skin patch connected to a rechargeable transmitter with a smartphone app displaying glucose readings at five-minute intervals for periods of up to 24 hours. One of the great advantages of the product, apart from the fact that users no longer need to draw blood samples or prick their fingers, is that a person can wear the CGM patch on whatever day they choose. Existing CGM devices must be implanted under the skin. Wearable disposability is a unique feature of sugarBEAT and a world first, opening up vast potential for changing the way people manage their chronic disease conditions. sugarBEAT received CE mark clearance in May 2019, allowing it to be marketed and sold within the European Union as a Class 2b Medical Device. The company submitted a premarket approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 which is currently under review.

Founded in 2011, Nemaura set out to develop a single platform technology to measure blood markers at the surface of the skin. Since then, the company has evolved with the creation of wearable technologies and digital health care solutions that encourage and empower people to take charge of their own health and well-being. Nemaura’s skin surface blood monitoring technology has allowed the company to create additional products, which are in the pipeline, such as Lactate Monitoring.

Technologies

Digital Solutions for Weight Loss and Potential Reversal of Type 2 Diabetes

This is a digital program that comes with more than a decade of clinical evidence demonstrating excellent efficacy. The company has combined this with its glucose-monitoring platform to bring a product to market to help people with diabetes manage their condition and potentially reverse Type 2 diabetes.

Glucose Monitoring Solutions for Diabetes Prevention and Reversal

Over 420 million people worldwide are living with diabetes, and prediabetes cases total almost three times that number. Undoubtedly, diabetes is an urgent global health crisis. Combining clinical research with patient-friendly technology, Nemaura’s sugarBEAT product delivers a non-invasive, affordable and flexible method of blood glucose tracking for improved diabetes management.

Continuous Lactate Monitoring for Athletic Performance (Non-Medical)

Lactic acid is a key performance indicator for the body and a guide to how well muscles react to long term exertion and recovery. Well-trained athletes and those who regularly engage in sports are very efficient at faster lactate ‘recycling’ for extra energy (ATP). Nemaura expects to launch its lactate sensor to the sports and personal training market in 2022.

Continuous Lactate Monitoring in Disease State (Medical)

An increase in blood lactate levels is also a marker of critical disease states. Recent publications have indicated the presence of elevated lactate levels in patients with COVID-19 infection. Nemaura has developed a lactate sensor that is being integrated into the company’s platform, which will be submitted for regulatory clearance upon completion of requisite clinical studies.

Continuous Temperature Monitoring for Viral Infection Detection and Disease Progression

A person’s body temperature says a lot about their health. Several diseases, including COVID-19, are characterized by an increase in body temperature, so temperature monitoring is a vital tool in the detection, diagnosis and prevention of the spread of disease. Nemaura is expecting to submit this adaptation of the device for regulatory clearance in 2022.

Market Opportunity

Obesity and diabetes are two of the major drivers of the current chronic disease epidemic. According to the International Diabetes Federation, there are more than 463 million people living with diabetes worldwide. In the U.S., about 28,000 people are diagnosed with diabetes every week, and more than 34 million suffer from diabetes. Another 88 million Americans have prediabetes. Other industrialized countries show similar numbers based on their populations. In the U.K., 4.8 million people have diabetes, with another diagnosed every two minutes. In Germany, 9.5 million have diabetes, with almost half estimated to be undiagnosed and so at greater risk.

On average, employers and insurers spend more than $9,000 annually on health care for an employee with diabetes, compared to $1,600 annually for a healthy employee. In the U.S. alone, more than $760 billion was spent on diabetes-related health care expenditures during 2019. Nemaura is positioned at the intersection of the global Type 2 diabetes market that is expected to reach nearly $59 billion by 2025, the $50-plus billion prediabetic market, and the wearable health-tech sector for weight loss and wellness applications forecast to hit $60 billion by 2023.

Management Team

Dr. Faz Chowdhury has been CEO and chairman of the board of Nemaura Medical since 2013. He has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, taking products from concept to commercial launch. He is sole inventor on more than 100 granted and pending patents and has authored textbook chapters on nano-biosciences for Wiley and Elsevier. He holds a master’s degree in microsystems and nanotechnology from Cranfield University, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford in nano-medicine and drug delivery.

Justin Mclarney is CFO at Nemaura. He most recently was the Senior Director, International Finance at Lands’ End Inc. He also worked for Office Depot as Senior Director of Finance for the largest business unit within the European group. Prior to that, he spent more than 10 years in practice, the majority of which was with Ernst & Young LLP.

Dr. Fred Schaebsdau is Vice President of Strategy & Strategic Alliances at Nemaura. He has more than 15 years of executive experience in the CGM, blood glucose monitoring and insulin delivery industries, including time with Abbott Diabetes Care, as General Manager of Dexcom Germany and at Roche Diabetes Care, where he was Senior Vice-President, Head of Global Strategy and Business Development. The firm he founded is the exclusive distributor in Europe, the Middle East and Africa of UniStrip®, the world’s first generic blood glucose test strip. He is licensed to practice medicine in the U.S. and Germany.

David Scott is Director of Commercial Development and Licensing at Nemaura. He is a trained chemist with over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including deal brokering, marketing, strategic planning, finance, business development and acquisitions. He has also provided licensing training for a number of multinational pharma companies and training organizations and is the author of best-selling report Scrip’s Practical Guide to Pharmaceutical Licensing.

Investment Considerations

  • Nemaura’s flagship product, sugarBEAT®, is a wearable, non-invasive and flexible Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) designed for people with diabetes and prediabetes.
  • sugarBEAT received CE mark clearance in May 2019, allowing it to be marketed and sold within the European Union, and Nemaura has submitted a premarket approval application to the U.S. FDA.
  • Nemaura continues to build a world-class management team.
  • Nemaura plans to launch a direct to consumer metabolic health program in 2021, using its glucose monitoring platform at the core of the program.
  • Nemaura has several patents (both filed and pending) and substantial trade secrets covering its technology platform.
  • The company has orders in the U.K. for 200,000 sugarBEAT sensors and a further 2 million projected over the next two years for the U.K. alone.
  • The company is positioned at the intersection of the global Type 2 diabetes market that is expected to reach nearly $59 billion by 2025, the $50-plus billion prediabetic market, and the wearable health-tech sector for weight loss and wellness applications forecast to hit $60 billion by 2023.


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Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: SCNI)

Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: SCNI) is a biotechnology company focused on developing, manufacturing, and commercializing innovative immunotherapeutic products primarily for the treatment of infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases.

In collaboration with the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPG) and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), both in Germany, Scinai is developing a pipeline of innovative nanosized antibody (NanoAb) therapies addressing diseases underserved by current treatments and with large and growing markets, such as COVID-19, asthma and psoriasis.

NanoAbs, also known as VHH-antibodies or Nanobodies, are alpaca-derived nanosized antibodies that exhibit multiple significant competitive advantages over existing antibody therapies, including stability at high temperatures, superior binding affinity, more effective and convenient routes of administration and efficient production. Scinai is uniquely positioned to advance nanosized antibody innovation from R&D through commercialization.

The company’s highly experienced and successful pharmaceutical industry leadership team includes former senior executives from Novartis, GSK and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Since its founding, Scinai has executed eight clinical trials, including a seven-country, 12,400-participant Phase 3 trial of a prior influenza vaccine candidate, and it built, owns and operates a 20,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art GMP biologics manufacturing facility housing its laboratories, production facilities and offices.

Lead Candidate: Inhaled COVID-19 NanoAb

In December 2021, Scinai signed definitive agreements with the Max Planck Society – parent organization of the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences– and the UMG to enter a strategic collaboration for the development and commercialization of innovative COVID-19 NanoAbs.

The company is planning a rapid development path that leverages its expertise and capabilities in biological drug development and manufacturing. Scinai anticipates preclinical proof-of-concept results for an inhaled COVID-19 NanoAb by the end of 2022, with initial Phase 1/2a human clinical trial results expected in 2023.

The intended inhaled mechanism of delivery of Scinai’s COVID-19 NanoAb formulation may serve as a significant differentiator when compared to approved monoclonal antibodies, which are injected. Inhaled delivery has shown to be cheaper, more convenient and likely safer for patients and providers.

NanoAb Pipeline: Psoriasis, Asthma and More

The COVID-19 NanoAb development agreement is part of a broader five-year research collaboration agreement signed in March 2022 covering discovery, development and commercialization of NanoAbs for several other disease indications with large market medical needs, including asthma, psoriasis, macular degeneration and psoriatic arthritis.

Scinai has an exclusive worldwide license for development and commercialization of COVID-19 NanoAbs and exclusive options for similar worldwide licenses for NanoAbs for the above mentioned additional large market disorders currently underserved by approved therapeutic antibodies.

Academic research teams from MPG and UMG have verified strong affinity by the new NanoAbs to their biological target molecules and high thermostability. They have also demonstrated strong neutralization by several NanoAb candidates of their respective target molecules. Neutralization studies of the other NanoAbs are expected to begin later in 2022.

Based on the promising results, Scinai will focus development efforts beginning with the following NanoAbs:

  • NanoAbs targeting IL-17 as drug candidates for the potential treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
  • NanoAbs targeting IL-13 and NanoAbs targeting TSLP as drug candidates for the potential treatment of asthma

These are conditions for which the antibody target is validated by existing treatments and the mechanism of action is well understood. Both represent large medical needs and growing markets. Scinai anticipates preclinical proof-of-concept for at least one of these NanoAbs in 2023. This is in addition to the aforementioned human clinical Phase 1/2a for the inhaled COVID-19 NanoAb therapy, which is also anticipated in 2023.

CDMO Services

While NanoAb pipeline development is Scinai’s core focus, the company also offers its cGMP manufacturing facility, aseptic fill and finish suite, laboratories and experienced professionals for contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services. This offering is designed to keep the Scinai team abreast of the latest industry developments and trends while building experience and generating revenue to support the company’s NanoAb pipeline development.

Market Opportunity

COVID-19 treatment, target of the company’s lead NanoAb therapy candidate, had an estimated market size of $22 billion in 2021.

Future Scinai drug candidates will target conditions with large markets growing at attractive CAGRs.

The global asthma treatment market was valued at $18.08 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $26.01 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period, according to Fortune Business Insights. The research firm predicts that the global psoriasis treatment market will grow from $26.37 billion in 2022 to $47.24 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.7% over the forecast period.

Management Team

Amir Reichman is Scinai’s CEO. He previously was Head of Global Vaccines Engineering Core Technologies at GSK Vaccines in Belgium. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at Novartis Vaccines’ Global Vaccines Supply Chain Management organization. He was the first employee of NeuroDerm Ltd., a company focused on transdermal drug delivery, and served as Senior Scientist until his departure in 2009. He earned a M.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering from Ben-Gurion University and an MBA in Finance and Health Care Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Tamar Ben-Yedidia, Ph.D., is Chief Science Officer at Scinai. She has more than 30 years of experience in immunology, with specific expertise in the development of vaccines. She began her career with Biotechnology General Ltd., working on development of a recombinant Hepatitis-B vaccine. She later joined the Weizmann Institute of Science, working on the design of a peptide-based vaccine against several pathogens. She is widely published, with numerous refereed articles and invited reviews in various scientific journals. She received her Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute.

Elad Mark is COO at Scinai. He has over 15 years of biotechnology industry experience encompassing diverse project stages including feasibility studies, conceptual and detailed design, commissioning, qualification and process validation. Prior to joining BiondVax, he led Novartis’s $800 million investment in a biologics facility in Singapore. With Biopharmax and Antero, both global pharmaceutical engineering companies, he successfully led projects in Israel, China and Singapore. He holds a BSc. in Engineering from the Afeka Tel Aviv Academic College of Engineering and an MBA from the Open University of Israel.

Uri Ben-Or is CFO at Scinai. He has served as CFO with public life science companies traded on the TASE, OTC and Nasdaq. Ben-Or provides his services to Scinai through CFO Direct, a company he founded and for which he serves as CEO. He served as the VP of Finance of Glycominds, a leading biotechnology company, and as CFO of a spin-off from Telrad Networks. He also served as a Corporate Controller at Menorah Capital Markets and as an Auditor at PWC. He holds a B.A. in Business from the College of Administration, an MBA from Bar-Ilan University, and is a CPA.


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Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN)

Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) is a Southern California-based automotive company that owns and partners with several synergistic businesses working toward the unified goal of creating clean and scalable energy solutions. Mullen has evolved over the past decade in sync with consumers and technology trends. Today, the company is working diligently to provide exciting EV options built entirely in the United States and made to fit perfectly into the American consumer’s life. Mullen strives to make EVs more accessible than ever by building an end-to-end ecosystem that takes care of all aspects of EV ownership.

Commencement of Trading on Nasdaq

On November 5, 2021, Mullen announced its commencement of trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

“Today is a monumental day for Mullen Automotive. I am especially proud of our team, investors and all who have believed in Mullen and taken us to this point as a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Capital Market,” David Michery, CEO and Chairman of Mullen Automotive, stated in the news release. “Trading on Nasdaq now opens us up to new investors, both institutional and retail shareholders, and broadens our awareness and company profile, while increasing awareness of Mullen and our technology platform and opening new opportunities in EV and beyond. The road ahead has never been brighter for Mullen, and I am proud to lead us into the future.”

The milestone came in the wake of the company’s stock-for-stock merger with Net Element Inc.

The Mullen FIVE

The Mullen FIVE EV Crossover, debuting at the Los Angeles International Auto Show (LAIAS) on November 17, 2021, embodies Mullen’s Southern California roots with an inspired design focused on two complementary Golden State themes – California landscape and California urban.

The FIVE is built on an EV Crossover skateboard platform that offers multiple powertrain configurations and trim levels in a svelte design that is Strikingly Different™and exciting to experience in person. Capable of 0-60 in 3.2 seconds with a max speed of 155 mph, the FIVE comes with an estimated range of 325 miles.

Prior to the start of LAIAS, the Mullen FIVE was selected as a finalist by the LA Auto Show for Top EV SUV in the Zero Emission Vehicle Awards (ZEVAs) “People’s Choice” Awards.

LAIAS provides Mullen an opportunity to display multiple variants of the FIVE model while also showcasing its powertrain, battery and charging technology. Additionally, the FIVE will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2022. The company intends to bring the FIVE to market in 2024, and reservations are currently open here.

Mullen’s development portfolio also includes EV Fleet Vans, which it intends to bring to market in Q2 2022, and the pure electric, high-performance Sports Car, the DragonFLY.

Expansion of Manufacturing Capacity

On November 2, 2021, Mullen announced plans to expand its facility in Robinsonville, Mississippi.

Mullen’s Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Facility (AMEC) currently occupies 124,000 square feet of manufacturing space. The total available land on the property is over 100 acres, and Mullen is moving ahead with plans to build out another 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing space to support class 1 and class 2 EV cargo vans and the Mullen FIVE EV Crossover.

On the expanded site, Mullen plans to build a body shop, a fully automated paint shop and a general assembly shop.

EV Market Outlook

The global EV market was reported to consist of 3,269,671 units in 2019, a figure that is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.1% through 2030 to a total of 26,951,318 units worldwide. This market’s monetary value was estimated at $162.34 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.6%, resulting in an approximate value of $802.81 billion by 2027. The primary driver for this exponential growth is a worldwide increase in vehicle emissions regulations.

Management Team

Mullen is led by an executive team with extensive EV, OEM and, high-growth startup experience. David Michery is the CEO and Founder of Mullen and has been leading the company and its divisions since inception in 2014. With over 25 years of executive management, marketing, distressed assets, and business restructuring experience, Mr. Michery brings a wealth of relevant knowledge and expertise to the Mullen brand. He has notably created 12 trademarks so far to develop the company brand and vision.

Mr. Michery is working toward a sustainable future accessible to all by creating a suite of clean-energy electric vehicles at varied price points. With entirely U.S.-based manufacturing and operations, he is also determined to have Mullen Technologies play a role in shaping a self-sustaining local economy by creating more jobs in America.

Mr. Michery manages risks and company expectations as a pathway to success and has personally overseen several businesses that totaled over $1 billion in transactions. His key strength is the ability to be fiscally responsible and lead teams to complete projects on time and within budget. As a seasoned professional in this space, Mr. Michery has demonstrated skill in building businesses from the ground up and into successful entities that subsequently sold for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Investment Considerations

  • Mullen Automotive is working diligently to provide exciting EV options built entirely in the United States and made to fit perfectly into the American consumer’s life.
  • The company commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on November 5, 2021, following a stock-for-stock merger with Net Element Inc.
  • The Mullen FIVE EV Crossover, debuting at the Los Angeles International Auto Show (LAIAS) on November 17, 2021, is currently open for reservations.
  • The global EV market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 22.6% through 2027.
  • Mullen is led by CEO and Founder David Michery, a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of management, marketing, distressed assets, and business restructuring experience.


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McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX)

McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) is an asset rich diversified gold and silver producer in the Americas and has a large exposure to copper through its subsidiary, McEwen Copper, owner of the Los Azules copper deposit in Argentina, believed to be the 9th largest undeveloped copper resource in the world.

is an asset rich diversified gold and silver producer in the Americas and has a large exposure to copper through its subsidiary, McEwen Copper, owner of the Los Azules copper deposit in Argentina, believed to be the 9th largest undeveloped copper resource in the world.

Led by a management team with a track record of success, MUX owns and operates mines in some of the most prolific gold producing regions in the Americas. In recent months, the company has undertaken strong actions to lower production costs and increase production across its portfolio of gold assets, driving some costs below the industry average. Gold and copper prices are forecast to enter a major uptrend over the next couple years. McEwen Mining is laying the groundwork to capitalize on this opportunity now.

Seldom is management so aligned with investors’ interests with a commitment to the company’s success. CEO Rob McEwen maintains a 17% ownership stake in McEwen Mining and a 13.8% ownership in McEwen Copper with a combined cost base of roughly $220 million. McEwen founded Goldcorp, where he took the company from a market capitalization of $50 million to over $8 billion, and that same vision led MUX to create McEwen Copper.

For McEwen Mining shareholders, the company’s 51.9% stake in McEwen Copper is expected to be a gamechanger, turbocharging MUX by creating the world’s next copper unicorn.

McEwen Copper

Most mined copper is currently used in infrastructure, with new critical demand emerging for use in the electrification of transportation and the global energy transformation. The price of copper rose from a low of about $2 per pound two years ago to over $4 per pound today, and strong demand is expected to continue to soar. A study by S&P Global, titled The Future of Copper: Will the Looming Supply Gap Short-circuit the Energy Transition?, projects global copper demand to nearly double over the next decade, from 25 million metric tons today to about 50 million metric tons by 2035. Based on current trends, S&P Global projects annual supply shortfalls to reach nearly 10 million metric tons in 2035.

McEwen Mining is a 51.9% shareholder in McEwen Copper, holder of a 100% interest in the Los Azules copper project in San Juan, Argentina, which was ranked the 9th largest undeveloped copper deposit in the world by Mining Intelligence (2022). Its current copper resources are estimated at 10.2 billion pounds at a grade of 0.48% Cu (Indicated category) and an additional 19.3 billion pounds at a grade of 0.33% Cu (Inferred category). McEwen Copper also owns a copper exploration project in Nevada, called Elder Creek.

In a 2017 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), Los Azules was estimated to have a 36-year life, but indications are that the project could ultimately become an even larger mine, with a longer life, since in the assessment, only 55% of the known copper resources are to be mined. Numerous drill holes have shown strong copper mineralization extending below the PEA pit bottom. Its average annual production for its first 13 years was pegged at 415 million pounds of copper in the 2017 PEA – enough copper to supply 2.2 million electric vehicles per year.

In August 2022, McEwen Copper closed its non-brokered, private placement offering of $82 million, after securing a $25 million investment from mining giant Rio Tinto’s technology arm, Nuton LLC. In February 2023, Nuton agreed to invest an additional $30 million into McEwen Copper. Its current stake in the copper subsidiary is 14.2%.

“We are extremely pleased to have Nuton’s strong continued participation in McEwen Copper,” Rob McEwen stated in a news release. “Together we are exploring new technologies that save energy, water, time and capital in the pursuit of delivering green copper to Argentina and the world, a product that will contribute to the electrification of transportation and the protection of our atmosphere.”

Also in February 2023, FCA Argentina S.A., a subsidiary of Stellantis N.V., one of the world’s leading automakers, invested ARS $30 billion in McEwen Copper to advance development of the Los Azules copper project and for general corporate purposes. Its current stake in McEwen Copper is 14.2%.

“We are delighted to have Stellantis as a partner in the future development of our Los Azules copper project,” Rob McEwen said of the investment. “Together, we share a vision to build a mine for the future based on regenerative principles that can achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2038.”

Another of Rio Tinto’s subsidiaries, Kennecott Exploration, signed an option to earn a 60% interest in McEwen Copper’s other copper project, Elder Creek, by spending $18 million on exploration. The Elder Creek project is prospective for porphyry copper and gold mineralization and is well situated in a district hosting several large copper and gold mines, including Marigold, Lone Tree and Phoenix. Kennecott Exploration will be the operator of the exploration program. McEwen Mining holds a 1.25% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the Elder Creek property.

Following the capital raise, McEwen Copper is well-funded to advance its Los Azules Project. Publication of an updated PEA on the Los Azules copper project is planned for Q2 2023. A Feasibility Study and IPO are planned for 2024. MUX is strategically reducing its interest to increase its treasury, in order to reduce debt and fund the further development of its gold and silver mines. In May 2023, the company decreased its senior secured debt by $25 million through the secondary sale of McEwen Copper shares.

When McEwen Copper’s Los Azules copper project is compared with other recent transactions and market valuations of copper projects in the same region, it appears very undervalued.

MUX’s management believes its ownership stake in McEwen Copper is not currently reflected in the share price of the company. In fact, it is management’s belief that the combined value of its 51.9% interest in McEwen Copper, plus its gold mines and portfolio of mineral royalties, represents a share value ranging from a low of $8 to a high of $34 per share, as detailed in the company’s latest corporate presentation.

Gold & Silver Projects

The Fox Complex

McEwen Mining owns a 100% stake in the Fox Complex in the heart of a prolific gold district in Timmins, Canada.

When MUX bought the Fox Complex, in late 2017, it was a distressed asset with a history of high operating cost/oz. While it has taken longer than I expected, the cost to produce an ounce of gold is significantly lower,” CEO Rob McEwen stated in a news release.

In Q1 2023, McEwen Mining reported cash cost/oz at the Fox Complex of $1,088 on quarterly production of 12,700 GEOs. This was in line with the company’s guidance and marked a significant improvement from Q1 2022, when the mine struggled with effects of the pandemic and equipment failures.

Located in one of the most prolific gold production areas in the world, along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, the Fox Complex includes the Black Fox mine and Froome mine which together have, so far, produced in excess of 1,000,000 ounces of gold. Also, it includes the Grey Fox and Stock deposits that have an estimated additional 1,600,000 ounces in reserves and resources. The 2.7-billion-year-old Abitibi Greenstone Belt, formed by ancient volcanic activity, has proved to be one of the world’s richest and most abundant gold regions, boasting total gold content of over 300 million ounces.

Full year 2023 guidance for The Fox Complex puts production estimates at 45,000 GEOs, 28% of MUX’s total production.

The Gold Bar Mine

McEwen Mining owns a 100% stake in the Gold Bar mine located in an area well known for gold production, the southern Roberts Mountains of the Battle Mountain-Eureka-Cortez gold trend in Eureka County, Central Nevada. The Gold Bar mine is on the same geological structure some 25 miles south of Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture of Barrick and Newmont. This Cortez-Goldrush complex contains estimated reserves and resources of greater than 50 million gold ounces. Its annual gold production is 1,000,000 ounces.

Gold Bar had been previously mined, between 1991 and 1994, producing 134,000 gold ounces. MUX built a new facility in 2019. The open pit mine was expected to be a large contributor to MUX’s revenue and gold production, however operating challenges arose that reduced gold production and drove cost/oz unacceptably high. Mining activities have shifted recently to a nearby, satellite deposit called Gold Bar South (GBS). Going forward the expectations are higher gold production and lower operating cost/oz as a result of mining a higher ore grade (concentration of gold per ton) and having to move half the amount of material to capture an ounce of gold.

Gold Bar continued to ramp-up mining from the Gold Bar South deposit in Q1 2023, and successfully placed 15,000 contained gold ounces on the heap leach pad. Following delays due to extreme snow and rainfall, mining resumed at the site in April, which will continue to add gold inventory to the heap leach pad, contributing to the increase of production in the balance of the year.

The Gold Bar Mine will account for approximately 28% of McEwen Mining’s 2023 total attributable production, with guidance pegged at 45,000 GEOs. Most of Gold Bar production in 2023 will be from GBS.

