| SeriousTraders Monthly December 2017 |
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This Month Includes: |
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ABcann Global (TSX.V: ABCN) (OTCQB: (