El Gallo/Fenix

Project Fenix is the proposed redevelopment plan for McEwen Mining’s El Gallo Complex in Mexico. There is a long history of mining in this region. MUX’s involvement began in 2013 operating it as an open pit, heap leach mine which produced 281,000 gold equivalent ounces at average cash cost of $655 per ounce. However, due to the transition to deeper sulfide mineralization that is not amenable to heap leaching, mining activities ceased in the second quarter of 2018. The redevelopment envisions constructing a mill at the existing mine site that will initially reprocess the existing heap leach material then transition to open pit mining and processing the sulphide mineralization. The company recently acquired a complete process plant on very advantageous terms that has considerably reduced the projected capital requirements for the project.

CEO Rob McEwen stated in a news release, “This acquisition has made Fenix more attractive to build and could provide a new long life mine for McEwen Mining.

The initial development approach is to build a mill to reprocess the material on the heap leach pad and produce approximately 17,000 oz of gold annually for eight years. Construction of the Fenix project is expected to be completed by early 2024.

Mine San José

McEwen Mining is a 49% owner and non-operator of the San José gold and silver mine located in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. This high-grade underground mine has been operating since 2007 and currently has an expected life of six years with a reserve grade of 342 gpt silver and 5.7 gpt gold and a resource grade of 427 gpt silver and 7.0 g/t gold.

Exploration is continuing to extend high-grade veins and discover new veins at the complex. San José’s drilling programs to define additional resources and reserves have a long history of success due to a high vein density, aided by good geophysical response from hidden veins. Drilling at the Telken target in the South of the property, and adjacent to Newmont’s Cerro Negro mine, is planned for Q3.

Production guidance for 2023 for MUX’s 49% is 70,000 GEOs, 44% of MUX’s total production. As a minority shareholder in the mine, MUX equity accounts for its investment in San Jose, and it receives 49% of the dividends from the mine’s free cash flow.

Market Outlook

Mining stocks took a beating in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that could change, as many analysts are now forecasting a gold bull market in 2023.

The operating challenges we faced in recent years have severely damaged our credibility with our shareholders and the market. As a result, few investors have taken a close look recently at our assets,” Rob McEwen said in a news release. “If they did, I believe some would see the potential value that I see today… I believe there is considerable potential value in MUX, and that is a big reason why I have a personal financial commitment of $220 million in MUX and McEwen Copper.

Management Team

Robert R. McEwen is Chairman, CEO and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining. He has been associated with the gold industry all his career, with his first 18 years in the investment industry and, since 1990, as CEO of several gold mining companies. He founded Goldcorp and took that company from a $50 million market capitalization to more than $8 billion. He owns 17% of McEwen Mining and is in complete alignment with investors – the cost of his investment in MUX and McEwen Copper is $220 million and he takes an annual salary of only $1. He was awarded the Order of Canada and the Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Award, was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame, was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and has Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from York University and Western University.

William Shaver is interim COO and a Director of McEwen Mining. He has decades of management and executive experience in mine design, construction and operations. He was a founder of Dynatec Corporation, which became one of the leading contracting and mine operating groups in North America. In 2013, he was recognized as Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Most recently, he served as COO of INV Metals. He is a Professional Engineer with a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queens University.

Perry Ing is interim CFO at McEwen Mining. He has 25 years of experience in the Canadian mining industry. Over the past 15 years, he has held positions as CFO of Mountain Province Diamonds, Kirkland Lake Gold and McEwen Mining. Prior to that, he worked at Barrick Gold and Goldcorp and started his career in the mining practice at PwC. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant in Canada and Certified Professional Accountant in the U.S.

Adrian Blanco S. is the company’s Director – America and Mexico Operations. He has extensive international experience in several industrial sectors and has held executive positions in Mexico, the United States, Peru and Argentina. He joined the McEwen Mining team in 2015 and has led a successful business transformation toward operational discipline, best business practices and financial profitability at subsidiaries Compañia Minera Pangea and McEwen Mining Nevada. He graduated from an Executive Management Program at IPADE and Harvard Business School.

Michael Meding is Vice President and General Manager of McEwen Copper. He has over 20 years of international experience, primarily with major mining companies such as Barrick Gold and Trafigura, including extensive experience with project development and operations in Argentina. While at Barrick Gold’s Veladero mine in Argentina, Mr. Meding played a key role in the turnaround, extension of the mine life and subsequent strategic partnering with Shandong Gold. He holds an MBA from Indiana University in Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Leipzig Graduate School of Management in Germany.

Investment Considerations

  • McEwen Mining is an asset rich gold and silver producer with large exposure to copper.
  • McEwen Mining CEO Rob McEwen maintains a 17.3% ownership stake in McEwen Mining with a cost base of roughly $220 million.
  • McEwen Copper’s Los Azules project is one of the world’s largest and most economically robust underdeveloped copper projects.

Additional Resources

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Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX)

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) is a global innovator in drug delivery platforms. The company’s patented technology, DehydraTECH™, improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) enter the bloodstream by promoting healthier oral ingestion methods and increasing the effectiveness of fat-soluble active molecules.  DehydraTECH promotes fast-acting, less expensive and more effective oral drug delivery and has been thoroughly evaluated through in vivo, in vitro and human clinical testing.

DehydraTECH is covered by 19 issued and more than 50 pending patents in over 40 countries around the world. Lexaria’s first patent was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October 2016 (US 9,474,725 B1), providing 20 years of patent protection expiring June 2034. Multiple patents have been awarded since then and are expected in the future.

Lexaria has also collaborated with the National Research Council (NRC), the Canadian government’s premier research and technology organization. The company has been granted patent protection for specific delivery of nicotine, vitamins, NSAIDs, antiviral drugs, cannabinoids and more.

Lexaria began developing DehydraTECH in 2014 and has since continued to strengthen and broaden the technology. The company has no plans to create or sell Lexaria-branded products containing controlled substances. Instead, Lexaria licenses its technology to other companies around the world to offer consumers the best possible performance across an array of ingestible product formats.

The company’s technology is best thought of as an additional layer that providers of consumer supplements, prescription and non-prescription drugs, nicotine and CBD products can utilize to improve the effectiveness of their own existing or planned new offerings. Lexaria has licensed DehydraTECH to multiple companies, including a world-leading tobacco producer for the research and development of smokeless, oral-based nicotine products, and for use in industries that produce cannabinoid beverages, edibles and oral products.

DehydraTECH is suitable for use with a wide range of product formats including pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, consumer packaged goods and over-the-counter capsules, pills, tablets and oral suspensions.

DehydraTECH Technology

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH is designed specifically for formulating and delivering lipophilic (fat-soluble) drugs and active ingredients. DehydraTECH increases their effectiveness and improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients enter the bloodstream. The major benefits to a subject ingesting a DehydraTECH-enabled drug or consumer product can be summarized by the following:

  • Speeds up delivery – the effects of the product are felt by the subject in just minutes.
  • Increases bioavailability – the technology is much more effective at delivering a drug or product into the bloodstream.
  • Increases brain absorption – animal testing suggests significant improvement in the quantity of drug delivered across the blood-brain barrier.
  • Improves drug potency – more of the ingested product is made available to the body, so lower doses are required to achieve the desired effect.
  • Reduces drug administration cost – lower doses mean lower overall drug costs.
  • Masks unwanted taste – the technology eliminates or reduces the need for sweeteners.

Lexaria has demonstrated in animal studies a propensity for DehydraTECH technology to elevate the quantity of drug delivered across the blood-brain barrier by as much as 1,900 percent, initiating additional new patent applications and opening possibilities for improved drug delivery.

Since 2016, DehydraTECH has repeatedly demonstrated, with cannabinoids and nicotine, the ability to increase bio-absorption by up to five to 10 times, reduce time of onset from one to two hours to just minutes, and mask unwanted tastes. The technology is to be further evaluated for additional orally administered bioactive molecules, including antivirals, cannabinoids, vitamins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and nicotine.

Market Outlook

Lexaria’s ongoing research and development efforts are mainly focused on development of product candidates across several key segments:

  • Oral Cannabinoids – a market estimated to be worth $18.4 billion in 2021 and expected to reach $46.2 billion by 2025.
  • Antivirals – an estimated $52.1 billion market in 2021 that’s expected to grow to $66.7 billion by 2025.
  • Oral Mucosal Nicotine – smokeless tobacco products, a $13.6 billion market in 2018, is forecast to grow at 7.2 percent annually through 2025.
  • Human Hormones – estrogen and testosterone replacement therapies represented a $21.9 billion market in 2019, with a forecast CAGR of 7.7 percent through 2027.
  • Ibuprofen and Naproxen – NSAID sales totaled $15.6 billion globally in 2019 and are projected to reach $24.4 billion by 2027.
  • Vitamin D3 – the global market size was $1.1 billion in 2021, growing at 7 percent per year and expected to reach $1.7 billion in 2026.

Management Team

Chris Bunka is Chairman and CEO of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. He is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in several private and public companies since the late 1980s. He has extensive experience in the capital markets, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate finance. He is named as an inventor on multiple patent innovations.

John Docherty, M.Sc., is the President of Lexaria. He is a pharmacologist and toxicologist, and a specialist in the development of drug delivery technologies. He is the former president and COO of Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: HBP). He is named as an inventor on multiple issued and pending patents.

Greg Downey is Lexaria’s CFO. He has more than 35 years of diverse financial experience in the mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, and construction industries, and in the public sector. He served for eight years as CFO for several public companies and has provided business advisory and financial accounting services to many large organizations.

Gregg Smith is a strategic advisor to Lexaria. He is a founder and private investor with Evolution VC Partners. He is a member of the Sand Hill Angels and held previous investment banking roles with Cowen and Company and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Dr. Philip Ainslie serves as a scientific and medical advisor to Lexaria. He is co-director for the Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, Canada. He is also Research Chair in Cerebrovascular Physiology and Professor at the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Development at the University of British Columbia.

Investment Considerations

  • Lexaria Bioscience Corp. has disruptive proprietary technology protected by a broad international patent portfolio.
  • The company has been issued 19 patents in the U.S., European Union and other countries, with more than 50 patents pending around the world.
  • Lexaria’s DehydraTECH technology has a vast worldwide, multi-billion-dollar total addressable market, including multiple rapid-growth segments like cannabinoid and noncombustible nicotine delivery.
  • The company has licensed its fat-soluble active molecule delivery technology to multiple established companies for use in their products.v
  • Lexaria completed an uplisting to Nasdaq Capital Markets and an $11 million financing in January 2021.


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Kaival Brands Innovations Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KAVL)

Kaival Brands Innovations Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KAVL) is a company focused on growing and incubating innovative and profitable products into mature and dominant brands in their respective markets. Its vision is to develop internally, acquire, own or exclusively distribute these innovative products and grow each into dominant market-share brands with superior quality and recognizable innovation. In line with this vision, Kaival Brands is the exclusive global distributor of all products manufactured by Bidi Vapor LLC, which are intended exclusively for adults 21 and over.

Kaival Brands is on a mission to set the highest standard and elevate the adult consumer experience for vaping. The company is headquartered in Grant, Florida.

Bidi® Stick

Bidi® Stick, Bidi Vapor LLC’s primary offering, is the fastest-growing closed system disposable electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) in the U.S.

Intended exclusively for adults 21 and over, the one-time use device is designed with premium features, including a high-quality battery, satisfying Class A nicotine offering consistently smooth throat hits and an aluminum body. Bidi Stick is ready to use straight from the package, providing a consistent and precise amount of nicotine with every draw.

Bidi Stick and all Bidi Vapor products are sold primarily through national convenience stores, as well as online exclusively through authorized direct retailers and GoPuff, the digital convenience store.

Bidi® Cares Initiative

The tamper-resistant Bidi Stick is the only ENDS on the market with an ecologically friendly, mass-recycling program. The Bidi® Cares initiative focuses on promoting sustainable practices to save the environment, one step at a time, through proper disposal of vapor products.

Through Bidi Cares, Kaival Brands and Bidi Vapor aim to promote and educate consumers on the dangers of improper waste disposal.

Bidi® Pouch

On January 26, 2021, Kaival Brands took a step toward building on the success of Bidi Vapor’s e-cigarette device when it announced the debut of the Bidi® Pouch. Officially launching in early February, the Bidi Pouch provides a tobacco-free nicotine formulation packed in an easy-to-go tin can, available in six flavors.

“We are excited that Bidi Vapor continues to develop and innovate new ways to bring the Bidi Vapor experience to adult consumers. Bidi Vapor’s new Bidi Pouch offering, which we will exclusively distribute, is just another example of our ability to meet the demands of the marketplace,” Niraj Patel, CEO of Kaival Brands, stated in the news release. “The pouch marketplace is yet another opportunity to demonstrate Bidi Vapor’s premium experience to adult users. We believe that Bidi Vapor’s share of the nicotine pouch market will rival Bidi Vapor’s market share achievement in vape. It represents a significant opportunity for us as the exclusive distributor of Bidi Vapor’s products in 2021 and beyond.”

Recent Corporate Developments

  • March 1, 2021: Kaival Brands announced its entry into two new distribution agreements boosting the company’s potential store count for Bidi Vapor products to over 54,000 – a 500% increase over 2020. Patel noted in the news release that this milestone, along with recent corporate developments, has the company “feeling extremely confident about [its] fiscal year 2021 revenue guidance range of $400m – $450 million.”
  • March 16, 2021: The company reported $37.4 million in revenue for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2021. This figure brought its cumulative revenues since commencing business operations in March 2020 to roughly $100 million, despite revenue slowdowns during the fourth quarter of 2020 as a result of packaging and labeling updates. Patel forecast an increase to revenues during Kaival Brands’ second fiscal quarter ending April 31, 2021. He also reaffirmed the company’s confidence in its fiscal 2021 revenue guidance.
  • March 18, 2021: Kaival Brands announced its appointment of three new directors to its board ahead of its proposed uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market. The appointments of Paul Reuter, Carolyn Hanigan and Roger Brooks as independent directors are intended to ensure the company complies with certain Nasdaq corporate governance rules.
  • March 31, 2021: The company announced that Bidi Vapor LLC has successfully completed the regulatory process to enter four new, significant markets – the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Russia.

Market Outlook

The U.S. e-cigarette and vape market was valued at $6.09 billion in 2020, according to data from Grand View Research. The firm expects the industry to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 27.3% from 2021 to 2028, with growth factors including rising awareness of tobacco alternatives.

Management Team

Nirajkumar Patel is the CEO, CFO, President, Treasurer and Director of Kaival Brands and owner of Bidi Vapor LLC. In 2004, Patel received a Bachelor of Science in pharmaceutical sciences from AISSMS College of Pharmacy in Pune, India. He moved to the United States in 2005, and he continued his education at the Florida Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 2009 with a master’s degree in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry. He currently holds a Six Sigma Black Belt Certification.

Eric Mosser is the COO, Secretary and Director of Kaival Brands. Mosser attended Arizona State University, where he studied business management. In 2004, he graduated from Rio Salado College with an associate degree in applied science in computer technology.

Paul Reuter is a Director of Kaival Brands. He brings to the company nearly five decades of industry experience in small box retail as a journalist, editorial director, entrepreneur and speaker. Mr. Reuter has launched two successful businesses, including MidWest Retail Group LLC, which was the largest U.S. 7-Eleven franchise group, where he served as Chairman and founding partner from April 2013 through June 2019. He is also the founder of Kreative Collaborations LLC, an industry consultancy.

Carolyn Hanigan is a Director of Kaival Brands. She served as the President of Reynolds American Innovation Company, an operating company of Reynolds American Inc. (“RAI”), from January 2016 to June 2018. Ms. Hanigan also led the global vapor collaboration with British American Tobacco (“BAT”) up until RAI was acquired by BAT in 2017. She served as the architect of RAI’s U.S. reduced risk products strategic direction to further the vision of transforming tobacco, preparing the U.S. commercial execution and regulatory applications for a wide array of products, including the Glo tobacco heating products; the Velo nicotine pouches; and the Alto, Ciro, Vibe and Solo nicotine vaporizers. Ms. Hanigan holds a Bachelor’s degree in business from Boston College and a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Mary’s College.

Roger Brooks is a Director of Kaival Brands. Since 2005, he has served as the Chairman, Treasurer and Co-Founder of Abierto Networks. Prior to his roles with Abierto, Mr. Brooks was the lead independent director and a member of the compensation and audit committees for Moldflow Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed software firm that was sold to Autodesk Inc. in 2008. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University, Stern Graduate Business School. He is also a graduate of the Stanford University Executive Management Program.

Investment Considerations

  • Kaival Brands is the exclusive global distributor for Bidi Vapor LLC, including both Bidi® Stick and Bidi® Pouch.
  • Bidi Stick is the fastest-growing closed system disposable electronic nicotine delivery system in the U.S.
  • Kaival Brands debuted Bidi Pouch, a tobacco-free nicotine formulation packed in an easy-to-go tin can, in Q1 2021.
  • The company reported $37.4 million in revenue for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2021, bringing its cumulative total since commencing business operations in March 2020 to roughly $100 million.
  • Kaival Brands recently filed for uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market.
  • The U.S. e-cigarette and vape market is forecast to achieve a 27.3% CAGR from 2021 to 2028, reaching a valuation of $40.25 billion, according to Grand View Research.


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InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INM)

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INM) is a global leader in the manufacturing and clinical development of rare cannabinoids. InMed is a clinical stage company developing cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical drug candidates, as well as manufacturing technologies for pharmaceutical-grade rare cannabinoids.

The company is dedicated to delivering new therapeutic alternatives to treat conditions with high unmet medical needs. The company is also developing a proprietary manufacturing technology to produce pharmaceutical-grade rare cannabinoids in the lab and has recently announced an LOI to acquire a leading rare cannabinoid manufacturer

Research and Technology

There are more than 100 rare cannabinoids found in only trace amounts in the cannabis plant, together making up less than 1% of the plant’s biomass. InMed is initially focused on the therapeutic benefits of cannabinol (CBN) in diseases with high unmet medical need. Preclinical studies of CBN demonstrated an excellent safety profile and showed CBN has potential for therapeutic benefit over other cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

Evidence suggests there may be great therapeutic potential in rare cannabinoids. Each has a specific chemical structure, and different cannabinoids have been observed to have distinct physiological properties in humans, including therapeutic potential for specific diseases as well as unique safety profiles. CBN is the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in InMed’s two lead programs for dermatological and ocular diseases.

InMed’s most advanced compound, INM-755, is a CBN topical cream under clinical development for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa, a severe genetic skin disorder. To date, INM-755 has been evaluated in two Phase 1 clinical trials in healthy volunteers. InMed has filed Clinical Trial Applications in several countries as part of a global Phase 2 clinical trial of INM-755 (cannabinol) cream in epidermolysis bullosa. Responses from the National Competent Authorities and Ethics Committees are expected throughout the summer of 2021.

InMed is also involved in developing INM-088, an ocular CBN formulation being researched for the treatment of glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the developed world. InMed is currently evaluating several formulations to deliver CBN into the eye to address issues of dosing frequency, side effects and treatment penetration. INM-088 is being designed for topical delivery to the eye. This localized delivery results in very little drug being absorbed or migrating into the bloodstream, thus minimizing potential adverse side effects. INM-088 shows promise to reduce intraocular pressure and provide neuroprotection of the eye.

Manufacturing

The limited availability of rare cannabinoids like CBN makes them economically impractical to extract directly from the plant for pharmaceutical use. InMed is developing IntegraSyn, a cannabinoid synthesis manufacturing system to create rare cannabinoids in the lab that are bioidentical to the compounds derived from the cannabis plant. IntegraSyn uses multiple standard pharmaceutical processes and has achieved a cannabinoid yield of 5 grams per liter, surpassing commercial viability and significantly exceeding currently reported industry yields. InMed is now focusing on manufacturing scale-up to larger batch sizes while continuing process optimization, targeting increased cannabinoid yield and further reducing overall cost of goods.

BayMedica Inc. Acquisition

On June 29, 2021, InMed announced it had entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire BayMedica Inc., a private company based in Nevada and California that specializes in the manufacture and commercialization of rare cannabinoids.

As noted in the news release, BayMedica is a revenue-stage biotechnology company leveraging its significant expertise in synthetic biology and pharmaceutical chemistry to develop efficient, scalable and proprietary manufacturing approaches to produce high quality, regulatory-compliant rare cannabinoids for consumer applications. BayMedica is currently commercializing the rare cannabinoid CBC (cannabichromene) as a B2B supplier to distributors and manufacturers marketing products in the health and wellness sector. BayMedica is planning additional rare cannabinoid launches for the coming year.

Pursuant to the indicative terms of the LOI, InMed and BayMedica intend to negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement under which InMed would acquire 100% of BayMedica in exchange for 1.6 million InMed common shares to be issued to BayMedica’s equity and convertible debt holders, with any such issued InMed common shares being subject to a six-month contractual hold period.

Market Outlook

There is a rapidly growing demand for rare cannabinoids. However, their low natural concentration makes traditional harvesting of these compounds cost prohibitive. Biosynthesis allows production of rare cannabinoids in the lab that are bioidentical to compounds found in nature, with significantly higher yields which reduce costs. Biosynthesis can produce pharmaceutical-grade, bioidentical, THC-free compounds at a cost that’s 70 to 90 percent less than wholesale prices of naturally harvested rare cannabinoids.

Cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals are expected to overtake the market as rare cannabinoids become less expensive and more available. According to Statista, the value of the consumer market for cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals in the United States is forecast to grow to $25 billion by 2025 and to $50 billion by 2029, with cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals used to treat health conditions including pain, respiratory conditions, autoimmune conditions and more.

Management Team

Eric A. Adams has been CEO and president of InMed since June 2016. He has more than 25 years of experience in establishing corporate entities, capital formation, global market development, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and corporate governance. He previously served as CEO at enGene Inc. Prior to enGene, he held senior positions in global market development with QLT Inc. (Vancouver), Advanced Tissue Sciences Inc. (La Jolla, CA), Abbott Laboratories (Chicago, IL) and Fresenius AG (Germany).

Bruce S. Colwill is InMed’s CFO. He has more than 25 years of financial leadership experience in public and private companies. Prior to InMed, he served as CFO of General Fusion Inc., a private clean energy company. He was also CFO at Entrée Resources Inc., a mineral exploration company, from 2011 to 2016. He has held CFO roles at Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Response Biomedical Corp, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. and Euronet Worldwide Inc.

Alexandra D.J. Mancini is Senior Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at InMed. She has more than 30 years of global biopharmaceutical research and development experience. She has been an executive with numerous biotech companies, including senior vice president of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at Sirius Genomics; senior vice president of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at INEX Pharmaceuticals; and vice president of Regulatory Affairs at QLT Inc.

Eric C. Hsu is Senior Vice President, Pre-Clinical Research and Development at InMed. He joined InMed with more than 18 years of scientific leadership experience in the field of gene therapy. He has held various positions within enGene Inc., including vice president of Research and vice president of Scientific Affairs and Operations. He received his Doctorate from the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.

Michael Woudenberg is Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls at InMed. He has more than 20 years of successful drug development, process engineering, GMP manufacturing and leadership experience. He has held positions with 3M, Cardiome Pharma, Arbutus Biopharma and, most recently, was Managing Director of Phyton Biotech LLC.

Investment Considerations

  • InMed has a world class leadership team with a successful track record of drug development and commercialization.
  • The company recently announced closing of a $12 million private placement.
  • InMed has a solid and expanding intellectual property portfolio with multiple patents filed.
  • The company recently signed an LOI to acquire rare cannabinoids manufacturer BayMedica.
  • InMed retains all commercial rights to its IntegraSyn manufacturing system.
  • InMed has filed clinical trial applications in several countries as part of a Phase 2 clinical trial of INM-755 (cannabinol) cream in epidermolysis bullosa.
  • The consumer market for cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals in the United States is forecast to grow to $25 billion by 2025 and to $50 billion by 2029.


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Golden Matrix Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GMGI)

Golden Matrix Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GMGI), based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is an established gaming technology company that develops and owns online gaming IP and builds turnkey online casino solutions for gaming operators as well as configurable and scalable white-label gaming platforms for international customers, located primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. GMGI’s gaming IP includes tools for marketing, acquisition, retention and monetization of users. The company’s platform can be accessed through both desktop and mobile applications.

GMGI’s sophisticated software automatically declines any gaming or redemption requests from within the United States, in strict compliance with U.S. law.

Golden Matrix, through a subsidiary, also runs a pay-to-enter prize competition in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The company’s shares began trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol ‘GMGI’ on March 17, 2022. Golden Matrix shares were previously traded on the OTCQX Best Market.

For the quarter ended January 31, 2022, the company reported revenue of $8.88 million, an increase of 355% over the same quarter one year earlier. Net income for the three-month period was $349,379, up from $52,158 a year earlier. It was the company’s 14th consecutive profitable quarter.

In December 2021, Golden Matrix announced it had entered into a purchase agreement to acquire a controlling ownership interest in UK-based RKingsCompetitions Ltd., one of Ireland’s and the United Kingdom’s leading independent online competition companies. RKings presents customers with paid and free entry routes to competitions that offer a range of prizes, including residential properties, luxury and exotic motor vehicles, holiday packages, technology packages and cash. The competitions are currently open only to residents of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Golden Matrix acquired an 80% ownership interest in RKings for cash and stock. The company also secured an option to purchase the remaining 20 percent interest of RKings, subject to certain requirements.

In March 2022, Golden Matrix announced it had applied for a Mexican gaming permit and, once approved, expects to offer online gaming in Mexico as well as roll out the RKings tournament business globally.

Technology

Golden Matrix Group develops fully operational online casino turnkey solutions as well as highly modular, configurable and scalable gaming platforms for its international customers in an effort to promote user acquisition, engagement, retention and monetization. The provided white label gaming platform is unparalleled in both mobile and desktop website deployment, proving compatible throughout all major operating systems and web browsers. In addition, the platform enhances the client’s ability to cater to various gaming scenarios including but not limited to transaction management and a range of loyalty and reward programs. Moreover, user engagement is optimized through the ability to accommodate both free and paid games.

The company’s GM-X System (and recently its next generation GM-Ag System) is considered the industry standard, granting access to over 10,000 games from more than 25 game providers. Through the GM-X System, Golden Matrix offers the industry’s most extensive game portfolio. The company’s gaming partners dominate the global online gaming market to deliver innovative games and premium brand titles. The GM-X System offers payment gateways that integrate with third party platforms or digital wallets. It supports all major currencies and offers multiple language options. The system’s data analytics provide the operator with a 360-degree view of the gaming platform’s performance.

GMGI currently supports over 500 unique casino brands and over 6 million players.

Market Outlook

Online gaming and sports betting sites and apps are increasingly taking market share from traditional location-based casinos. Widespread internet service availability and increasing use of mobile phones for playing online games from homes and public places is driving the market, according to a report from Grand View Research. In addition, factors such as easy access to online gambling, legalization and cultural approval, corporate sponsorships, and celebrity endorsements are also contributing to market growth. The growing availability of cost-effective mobile applications across the globe is further expected to fuel market growth.

This trend is only expected to accelerate as millennials reach their peak earning years and Gen Z youth begin to complete their education and move into careers. These generations are completely comfortable with online recreation, and with using technology like digital wallets and digital gameplay that underpins online gaming.

The global online gambling market was valued at $53.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.5% from 2020 to 2027 to reach a value of $127.3 billion, according to Grand View Research, with much of the growth expected from the U.S. and Asia. Even Europe, the most mature gaming market, is expected to grow at a rate of 20-25% year-over-year.

Management Team

Brian Goodman is CEO of Golden Matrix Group. He has more than 20 years of diverse senior management experience and business development roles within the technology and internet gaming industries. He has a tertiary science qualification as well as a marketing and sales background. His previous roles have been entrepreneurial and include CEO and senior management positions in smaller organizations, which he founded or in which he held equity, as well as multinational organizations.

Cathy Feng is COO at Golden Matrix. She is a co-founder of GMGI and holds a Master of Commerce degree. She has 10 years of experience as a financial officer in the technology and internet gaming industries. In past management positions, she interpreted, analyzed and presented financial and operation information to facilitate business decisions, grow companies and resolve complex problems. In addition, she has skills in marketing, business development, leadership and strategic planning.

Omar Jimenez is CFO and Chief Compliance Officer at GMGI. Prior to joining the company, he was CFO and COO of Alfadan Inc., a supplier of marine outboard engines. He has held senior financial management and operational positions at public and private companies including NextPlay Technologies, American Leisure Holdings, US Installation Group and Onyx Group. He holds various accounting professional certifications, including CPA and CPCU, and degrees in finance, accounting and business.

Henry Zhang is Chief Technology Officer at Golden Matrix. He oversees all aspects of development, integration and deployment of GMGI’s technology systems. He plays a key role in evolving GMGI’s technology business to lead and shape the industry. He is responsible for developing and scaling new businesses, including online gaming, eSport and P2P Systems. He was instrumental in launching the GM-X system and has been with the company for more than six years.

Investment Considerations
  • Golden Matrix’s common stock began trading on the Nasdaq on March 17, 2022.
  • The company achieved record revenues of $8.88 million in the quarter ended January 31, 2022, marking a year-over-year increase of 355%.
  • Golden Matrix reported net income for the quarter ended January 31, 2022, of $349,379, versus $52,158 one year earlier.
  • Golden Matrix has delivered exceptional growth over the years, with 14 consecutive profitable and cash flow positive quarters.
  • Golden Matrix has a solid balance sheet and intends to make accretive and synergistic acquisitions in the coming months, with all targeted acquisitions to be profitable and cash positive.
  • Golden Matrix in March 2022 announced it has applied for a gaming permit in Mexico and expects to offer iGaming and launch the RKings tournament platform there.
  • GMGI currently supports over 500 unique casino brands and over 6 million players.


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FingerMotion Inc. (OTCQX: FNGR)

FingerMotion Inc. (OTCQX: FNGR) is an evolving technological company with core competencies in mobile payment and recharge platform solutions in China. FingerMotion is in the process of developing additional value-added technologies to market to users.

Founded in 2016, FingerMotion’s goal is to serve over a billion users in the Chinese market and expand its model to other regional markets. The company has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York City.

Current Offerings

FingerMotion is analyzing and transforming mobile data to improve the lifestyle of the public through technology and innovation. The company’s current offerings include:

  • Telecommunications Products and Services – FingerMotion’s proprietary universal exchange platform, ‘PigeonHole Integration System (PIS)’, offers seamless integration between telecom operators and online stores. The service platform’s offerings include top up and recharge, data plan, mobile phone, loyalty points redemption and subscription plans. The platform offers reliable and secure transactions, real-time reconciliation, simple integration for partners and efficient settlements.
  • SMS and MMS Services – The integrated platform is registered as FingerMotion’s IP in China and provides a robust back-end control panel for corporate partners to manage their own messaging settings. FingerMotion’s clients range from insurance to financial industries, ecommerce firms, airlines and more. The platform offers competitive pricing for partners and provides quick and efficient review to meet timely marketing initiatives.
  • Big Data Insights – FingerMotion brings Big Data-enabled insurance solutions through its Big Data Insights arm, Sapientus. The company’s strategic partnerships with the largest Chinese telecommunications giants allow access to uncover behavior insights through geolocation and mobile data usage. Its Big Data offerings include risk scoring, precise marketing, simplified underwriting and customized products.
  • Rich Communication Services (RCS) – FingerMotion’s RCS platform will be a proprietary business messaging solution that enables businesses and brands to communicate their services to customers via 5G infrastructure. The company expects its RCS platform to offer a better user experience, more efficiency and cost-effectiveness when compared to other solutions.

Telecommunications and Insurtech Markets

The global telecommunications market was valued at $1.74 trillion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% from 2020 to 2027. The steady increase is expected to be driven by the adoption of 5G and the increased popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The Chinese telecom market was valued at $254.1 billion in 2017 and is also constantly expanding. The current Chinese telecom market is dominated by three mobile operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, which together are responsible for around 1.6 billion active subscribers (https://ibn.fm/zfwy9).

In addition, the insurtech (insurance technology) market was valued at $2.72 billion globally in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 48.8% from 2021 to 2028. The large increase is attributed to the rising use of technology solutions for everyday activities like acquiring insurance coverage (https://ibn.fm/TGo7D).

Through its proprietary platforms and technologies, FingerMotion is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the telecom and insurtech markets’ growth and opportunities.

Management Team

Martin J. Shen is the Chief Executive Officer of FingerMotion Inc. He has over 15 years of experience in senior management roles within entrepreneurial startups and large multinational corporations. He has acquired a wide range of corporate management, financial oversight and operation administration expertise through these roles. In his most recent role, he founded Imperial Distributors (formerly known as AP Martin Pharmaceutical Supplies Ltd.), establishing the company as the preferred choice for distributional support to regional pharmacies throughout Western Canada. Before founding Imperial, Mr. Shen served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Wales and Son Industrial (formerly Weir Minerals), a firm specializing in global delivery and support for mining slurry equipment. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver, with work tours in the tax department in Singapore and the tax audit and advisory group in Hong Kong. Mr. Shen is a U.S. Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia.

Lee Yew Hon is the company’s Chief Financial Officer. From 2006 until November 2020, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Cubinet Interactive Group of Companies, and he also took on the Chief Operating Officer role in 2011. During his tenure, he was instrumental in leading Cubinet and building teams across the Southeast Asia region, setting up financial processes within a short time. Mr. Lee spearheaded the growth of Cubinet to other regions, including Europe, the Middle East and Russia. He received his diploma from Tunku Abdul Rahman College in 1996. He is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Malaysia Institute of Accountants (MIA) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (ACMA).

Li Li is the Senior Vice President of FingerMotion. She recently served as Advisor to Shenzhen WuYiKa Technology Co. Ltd., a comprehensive service platform dedicated to online service distribution and payment. The company has become a fast and efficient provider of new media marketing solutions for the mobile internet. She has held high-level management positions with multiple industry names, including Hangzhou JiuYue Information Technology Co. Ltd. and Hangzhou LingXuan Information Technology. Ms. Li started her career in 2004, founding Shanghai ChuangYeZZ Network Technology Co. Ltd. and serving as its Vice President. With the close cooperation of local operators, the company launched SMS, MMS, WAP, mobile JAVA games, Hunan Satellite TV e-magazine and other wireless internet services to meet the rapid development of wireless internet and application requirements. She received her degree from Nanjing Academy of Engineering.

Investment Considerations

  • FingerMotion’s current offerings includes telecommunications products and services, SMS and MMS services, Big Data Insights (Sapientus) and a Rich Communication Services (RCS) platform.
  • The global telecom industry reached $1.74 trillion in 2019 and was forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5% from 2020 to 2027.
  • The insurtech market was valued at $2.72 billion for 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 48.8% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2028. FingerMotion’s proprietary platform, Sapientus, is poised to leverage demand for mobile insurance in the Chinese market.
  • The company’s Rich Communication Services platform will provide additional resources for businesses and brands in China looking to increase their communications networks and leverage 5G technology.
  • The company’s management team is made up of individuals who are highly experienced in finance and Big Data, including multiple entrepreneurs who have successfully founded their own companies.


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Freight Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGT)

Freight Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGT) (“Fr8Tech”) is a technology company developing solutions to optimize and automate the supply chain process, providing a platform for B2B cross-border shipping in the NAFTA region. The company’s mission is to revolutionize cross-border shipping by providing carriers with increased growth opportunities and shippers with flexibility, visibility and simplicity for the once-complex process of international over-the-road shipping.

Freight Technologies, formerly known as Hudson Capital Inc., assumed its current name and ticker symbol on May 27, 2022. Its primary operating subsidiary and its marketplace are known as Fr8App, and it conducts operations throughout North America under the names of Fr8App and/or Freight App. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with multiple locations across the U.S. and Mexico.

The Fr8Tech Solutions Suite

Fr8Tech leverages artificial intelligence to provide cloud-based platforms aimed at automating the over-the-road transportation process, effectively reducing human touch points and expediting load booking times. The company’s suite of solutions includes:

  • Fr8app – A B2B marketplace powered by AI and Machine Learning offering a real-time broker portal to connect shippers with qualified carriers
  • Fr8Radar – A tracking solution providing shippers and carriers real-time locational data via Fr8app’s mobile solution or through integration with third-party GPS alternatives
  • Fr8TMS – A transportation management system designed to help shippers manage their freight and all of the documents involved in shipping transactions, including invoices, customs documents, confirmation rates and proof of deliveries
  • Fr8FMS – A fleet management system allowing transportation companies to better manage their fleets, reduce operational costs and provide better service to their customers
  • Fr8Data – A data solution offering real-time dashboards and reports to shippers and carriers in an effort to increase visibility and control while supporting better business decisions
  • Fr8Fleet – A platform that provides private fleet management, enabling large corporate shippers to purchase dedicated capacity secured by Fr8app in exchange for a fixed fee

Commitment to the Environment

Through its core focus on technology, Fr8Tech seeks to reduce the carbon footprint of the logistics industry. Its solutions aim to minimize empty miles for transportation firms and reduce overall paper consumption.

Fr8University

Fr8University is an educational program offering classroom and on-the-job training for Fr8Tech team members. Through the program, employees learn in-depth business fundamentals and applications along the truckload freight industry value chain.

Led by corporate educator Mario Mena, Fr8University is designed as an investment in the company’s human capital, providing an opportunity to communicate Fr8Tech’s corporate culture while accelerating operational growth.

Market Outlook

Fr8Tech’s established foothold in Mexico is key to its current efforts to promote sustainable growth in the cross-border shipping industry. Ongoing disruption in U.S.-Chinese trade relations have strengthened Mexico’s status as the largest trading partner of the U.S., with cross-border annual freight spending estimated at $385 billion according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Annual domestic shipping in Mexico is estimated at $34 billion, while annual domestic shipping in the U.S. is estimated to total $732 billion.

Despite the size of this industry, fragmentation and inefficiencies prevail in the space. Thousands of legacy brokers, tens of thousands of shippers and hundreds of thousands of carriers still rely on outdated systems to arrange transport, spending hours on the phone negotiating pricing, waiting days to find trucks and drivers, preparing and printing forms, and operating without tracking or visibility. Add in cross-border complexity relating to customs and additional paperwork, and you have an industry ripe for technological disruption.

Fr8Tech’s recent revenue growth trends have highlighted the company’s efforts to capitalize on this opportunity. In 2021, Fr8Tech achieved revenues of $21.5 million, marking a year-over-year increase of 134%. The company issued revenue guidance for fiscal 2022 of $40 million in a February 9, 2022, press release, which would account for a further 86% year-over-year increase.

Management Team

Javier Selgas is CEO and a Director of Freight Technologies Inc. and Freight App Inc. He brings to the company over 15 years of experience developing technology and digital marketing strategies, including serving as Country Manager for Osigu, Spain, and as head of AJEgroup’s IT division for the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to joining Fr8Tech, Mr. Selgas founded digital marketing agency Lanzadera Online. He has also served as an IT consultant to major corporations, including Endesa and Ibermatica.

Mike Flinker is President of Fr8Tech. He has over four decades of experience in the transportation industry, with 30+ years focused on cross-border logistics. Prior to joining Fr8Tech, Mr. Flinker founded FLS Transportation, the largest cross-border logistics company in Canada. He also previously held positions with Clarke Transport Inc., Canadian Pacific and Reimer Express Inc. (a division of Roadway Express).

Paul Freudenthaler is the company’s CFO and Secretary to the company Board. He has over 30 years of financial expertise, having previously served as CFO for several leading companies across multiple countries, including Macquarie in Mexico, Old Mutual in Latin America and Ascentium Capital in the U.S. Mr. Freudenthaler’s experience include leadership roles from which he guided IPOs and M&A transactions.

Luisa Lopez is COO of Fr8Tech. She brings to the company 25+ years of management experience in logistics, supply chain, operations and customer service. Ms. Lopez previously served as a Director of Landstar, where she was responsible for commercial and client development strategies in the Mexican market. Additionally, she managed more than 2,000 transport units specialized in staff and school mobility while with Traxion in Mexico.


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Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC)

Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) is an internationally focused cannabis brand builder that leverages natural, cost-effective cultivation practices to supply cannabis derivatives to its diverse business divisions, including cosmetics, hemp textiles, and food and beverage. Flora Growth operates one of the largest outdoor cultivation facilities in the world with an aim of marketing a higher-quality premium product at below-market prices. By prioritizing natural ingredients and value-chain sustainability across its portfolio, the company creates premium products that help consumers restore and thrive.

Flora Growth completed the first traditional cannabis IPO on Nasdaq in May 2021. Although currently headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with plans to relocate its head office to Miami, Florida, the company’s base of operations is in Colombia, where it has built an extensive distribution network that includes Colombia’s largest distributors.

Currently, Flora Growth is organically growing market share for its existing brand portfolio (pharmaceuticals, textiles, cosmetics, and food & beverage) while seeking revenue-generating acquisitions that offer an accretive distribution network to amplify revenue growth.

Existing Brand & Product Portfolio

Flora Growth’s portfolio spans a number of verticals – each with a thoughtful brand designed to resonate with its intended end consumer. In line with the company’s mission, each brand prioritizes natural ingredients and value-chain sustainability.

Flora Lab S.A.S

Flora Lab is the company’s GMP certified manufacturing and R&D center focused on producing pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals for domestic and international markets. Its offerings include product lines that are private label, white-label, and custom formulas.

Through Flora Lab, Flora Growth has relationships with 1,500+ distribution channels, manufactures 63+ OTC products registered with INVIMA (Colombia National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute), and holds multiple GMP certifications enabling international export in an effort to leverage Flora Lab’s capacity to produce a wide range of CBD-infused products.

Flora Beauty

Flora Beauty is the company’s CBD beauty and cosmetics division founded by fashion and beauty industry icon Paulina Vega. Its current offerings include two CBD skincare brands targeting the U.S. and Latin American markets – MIND NATURALS and AWE. These lines exemplify Flora Growth’s socially conscious approach to business. Currently, Flora Beauty products are offered globally through e-commerce, as well as through Falabella’s 111 retail locations across Latin America. The company is in negotiations with major department stores to launch the line in the U.S. and is also exploring opportunities in the U.K. and other European markets.

KASA Wholefoods

KASA Wholefoods is a Colombian manufacturer of food and beverages leveraging responsibly sourced exotic fruits from the Amazon. KASA has a $10 million+ distribution agreement with Tropi, Colombia’s largest food distributor, which has 130,000+ distribution points across the country.

Mambe, KASA’s leading brand, is already offered through over 980 distribution points across Colombia. Flora Growth expects this network to grow to over 1,200 distribution points in 2021, including one of Colombia’s largest coffee chains, Tostao Café & Pan.

Hemp Textiles & Co.

Through its Hemp Textiles division, Flora Growth intends to utilize its large land package and cultivation infrastructure to capture market share in the rapidly growing hemp industrials segment.

The company’s first brand through this division, Stardog Loungewear, offers a line of comfortable loungewear made from natural, organic materials. Stardog has been distributing globally through e-commerce and brick and mortar channels in Bogota since fall 2020, and the company intends to open U.S. brick and mortar locations in 2021.

Accretive M&A

Flora Growth is targeting transactions to complete the supply chain via key infrastructure to enhance its global distribution with the aim to compete on low-cost, high-quality inputs paired with premium brands that create business lines with robust margins.

To date, Flora has announced two major transactions.

Koch & Gsell (Acquisition)

  • Amplify CPG portfolio’s revenue growth through leading brand, Heimat, currently with TTM revenues of $7.6 million.
  • Leverage Koch &Gsell’s distribution network of 2,500+ stores to introduce Flora to the Swiss, European and Asian markets.
  • Bring patented hemp cigarette manufacturing technology into new markets utilizing Flora’s high-quality cannabis.

Hoshi International (Investment)

  • Equity Investment of €2 million into Hoshi to establish Flora as a preferred supplier to two EU processing facilities.
  • Opens gateway for Flora Growth’s cannabis through international distribution agreements in the EU and U.K.
  • Hoshi’s experienced team and increased access to the EU cannabis market to serve as a catalyst for revenue growth.

Cultivation

Key to Flora Growth’s expansion efforts is its cultivation strategy. The company’s Cosechemos farm, located in Bucaramanga, Colombia, is currently licensed to cultivate 247 acres of cannabis. Through three successful pilot crop plantings, the location has demonstrated a production cost of just $0.06/gram. For comparison, the average cost of North American cannabis (based on 2019 figures from Aphria, Tilray, Sundial, and Aurora) equates to roughly $1.89/gram.

Flora Growth is uniquely positioned to capitalize on Colombia’s favorable growing conditions, low-cost infrastructure, and affordable local workforce as it looks to ramp up its cultivation efforts moving forward.

Leadership Team

Bernard Wilson is the Chairman of Flora Growth. A senior financial professional, Dr. Wilson is the former Vice-Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and is the Chairman of the Founders Board of the Institute of Corporate Directors. He has also served as Chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce – Canada; and Member of the Canada/U.S. Trade Committee. Dr. Wilson draws on this experience to ensure Flora Growth adheres to effective corporate governance practices.

Luis Merchan is the company’s President and CEO. He is a proven executive with over a decade of experience in enterprise sales management, corporate strategy, merchandising and expense management, and customer experience. Mr. Merchan previously served as Macy’s Inc.’s Vice President of Workforce Strategy and Operations, where he managed the enterprise’s multi-billion-dollar P&L expense line for the entire 540 store portfolio. Throughout his tenure at Macy’s, he led various sales and marketing initiatives, including the B2B corporate sales team that was responsible for $160 million in annual revenue. Mr. Merchan obtained his Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Pontifical Xaverian University in Bogota, Colombia, and his MBA from McNeese State University. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Marketing Management from Harvard.

Juan Manuel Galan is a Strategic Advisor to the Flora Growth management team. Mr. Galan currently serves as a senior consultant to The World Bank. He is a politician and former senator of Colombia, serving three terms from 2006 to 2018 as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He is also a former professor at the University of Rosario and holds more than 20 years of journalistic, academic, governmental and parliamentary experience. During his time as a senator, Mr. Galan was a key leader, with 29 bills and 27 debates on political control, and 17 laws to his name. The most relevant of those laws was authoring the medical cannabis law that resulted in the legalization of medical cannabis in Colombia.

Stan Bharti is a Director of Flora Growth. Mr. Bharti currently serves as Executive Chairman of Forbes & Manhattan. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in business, finance, markets, operations and more, with a focus on the resource and technology sectors. To date, Mr. Bharti has amassed over $3 billion worth of investment capital for the companies with which he has worked and their shareholders. He is a Professional Mining Engineer and holds a master’s degree in engineering from Moscow, Russia, and University of London, England.

Javier Franco is the company’s VP of Agriculture. Mr. Franco is a master horticulturist with more than 25 years of experience in the design, implementation, and management of cultivation and propagation facilities of more than 30 species of cut flowers in Latin America. He completed his agricultural studies at Zamorano University in Honduras and later at an International Exchange Program at Ohio State University. Mr. Franco has directed technical, commercial, and research groups in the cut flower, fruit and vegetable markets in Latin America and has participated in the commercial development of new technologies applied in agribusiness. He has also led the agri-management of organic crops and certifications of Good Agricultural Practices.

Investment Considerations

  • Flora Growth is uniquely positioned to achieve revenue growth, with a balance sheet supported by two successful financings and the recent launch of multiple operating divisions.
  • The company boasts a robust M&A pipeline featuring strategic targets with near-term revenue growth opportunities and global distribution channels.
  • Flora Growth is led by an exceptional management team featuring cannabis, CPG, and capital markets experts who have raised more than $3 billion in combined public financings.
  • The company’s brand portfolio features 280+ products, 70+ medical and cosmetic licenses, and 2,500+ points of distribution across Latin America and the U.S.
  • Flora Growth has a healthy balance sheet with minimal debt; the company reported a cash balance of $25.3 million with long-term debt of just $0.7 million as of April 19, 2021.
  • The company’s all-natural, outdoor cultivation operations allow for production costs below $0.06 per gram – roughly 60% lower than its closest peer.


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FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR)

FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) is an evolving technological company with core competencies in mobile payment and recharge platform solutions in China. FingerMotion is in the process of developing additional value-added technologies to market to users.

Founded in 2016, FingerMotion’s goal is to serve over a billion users in the Chinese market and expand its model to other regional markets. The company has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York City.

Current Offerings

FingerMotion is analyzing and transforming mobile data to improve the lifestyle of the public through technology and innovation. The company’s current offerings include:

  • Telecommunications Products and Services – FingerMotion’s proprietary universal exchange platform, ‘PigeonHole Integration System (PIS)’, offers seamless integration between telecom operators and online stores. The service platform’s offerings include top up and recharge, data plan, mobile phone, loyalty points redemption and subscription plans. The platform offers reliable and secure transactions, real-time reconciliation, simple integration for partners and efficient settlements.
  • SMS and MMS Services – The integrated platform is registered as FingerMotion’s IP in China and provides a robust back-end control panel for corporate partners to manage their own messaging settings. FingerMotion’s clients range from insurance to financial industries, ecommerce firms, airlines and more. The platform offers competitive pricing for partners and provides quick and efficient review to meet timely marketing initiatives.
  • Big Data Insights – FingerMotion brings Big Data-enabled insurance solutions through its Big Data Insights arm, Sapientus. The company’s strategic partnerships with the largest Chinese telecommunications giants allow access to uncover behavior insights through geolocation and mobile data usage. Its Big Data offerings include risk scoring, precise marketing, simplified underwriting and customized products.
  • Rich Communication Services (RCS) – FingerMotion’s RCS platform will be a proprietary business messaging solution that enables businesses and brands to communicate their services to customers via 5G infrastructure. The company expects its RCS platform to offer a better user experience, more efficiency and cost-effectiveness when compared to other solutions.

Telecommunications and Insurtech Markets

The global telecommunications market was valued at $1.74 trillion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% from 2020 to 2027. The steady increase is expected to be driven by the adoption of 5G and the increased popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The Chinese telecom market was valued at $254.1 billion in 2017 and is also constantly expanding. The current Chinese telecom market is dominated by three mobile operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, which together are responsible for around 1.6 billion active subscribers (https://ibn.fm/zfwy9).

In addition, the insurtech (insurance technology) market was valued at $2.72 billion globally in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 48.8% from 2021 to 2028. The large increase is attributed to the rising use of technology solutions for everyday activities like acquiring insurance coverage (https://ibn.fm/TGo7D).

Through its proprietary platforms and technologies, FingerMotion is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the telecom and insurtech markets’ growth and opportunities.

Management Team

Martin J. Shen is the Chief Executive Officer of FingerMotion Inc. He has over 15 years of experience in senior management roles within entrepreneurial startups and large multinational corporations. He has acquired a wide range of corporate management, financial oversight and operation administration expertise through these roles. In his most recent role, he founded Imperial Distributors (formerly known as AP Martin Pharmaceutical Supplies Ltd.), establishing the company as the preferred choice for distributional support to regional pharmacies throughout Western Canada. Before founding Imperial, Mr. Shen served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Wales and Son Industrial (formerly Weir Minerals), a firm specializing in global delivery and support for mining slurry equipment. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver, with work tours in the tax department in Singapore and the tax audit and advisory group in Hong Kong. Mr. Shen is a U.S. Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia.

Lee Yew Hon is the company’s Chief Financial Officer. From 2006 until November 2020, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Cubinet Interactive Group of Companies, and he also took on the Chief Operating Officer role in 2011. During his tenure, he was instrumental in leading Cubinet and building teams across the Southeast Asia region, setting up financial processes within a short time. Mr. Lee spearheaded the growth of Cubinet to other regions, including Europe, the Middle East and Russia. He received his diploma from Tunku Abdul Rahman College in 1996. He is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Malaysia Institute of Accountants (MIA) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (ACMA).

Li Li is the Senior Vice President of FingerMotion. She recently served as Advisor to Shenzhen WuYiKa Technology Co. Ltd., a comprehensive service platform dedicated to online service distribution and payment. The company has become a fast and efficient provider of new media marketing solutions for the mobile internet. She has held high-level management positions with multiple industry names, including Hangzhou JiuYue Information Technology Co. Ltd. and Hangzhou LingXuan Information Technology. Ms. Li started her career in 2004, founding Shanghai ChuangYeZZ Network Technology Co. Ltd. and serving as its Vice President. With the close cooperation of local operators, the company launched SMS, MMS, WAP, mobile JAVA games, Hunan Satellite TV e-magazine and other wireless internet services to meet the rapid development of wireless internet and application requirements. She received her degree from Nanjing Academy of Engineering.

Investment Considerations

  • FingerMotion’s current offerings includes telecommunications products and services, SMS and MMS services, Big Data Insights (Sapientus) and a Rich Communication Services (RCS) platform.
  • The global telecom industry reached $1.74 trillion in 2019 and was forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5% from 2020 to 2027.
  • The insurtech market was valued at $2.72 billion for 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 48.8% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2028. FingerMotion’s proprietary platform, Sapientus, is poised to leverage demand for mobile insurance in the Chinese market.
  • The company’s Rich Communication Services platform will provide additional resources for businesses and brands in China looking to increase their communications networks and leverage 5G technology.
  • The company’s management team is made up of individuals who are highly experienced in finance and Big Data, including multiple entrepreneurs who have successfully founded their own companies.


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Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR)

Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), based in Lakewood, Colorado, is the country’s largest producer of uranium and the leading conventional producer of vanadium, both designated by the U.S. government as critical minerals.

As the leading U.S. diversified uranium miner, Energy Fuels’ uranium production portfolio stands apart in the world. Energy Fuels has more uranium production facilities, more production capacity, and more in-ground resources than any other company in the United States. In fact, the company’s assets have produced over one-third of all U.S. uranium over the past 15 years and is uniquely positioned to increase production to meet new demand.

Energy Fuels utilizes both conventional and in-situ recovery (“ISR”) technology to produce uranium from three strategic facilities:

  • White Mesa Mill in Utah (conventional) has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U3O8 per year. The highly strategic White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill in the country and is proximate to some of the largest and highest-grade uranium mines and projects in the U.S., including the Company’s Canyon mine, La Sal Complex, Henry Mountains Complex and Roca Honda Project. White Mesa Mill provides Energy Fuels with significant production scalability as uranium demand increases. The White Mesa Mill also has other diverse businesses, including vanadium, rare earth elements (REE’s), alternate feed materials recycling and land cleanup, all described below.
  • Nichols Ranch Plant (ISR) is located in the productive Powder River Basin district of Wyoming and has a total licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U3O8 per year. Nichols Ranch has produced 1.2 million pounds of U3O8 since commissioning in 2014, and it has significant future expansion potential from 34 fully licensed wellfields containing significant in-ground uranium resources.
  • Alta Mesa Plant (ISR) is located on over 200,000 acres of private land in Texas. The fully licensed and constructed ISR project has a total operating capacity of 1.5 million pounds of uranium per year and produced nearly 5 million pounds of U3O8 between 2005 and 2013. This low-cost production facility is currently on standby, maintained in a state of readiness to respond to expected increases in demand.

In addition to being the largest uranium miner in the U.S., Energy Fuels’ overall portfolio also includes a pipeline of high-quality, large-scale exploration and development projects that are permitted or are in advanced stages of permitting, as well as an industry-leading U.S. NI 43-101 Mineral Resource portfolio.

FACTOID: Energy Fuels has led industry efforts over the past two-plus years to get the U.S. government to recognize the importance of domestically produced uranium, including the 2018 – 2019 Uranium Section 232, the ongoing Nuclear Fuel Working Group and the recently announced creation of the U.S. strategic uranium reserve. The U.S. is by far the largest consumer of uranium in the world, yet we import almost all of our requirements; Energy Fuels aims to change that.

Nuclear Market Potential

Multiple studies in top scientific journals have shown that nuclear power is cleanest and most economical way to produce reliable electricity as worldwide demand continues to soar. Nuclear power is presently the only available and affordable low-carbon power source that can meet both current and future baseload electricity demands while simultaneously reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change. U.S. nuclear power plants currently generate nearly 20% of the nation’s electricity overall and 55% of its carbon‐free electricity and even a modest increase in electricity demand would require significant new nuclear capacity by 2025. According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), there are currently 441 operable reactors, with another 54 units under construction and 439 in various stages of planning; in addition, the WNA has identified a potentially massive supply/demand gap through 2040 of 1 billion pounds. These factors among others are expected to significantly drive increased demand for uranium.

Reasons Nuclear is Gaining Traction

  • Nuclear reactors emit no greenhouse gases during operation. Over their full lifetimes, they result in comparable emissions to renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar.
  • Unlike any other form of energy, the waste from nuclear energy is contained and managed securely. Used fuel is currently being safely stored for ultimate disposal or future reprocessing, and 96% of this waste can potentially be recycled.
  • Greater demand for clean electricity to power everything from homes to automobiles, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

No. 1 U.S. Producer of Vanadium in 2019

Energy Fuels also produces vanadium as a byproduct of uranium production. Vanadium is designated a critical mineral, essential to the economic and national security of the United States. Energy Fuels was the largest producer of vanadium in the U.S. in 2019, and has significant high-grade, in-ground vanadium resources, as well as a separate high-purity vanadium production circuit at their White Mesa Mill, which is also the only conventional vanadium mill in the country. Crucial for use in the steel, aerospace, and chemical industries, vanadium plays a critical role in the production of high-strength and light-weight metallic alloys and demand is expected to increase across the globe.

Energy Fuels has several fully permitted and developed standby mines containing large quantities of high-grade vanadium, along with uranium, including:

  • La Sal Complex (Utah)
  • Whirlwind Mine (Colorado/Utah)
  • Rim Mine (Colorado)

Vanadium has also gained increased attention as a catalyst in next-generation high-capacity, “community-scale” batteries used for energy storage generated from renewable sources. Demand is only expected to grow as this market expands. With recent upgrades in its vanadium production operations, in 2019 Energy Fuels produced commercial levels of the highest purity (99.7%) vanadium in the mill’s history and can rapidly adjust production to meet volatile market conditions. Energy Fuels is one of the very few known avenues that provides investors access the vanadium market.

Rare Earth Element (REE) Production, Alternate Feed Material Recycling, and Land Cleanup

The White Mesa Mill also provides the company with diverse cashflow generating opportunities. Security of supply for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) supporting U.S. military and defense requirements is a major issue today. Energy Fuels has been approached by a number of entities, including the U.S. government, inquiring about the potential to process certain REEs at the mill. The White Mesa Mill is currently licensed to process certain REEs, including tantalum and niobium. And, early indications are that the mill can be utilized to produce several other REEs. The White Mesa Mill is also the only facility in North America licensed and capable of recycling alternate feed materials (AFMs). AFMs are essentially low-level waste materials that contain recoverable quantities of natural (or unenriched) uranium. The Company typically generates between $5 and $15 million per year from AFM recycling. Finally, Energy Fuels is seeking to become involved in the cleanup of legacy Cold War era uranium mines in the Four Corners region of the U.S., including on the Navajo Nation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has access to over $1.5 billion for the cleanup of just a fraction of the sites on the Navajo Nation. The White Mesa Mill is fully licensed to receive much of this material, we are one of the government’s lowest cost options, and we have the ability to recycle the material and produce usable uranium from it.

Management Team

Mark S. Chalmers, President and CEO
Mark S. Chalmers is the president and chief executive officer of Energy Fuels, a position he has held since Feb. 1, 2018, following his role as chief operating officer of Energy Fuels from July 1, 2016 – Jan. 31, 2018. From 2011 to 2015, Chalmers served as executive general manager of Production for Paladin Energy Ltd., a uranium producer with assets in Australia and Africa, including the Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera mines where, as head of operations, he oversaw sustained, significant increases in production while reducing operating costs. He also possesses extensive experience in in situ recovery (“ISR”) uranium production, including management of the Beverley Uranium Mine owned by General Atomics (Australia), and the Highland mine owned by Cameco Corporation (USA). Chalmers has also consulted to several of the largest players in the uranium supply sector, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Marubeni, and until recently served as the chair of the Australian Uranium Council, a position he held for 10 years. Chalmers is a registered professional engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Arizona.

W. Paul Goranson, COO
W. Paul Goranson is the chief operating officer for Energy Fuels. Goranson has 30 years of mining, processing and regulatory experience in the uranium extraction industry that includes both conventional and in-situ recovery (“ISR”) mining, and he is a registered professional engineer. Prior to the acquisition by Energy Fuels of Uranerz Energy Corporation, Goranson served as president, chief operating officer and director for Uranerz, where he was responsible for operations of the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project. In addition to those duties, he also managed uranium marketing, regulatory and government affairs, exploration and land. Prior to joining Uranerz, Goranson served as president of Cameco Resources, where he led the operations at the Smith Ranch-Highland, Crow Butte and North Butte ISR uranium recovery facilities. Goranson also served as vice president of Mesteña Uranium LLC, and he has served in senior positions with Rio Algom Mining, (a subsidiary of BHP Billiton), and Uranium Resource Inc. Goranson has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Gas Engineering from Texas A&I University, and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

David C. Frydenlund, CFO, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
David C. Frydenlund is chief financial officer, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Energy Fuels. His responsibilities include oversight of all legal matters relating to the company’s activities. His expertise extends to NRC, EPA, state and federal regulatory and environmental laws and regulations. From 1997 to 2012, Frydenlund was vice president of regulatory affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary of Denison Mines Corp., and its predecessor International Uranium Corporation (“IUC”). He also served as a director of IUC from 1997 to 2006 and CFO of IUC from 2000 to 2005. From 1996 to 1997, Frydenlund was vice president of the Lundin Group of international public mining and oil and gas companies, and prior thereto was a partner with the Vancouver law firm of Ladner Downs (now Borden Ladner Gervais) where his practice focused on corporate, securities and international mining transactions law. Frydenlund holds a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Simon Fraser University, a master’s degree in economics and finance from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Toronto.

Curtis H. Moore, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development
Curtis H. Moore is the vice president of Marketing and Corporate Development for Energy Fuels. He oversees product marketing for Energy Fuels, and is closely involved in mergers & acquisitions, investor relations, public relations, and corporate legal. He has been with Energy Fuels for over 12 years, holding various roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining Energy Fuels, Moore worked in multi-family real estate development, government relations and public affairs, production homebuilding, and private law practice. Moore is a licensed attorney in the State of Colorado. He holds Juris Doctor and MBA degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Bachelor of Arts dual degree in Economics-Government from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.

Investment Considerations
  • Largest producer of uranium in the United States (2017-2019); assets accounted for over one-third of nation’s supply since 2006
  • Leading U.S. vanadium producer in 2019 with flexibility to respond to evolving markets
  • Diverse business opportunities, including alternate feed materials recycling, land cleanup and rare earths, which all have significant potential to drive significant cash flow
  • Positioned to benefit from Trump Administration’s pursuit of $1.5B over 10 years to purchase uranium from U.S. miners, along with other U.S. government support of domestic production
  • Strong cash, working capital and inventory positions
  • Proven track-record of sustained U.S. market leadership
Additional Resources

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EverGen Infrastructure Corp. (TSX.V: EVGN) (OTCQB: EVGIF)

EverGen Infrastructure Corp. (OTCQB: EVGIF) (TSX.V: EVGN) is developing Canada’s Renewable Natural Gas Infrastructure Platform, starting on the west coast in British Columbia. The company is combating climate change and helping communities contribute to a sustainable future by acquiring, developing, building, owning and operating a portfolio of renewable natural gas (RNG), waste-to-energy, and related infrastructure projects.

While EverGen is currently focused on British Columbia, its continued growth is expected across other regions of North America. RNG is produced differently than conventional natural gas, without drilling wells. RNG is derived from biogas, which is captured from decomposing organic waste in landfills, food waste, agricultural waste matter and wastewater from treatment facilities. This waste feedstock is supplied to an anaerobic digester which contains bacteria that breaks down organic matter in the absence of oxygen. The resulting biogas is captured and cleaned to create carbon neutral or carbon negative RNG to be used by the existing North American gas pipeline grid. By capturing these emissions and transforming them into RNG, then combusting into CO2, the overall greenhouse gases (GHG) impact is materially less potent than allowing natural decomposition to release methane into the atmosphere. Liquid and solid digestate matter is a byproduct of the RNG production process and is used as fertilizer and in other applications.

EverGen operates three projects in British Columbia. The company was incorporated in 2020 and went public in 2021, with its common shares listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under ticker symbol ‘EVGN’. In February 2022, EverGen’s common shares began trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the U.S. under ticker symbol ‘EVGIF’. The company is headquartered in Vancouver.

Portfolio Projects

Fraser Valley Biogas is one of three projects in EverGen’s portfolio. Located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, the facility has been digesting manure and off-farm organics since 2011 and was the first agricultural digester in Canada to produce RNG. The RNG generated through this project is part of a FortisBC program to supply renewable gas to homes, businesses and other customers. Fraser Valley Biogas also provides Abbotsford farms with renewable fertilizer via the digestate produced. EverGen acquired Fraser Valley Biogas early in 2021 and is currently enhancing and expanding the facility. These optimization projects resulted in record production during the month of September 2021, supporting the growing demand for RNG in British Columbia. Optimization activities contributed an additional 18% of RNG production for September and a 9% higher year-to-date production compared to the previous year. The facility produces approximately 80,000 gigajoules of RNG, enough to heat more than 1,000 homes for a year.

Net Zero Waste Abbotsford, a wholly owned EverGen subsidiary and portfolio project, is an existing composting and organic processing facility and RNG expansion project. The British Columbia Utilities Commission recently approved a 20-year offtake agreement between the facility and FortisBC, an electricity and gas utility. Under this agreement, FortisBC will purchase up to 173,000 gigajoules of RNG annually for injection into its natural gas system upon completion of an anaerobic digester project at Net Zero Waste Abbotsford. Once construction is complete, this project is expected to produce enough energy to meet the needs of more than 1,900 homes.

Sea to Sky Soils, a wholly owned EverGen subsidiary and portfolio project, is an existing composting and organic processing facility and potential future RNG expansion project which has been operating near Pemberton, British Columbia, on Lil’wat Nation land since 2012. The Lil’wat Nation is a key partner and supporter of the facility, which has employed a majority of its staff from the First Nation since inception. The Sea to Sky Soils facility processed approximately 160 percent of its forecast tonnage in the second half of 2021. In total, Sea to Sky Soils processed approximately 36,000 tons of organic waste in 2021. The facility is working with the Ministry of Environment to expand its operational capacity in 2022. EverGen has partnered with local municipalities – including Metro Vancouver and the municipality of Pemberton – for the delivery of additional organic waste to the facility. The facility is an important part of EverGen’s RNG infrastructure platform and serves as a source of valuable feedstock to support the company’s existing and future operations.

Market Outlook

A report from Global Market Insights states that the biogas market is projected to see significant growth over the next few years, driven by a shifting preference to utilize biogas to reduce emission levels from traditional fuels. Escalating RNG usage by gas utilities as a sustainable and low carbon alternative to supply heat and electricity in industries and buildings will further stimulate growth. RNG is increasingly deployed across the transport sector, especially for heavy vehicles and vessels, to abate GHG emissions.

Many North American gas utilities have set RNG targets of 5% to 15% of production by volume in 2030, compared to less than 1% by volume in 2020. FortisBC has a goal of including 15% RNG in its gas supply by 2030. EverGen believes this presents a potential C$16 billion+ opportunity for RNG producers.

Management Team

Chase Edgelow is co-founder and CEO at EverGen. He has over 15 years of specialized private investment, finance, and technical expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors. His background is as a Facilities Engineer with Petro-Canada, independently managing energy infrastructure capital projects located in western Canada. He holds a Professional Engineer designation from the province of Alberta.

Mischa Zajtmann is co-founder and President at Evergen. He has 15 years of experience providing consulting and management for Canadian and American companies in the natural resources and energy space. He is a corporate securities lawyer who began his career at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. His J.D. is from the University of Saskatchewan Law School. He’s a member of the British Columbia Bar.

Sean Mezei is COO at EverGen. He has 20 years of experience in the RNG industry, having served previously as the president of Greenlane Biogas and as a senior manager at QuestAir, and founder and president of Dekany Consulting. He was a co-chairman of the American Biogas Council’s RNG working group for six years. He has been a Registered Professional Engineer in the province of British Columbia since 1994.

Natasha Monk is CFO at EverGen. She is a CPA with 12 years accounting, financial reporting, and tax experience in public practice and industry. She is currently a partner at Affirm LLP, where she advises and consults to a wide variety of companies in multiple industries across public and private sectors. Prior to joining EverGen, she worked at KPMG. She graduated from the University of Calgary.

Investment Considerations

  • EverGen forecasts EBITDA growth from about C$3 million in 2021 to more than C$12 million in the next 12 months from expansion of core operating assets.
  • EverGen stock began trading in the U.S. on the OTCQB Venture Market under ticker symbol ‘EVGIF’ on February 15, 2022.
  • EverGen has low-risk long term contracted or reoccurring revenue (similar to Large Cap Independent Power Producers), with two revenue sources via RNG sales and organic waste tip-fee contracts providing a high margin business with EBITDA margins of 50-60%.
  • In its most recent reporting, the company reported gross profit of C$1.58 million on revenue of C$1.95 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.

Additional Resources

 

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Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR)

Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), based in Lakewood, Colorado, is the country’s largest producer of uranium and the leading conventional producer of vanadium, both designated by the U.S. government as critical minerals. Energy Fuels is also making progress entering the rare earth element production business.

As the leading U.S. diversified uranium miner, Energy Fuels’ uranium production portfolio stands apart in the world. Energy Fuels has more uranium production facilities, more production capacity, and more in-ground resources than any other company in the United States. In fact, the company’s assets have produced over one-third of all U.S. uranium over the past 15 years and is uniquely positioned to increase production to meet new demand.

Energy Fuels utilizes both conventional and in-situ recovery (“ISR”) technology to produce uranium from three strategic facilities:

  • White Mesa Mill in Utah (conventional) has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U3O8 per year. The highly strategic White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill in the country and is proximate to some of the largest and highest-grade uranium mines and projects in the U.S., including the Company’s Canyon mine, La Sal Complex, Henry Mountains Complex and Roca Honda Project. White Mesa Mill provides Energy Fuels with significant production scalability as uranium demand increases. The White Mesa Mill also has other diverse businesses, including vanadium, rare earth elements (REE’s), alternate feed materials recycling and land cleanup, all described below.
  • Nichols Ranch Plant (ISR) is located in the productive Powder River Basin district of Wyoming and has a total licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U3O8 per year. Nichols Ranch has produced 1.2 million pounds of U3O8 since commissioning in 2014, and it has significant future expansion potential from 34 fully licensed wellfields containing significant in-ground uranium resources.
  • Alta Mesa Plant (ISR) is located on over 200,000 acres of private land in Texas. The fully licensed and constructed ISR project has a total operating capacity of 1.5 million pounds of uranium per year and produced nearly 5 million pounds of U3O8 between 2005 and 2013. This low-cost production facility is currently on standby, maintained in a state of readiness to respond to expected increases in demand.

In addition to being the largest uranium miner in the U.S., Energy Fuels’ overall portfolio also includes a pipeline of high-quality, large-scale exploration and development projects that are permitted or are in advanced stages of permitting, as well as an industry-leading U.S. NI 43-101 Mineral Resource portfolio.

FACTOID: Energy Fuels has led industry efforts over the past two-plus years to get the U.S. government to recognize the importance of domestically produced uranium, including the 2018 – 2019 Uranium Section 232, the ongoing Nuclear Fuel Working Group and the recently announced creation of the U.S. strategic uranium reserve. The U.S. is by far the largest consumer of uranium in the world, yet we import almost all of our requirements; Energy Fuels aims to change that.

Nuclear Market Potential

Multiple studies in top scientific journals have shown that nuclear power is cleanest and most economical way to produce reliable electricity as worldwide demand continues to soar. Nuclear power is presently the only available and affordable low-carbon power source that can meet both current and future baseload electricity demands while simultaneously reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change. U.S. nuclear power plants currently generate nearly 20% of the nation’s electricity overall and 55% of its carbon‐free electricity and even a modest increase in electricity demand would require significant new nuclear capacity by 2025. According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), there are currently 441 operable reactors, with another 54 units under construction and 439 in various stages of planning; in addition, the WNA has identified a potentially massive supply/demand gap through 2040 of 1 billion pounds. These factors among others are expected to significantly drive increased demand for uranium.

Reasons Nuclear is Gaining Traction

  • Nuclear reactors emit no greenhouse gases during operation. Over their full lifetimes, they result in comparable emissions to renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar.
  • Unlike any other form of energy, the waste from nuclear energy is contained and managed securely. Used fuel is currently being safely stored for ultimate disposal or future reprocessing, and 96% of this waste can potentially be recycled.
  • Greater demand for clean electricity to power everything from homes to automobiles, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

No. 1 U.S. Producer of Vanadium in 2019

Energy Fuels also produces vanadium as a byproduct of uranium production. Vanadium is designated a critical mineral, essential to the economic and national security of the United States. Energy Fuels was the largest producer of vanadium in the U.S. in 2019, and has significant high-grade, in-ground vanadium resources, as well as a separate high-purity vanadium production circuit at their White Mesa Mill, which is also the only conventional vanadium mill in the country. Crucial for use in the steel, aerospace, and chemical industries, vanadium plays a critical role in the production of high-strength and light-weight metallic alloys and demand is expected to increase across the globe.

Energy Fuels has several fully permitted and developed standby mines containing large quantities of high-grade vanadium, along with uranium, including:

  • La Sal Complex (Utah)
  • Whirlwind Mine (Colorado/Utah)
  • Rim Mine (Colorado)

Vanadium has also gained increased attention as a catalyst in next-generation high-capacity, “community-scale” batteries used for energy storage generated from renewable sources. Demand is only expected to grow as this market expands. With recent upgrades in its vanadium production operations, in 2019 Energy Fuels produced commercial levels of the highest purity (99.7%) vanadium in the mill’s history and can rapidly adjust production to meet volatile market conditions. Energy Fuels is one of the very few known avenues that provides investors access the vanadium market.

Rare Earth Element (REE) Production, Alternate Feed Material Recycling, and Land Cleanup

The White Mesa Mill also provides the company with diverse cashflow generating opportunities. Security of supply for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) supporting U.S. military and defense requirements is a major issue today. Energy Fuels has been approached by a number of entities, including the U.S. government, inquiring about the potential to process certain REEs at the mill. The White Mesa Mill is currently licensed to process certain REEs, including tantalum and niobium. And, early indications are that the mill can be utilized to produce several other REEs. The White Mesa Mill is also the only facility in North America licensed and capable of recycling alternate feed materials (AFMs). AFMs are essentially low-level waste materials that contain recoverable quantities of natural (or unenriched) uranium. The Company typically generates between $5 and $15 million per year from AFM recycling. Finally, Energy Fuels is seeking to become involved in the cleanup of legacy Cold War era uranium mines in the Four Corners region of the U.S., including on the Navajo Nation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has access to over $1.5 billion for the cleanup of just a fraction of the sites on the Navajo Nation. The White Mesa Mill is fully licensed to receive much of this material, we are one of the government’s lowest cost options, and we have the ability to recycle the material and produce usable uranium from it.

Management Team

Mark S. Chalmers, President and CEO
Mark S. Chalmers is the president and chief executive officer of Energy Fuels, a position he has held since Feb. 1, 2018, following his role as chief operating officer of Energy Fuels from July 1, 2016 – Jan. 31, 2018. From 2011 to 2015, Chalmers served as executive general manager of Production for Paladin Energy Ltd., a uranium producer with assets in Australia and Africa, including the Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera mines where, as head of operations, he oversaw sustained, significant increases in production while reducing operating costs. He also possesses extensive experience in in situ recovery (“ISR”) uranium production, including management of the Beverley Uranium Mine owned by General Atomics (Australia), and the Highland mine owned by Cameco Corporation (USA). Chalmers has also consulted to several of the largest players in the uranium supply sector, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Marubeni, and until recently served as the chair of the Australian Uranium Council, a position he held for 10 years. Chalmers is a registered professional engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Arizona.

W. Paul Goranson, COO
W. Paul Goranson is the chief operating officer for Energy Fuels. Goranson has 30 years of mining, processing and regulatory experience in the uranium extraction industry that includes both conventional and in-situ recovery (“ISR”) mining, and he is a registered professional engineer. Prior to the acquisition by Energy Fuels of Uranerz Energy Corporation, Goranson served as president, chief operating officer and director for Uranerz, where he was responsible for operations of the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project. In addition to those duties, he also managed uranium marketing, regulatory and government affairs, exploration and land. Prior to joining Uranerz, Goranson served as president of Cameco Resources, where he led the operations at the Smith Ranch-Highland, Crow Butte and North Butte ISR uranium recovery facilities. Goranson also served as vice president of Mesteña Uranium LLC, and he has served in senior positions with Rio Algom Mining, (a subsidiary of BHP Billiton), and Uranium Resource Inc. Goranson has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Gas Engineering from Texas A&I University, and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

David C. Frydenlund, CFO, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
David C. Frydenlund is chief financial officer, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Energy Fuels. His responsibilities include oversight of all legal matters relating to the company’s activities. His expertise extends to NRC, EPA, state and federal regulatory and environmental laws and regulations. From 1997 to 2012, Frydenlund was vice president of regulatory affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary of Denison Mines Corp., and its predecessor International Uranium Corporation (“IUC”). He also served as a director of IUC from 1997 to 2006 and CFO of IUC from 2000 to 2005. From 1996 to 1997, Frydenlund was vice president of the Lundin Group of international public mining and oil and gas companies, and prior thereto was a partner with the Vancouver law firm of Ladner Downs (now Borden Ladner Gervais) where his practice focused on corporate, securities and international mining transactions law. Frydenlund holds a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Simon Fraser University, a master’s degree in economics and finance from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Toronto.

Curtis H. Moore, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development
Curtis H. Moore is the vice president of Marketing and Corporate Development for Energy Fuels. He oversees product marketing for Energy Fuels, and is closely involved in mergers & acquisitions, investor relations, public relations, and corporate legal. He has been with Energy Fuels for over 12 years, holding various roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining Energy Fuels, Moore worked in multi-family real estate development, government relations and public affairs, production homebuilding, and private law practice. Moore is a licensed attorney in the State of Colorado. He holds Juris Doctor and MBA degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Bachelor of Arts dual degree in Economics-Government from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.

Investment Considerations

  • Largest producer of uranium in the United States (2017-2019); assets accounted for over one-third of nation’s supply since 2006
  • Leading U.S. vanadium producer in 2019 with flexibility to respond to evolving markets
  • Diverse business opportunities, including alternate feed materials recycling, land cleanup and rare earths, which all have significant potential to drive significant cash flow
  • Positioned to benefit from Trump Administration’s pursuit of $1.5B over 10 years to purchase uranium from U.S. miners, along with other U.S. government support of domestic production
  • Strong cash, working capital and inventory positions
  • Proven track-record of sustained U.S. market leadership

Additional Resources

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Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF)

Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF) is a publicly traded exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec.

The company has an option to acquire a 99% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, classified as a silver-tin polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department of southern Bolivia. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property.

Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru, some 50 kilometers south of Barrick’s Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silver’s La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometers. La Victoria has good infrastructure, with access to road, water and electricity, and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,150 meters to 4,400 meters above sea level.

The company has a strong management and technical team working diligently to uncover the value of both Iska Iska and La Victoria. Eloro is based in Toronto, Canada.

Projects

Iska Iska – Potosi, Bolivia

Iska Iska is associated with a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera, emplaced on Ordovician age rocks with major breccia pipes, dacitic domes and hydrothermal breccias. The property is wholly controlled by the title holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. It is located 48 kilometers north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi. This is an important mineral deposit type in the prolific South Mineral Belt of Bolivia. Eloro commissioned a NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited and is available on Eloro’s website and under its filings on SEDAR.

A fully financed drill program is currently underway on the property, situated near world-class deposits including Silver Sand, San Bartolomé, Pulacayo, San Cristobal, San Vicente, Chorolque, Tasna, Choroma and Siete Suyos. Iska Iska is in the southwest part of the Eastern Cordillera, which hosts a number of major polymetallic mines and mineral deposits. Drilling and continuous channel sampling results have demonstrated some very high metal values, especially silver and tin, within an immense system, where mineralization has been encountered in every drill hole to date. The company believes there is excellent potential for world-class bulk mineable deposits.

La Victoria – Ancash, Peru

The La Victoria project, targeting gold and silver production, is situated near world-class, low-cost gold producers Pan American Silver and Barrick Gold Corporation. Located in Ancash Department, La Victoria sits on the western slopes of the Peruvian Andes. The property is located 12 hours from Lima, with a travel distance of 600 kilometers. The nearest road accessible population centers from La Victoria are Huandoval, Pallasca and Cabana. The project includes four principal mineralized zones in Peru’s prolific North-Central Mineral Belt – San Markito, Victoria, Victoria South and Ccori Orcco – with excellent potential for gold discovery. Operations at La Victoria are planned to proceed with a 2,000-meter diamond drilling program to test targets to outline potential resources at San Markito. Trenching and sampling confirmed high silver values and veins at San Markito in 2020.

Market Outlook

According to industry association The Silver Institute, the outlook for silver demand is exceptionally promising, with global demand forecast to rise to a record high of 1.112 billion ounces in 2022. The increase will be driven by record silver industrial fabrication, which is forecast to improve by 5%, as silver’s use expands primarily in solar energy and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. The institute states that government commitments to carbon neutrality have resulted in a rapid expansion of green energy projects, driving record photovoltaic panel installations which are expected to lift silver demand in this segment to an all-time high in 2022.

Rising demand in the electronics industry is also boosting the demand for tin, which is primarily used in solder. The electronics and electrical industries use solders containing 40-70% tin, which provide strong and reliable joints under a variety of environmental conditions. At present, the majority of the assemblers are using patented tin-and-copper-based solders. Mordor Intelligence estimated tin demand at 387 kilotons in 2021 and forecasts demand growth of 2.5% annually through 2027. Over the medium term, surging demand from the EV market and increasing applications in the electrical and electronics industry is expected to drive the market.

Management Team

Thomas G. Larsen is CEO of Eloro. He has more than 40 years of experience in the investment industry, specializing in corporate finance and management of junior resource companies, raising in excess of C$200 million. He previously held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Champion Iron Limited. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Champion Iron Mines Limited.

Dr. Bill Pearson is Executive VP of Exploration for Eloro. He has more than 40 years of direct experience in the exploration and production of minerals worldwide. He played an integral role in the acquisitions of Desert Sun Mining Corp. by Yamana Gold in 2006 and Central Sun Mining by B2 Gold in 2009. He was formerly VP Exploration at Desert Sun Mining and Senior VP at Central Sun Mining.

Miles Nagamatsu, CPA, is CFO at Eloro. He has over 30 years of experience in accounting, management, lending, restructurings and turnarounds. Since 1993, he has acted as a CFO of public and private companies primarily in the mineral exploration and investment management sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University.

Osvaldo Arce Burgoa is General Manager at Eloro. He is a geological and mineral processing engineer with 26 years of experience in Bolivia. He is a former President of the Bolivian Geological Society, Main Technical Advisor of the National Mining Corporation (COMIBOL) and has served as exploration manager and chief geologist at various mining and exploration companies. He has authored two books on Bolivian geology and holds a doctorate in mining engineering from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.

Investment Considerations

  • As of September 7, 2022, the company had a market capitalization of C$235 million.
  • In the period ending June 30, 2022, Eloro reported C$14.4 million in cash on hand.
  • The company’s stock is covered by analysts from Cantor Fitzgerald and Haywood Securities.
  • Eloro has raised more than C$40 million in multiple financing deals.
  • Eloro’s strong management and technical team is working diligently to uncover the immense value of the Iska Iska and La Victoria projects, both of which are located in mining-friendly jurisdictions.

Additional Resources

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D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS)

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) is a leader in quantum computing systems, software and services focused on delivering customer value via practical quantum applications for problems such as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, fault detection and financial modeling. As the only provider building both annealing and gate-model quantum computers, the company is unlocking commercial use cases in optimization today, while building the technologies that will enable new solutions tomorrow.

D-Wave is a pioneer in quantum computing, with a history of delivering the world’s first commercial quantum computer; the first real-time quantum cloud service; countless hardware and software product and research milestones; and the planned first cross-platform quantum solution which will deliver both annealing and gate-model quantum computers to customers via an integrated platform. Its current commercial product offerings include: Advantage™ (fifth generation quantum computer), Leap™ (quantum cloud service), Launch™ (quantum computing onboarding service) and Ocean™ (full suite of open-source programming tools).

D-Wave’s relentless pursuit of practical quantum computing has resulted in the technology being used today by some of the world’s most advanced enterprises – more than 25 of the Forbes Global 2000 use D-Wave.

D-Wave’s commercial customers include blue-chip industry leaders like Volkswagen, Accenture, BBVA, NEC Corporation, Save-On-Foods, DENSO and Lockheed Martin. The company boasts an extensive IP portfolio featuring more than 200 issued U.S. patents and over 100 peer-reviewed papers published in leading scientific journals.

Founded in 1999, D-Wave is the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers. With headquarters and the Quantum Engineering Center of Excellence based near Vancouver, Canada, D-Wave’s U.S. operations are based in Palo Alto, California.

Advantage™ Quantum Computer

 

With the Advantage™ Quantum Computer, D-Wave has incorporated two decades of experience and over 10 years of customer feedback to create the first and only quantum computer designed for business. The platform features a new processor architecture with over 5,000 qubits and 15-way qubit connectivity. This is 2.5x more connections and more than double the number of qubits than the company’s previous generation quantum computer.

D-Wave’s quantum computers, first located in its facilities in British Columbia, have been available to North American users through its Leap™ quantum cloud service since 2018. It has since introduced new Advantage systems in Julich, Germany, and most recently, Marina Del Rey, California, which marked the availability of the first Advantage quantum computer physically located in the United States.

That new deployment is part of the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) hosted at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI), a unit of the University of Southern California’s prestigious Viterbi School of Engineering. Additionally, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and D-Wave announced that the U.S.-based system is available for use in Amazon 2racket, expanding the number to three different D-Wave quantum systems available to AWS users.

Leap Quantum Cloud Service

 

D-Wave’s customers interface with its systems through the Leap™ quantum cloud service. Leap delivers immediate, real-time access to the company’s Advantage quantum computer and quantum hybrid solver service, all with enterprise-class performance and scalability.

Leap allows developers proficient in Python to get started building and running quantum applications. Through a seamless and secure cloud-based connection, users can easily start solving complex problems of up to 1 million variables and 100,000 constraints.

Using Leap, D-Wave customers have developed quantum hybrid applications for use cases in manufacturing, logistics, financial services, life sciences, materials science, retail and transportation. By eliminating the need to wait hours, days or weeks to get good answers to a broad array of problems, D-Wave is helping businesses move forward.

D-Wave Launch

D-Wave Launch™ is the company’s onboarding platform aimed at helping businesses easily start their quantum journey. Through this program, D-Wave’s team of experts and partners aid enterprises in identifying best use cases for quantum and work with them to develop a proof of concept and production pilot.

From there, the team coordinates with customers to get their hybrid quantum applications up and running, providing ongoing Leap quantum cloud access to ensure the application is operating smoothly and delivering real business value.

Target Verticals

While the potential applications for quantum computing are effectively limitless, D-Wave has identified a number of industry verticals as key areas of focus for its quantum architecture, providing case studies for each. These include:

  • Manufacturing – D-Wave worked with Volkswagen to identify a commercial optimization application, the binary paint shop problem, which was run on D-Wave’s hybrid solver service. The solver outperformed four purely classical methods on problem sizes at commercial scale (N=3,000). In a separate project, similar inputs were tested using a leading ion trap system, which failed to find any commercial solution.
  • Life Sciences – Menten AI makes use of D-Wave quantum computing to assist in the design of novel therapeutic peptides—short strings of amino acids that can act as potent drugs. With the rise of COVID-19, D-Wave’s Advantage system made it possible to identify molecules that might be especially well-suited for binding and inhibiting the related spike protein, producing several promising peptide designs.
  • Finance – Multiverse Computing, a leader in developing quantum solutions for the financial sector, leveraged D-Wave’s hybrid solver service in a collaboration with BBVA, one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Multiverse demonstrated management strategies that far exceeded the granularity of traditional returns in a fraction of the time, helping BBVA identify a low-risk portfolio for investment.

Market Opportunity

The quantum computing total addressable market is projected to grow between $450 billion and $850 billion over the next 15 to 30 years, with between $5 billion and $10 billion of anticipated TAM growth coming in the next three to five years, according to Boston Consulting Group. Driving factors behind this growth include rising investments in quantum computing tech by governments and an increasing number of commercial use-cases.

Forward-thinking organizations see quantum as an opportunity to move ahead of the competition. From finding efficiencies and reducing waste to decreasing time to solution and solving problems abandoned due to complexity, the business value is real. According to data from 451 Research, 40% of large enterprises are already experimenting with quantum computing.

D-Wave is strategically positioned – in an industry with significant barriers to entry – as evident by a decades-long track record serving a roster of blue-chip customers. The company is singularly focused on helping its customers achieve clear value by leveraging quantum computing in practical business applications. With a full stack of systems, software, developer tools and services, D-Wave is working to enable enterprises, governments, developers and researchers to access the power of quantum computing, thereby providing an intriguing opportunity for prospective investors.

D-Wave’s current investor base includes PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, BDC Capital, NEC Corporation, Aegis Group Partners and In-Q-Tel.

Leadership Team

Dr. Alan Baratz has served as the CEO of D-Wave since 2020. Previously, as Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Product Officer, he drove the development, delivery, and support of all of D-Wave’s products, technologies, and applications. Dr. Baratz has over 25 years of experience in product development and bringing new products to market at leading technology companies and software startups. As the first president of JavaSoft at Sun Microsystems, he oversaw the growth and adoption of the Java platform from its infancy to a robust platform supporting mission-critical applications in nearly 80 percent of Fortune 1000 companies. He has also held executive positions at Symphony, Avaya, Cisco, and IBM. Dr. Baratz holds a doctorate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

John Markovich is the company’s CFO. He brings to D-Wave over three decades of experience working with rapidly growing private and public technology companies across all stages of development. Mr. Markovich has directed the finance, accounting, tax, treasury, M&A, legal, operations, customer service, IR, HR, and IT functions for companies ranging from privately held pre-revenue startups to an NYSE-listed Fortune 500 multi-national company with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue. During his career, he has negotiated and closed over 150 debt, equity, M&A, and joint venture transactions exceeding $2.5 billion in value; over a dozen private placements; nearly a dozen M&A transactions; and several international joint ventures. Mr. Markovich holds a BS in Business from Miami University and an MBA from the Michigan State Graduate School of Business.

Investment Considerations
  • D-Wave is the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers.
  • The company’s customers include blue-chip industry leaders like Volkswagen, Accenture, BBVA, NEC Corporation, Save-On-Foods, DENSO and Lockheed Martin.
  • The Advantage™ Quantum Computer is currently on its 5th generation, featuring 2.5x more connections and more than double the number of qubits of its predecessor.
  • Leap™ delivers immediate, real-time enterprise access to the company’s Advantage quantum computer through the cloud.
  • D-Wave’s current investor base includes PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, BDC Capital, NEC Corp., Aegis Group Partners and In-Q-Tel.
  • The global quantum computing market is forecast to reach $3.2 billion by 2028, expanding at a CAGR of 30.8% from 2021.
Additional Resources

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Cybin Inc. (NYSE American: CYBN) (NEO: CYBN)

Cybin Inc. (NYSE American: CYBN) (NEO: CYBN) is focused on progressing psychedelic therapeutics by utilizing proprietary drug discovery platforms, innovative drug delivery systems, novel formulation approaches and treatment regimens for psychiatric disorders.

The company is on a mission to revolutionize mental health care.

Key Facts

  • Led by CEO Doug Drysdale
    • 30 years of experience in the health care sector
    • Chaired the board of directors of a NASDAQ-listed company and, as a CEO for the past 13 years, has built and turned-around four pharmaceutical companies
    • Completed 15 corporate acquisitions across three continents and has raised $4 billion of both public and private capital
    • Former Head of M&A at Actavis Group (Actavis was sold to Watson Pharmaceuticals in 2012 for €4.25 billion)
  • Experienced scientific team
    • The only scientific team in the industry that has successfully developed a commercial psychedelic drug
    • Facilitated billions in pharmaceutical sales
    • Successfully helped develop widely used drugs such as: Allegra, Sabril, Anzemet & Vaniqa
    • 300 combined peer reviewed publications by scientific leadership include work in addiction and psychedelics
    • Team collectively involved in 37 exits across the biotech sector and various other verticals
    • Overseen 60+ IND programs with FDA
    • Team pedigree: Merck, Elan, GSK, Sanofi, Eli Lilly and UCB

Product Offering and Pipeline

Cybin has four drug development programs CYB001, CYB003, CYB004 & CYB005.

  • Cybin is using psilocybin as the basis for its first new anti‐depressant pharmaceutical drug.
  • Cybin is also focused on other novel psychedelic compounds, such as DMT, MDMA and other analogues, that will have improved pharmacokinetic profiles while retaining the efficacy of the original molecules.
  • The company is building a portfolio of proprietary deuterated molecules, which are more stable, improved and expected to result in more scalable treatments, as compared to peers.
  • To date, Cybin has facilitated 20 pre-clinical studies on a portion of its molecules within its discovery pipeline. These studies have been conducted through in vitro and in vivo, with many promising results allowing for full IND-enabling studies on certain molecules.
  • Cybin’s Phase II trials on CYB001 will assess the drug’s effectiveness as a treatment for Major Depressive Disorder, as well as helping to determine the proper dosage.
  • Cybin has developed a pipeline of nearly 50 different psychedelic molecules (i.e., DMT, psilocybin) and is currently engaged in pre‐clinical research to understand which are best suited for further development.

Cybin currently holds 10 provisional patents. The company’s IP portfolio, technology rights and provisional patents include:

  1. A provisional patent application filed for an oral film delivery mechanism
  2. A provisional patent application filed for nebulization technology
  3. Multiple patent applications filed for deuterated psychedelic molecules and analogs
  4. A discovery pipeline of tryptamines and phenylethylamines alongside certain metabolites
  5. A patent application filed for platforms that are expected to create supportive treatment regimens

Cybin X Kernel

On January 11, 2021, Cybin announced its entry into an agreement with neurotech pioneer HI LLC (dba Kernel) to leverage its innovative Kernel Flow technology for Cybin’s upcoming sponsored clinical work.

Kernel Flow is a full-head coverage, time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy system designed to detect hemodynamic changes in the brain. The platform pulses light through the skull and into the bloodstream in order to measure how much oxygen the blood is carrying at any given time. Kernel Flow is expected to facilitate further and more detailed research into psychedelic therapeutic offerings for those suffering from mental health disorders.

“Access to Kernel’s innovative Flow technology adds another exciting dimension to the investigative work that Cybin is doing to develop breakthrough treatments for mental health disorders such as depression and addiction,” Cybin CEO Doug Drysdale stated in a news release. “Currently, clinical investigators rely on limited subjective information from patients. The ability to collect quantitative data from our sponsored drug development programs is potentially game-changing in terms of our ability to measure where psychedelics work in the brain in real time, and how we ultimately design our future therapeutics.”

Market Outlook for Psychedelic Therapies

Cybin’s rich IP portfolio could help position the company in a prominent role in the expanding U.S. psychedelic therapies market.

Over 700 million people globally are affected with some sort of mental illness, addiction or eating disorder, according to the World Health Organization, leading to a sizable treatment market.

  • The global treatment market for mental disorders is estimated at $2.5 trillion, including $800 billion in direct economic costs, according to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information.
  • In the U.S., the direct and indirect economic costs of mental disorders are estimated at $467 billion by the National Institute of Mental Health.
  • In Canada, the direct and indirect costs associated with treating mental disorders total C$51 billion, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Illness.
  • The U.S. psychedelic drugs market was valued at $2.1 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach nearly $6.9 billion by 2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 16.3 percent, per Data Bridge Market Research.

Management Team

Doug Drysdale is the Chief Executive Officer of Cybin Inc. He is an experienced corporate director and CEO, having chaired the board of directors of a Nasdaq-listed company and led turnarounds at three pharmaceutical companies as CEO. With over 30 years of experience in the health care sector, Mr. Drysdale has formed cohesive management teams, recruited board members, completed 15 acquisitions across three continents and raised $4 billion in private and public capital. He holds a bachelor’s degree in microbial and molecular biology from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and was recognized as the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Ernst and Young in 2012.

Eric So is Co-Founder, Executive Chairman and President of Cybin. He is the Co-Founder and current Managing Director of Trinity Venture Partners Inc., a boutique merchant bank. He is a veteran founder, investor, operator and advisor to disruptive companies. He began his career practicing in the areas of corporate commercial securities, finance and mergers & acquisitions at a leading international legal firm. Mr. So has a Bachelor of Science with a major in anatomy and cell biology and a minor in psychology from McGill University. He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor.

John Kanakis is Cybin’s Co-Founder and SVP of Business Development. He is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Trinity Venture Partners Inc. He is the Co-Founder of several start-up companies across various sectors. Mr. Kanakis has raised over $100 million for the start-ups of which he has been a part and brings over 10 years of experience in medical device manufacturing and regulatory frameworks to Cybin.

Paul Glavine is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Cybin. He is also the Co-Founder of Global Canna Brands, which was granted the first-ever tier 3 cultivation license in Jamaica. His first cannabis start-up, Truverra, was sold to The Supreme Cannabis Company (TSX: FIRE). He has advised on M&A and other financial transactions totaling over $50 million. He is a serial entrepreneur and investor with vast experience in the biotech and cannabis industries.

Alex Nivorozhkin, Ph.D., is Cybin’s Chief Scientific Officer. He is a lead NCE inventor of multiple successfully partnered drug discovery and development programs and a technology developer of proprietary formulations for CNS drugs. Dr. Nivorozhkin is a seasoned medicinal chemist, drug delivery expert and founder of multiple biotech companies.

Michael Palfreyman, Ph.D., is the company’s Chief R&D Officer. He brings three decades of preclinical/clinical development experience to the Cybin team, including time with Scriptgen, EnVivo Pharma, Sanofi, GSK, Amorsa Therapeutics and others. Dr. Palfreyman has successfully led multiple IND filings and clinical programs, and he boasts a significant portfolio of CNS therapeutics patents and commercial products.

Brett Greene is Cybin’s Chief Innovation Officer. He served as a research administrator for the Center for Drug Discovery (one of the top cannabinoid and serotonin research centers in the world) for over a decade. Greene is a recognized leader in the field of psychedelics and has co-managed more than $80 million in federal funding for cannabinoid and serotonin research. A co-founder of Psymposia, Greene also co-managed the NIDA-sponsored Chemistry & Pharmacology of Drug Abuse (CPDA) conference for five years.

Alex Belser is the company’s Chief Clinical Advisor. Mr. Belser is a licensed psychologist, clinical supervisor and psychedelic researcher at Yale. He has been active in the psychedelic research community for 20 years and has conducted clinical research with psilocybin and MDMA for a variety of indications. Mr. Belser’s research has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Guardian and VICE, as well as in Michael Pollan’s book, How to Change Your Mind.

Eric Hoskins is Cybin’s Governance Committee Chair. He served as Ontario health minister from 2014 to 2018, maintaining responsibility for one of the largest health care systems in North America. Mr. Hoskins is a former elected Member of Ontario Provincial Parliament with cabinet positions in health, economic development and trade, children and youth services, and immigration. He brings to the Cybin team more than 30 years of experience in public policy, complex diplomacy, international affairs, health care, media and economic development at the intersection of business, politics and complex social and political circumstances. Hoskins is a proven negotiator and navigator at the highest levels of government and bureaucracy.

Investment Considerations

  • Cybin Inc. currently has four molecules/technologies in its clinical pipeline in various stages of development with a robust discovery pipeline.
  • The company’s management team is comprised of leaders with experience in various aspects of the pharmaceutical and innovative therapeutics market.
  • Recent studies have shown promising effects in the use of psilocybin, DMT and LSD therapies for psychiatric disorders in patients.
  • The company holds eight provisional patents for various delivery mechanisms and related technologies.
  • Cybin’s therapeutic advances are catering to a global market of over 700 million people affected by mental illness.
  • The U.S. psychedelic therapies market is expected to expand significantly, reaching $6.9 billion by 2027, as the prevalence of depression and mental disorders continues to increase.
  • Cybin has raised nearly $C90 million to date.


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CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP)

CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSP) is a clinical stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel treatments for primary and metastatic cancers of the brain and central nervous system.

The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Organ Targeted Therapeutics

The company’s lead drug candidate, Berubicin, is proposed for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (“GBM”), an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer. Berubicin also has potential to treat other central nervous system malignancies. Based on limited clinical data, Berubicin appears to be the first anthracycline to cross the blood brain barrier in the adult brain, and it was the subject of a successful Phase 1 study which found the MDT and produced efficacy data as well.

CNS holds a worldwide exclusive license to the Berubicin chemical compound. The company has acquired all requisite data and know-how from Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. related to a completed Phase I clinical trial of Berubicin in malignant brain tumors. In this trial, 44% of patients experienced a statistically significant improvement in clinical benefit. In 2017, CNS entered into a collaboration and asset purchase agreement with Reata.

CNS intends to explore the potential of Berubicin to treat other diseases, including pancreatic and ovarian cancers and lymphoma. The company is also examining plans to develop combination therapies that include Berubicin.

CNS estimates that more than $25 million in private capital and grants were invested in Berubicin prior to the company’s $9.8 million IPO in November 2019.

CNS intends to submit an IND for Berubicin during the fourth quarter of 2020 and expects to commence a Phase II clinical trial of Berubicin for the treatment of GBM in the U.S. in Q1 2021. A sub-licensee partner was awarded a $6 million EU/Polish National Center for Research and Development grant to undertake a Phase II trial of Berubicin in adults and a first-ever Phase I trial in pediatric GBM patients in Poland in 2021.

The company’s second drug candidate, WP1244, is a novel DNA binding agent licensed from the MD Anderson Cancer Center. In preclinical studies, WP1244 proved to be 500-times more potent than the chemotherapeutic agent, daunorubicin, in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. The company has entered into a sponsored research agreement with the MD Anderson Cancer Center to further the development of WP1244.

CNS Pharmaceuticals recently engaged U.S.-based Pharmaceutics International Inc. and Italian BSP Pharmaceuticals SpA for the production of the Berubicin drug product. The company has implemented a dual-track manufacturing strategy to mitigate COVID-19-related risks, diversify its supply chain and provide for localized availability of Berubicin. CNS has already completed synthesis of Berubicin’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and has shipped the API to both manufacturers in order to prepare an injectable form of Berubicin for clinical use.

Global Brain Tumor Therapeutics Market

The high recurrence rate of malignant brain tumors is due to reappearance of focal masses, indicating that a sub-population of tumor cells in these cancers may be insensitive to current therapies and may be responsible for reinitiating tumor growth. This necessitates the development of newer drugs in the market that demonstrate greater efficacy in treating such aggressive cancers.

A global increase in neurological disorders has placed increased attention on cancers of the brain over the past decade. Neurological disorders are becoming one of the most prevalent types of disorders, due to longer life expectancy, greater exposure to infection and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Because few treatments for primary and metastatic cancers of the brain exist, costs are high and have acted as a restraint for the brain tumor therapeutics market.

Despite progress in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic strategies, effective treatments for brain cancer are limited by a lack of specific therapies for the brain and the difficulty in transporting therapeutic compounds across the blood brain barrier. Therefore, there is a significant need for novel and effective therapeutic drugs and strategies that prolong survival and improve quality of life for brain tumor patients.

Several companies are making significant investments into R&D, which is expected to bring more treatment options to the market in the near future. Industry reports consistently project continued growth in the market.

One report estimates that the global brain tumor therapeutics market will reach a valuation of $2.74 billion in 2023, with the market expected to register a CAGR of 11% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2023. Another report projects that the global brain tumor therapeutics market will reach $3.4 billion by 2025, up from $2.25 billion in 2019 (http://nnw.fm/eDUjp).

Management Team

John M. Climaco is the CEO of CNS Pharmaceuticals. For 15 years, Climaco has served in leadership roles for a variety of health care companies. Recently, Climaco served as the Executive Vice President of Perma-Fix Medical S.A, where he managed the development of a novel method to produce Technitium-99. Climaco also served as President and CEO of Axial Biotech Inc., a DNA diagnostics company. In the process of taking Axial from inception to product development to commercialization, Climaco forged strategic partnerships with Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson and Smith & Nephew.

Christopher Downs, CPA, is the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Downs previously served as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of InfuSystem Holdings Inc. (NYSE: INFU), a supplier of infusion services to oncologists in the United States. Downs holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point, an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Dr. Donald Picker is the Chief Scientific Officer of CNS. Picker has over 35 years of drug development experience. Prior to joining CNS, Picker worked at Johnson Matthey, where he was responsible for the development of Carboplatin, one of the world’s leading cancer drugs, which was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb with annual sales of over $500 million. In addition, he oversaw the development of Satraplatin and Picoplatin, third-generation platinum drugs currently in late-stage clinical development.

Sandra L. Silberman, M.D., Ph.D., is the Chief Medical Officer of CNS Pharmaceuticals. Silberman is a hematologist/oncologist who earned her B.A., Sc.M. and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Arts and Sciences, School of Public Health and School of Medicine, respectively, and her M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. She then completed both a clinical fellowship in hematology/oncology and a research fellowship in tumor immunology at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Silberman has played key roles in the development of many drugs, including Gleevec(TM), for which she led the global clinical development at Novartis. Silberman advanced several original, proprietary compounds into Phases I through III during her work with leading biopharmaceutical companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Imclone and Roche.

Investment Considerations

  • CNS Pharmaceuticals’ lead drug candidate, Berubicin, is proposed for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive and currently incurable form of brain cancer.
  • In a Phase I clinical trial of Berubicin in malignant brain tumors, 44% of patients experienced a statistically significant improvement in clinical benefit.
  • In preclinical studies, the company’s second drug candidate, a novel DNA binding agent, was 500-times more potent than the chemotherapeutic agent, daunorubicin, in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation.
  • A global increase in neurological disorders has placed increased attention on cancers of the brain over the past decade.
  • Industry reports estimate that the global brain tumor therapeutics market will reach $2.74 billion in 2023 and $3.4 billion by 2025, up from $2.25 billion in 2019.


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Clene Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNN)

Clene Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNN) is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving mitochondrial health and protecting neuronal function to treat neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Its lead drug candidate is CNM-Au8®, an oral suspension developed to restore neuronal health and function by increasing energy production and utilization by driving critical cellular energy producing reactions that enable neuroprotection and remyelination to increase neuronal and glial resilience to disease-relevant stressors. CNM-Au8 is being studied in various clinical trials, including the Harvard/MGH Healey ALS Platform clinical trial for patients with ALS; RESCUE-ALS, a completed proof-of-concept clinical trial in patients with early symptomatic ALS; the REPAIR trials, completed target engagement clinical trials showing brain energy metabolite change with CNM-Au8; and a completed MS clinical trial for the treatment of visual pathway deficits in chronic optic neuropathy for remyelination in stable relapsing MS. The company also has a nanotherapeutic platform of drug discovery.

CNM-Au8

CNM-Au8, Clene’s lead asset, is a highly concentrated aqueous suspension of catalytically active, clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals. Multiple pathogenic insults contribute to neuronal death. Mitochondrial dysfunction and NAD+ decline is a common final pathway in neurodegeneration, with NAD+ as a critical determinant of cell survival and function. CNM-Au8’s catalytic mechanisms target the energetic deficits, oxidative stress and accumulation of misfolded proteins that are common to many neurodegenerative diseases.

The unique catalytic mechanism of action of CNM-Au8 is hypothesized to act as a neuroprotective and remyelinating therapy in neurodegenerative disease states in order to: (1) drive, support and maintain beneficial metabolic and energetic cellular reactions within diseased, stressed and/or damaged cells, (2) directly catalyze the reduction of harmful, reactive oxygen species (“ROS”) and (3) promote protein homeostasis via activation of the heat shock factor-1 pathway, recognized to dampen the cytotoxicity caused by misfolded and denatured proteins, which are known to occur ubiquitously in neurodegenerative diseases.

CNM-Au8 is used in combination with other agents, has no known drug-drug interactions, and is designed to improve function and survival. The clinical effects of both function and survival were seen in its clinical ALS trials, as earlier announced.

More than 500 estimated years of collective exposure across ALS, MS, and Parkinson’s disease participants in CNM-Au8 clinical trials and Expanded Access Protocol (compassionate use) programs have been recorded without any observed safety signals.

CNM-Au8 is a federally registered trademark of Clene Inc. Clene, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with R&D and manufacturing operations in Maryland, began in 2013.

Market Opportunity

ALS is the most prevalent adult-onset progressive motor neuron disease, affecting approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. and an estimated 500,000 people worldwide, with a life expectancy of typically three to five years. Clene estimates that global ALS treatment sales will be greater than $1 billion annually within the coming few years. Additional treatments affecting daily function and survival remain the market need.

Additionally, there are more than 2 million MS patients globally, and Clene estimates the market size to be worth more than $23 billion annually. While the MS community has been successful at limiting relapses, non-relapsing MS patients continue to clinically deteriorate even while receiving effective immunomodulatory disease-modifying therapies (“DMTs”). A critical unmet medical need remains for therapeutic interventions that protect neuronal function and myelin health independent of immunomodulation to address progression independent of relapse activity.

Management Team

Robert Etherington is President, Director and CEO of Clene. He has more than 30 years of sales, marketing and leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Clene, he worked at Actelion Pharmaceuticals, the largest biopharma company in the European Union prior to its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2017, where he led that company’s U.S. commercial operations. He began his pharmaceutical sales and marketing career at Parke-Davis, a division of Pfizer, where he rose to the position of Team Leader overseeing the drug Lipitor.

Mark Mortenson is Chief Science Officer at Clene. He is co-inventor of the technology platform developed to produce the company’s therapeutics. He is the inventor or co-inventor on 32 other U.S. patents and hundreds of corresponding international patents. He is a former chief patent counsel responsible for 5,500 U.S. and international patents and patent applications. He holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and ceramic engineering from Alfred University, a master’s degree in materials science from Penn State University and a J.D. from George Washington University.

Benjamin Greenberg, M.D., MHS, FAAN, is Head of Medical at Clene. He is an internationally recognized expert in disorders of the central nervous system. He is currently professor of neurology and Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research in the department of Neurology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins, a master’s degree in molecular microbiology and immunology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and graduated from Baylor College of Medicine. He served residency in neurology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Morgan R. Brown is CFO at Clene. He has more than 30 years of finance and accounting experience, with 23 years at biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. He has served in similar roles at Lipocine Inc., Innovus Pharmaceuticals, World Heart Corp., Lifetree Clinical Research and NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. He previously worked at accounting firm KPMG. He is a CPA with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Utah State University and an M.S. in business administration from the University of Utah.

Investment Considerations

  • Demonstrated prolonged life with 59% decreased risk of death in an integrated meta-analysis across the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial and RESCUE-ALS Trial with CNM-AU8 30 mg dose compared to PRO-ACT matched placebo over long-term follow-up (p=.004)
  • 19.3 month survival difference for CNM-Au8 ALS treated participants versus placebo in RESCUE-ALS Trial
  • Multiple near-term milestones, including both clinical and regulatory updates
  • Potential to file New Drug Application with CNM-Au8 for ALS indication in the first half of 2024.
  • Commercial opportunity for CNM-Au8 in ALS as early as second half of 2024, including potential FDA approval of NDA
  • Sufficient cash to extend runway to the third quarter of 2024
  • As of January 2023, Clene had more than 150 issued patents worldwide and approximately 20 patents pending worldwide on top of many trade secrets

Additional Resources


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CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO)

CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO) is an industry leader in cybersecurity and compliance services. The company leverages an integrated approach to reduce noise and bridge common silos that often limit the effectiveness of cybersecurity programs. Pulling disparate technologies, teams, and vendors together, CISO helps its clients enjoy a simpler and more successful journey to cyber resilience. Since 2019, CISO Global has worked to rapidly expand by acquiring world-class cybersecurity and compliance businesses with top-tier talent who utilize the latest technology to create innovative protection solutions.

The CISO Global workforce is comprised of cybersecurity experts spanning not only global geographies, but also specialties, industries, regulatory frameworks and focus areas. Its team includes audit and compliance specialists, certified forensics experts, ethical hackers, IEEE® certified biometric professionals, security engineers, around-the-clock analysts, and more – all backed by the most respected credentials in the industry. On an ongoing basis, the company works to identify cyber talent that is culturally aligned and that offers operating leverage through both existing customer revenue and relationships.

CISO Global has invested in enterprise solutions and executive talent to integrate its different organizations into an ecosystem that works together to provide complete cybersecurity through cross-pollination of solutions that begin at the network level and extend through technologies, people, policy, and practices. This ecosystem is intended to foster additional growth opportunities and drive overall recurring revenue. Once engaged, the company strives to become trusted advisors for customers’ cybersecurity and compliance demands by providing tailored security solutions based upon their organizational needs.

While cyber resilience requires cycles of continuous improvement, it is a journey that few in the current business and security climate seem to understand. With its deep bench of seasoned experts, CISO Global works to simplify that journey for its growing customer base, straightening out the curves and speeding up the process to resilience along the way.

Cybersecurity is a Culture, Not a Product

Integrating compliance and security, including principles of security by design, CISO Global helps its clients create an organization-wide culture of cybersecurity. Its offerings include audit and compliance, security operations center services, security engineering, virtual Chief Information Security Officer services, incident response, certified forensics, technical assessments and cybersecurity training.

In contrast to the majority of cybersecurity firms that specialize in a specific technology or service, CISO Global seeks to differentiate itself by remaining technology agnostic, focusing on accumulating highly sought-after subject matter experts. Cerberus Sentinel believes that bringing together a world-class team of technological experts with multi-faceted proficiency in the critical aspects of cybersecurity is key to providing technology agnostic solutions to its clients in a business ecosystem that suffers from a chronic lack of highly skilled professionals.

CISO Global’s goal is to create a culture of security and to help quantify, define and capture a return on investment from information technology and cybersecurity spending. Its end-to-end, holistic process covers every aspect of clients’ cybersecurity and compliance requirements in an effort to promote greater efficiency and strengthen awareness about the integral role of internal team members in the cybersecurity culture of an organization.

As a result of this strategy, CISO Global customers receive an efficient engagement from a single partner that covers a wide range of their needs – addressing challenges more thoroughly and resolving problems more rapidly when compared to working with a host of vendors.

 

Market Outlook

According to an analysis by the firm Research and Markets, the global managed security services market was valued at $22.45 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $77.01 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% through the forecast period.

An expected increase in cybercrime, cost effectiveness of provided solutions and stringent mandatory government regulations aimed at protecting corporate data will drive the global managed security services market for the foreseeable future.

In addition, the documented and growing use of mobile devices in the workplace and the rise in captured and stored digital data serve to fuel market growth. Moreover, growing awareness about the critical nature of data security, the growing importance of e-business and demand for customized services is expected to offer ample opportunities for expansion of the market during the forecast period.

Management Team

David Jemmett is CEO and founder of CISO Global. He has more than 35 years of executive management and technology experience with telecommunications, managed services, and cybersecurity consulting services. He previously held positions as CEO of GenResults, a leading provider of security consulting services and technology solutions, and as CTO and founder at ClearData Networks, a HIPAA-compliant HealthDATA cloud hosting platform.

Dave Bennett is COO at CISO Global. Since 2015, he has served on the President’s STEM Advisory Board of Grand Canyon University. Before joining Cerberus Sentinel, he served as Chief Product Officer at Experian Health and as Senior Vice President, Product for Gainwell Technologies. He has also held positions as Vice President and Worldwide Head of Build, Healthcare and Life Sciences at DXC Technology, and as EVP, Product and Strategy at Orion Health.

Ashley Devoto is President and Chief Information Security Officer at CISO Global. Over the past 17 years, Devoto has worked with the cybersecurity elite to design, build, and operate world-class cybersecurity programs for large, diverse organizations in both government and commercial enterprises. Prior to joining CISO, Devoto served as CISO for Booz Allen Hamilton, as business information security officer (BISO) at Bank of America, and as a cyberspace operations officer in the United States Air Force.

Deb Smith is CFO at CISO Global. Prior to assuming that position, she was the company’s EVP, Finance and Accounting. She has also served as SVP, Global Accounting at International Cruise and Excursions Inc., and as Chief Accounting Officer for BeyondTrust, an information security software company. She has also held the positions of Corporate Controller at Aspect Software and Assistant Controller at JDA Software.

 

Investment Considerations

  • CISO Global shares were listed on the Nasdaq in the first quarter of 2022.
  • The company joined the broad-market Russell 2000 Index in June 2022.
  • CISO Global posted a 376% revenue CAGR for the years 2019 through 2021.
  • In 2021, 58% of the company’s revenue was recurring revenue from managed services contracts.
  • CISO Global has completed 12 strategic acquisitions since October 2019.
  • The global managed security services market was valued at $22.45 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $77.01 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% through the forecast period.


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Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN)

Cepton Inc.  (NASDAQ: CPTN) is a provider of state-of-the-art, intelligent, lidar-based solutions serving a range of markets, including automotive (ADAS/AV), smart cities, smart spaces and smart industrial applications.  General Motors (NYSE:GM) has granted a series production award for Cepton’s lidar, the biggest such award to date in the automotive space. Cepton’s is the lidar component of GM’s Ultra Cruise autonomous driving platform. By leveraging its patented Micro Motion Technology (MMT®) lidar platform, the company develops reliable, scalable and cost-effective solutions that deliver long-range, high-resolution 3D perception for smart applications.

Cepton was established in 2016 by co-founders Dr. Jun Pei and Dr. Mark McCord. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and serves a fast-growing customer base through an international presence spanning North America, Germany, Japan, India and China.

Micro Motion Technology (MMT®)

Cepton was built from the ground up to meet key lidar industry challenges for mass market adoption. This company’s portfolio of proprietary technology is uniquely aimed at facilitating this industry growth through a combination of performance, reliability, affordability and design integration.

Key among its innovations is MMT®, a mirrorless, frictionless, rotation-free 3D imaging platform designed specifically for lidars. Its benefits for OEMs and system integrators include:

  • Reliability – The durable design uses common, easily attainable materials.
  • Versatility – The platform is capable of achieving near- to ultra-long range with a wide field of view.
  • Efficiency – MMT® features a compact form factor, low power usage and inexpensive components.
  • Scalability – Its simple design means that scale-up to high manufacturing volumes is easily attainable.

Because of their compact form factor, Cepton lidars are embeddable and ideally suited for advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) integration, whether behind windshield, in headlamp or in fascia.

Agreement with KOITO

KOITO Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the world’s premier Tier 1 auto lighting supplier, originally started an evaluation of Cepton’s MMT® based lidars in 2018. In 2020, KOITO made an investment in Cepton aimed at accelerating the company’s development and enabling KOITO’s industrialization of high-performance and high reliability lidar sensors for ADAS and autonomous vehicle (AV) applications.

Through this collaboration, Cepton was able to secure the largest ADAS lidar series production award[1] with General Motors as a sole source in the automotive space. The award covers GM vehicles for the initial period of 2023-2027.

On August 5, 2021, the two companies deepened their relationship when KOITO committed to invest a further $50 million in Cepton’s business through its participation in a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) offering of shares of common stock of Growth Capital Acquisition Corp. in connection with Cepton’s recent merger.

Collaboration with GM

On July 13, 2021, Cepton announced that it had secured an ADAS lidar series production award from a leading, Detroit-based global automotive OEM – the biggest lidar production award by any OEM to any lidar company. It was later clarified that the OEM was General Motors, and Cepton’s lidar is part of GM’s ADAS Ultra Cruise system.

GM is “expected to deploy Cepton lidars in its next generation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) across multiple vehicle classes and models – not just luxury cars.” As such, the agreement marks the potential for “an industry-first, mass-market adoption of lidar technology for automotive ADAS, with an anticipated deployment in consumer vehicles starting in 2023.”

On July 28, 2021, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) distributed an article on Medium noting, “Ford has been engaged with Cepton almost since their inception in 2016, both for R&D collaboration and small-scale deployments. Cepton LiDAR are deployed in some of [Ford’s] smart city projects. Based on Ford’s guidance, Cepton delivered a custom version of their LiDAR to enable R&D on advanced ADAS features.”

Market Outlook

Driven by increasing development and adoption in automobile safety applications, environmental mapping and 3D-modeling, the global lidar market is forecast to experience considerable growth over the coming years. A research report published by MarketsAndMarkets suggests that the sector will grow to an estimated $3.4 billion by 2026, achieving a CAGR of 21.6% over the next five years.

The report further highlights increasing investments in lidar startups by automotive giants as a driver of growth opportunities in the sector, particularly in North America.

In 2020, ground-based lidar accounted for the lion’s share of the overall lidar market, and this trend is expected to continue as the automotive sector continues to rapidly advance adoption across the full spectrum of vehicle classes. One factor not to be underestimated is the high barrier of entry and the exceptionally long time required for automotive OEMs to vet and award a production win to a lidar company. It is a commonly held view that the over 50 lidar companies will inevitably coalesce into a handful serving all OEMs.

Cepton, having a head start through its established partnership with leading global OEM GM, is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this market growth in the years to come.

Management Team

Cepton’s founder-led team is made up of lidar industry pioneers with decades of collective experience across advanced lidar and imaging technologies.

Jun Pei, Ph.D., is the company’s CEO and Co-Founder. He is a technology specialist with a focus in optics and electronics. Prior to founding Cepton, Dr. Pei founded AEP Technology, a firm focused on developing advanced 3D optical instruments. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Mark McCord, Ph.D., is Cepton’s CTO and Co-Founder. Prior to founding Cepton, he led advanced development at KLA-Tencor. Dr. McCord also formerly served as an associate professor at Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

Winston Fu, Ph.D., is the company’s CFO. Dr. Fu is the founder of Silicon Valley venture capital firm LDV Partners. Prior to joining Cepton, he served as CFO and Chairman of Active-Semi before its acquisition. Dr. Fu has also helped to build many technology companies as an entrepreneur and/or board member. He received his Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University, as well as an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

[1] Largest known ADAS lidar series production award based on number of vehicle models awarded

Investment Considerations

  • Cepton Inc. provides highly competitive price-for-performance lidar solutions based on its proprietary Micro Motion Technology (MMT®).
  • The company was awarded by General Motors the industry’s largest automotive OEM program, with an anticipated start of production set for 2023.
  • Cepton has partnered with KOITO, the world’s premier Tier 1 auto lighting supplier, to accelerate product development and enable economies of scale.
  • The company boasts a compelling financial profile supported by a capital efficient model leveraging Tier 1 and system integrator relationships, as well as contract manufacturing.
  • Cepton is founder-led and guided by management team with a proven track record in advanced lidar and imaging technology.


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Aditxt Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTX)

Aditxt Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTX) is a biotech innovation company developing technologies focused on mapping and reprogramming the immune system. Aditxt’s immune mapping technologies are designed to provide a personalized immune profile. Aditxt’s immune reprogramming technologies, currently preclinical, are being developed to retrain the immune system to induce tolerance to address rejection of transplanted organs, autoimmune diseases, and allergies.

As further discussed below, the company’s first commercial product is an immune mapping technology, AditxtScore™, which is designed to provide a personalized profile of the immune system.

The company’s preclinical immune reprogramming technology, Apoptotic DNA Immunotherapy™ (“ADi™”), aims to retrain the immune system to induce tolerance, with the goal of addressing vast unmet needs in transplanted organ rejection, autoimmune diseases, and allergies. The company is developing specific ADi™ products for psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, and skin grafting.

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Aditxt also operates locations in Silicon Valley and New York.

AditxtScore™

AditxtScore™ is a proprietary platform designed to provide a personalized, comprehensive profile of an individual’s immune system. The underlying technology, licensed from Stanford University through an exclusive worldwide agreement, offers a highly sensitive and accurate method of detecting and quantifying cellular responses, allowing greater specificity, quantification, and amplification of both clinical and commercial opportunities.

The company’s first commercial application of the platform, AditxtScore™ for COVID-19, delivers timely reports on vulnerability and immune status relating to SARS-CoV-2 and its known variants, giving consumers and physicians the data needed to make informed health decisions. Potential future applications will offer early detection of an array of conditions, including diabetes, cardio-metabolic maladies and hormonal imbalances.

Aditxt’s AditxtScore™ immune monitoring center in Richmond, Virginia, is operational and designed to support the anticipated increased demand for AditxtScore™ as well as related products and services. The company is currently scaling its capabilities at this location, with a goal of processing up to 10 million immune system tests/reports annually.

ADi™

ADi™ is Aditxt’s immune reprogramming platform addressing disease-causing immune responses while maintaining the immune system’s ability to combat pathogenic infection. The company is commercializing a nucleic acid-based technology called Apoptotic DNA Immunotherapy™ (ADi™) which utilizes a novel approach that mimics the way our bodies naturally induce tolerance to our own tissues (therapeutically induced immune tolerance). Aditxt believes its ADi™ technology platform can be engineered to address a wide variety of indications.

Aditxt is currently developing ADi™ products for psoriasis, type 1 diabetes and skin grafting.

Currently, immuno-tolerance is achievable through chimerism and cell-based therapy, but there is a clinical need for a more practical and cost-effective approach which:

  • Can be made into a product
  • Does not require additional hospitalization
  • Is simple to produce and ship

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that ADi™ treatment significantly and substantially prolongs graft survival, in addition to successfully “reversing” other established immune-mediated inflammatory processes. ADi™ treatment is not expected to require hospitalization, instead being delivered as an injection in minute amounts into the skin.

IP Portfolio

Both AditxtScore™ and ADi™ are supported by a strong IP portfolio.

AditxtScore™, built upon initial technology invented, licensed from and used at Stanford University, is protected by U.S. patents encompassing methods, systems, and kits for detection and measurement of specific immune responses.

ADi™ technology is protected by seven patent families, including:

  • 8 U.S. patents
  • 4 pending U.S. patent applications
  • 86 foreign patents and 14 pending foreign patent applications spanning the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, India and Hong Kong

These patents are broadly categorized into three groups:

  • Autoimmune diseases and Type 1 Diabetes
  • Organ transplantation and a method of producing plasmid DNA to prevent immune activation
  • Composition of matter for a tolerance delivery system for antigens of interest

Aditxt also possesses and/or in-licenses substantial know-how and trade secrets relating to the development and commercialization of its product candidates, including related manufacturing processes and technologies.

Market Overview

The potential market opportunities presented by immune monitoring and reprogramming are extensive, particularly as Aditxt continues to evaluate additional applications for the platforms.

The company’s initial focus on organ transplantation and related autoimmune response provides some insight into the potential of its approach. According to BCC Research, the global organ and tissue transplantation and alternatives market is on course to reach $120.3 billion by 2024, recording a CAGR of 7.4% from 2019. Industry data suggest that approximately 50% of all transplanted organs are rejected within 10-12 years, further highlighting the critical need for a practical, cost-effective solution to harmful autoimmune responses.

Through its focus on the COVID-19 testing market with AditxtScore™, Aditxt demonstrated the wide-ranging potential of its portfolio. Fortune Business Insights estimated the global COVID-19 diagnostics market at $48.64 billion for 2022. While demand for COVID-19 diagnostics is expected to lessen in the coming years, Aditxt will be uniquely positioned to leverage its existing infrastructure stemming from these operations as the company works to advance broader applications for the AditxtScore™ platform.

Leadership Team

Amro Albanna is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Aditxt. He has founded multiple startups to commercialize innovations in various industries, including healthcare, enterprise software, telecommunications, nano technology, consumer health, and biotech. Mr. Albanna has led numerous M&A and going-public transactions as a founder, co-founder, and senior executive.

Shahrokh Shabahang, D.D.S., MS, Ph.D., is the company’s Co-Founder, Chief Innovation Officer, and a member of its board. He brings to the team more than 20 years of experience in developing and commercializing life science technologies focused on product and clinical development in the fields of microbiology and immunology.

Corinne Pankovcin, CPA, MBA, is the President of Aditxt. Prior to joining Aditxt, Ms. Pankovcin served as CFO for several world class organizations, including Business Development Corporation of America, Blackrock Kelso Capital and AIG Capital Partners. In these roles, Ms. Pankovcin was responsible for executing portfolio investments and managing significant M&A transactions.

Thomas Farley is the Chief Financial Officer of Aditxt. From December 2015 to June 2020, Mr. Farley was the Controller and Treasurer of Business Development Corporation of America (“BDCA”), a publicly listed business development company. Prior thereto, from January 2011 to August 2015, Mr. Farley was the Senior Controller of Blackrock Capital Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: BKCC). Prior to joining BlackRock Capital Investment Corporation, Mr. Farley was a Senior Controller for PineBridge Investments Emerging Markets practice. Mr. Farley was also an Accounting Manager for Bessemer Venture Partners prior to his tenue at PineBridge. Mr. Farley began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, from 1996 to 2001. Mr. Farley earned his B.S. in Accounting from Long Island University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Rowena Albanna is the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Albanna has over two decades of experience in senior leadership roles for both technology startups and public companies. Ms. Albanna’s experience spans a wide variety of industries, including biotechnology, insect control, nanotechnology, consumer electronics, financials, telecommunications, e-commerce, online marketing, medical, and defense.

Matthew Shatzkes is the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Aditxt. As a former partner at an AM Law 50 law firm, Mr. Shatzkes advised a wide variety of healthcare related entities, including biotech companies, on corporate, regulatory, and strategic business matters. Mr. Shatzkes will oversee all aspects of the legal functions at Aditxt, including, providing advice and counsel on governance, regulatory matters, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial transactions.


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HempFusion Wellness Inc. (TSX: CBD.U) (OTC: CBDHF) (FWB: 8OO)

HempFusion Wellness Inc. (TSX: CBD.U) (OTC: CBDHF) (FWB: 8OO) is a leader in the health and wellness CBD industry, providing innovative and diversified proprietary formulations utilizing the power of whole-food hemp nutrition.

Invested heavily in regulatory compliance, HempFusion aims to consistently meet and even exceed the high standards required by retailers and consumers – putting safety, quality and consistency first. In support of these efforts, the company is U.S. Hemp Authority Certified and is a current board member of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a coalition of leading companies committed to advancing safe hemp and CBD products.

HempFusion reported 1,750 shareholders and $18.3 million in cash as of June 30, 2020 – the second-largest cash position in its sector – with no debt. Looking ahead, the company is currently preparing to launch an IPO directly onto the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) senior board, where it has already reserved ticker symbol ‘CBD.U’. Learn More About HempFusion Upcoming IPO.

HempFusion is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

HempFusion’s Proprietary Wellness Portfolio

The diverse product portfolio showcased by HempFusion includes 46 products that are currently on shelves. The company’s leading offerings include HempFusion-owned Biome Labs, HF Labs and Probulin. Due to the time and resources allocated to increasing the compliance of these proprietary products, HempFusion may have a competitive advantage and create additional retail opportunities that are not available for other CBD companies.

HempFusion’s Diversified Revenue Pipeline

HempFusion’s focus and investment into regulatory compliance has opened doors to major food and drug mass or big box retailers that are not available to other CBD companies. This strategic approach includes five distinct channels:

  • Natural Health Retailers
  • eCommerce
  • Big Box / Food and Drug Mass
  • Doctor Practitioner
  • Convenience

HempFusion’s Line of Products

HempFusion’s branded line of products is based on the company’s proprietary Whole Food Panoramic Full-Spectrum Hemp Complex. Each product is condition-specific, targeting needs such as sleep, energy and stress.

All of HempFusion’s products are made from DNA-verified, European Union registered, non-GMO, organic industrial hemp. The company’s offerings span multiple product categories, including:

  • Tinctures and capsules – These offerings make up the most popular product category in the $4 billion U.S. CBD market.
  • OTC topicals – HempFusion is one of the few CBD companies marketing FDA Drug Listed Topicals. The FDA compliance standards ensure that these products meet the standards set by larger national retailers.
  • Condition-specific OTC products – HempFusion has OTC products that are condition-specifically targeted, including:
    • OTC Pain Products – The global pain relief market for topicals is projected to reach $13.3 billion by 2025, with a CAGR from 2018 to 2025 of 7.4%.
    • OTC Eczema Products – The global dermatitis market is projected to reach $13.6 billion by 2026.
    • OTC Acne and Aging/Beauty Products – The global market for beauty and anti-aging products is currently estimated at $1.08 trillion.
    • OTC First Aid and Wound Healing Products – In 2019, the 10 top-selling first aid ointments in the United States generated over $650 million in sales.

Probulin Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes

Probulin Probiotics is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of HempFusion Wellness Inc. and is currently one of the fastest growing probiotics brands in the United States, according to Spins syndicated data.

The Probulin product line addresses a wide range of consumer needs, including daily care, total care, women’s health and children’s products. The probiotics market represents a growing opportunity, as it is estimated to reach $7 billion globally by 2022.

Because of the diverse offerings of the Probulin line, it serves as HempFusion’s gateway to retailers who may not currently carry CBD products.

This ‘Trojan Horse Strategy’ is intended to allow the company to establish, develop and build relationships among these retailers. By achieving approved vendor status, the company may be able to facilitate faster onboarding times, enabling accelerated access to its CBD products in the future.

HF Labs and Biome Research – Doctor and Practitioner Product Lines

The HF Labs and Biome Research product lines are directed toward doctors and practitioners and cater to hospitals, compounding pharmacies and free-standing dispensaries. With an estimated target market of 28,000+ integrative medical doctors and 70,000+ licensed chiropractors in the United States, these offerings create a unique market opportunity as HempFusion continues to broaden its footprint in the CBD industry.

Research on CBD and Human Safety

HempFusion is one of 12 CBD companies selected to participate in ValidCare’s groundbreaking study regarding CBD and human safety, which is expected to be complete by the end of October 2020. The study is designed to address previous questions from the FDA regarding CBD products.

As part of this study, HempFusion and the other selected companies will be conducting human trials to determine if the daily use of full-spectrum hemp-derived CBD or CBD isolate impacts the human liver.

Management Team

Jason Mitchell, N.D., is the co-founder, Director and CEO of HempFusion. He has over 20 years of experience in the natural products industry and is a naturopathic doctor certified by the ANMCB. Mitchell received his doctorate from the Trinity College of Natural Health and is a member of the American Naturopathic Medical Association and the CNHP. He is an expert in supplemental formations and was responsible for successfully creating and launching over 300 industry-leading products during his 15-year tenure at Country Life Vitamins.

Ian DeQueiroz is the Chief of Brand Strategy & Partnerships and a Director for HempFusion. He is a serial entrepreneur with experience in early-stage cannabis and hemp companies. In 2010, he acquired his first cannabis CO2 extraction company in the United States. DeQueiroz has facilitated the licensing process for many companies in the United States, as well as one of Jamaica’s premier cannabis companies, Epican Medicinals Ltd.

Jon Visser is HempFusion’s Chief Revenue Officer. He has over 25 years of experience in all areas of sales and marketing, with a proven track record of consistently driving growth across all major channels. Visser was previously the Senior Vice President of Sales at Navajo Inc., a multi-national manufacturer/distributor of brands like Pennzoil Automotive Supplies, Piranha Eyewear and Navajo Inc., the largest distributor of trial- and travel-sized health and beauty products in the United States. Visser grew annual sales from $60 million to $128 million in less than three years while at Navajo Inc.

Bruce Valentine Jr. is the Chief Financial Officer of HempFusion. He has a proven track record working with high-growth companies and was named CFO of the Year in 2013 by the Northern Colorado Business Report. Valentine is the former CFO of Otter Products and has over 15 years of financial management experience.

Ola Lessard is the Chief Marketing Officer of HempFusion and is also the President of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. She has experience in marketing creative and effective brand strategies. She is a former Vice President of Marketing at Barlean’s, an award-winning supplements provider based in Washington.

Nancy Angelini is the Director of the Doctor/Practitioner Channel. She has over 25 years as an active, licensed practitioner. Angelini travels the country as a lecturer and product manager. She is responsible for opening doors to some of the largest doctor/practitioner networks in the United States.

Daniel Brody is the Chief Corporate Officer of HempFusion. He is the co-founder and former Vice President of The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF). Brody has been instrumental in listing multiple world-class cannabis companies, including TGOD, Emblem Corp. and Plus Products Inc. (CSE: PLUS) (OTCQX: PLPRF). Before joining the cannabis industry, he spent seven years working at two leading Canadian brokerage firms.

Investment Considerations

  • HempFusion’s current product offerings, already available in stores, include tinctures, capsules, OTC topicals, edibles, probiotics and a doctor/practitioner line.
  • The company abides by all FDA regulations for its full line of products. It is one of few companies marketing FDA Drug Listed Topicals.
  • HempFusion is currently one of 12 CBD companies conducting a study addressing FDA concerns regarding CBD products and human safety.
  • The significant time and capital invested in HempFusion’s compliance provide the company with a competitive advantage in the expanding CBD market.
  • The CBD sector is projected to reach $16.8 billion by 2025.
  • The company has the second-largest cash presence in the market at $18.3 million as of June 30, 2020, and it is preparing to launch an IPO and list on the Toronto Stock Exchange under ticker symbol ‘CBD.U’.


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Clubhouse Media Group Inc. (OTC: CMGR)

Clubhouse Media Group Inc. (OTC: CMGR) has positioned itself to be the future of social influencer media and marketing. The company’s approach is to create a balance between social media creativity and the business of social media marketing. Clubhouse Media believes this balance can better harness the power, reach and impact of its handpicked Tier-1 social media influencers, while allowing them to collaborate, create and excel. The result is higher content output by influencers and attractive one-stop shops for brands engaging in social influencer marketing. The company’s business operations include management of content creation houses, talent management, brand development, content production services and marketing data analytics services.

The company manages a global network of branded content houses. Each content house has a resident group of social media influencers under contract with Clubhouse Media. Co-located in each house is a production studio with video and photography services, as well as professional management and business incubation. The company offers management, production and deal-making services to its influencers. It also operates an in-house marketing agency, as well as an investment arm for joint ventures and acquisitions of companies in the social media influencer space.

In addition, Clubhouse Media has developed and acquired software, data analytics and predictive analysis tools for analyzing social media ad campaigns, streamlining the process of finding influencers and building optimized budgets for social media marketing spend.

The company’s business model comprises multiple revenue streams, including an agency model through which Clubhouse Media gets 20 percent of all brand deals receiving content from its affiliated influencers; sales of proprietary content produced by influencers under contract to the company; and sales of predictive analytics and data analysis to companies engaged in influencer marketing. As of June 2021, Clubhouse Media has more than 50 influencers under contract with a total combined reach of 313 million followers producing 1.5 billion monthly social impressions via TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Brand Portfolio

Clubhouses

Clubhouse Media operates content houses in the U.S. and Europe, where chosen influencers live and work together 24/7. Full descriptions of all clubhouses can be found on the company’s website.

As of June 2021, Clubhouse Media’s clubhouses included the following:

  • Clubhouse Beverly Hills, the company’s flagship content house.
  • Clubhouse Europe, located on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean.
  • DanceDome LA, which includes a custom dance studio.
  • Society Las Vegas, located just 10 minutes from the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.
  • Dobre House, the newest clubhouse, also located in Beverly Hills.

The company’s Doiyen agency represents and helps develop high impact social media partnerships for influencers signed exclusively to the agency’s management. The agency’s influencer clients represent a broader list than the residents at Clubhouse Media’s clubhouses.

Magiclytics™

Magiclytics™ is Clubhouse Media’s artificial intelligence technology platform. The analyses produced by the software enable brands to more efficiently monetize influencer marketing. Magiclytics employs machine learning AI, together with historical sales data and ad campaign results, to provide more accurate insight into how brands should spend their marketing dollars and with which influencers. The analytics output also allows influencers to approach specific brands and demonstrate with data how the influencer fits with the brand and can improve results within targeted markets.

Market Outlook

An estimated $13.8 billion will be spent worldwide on influencer marketing during 2021, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. That’s up from just $1.5 billion in 2015, marking a CAGR of about 44% for the period. The rapid growth trend is expected to continue, although future growth forecasts vary widely. Analysts are trying to better understand companies’ adoption rate in this segment, the decline in use of other marketing segments such as print and the shift of marketing budgets toward spending on influencers.

Management Team

The Clubhouse Media leadership team is comprised of former Fortune 500 executives, influencers and entertainment media professionals. Collectively, the executive team has a combined 120 years of experience in the media and entertainment industries and a deep background in venture capital and operating startups.

Amir Ben-Yohanan is the CEO of Clubhouse Media. He has 15 years of experience in leadership positions with multinational corporations. He is the founder of a real estate investment and property management company with $300 million in assets and more than 95 multifamily properties.

Chris Young is the President of Clubhouse Media. He is a serial entrepreneur with one reverse takeover exit and one eight-figure acquisition. He is a strategic advisor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Venture Funds. He has raised over $50 million in seed and pre-seed money as a startup advisor. Young has more than 10 years as in-house and outside counsel in the media and entertainment industries. He is also a former social media influencer with more than 500,000 combined followers.

Simon Yu is the COO of Clubhouse Media. He is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in capital markets and has successfully taken two companies public. He was founder and CEO of Cannabis Strategic Ventures and has compliance and audit experience with multiple public companies.

Harris Tulchin is Senior Executive Vice President and a board member for Clubhouse Media. He has been an entertainment lawyer, producer, author and producer’s representative since 1978. He has been Senior Vice President for Cinema Group, Head of Business Affairs for KCET Television, Senior Counsel for United Artists and Director of Business Affairs at MGM.

Gary Marenzi is a member of the Clubhouse Media board of directors. He is the former President of Paramount International Television, as well as MGM Worldwide Television, and Head of Entertainment Sales and Partnerships for Endeavor Content. He has been a member of the board of the Hollywood Radio and TV Society and served on the executive committee of the National Association of Television Program and Executives.

Investment Considerations

  • Clubhouse Media is increasing the number of its content houses in the U.S. and internationally.
  • The company is expanding content creation into areas it has not previously served, like e-gaming and music.
  • Multiple revenue streams are in place to monetize Clubhouse Media’s influencer brands in a quickly growing, multi-billion-dollar global social media marketplace.
  • The company is further building out its MagicLytics machine learning AI platform.
  • Clubhouse Media is developing a digital platform to monetize exclusive content, a concept proven by content-hosting platforms like OnlyFans, Patreon and Cameo.
  • The company is increasing its efforts to build or acquire consumer brands.
  • Partnerships have already been forged with top global brands including Sony Music Entertainment, Spotify, Companion, Honda Motors, Cover Girl and many more.


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Brain Scientific Inc. (OTCQB: BRSF)

Brain Scientific Inc. (OTCQB: BRSF) is a commercial-stage health care company focused on developing innovative and proprietary medical devices and software. With a mission of modernizing brain diagnostics by employing cutting edge technologies to bridge the widening gap in access to quality care, the company offers two FDA-cleared products that provide next-generation solutions to the neurology market.

The company’s proprietary, clinical-grade neurological devices are supported by its intellectual property portfolio featuring patents in the United States, China and Europe.

Brain Scientific’s first commercialized devices, NeuroCap(TM) and NeuroEEG(TM), are designed to disrupt the current electroencephalogram (EEG) market by offering cost-effective and disposable substitutes to existing solutions, allowing medical professionals to collect diagnostic information quickly.

The company’s goal is to improve diagnostics by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning processes to analyze a database of brain readings as a method of detecting seizures and dementia. The company is also working to improve patients’ access to neurological care.

Headquartered in New York, Brain Scientific and its predecessor (and now wholly owned subsidiary, MemoryMD Inc.) was founded in 2015 and went public in 2018.

Brain Scientific’s first phase of development, from 2018 to 2019, saw the inception of portable, clinical-grade, easy-to-use neurological devices. The second phase, currently ongoing, aims to create cloud-based, secure infrastructure to transmit patient data between patients and their neurologists. The company’s third phase of development is scheduled for 2021-2022 and is expected to focus on the use of AI-assisted diagnostic analysis to increase the efficiency, consistency and accuracy of neurology specialists.

NeuroCap(TM) – Disposable EEG Headset

The NeuroCap is a disposable pre-gelled EEG headset featuring 22 electrodes and 19 active EEG channels, all adhering to the international 10-20 system. The NeuroCap was FDA-cleared in 2018. The headset can be used for recording EEGs in virtually any setting, including urban and rural emergency departments, neurology clinics, urgent care clinics, ICUs, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and remote clinical research labs.

Through a universal cable adapter, the NeuroCap is compatible with other EEG amplifiers. The cap also works in parallel with Brain Scientific’s NeuroEEG amplifier, initiating EEG studies in less than five minutes.

The company is currently seeking FDA approval for additional features for the NeuroCap, as the device has the potential to fill a gap in EEG testing availabilities during the current coronavirus pandemic: in October 2020, Brain Scientific filed an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) application. The EUA is required for the rapid distribution of the NeuroCap device to emergency departments, intensive care units and other treatment centers to administer prescriptive EEGs safely on critically ill patients or those suspected of being diagnosed with COVID-19.

With more than 80 percent of hospitalized patients infected with COVID-19 displaying neurological symptoms, the NeuroCap could prove to be a valuable device by offering fast testing with limited contact between technicians and patients.

NeuroEEG(TM) – Miniature and Portable Wireless EEG Amplifier

The NeuroEEG is a compact, portable and affordable wireless EEG amplifier intended for prescription use. The 16-channel, FDA-cleared, clinical-grade device acquires, records, transmits and displays electrical brain activity for patients of all ages.

Both the NeuroCap and NeuroEEG are delivered by MemoryMD Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Brain Scientific.

Products in Active Development

Currently, Brain Scientific and MemoryMD are working on leveraging their existing products and drawing from ongoing research to develop and commercialize the next generation of solutions for the brain diagnostics market. The devices under development are being designed to address the following issues:

Routine EEG

  • NeuroCap-8 is an 8-channel EEG cap. The reduced number of electrodes is vital in emergency room situations, where the time it takes to set up the EEG is critical.

Pediatric EEG

  • NeuroCap Pediatric is positioned to become the first disposable and pre-gelled headset available for the pediatric market.

Long-Term Monitoring

  • NeuroCap LTM for adult and pediatric patients is a disposable cap designed to monitor rhythmic and periodic patterns for up to 72 hours, providing essential diagnostic capabilities.
  • NeuroEEG 24 Channel Amplifier is a portable and wireless amplifier with over 24 hours of battery life.

Artificial Intelligence

  • Brain E-Tattoo is a minimally invasive four-channel EEG electrode designed for long-term monitoring.
  • An AI database of brain biomarkers collects data on both normal and abnormal brain data to detect neurological diseases. The goal is for machine learning algorithms to enhance understanding of brain-behavior related to epilepsy, memory dementia and pre-Alzheimer’s diagnostics.

Telemedicine

Brain Scientific is expanding the vision for telemedicine in neurology. The company aims to address the current acute neurologist shortfall (20 states have less than 10 neurologists per 10,000 patients) through the use of teleneurology.

 

Partnership with Marketing Brainology

Brain Scientific has a longstanding partnership with Marketing Brainology, a neuromarketing firm using neuroscience approaches to understand consumer behavior. In 2019, Marketing Brainology conducted a study using NeuroCap and NeuroEEG to determine the most effective Super Bowl commercials.

“Thanks to Brain Scientific’s NeuroCap and NeuroEEG, we are able to better understand the art and science of the human decision-making process,” Michelle Adams, Ph.D, Founder of Marketing Brainology, stated in a news release.

In April 2020, Marketing Brainology again conducted a study leveraging Brain Scientific’s disposable EEG cap to determine how brains were reacting to COVID-19 messaging. Subjects were presented with multiple media impressions, and Marketing Brainology analyzed their responsive biomarkers. The results identified the most effective messaging for engaging with an audience during a crisis.

Market Outlook

The current global market for EEG devices is estimated at $956.1 million. It is expected to rise with a CAGR of 8.7% from 2019 to 2026, reaching $1.6 billion in value by 2026, according to Grandview Research.

In total, there are approximately 6,150 hospitals in the U.S., according to the American Hospital Association. Critically, though, just 254 of those hospitals are certified Level 4 Epilepsy centers with 24/7 EEG coverage. Since very few non-Level 4 centers have extensive EEG tech coverage, this creates a significant opportunity for Brain Scientific to bridge the gap by providing over 5,900 hospitals with lower cost amplifiers and disposable EEG caps.

The company also see opportunities to work with other businesses, such as EEG manufacturers hoping to package Brain Scientific’s solutions with their products, which could greatly expand Brain Scientific’s addressable target market.

Management Team

Dr. Baruch “Boris” Goldstein, Ph.D., is co-founder and Chairman of Brain Scientific. He is a seasoned executive with a proven talent for aligning global business strategies with established and emerging management teams. Goldstein’s growth-focused leadership style has helped him raise over $750 million in venture capital for the development of innovative companies and startups in diverse industries, including financial services, biomedicine, alternate energy and new materials, as well as groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence. His recent achievements include important advancements in neurology and unlocking the potential of AI correlations and machine learning applied to life sciences and medical research. He built a suite of first-to-market companies as a technology-oriented leader, including Ryah Medtech, Brain Scientific, GrapheneCA, E-Forex and Intelligent Video Systems. He also co-founded BrainRX, a company specializing in pre-Alzheimer’s diagnostics.

Dr. Nikolay Kukekov, Ph.D., is a Director of Brain Scientific and a partner at HRA Capital. Before joining HRA Capital, Kukekov was Managing Director of Healthcare Investment Banking at Summer Street Research. His scientific background includes a bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Columbia University – College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.

Stuart Bernstein is the company’s Vice President of Marketing. He was recently named to the role after spending the first part of his professional career in senior technical management roles with Fortune 500 companies such as NCR (NYSE: NCR), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Control Data Corp. He was the CEO of BioSignal, an EEG medical device company. He is also a co-founder of several software engineering and telemedicine firms. One of them, Brain Saving Technology, is now Specialist on Call (SOC Telemed) – a leading telemedicine company that powers over 850 facilities for teleneurology, telepsychiatry and critical care telemedicine with over 200 physicians.

Investment Considerations

  • Brain Scientific is a commercial-stage health care company aiming to modernize the brain diagnostics market by employing cutting edge technologies to bridge the widening gap in access to neurological care.
  • The company’s current offerings are the NeuroCap(TM) and NeuroEEG(TM) – two FDA-cleared devices delivered by wholly owned subsidiary MemoryMD Inc.
  • The company’s intellectual property portfolio includes three patents in the U.S., China and Europe.
  • Brain Scientific is developing new products, including disposable EEG headsets for pediatric patients, long-term monitoring solutions and artificial intelligence options for monitoring and recording brain activity.
  • The company was selected as a finalist at the 2020 Epilepsy Foundation Shark Tank Competition.
  • The EEG device market is currently estimated at $956.1 million and is expected to grow to $1.6 billion by 2026, achieving a CAGR of 8.7%.
  • In the future, Brain Scientific intends to leverage AI and machine learning to map brain activities and providing data about different neurological conditions such as dementia, pre-Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.


Sunday, September 27th, 2020 Uncategorized Comments Off on Brain Scientific Inc. (OTCQB: BRSF)

Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC)

Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC) is an instrumentation company that designs, manufactures and commercializes solutions. Its solutions include mass spectrometry, process controls, chemical detectors and medical disease detection.

The company was established in 1984 and, prior to 2009, was known as SPACEHAB Inc., a NASA contractor offering technology originally developed for NASA to monitor air quality on the International Space Station. When the Space Shuttle program ended, the company focused on its satellite processing and mass spectrometer instrumentation units and adopted the Astrotech name.

In 2014, Astrotech sold its satellite subsidiary to focus on its Astrotech Technology Inc. (ATi) mass spectrometry solutions, which offer a number of advantages over competing platforms. Notably, Astrotech’s ATi technology is ruggedized, rapid, simple to use and customizable, with hands-free calibration and tuning.

Between 2016 and 2019, the company secured U.S. patents for its technology and achieved European Union (ECAC) certification for the TRACER 1000™, the world’s first mass-spec Explosives Trace Detector (ETD) used in airports worldwide. Astrotech continues to innovate and add to its suite of products, including AgLAB-1000, a process control system, and the BreathTest 1000, a disease detection solution.

Astrotech is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Subsidiaries

Astrotech Technologies Inc.

Astrotech Technologies Inc. (ATi) owns and licenses the platform mass spectrometry technology originally developed by 1st Detect. This technology is designed to be less expensive, smaller and easier to use than traditional mass spectrometers.

Unlike other technologies, ATi works under high vacuum, which eliminates competing molecules, yielding higher resolution and fewer false alarms. The company’s intellectual property includes 18 granted patents, along with extensive trade secrets.

ATi exclusively licenses the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology to the three wholly owned subsidiaries of Astrotech.

1st Detect Corp.

1st Detect Corp. developed the TRACER 1000, the world’s first mass spectrometry-based explosives and narcotics trace detector. 1st Detect ETDs were developed for use at airports, cargo facilities and other secured locations and borders worldwide.

1st Detect’s commercial sales of the TRACER 1000 ETD, consumables and recurring maintenance services brought in $750,000 in total revenue during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. The Astrotech subsidiary recently secured two orders for a total of 24 Tracer 1000 units from two Romanian security and telecommunications companies, to be delivered during calendar 2023.

AgLAB Inc.

AgLAB Inc. is developing a series of mass spectrometers for use in the hemp and cannabis market, with an initial focus on optimizing yields in the distillation processes.

AgLAB, which uses the company’s proprietary AgLAB 1000-D2™ mass spectrometer, has been proven to improve distillation oil yields and bottom-line profits for hemp and cannabis producers. During field trials, AgLAB was able to improve ending-weight yields by an average of 24%.

BreathTech Corp.

BreathTech is developing the BreathTest-1000™, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound (“VOC”) metabolites found in a person’s breath that could indicate they may have a compromised condition including but not limited to a bacterial or viral infection. The company believes that new tools to aid in the battle against COVID-19 and other diseases remain of the utmost importance to help more quickly identify that an infection may be present.

Market Opportunity

A report by Mordor Intelligence, a research and advisory firm, put the global mass spectrometry market at $6.37 billion in 2023. The market is forecast to grow to $8.63 billion by 2028, achieving a CAGR of 6.25% during the forecast period.

One of the major driving factors for the growth of the mass spectrometry market is technological advancements in mass spectrometer devices, the report states. Key market players are continuously working toward advancing their existing products and launching innovative and advanced mass spectrometer devices.

Another major factor that is expected to boost market growth is increasing research and development expenditure by both government and private entities, according to the report. Mass spectrometry devices are also being used in the detection and analysis of COVID-19 and other disease samples, which may have a positive impact on the market.

Management Team

The Astrotech leadership team includes management executives, as well as industry and technology experts. The company continues to actively expand its talent pool to meet evolving demands.

Thomas B. Pickens III is Chairman, CEO and Chief Technology Officer of Astrotech Corp. He also serves as CEO of Astrotech subsidiaries ATi, 1st Detect, AgLAB Inc. and BreathTech Corp. Previously, he was the founder and president of Beta Computer Systems Inc. and T.B. Pickens & Co. He was founder and general partner of Grace Pickens Acquisition Partners L.P and managing partner of Sumpter Partners. He also served as CEO of Catalyst Energy Corporation and United Thermal Corporation and as president of Golden Bear Corp., United Hydro Inc. and Slate Creek Corp. He received a B.A. in Economics, Computer Science and Engineering from Southern Methodist University.

Jaime Hinojosa, CPA, is CFO at Astrotech Corp. He joined the company in 2015 and has served as its Corporate Controller since 2019. His previous roles with the company include Director of Finance, from 2017 to 2019, and Assistant Controller, from 2015 to 2017. Prior to joining Astrotech, Mr. Hinojosa worked as an Accounting Manager for O’Reilly Auto Parts and gained public accounting experience as an Audit Manager at Burton McCumber & Cortez LLP.

Investment Considerations

  • In November 2023, the company announced a purchase order from a Romanian company for seven TRACER 1000 ETDs to be deployed in a European airport.
  • Astrotech announced in June 2023 that its board unanimously rejected an unsolicited acquisition proposal from BML Investment Partners.
  • In May 2023, the company announced a purchase order from a Romanian company for 17 TRACER 1000 ETDs, to be delivered during calendar 2023.
  • Astrotech confirmed test results from field trials of the AgLAB 1000-D2 mass spectrometer for hemp and cannabis producers, improving yields by an average of 24%.
  • In December 2022, the company effected a 1-for-30 reverse stock split, reducing the number of outstanding common shares.

Additional Resources


Saturday, September 26th, 2020 Featured Stocks Comments Off on Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC)

AnPac Bio-Medical Science Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: ANPC)

AnPac Bio-Medical Science Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: ANPC) is a biotechnology company focused on early cancer screening and detection. The company develops, distributes and deploys accessible early disease detection devices with an aim of changing the way people approach cancer screening. AnPac Bio-Medical is a highly innovative company and an early thought leader and developer of multi-cancer screening technology, which is gaining significant acceptance.

AnPac Bio-Medical has clinical laboratories in the United States and China, with 142 issued patents as of March 31, 2021. Its corporate headquarters is located in Shanghai, China, while its U.S. headquarters is situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company operates two certified clinical laboratories in China and one CLIA registered clinical laboratory in the United States.

Cancer Differentiation Analysis (CDA)

Cancer Differentiation Analysis (CDA) is AnPac Bio-Medical’s approach to detecting cancer and pre-cancerous diseases. CDA uses the natural biophysical properties of blood and cellular proteins to discover cancerous environments before the tumors even form.

Most liquid-based cancer screening and detection technologies focus on biochemical signals, like conventional biomarkers and genomic signals, such as ct-DNAs and CTCs (circulating tumor cells in the blood). These typically only determine whether or not cancer has occurred at a fixed point in time.

CDA technology combines an assessment of existing biomarkers with the biophysical properties and cellular proteins that signal the lead-up to serious health conditions and cancer. It is also used to pinpoint where cancer is most likely located and predict where the risk is highest in the future – all through a standard blood test, at a competitive price point.

AnPac Bio-Medical’s CDA is powered by a database of over 200,000 samples and cases and serves as a new way to approach disease and cancer screening. The device uses an integrated system of sensors to detect several biophysical signals at the cellular, protein and molecular levels. CDA leverages a proprietary algorithm to synthesize the data, effectively generating a personalized risk assessment for evaluated patients.

Through CDA technology, AnPac Bio-Medical aims to address a number of goals, including:

  • Innovate – AnPac Bio-Medical is an innovator in the cancer screening industry, with CDA research ongoing since 2008, and commercial operations beginning in 2015. AnPac considers itself a thought leader in developing multi-cancer screening.
  • Detect – AnPac Bio-Medical detects early signals of threatening cancer and its location within the body.
  • Identify – CDA identifies the risks of up to 26 different types of cancers with high sensitivity and specificity rates.
  • Provide – The company’s platform provides multi-level, multi-parameter analysis using proprietary diagnostic algorithms, which results in accurate and easy-to-understand results.
  • Proven – A fully operational analysis of over 200,000 test samples has been run to date. CDA technology has been shown to identify pre- and early-stage cancers in patients previously diagnosed as “cancer-free” through traditional methods.
  • Biophysical Properties – CDA analyzes biophysical properties in human blood and the correlation between biophysical properties and cancer occurrence.

Market Outlook

AnPac Bio-Medical is exploring detection of other types of cancers leveraging its innovative CDA technology and multi-cancer screening and detection tests, which could open significant opportunities on the global cancer diagnostics market.

According to a report by Grand View Research, the cancer diagnostics market is expected to reach $249.6 billion worldwide by 2026 (https://nnw.fm/L7css). The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% during the forecast period.

Management Team

Dr. Chris Yu is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AnPac Bio-Medical. He has enjoyed a successful career as an innovator in life sciences, technology and engineering. Dr. Yu has worked for three U.S. Fortune 500 companies and is the first/principal inventor of over 300 patent applications spanning semiconductors, materials and life science. He has a proven history of developing cutting-edge products with long-term profit and sustainability. Dr. Yu was born to a medical doctor’s family and went to medical school.  He later switched his major to physics and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Campus and a doctoral degree in physics from Pennsylvania State University. Both of his dissertations addressed innovative detection techniques.

Dr. Herbert Yu is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AnPac Bio-Medical. He is a renowned expert in molecular epidemiology, with training in medicine and chemical biochemistry. Dr. Yu has a 20-year career in leading-edge cancer research, including breakthrough work in areas of carcinogenic factors. He is a professor and research director at the University of Hawaii and an adjunct professor at Yale University. He received his bachelor’s degree in medicine from Shanghai First Medical College. Dr. Yu also received a science degree in epidemiology and a Ph.D. in clinical biochemistry from the University of Toronto.

Jingiu (Edward) Tang is the company’s Chief Financial Officer. He previously served as a global internal auditor at Natuzzi S.p.A. Mr. Tang also worked at Beijing Dongshen CPA and Shanghai De’an CPA, providing external audits, finance and tax advisory services across different industries and sectors. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Australia. Mr. Tang received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Charles Sturt University in Australia, his MBA from Charles Sturt University, and his bachelor’s degree in law from Southwest University of Science and Technology in China.

Weidong Dai is the company’s China General Manager. He previously served as a general partner at Stirrfir Investment Management Co. Mr. Dai has also served as the chairman of RTS Management (Shanghai) Co., and as managing director of Hong Kong Pro-Health Technology Co. and Shanghai Pro-Health Medical Devices Co. He has published a number of medical research papers and research articles in professional journals. Mr. Dai was awarded the Hong Kong Industrial Award for a medical device that he led in research and development. He earned his bachelor’s degree in medicine from Anhui Medical University, a master’s degree in medicine from the Sun Yat-San University of Medicine, and an Advanced Certificate of the EMBA CEO Program from Fudan University, School of Economics.

Investment Considerations

  • AnPac Bio-Medical Science Co. Ltd. is a biotechnology company focused on early cancer screening and detection.
  • The company aims to develop, distribute and deploy its Cancer Differentiation Analysis (CDA) technology to change the way people approach cancer screening.
  • CDA is powered by a database of over 200,000 samples and cases, providing a new way to approach disease and cancer screening.
  • The company’s management team comprises professionals in both the United States and China who are knowledgeable and well educated in cancer screening and detection.
  • The global cancer diagnostics market is expected to reach $249.6 billion by 2026.


Saturday, September 26th, 2020 Uncategorized Comments Off on AnPac Bio-Medical Science Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: ANPC)

$MEDS Shines Spotlight on Dynamic Platform Capabilities

Trxade Group (NASDAQ: MEDS), an integrated drug-procurement, delivery and health-care platform, recently had the opportunity to showcase its growing medical technology accomplishments at multiple virtual investor conferences. Trxade Group CEO Suren Ajjarapu took the company’s message well beyond physical borders to virtual summits in the month of September, providing insight into the dynamic capabilities and expansion of the Trxade¿Exchange platform. A recent article discussing this reads, “Trxade Group has been building its B2B platform into a B2C-friendly portfolio that helps independent local pharmacies compete with large-scale retail chains through drug pricing transparency and network strength. The platform also assists health patients to gain telemedicine access to physicians’ clinics without leaving home, and to have prescriptions ordered online and delivered to the home (http://nnw.fm/OW3fh).

To view the full article, visit: https://nnw.fm/SRP3G

About Trxade Group Inc.

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Trxade Group is an integrated drug-procurement, delivery and health-care platform that fosters price transparency, thereby improving profit margins for both buyers and sellers of pharmaceuticals. Trxade Group operates across all 50 states with the central mission of making health-care services affordable and accessible. Founded in 2010, Trxade Group is comprised of four synergistic operating platforms: (1) the Trxade B2B trading platform with 11,725 registered pharmacies; (2) Integra Pharma Solutions, Trxade Group’s virtual wholesale division; (3) the Bonum Health platform offering affordable telehealth services; and (4) the DelivMeds app, which coordinates a nationwide distribution network through independent pharmacies or mail-order delivery. For additional information, please visit www.Trxade.comwww.DelivMeds.com and www.BonumHealth.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to MEDS are available in the company’s newsroom at http://nnw.fm/MEDS

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Friday, September 25th, 2020 Uncategorized Comments Off on $MEDS Shines Spotlight on Dynamic Platform Capabilities

$WTER Specialty Beverage, Water Companies Eyeing Exciting New Opportunities

NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage: With sales of carbonated drinks steadily declining for more than a decade, major players in the space are eager to find ways to expand their portfolios into the booming craft beverages and bottled water sectors. One way to accomplish that may be the M&A route, with companies such as The Alkaline Water Company (NASDAQ: WTER)(CSE: WTER) (WTER Profile)one of the fastest-growing enhanced water companies in the industry, looking like an attractive option. In the meantime, Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is making strides on its previously announced Beverages for Life strategic transformation. New Age Beverages Corporation (NASDAQ: NBEV) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ARIIX, together with four additional companies in the e-commerce and direct-selling channels. Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) is sharpening its water focus on international, premium mineral and functional brands while exploring strategic options for parts of its North American business. And Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is reporting sequential improvement in sales during the latter-half of the quarter after seeing a dip in sales earlier in the quarter.

  • Sales in the carbonated soft drink category have been sliding for 15 years.
  • New market share may be available through specialty and niche market beverage makers.
  • Major players may see The Alkaline Water Company as an attractive M&A candidate.
  • Reporting record growth over the past quarter, WTER is eyeing continued success moving forward.

Trends Impacting Soft Drink Sales

Recently, a “Beverage Industry” article reported that volume sales in the carbonated soft drink category have declined for 15 consecutive years. “Today’s consumers want both variety and healthier refreshment, trends which have negatively impacted carbonated soft drinks,” said Gary Hemphill, managing director of research for New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation.

In the same article, Jacqueline Hiner, industry analyst for Los Angeles-based IBISWorld, noted that “the most prominent driver of this trend is the higher number of health-conscious individuals in conjunction with rising per capita disposable income. Rising disposable income levels enable consumers who enjoy the taste of carbonated beverages to splurge on craft beverages that are made with natural ingredients. However, growth in this market is expected to be tempered by the continued increase in health consciousness driving consumers to drink water.”

As Hiner noted, while soda sales are down, sales of bottled water worldwide are rising. Pre-pandemic, Americans spent $18.5 billion on bottled water annually; that number was projected to rise to $22 billion by the end of 2024. According to Grand View Research, the global bottled water market is expected to reach $215.12 billion by 2025 — posting a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% over the next six years. These numbers could end up even higher as health-conscious consumers opt for water over soda.

An Enhanced Appeal

Major beverage makers can’t ignore what looks like the future of beverages. As these large companies evaluate the forecast numbers, savvy soda companies are looking for strategic ways to get in on the action. One path that many of the larger companies are pursuing is mergers and acquisitions. Examples include Coca-Cola’s acquisition of Vitamin Water for $4.2 billion and Reignwood’s $105-million acquisition of Voss. Dr. Pepper has taken the M&A route too, acquiring Core for $525 million and Bai for $1.2 billion.

The Alkaline Water Company (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER) could be a prime target for any company considering this type of strategic consolidation. One of the fastest-growing enhanced water companies in the country, WTER has reported an astonishing 62% compound annual sales growth rate over the last five years. The company posted record annual revenue of $41.1 million as health-conscious consumers have turned away from sugary soft drinks to bottled water, particularly water that’s been enhanced.

The pandemic has only boosted the company’s appeal. While other beverage companies struggled to put their drinks on the shelf, The Alkaline Water Company delivered record growth over the past quarter. The company reported record sales in March ($6.2 million) and April ($7.1 million), representing year over year growth of 114% and 171% respectively.

WTER was one of the few water brands able to deliver during the peak “pantry-stuffing” period, resulting in an estimated 30–40% of new households quenching their thirst with Alkaline88 for the first time — the largest sampling program in the company’s history. In fact, a recent Nielsen report ranked Alkaline88(R) as the 10th best-selling value-added water and the third fastest-growing, top-ten, value-added water in the country during the 13 weeks ending May 16, 2020.

A Strong Track Record

The Alkaline Water Company’s upward trajectory appears likely to continue.

Alkaline88 remains one of the top-selling brands in the value-added water category. According to recent trade data, Alkaline88 reported double-digit growth despite the value-added water category contracting 8.2% for the four-week period ending April 18, 2020.

In addition, the company’s track record of identifying and meeting consumers’ needs is well documented. Last year, the company launched A88 Infused(TM) to meet consumer demand for flavor-infused products. A88 Infused flavored water is available in seven all-natural flavors, with new flavors on their way.

Another consideration is WTER’s strong commitment to the environment. The company began 2020 by unveiling its flagship brand, Alkaline88, available in 500ml, single-serving aluminum bottles. “Consumers are demanding more eco-friendly choices, and we are excited to now offer a refillable, resealable, and 100% recyclable option,” said company president and CEO Richard A, Wright. “This is yet another step that the company is taking toward a more renewable future, and we remain committed to providing smarter and innovative packaging solutions for the environmentally conscious consumer.” The company has proven incredibly adept at identifying and delivering on consumer demands.

Strong Indicators for Continued Growth

The Alkaline Water Company has other strong indicators for its continued growth moving forward, including its entrance into the hospitality space and expansion of its e-commerce presence to meet new consumer buying habits.

The company recently reported that its products will be available in more than 15,000 new retail locations; with those new numbers, WTER products can now be found in an estimated 70,000 retail stores in all 50 states across the country. In addition, the company has identified an additional 40,000 retail locations it is eyeing for further expansion in fiscal 2021.

With a solid sales pipeline in new and existing markets, Alkaline’s robust lineup of innovative products, and growing momentum in its lifestyle brands, The Alkaline Water Company may be a tremendous opportunity for investors interested in a high-growth company that has a strong track record of delivering on its promises. Of course, becoming a target for the majors would be an added bonus.

Opportunities for Growth, Success

Health and wellness trends have certainly made a dent in the beverage industry. The downward trend appears to be further fueled by the global pandemic. Large companies in the space are looking for ways to maintain and even expand market share.

Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) recently announced that plans to streamline its beverage lineup and modernize its marketing have been escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s Beverages for Life strategic transformation was well underway before the pandemic, but the global crisis is speeding the changes. The company outlined plans to drive this strategy through a more networked global organization led by nine operating units, five marketing category leadership teams and a new Platform Services organization.

Health and wellness is the focus of the new global firm created by NewAge Inc (NASDAQ: NBEV). The omni-channel Colorado-based healthy and organic products company and ARIIX have agreed to create a leading health and wellness firm with a unique route to market, depth in the e-commerce and direct-selling channels, a team of more than 400,000 independent representatives, and a portfolio of healthy products unrivaled in the industry. Other companies involved in the endeavor include Zennoa, LIMU, MaVie and Shannen; the combined companies are creating a global firm with estimated pro forma revenues in excess of $500 million across more than 75 countries worldwide.

Nestle SA’s (OTC: NSRGY) Board of Directors approved a new strategic direction for its waters business. The company will sharpen its focus on its iconic international brands, its leading premium mineral water brands, and invest in differentiated healthy hydration, such as functional water products. The board also confirmed its intent to explore strategic acquisitions to grow in this category, while pledging to make its entire global water portfolio carbon neutral and replenish associated watersheds by 2025.

Despite COVID-19, Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) has announced that all of the company’s flavor manufacturing facilities, co-packers, warehouses and shipment facilities are operating. Safety precautions have been instituted, which were developed and adopted in line with guidance from public health authorities and professional consultants. While Monster’s second-quarter net and gross sales were adversely impacted by pandemic, the company is seeing an improvement in sales as certain countries and states begin to gradually re-open.

The news isn’t all bad for those involved in the beverage world. Smart companies are making strategic decisions to move in directions that make the most of opportunities for growth and success.

For more information about The Alkaline Water Company, please visit The Alkaline Water Company (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER).

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Friday, September 25th, 2020 Uncategorized Comments Off on $WTER Specialty Beverage, Water Companies Eyeing Exciting New Opportunities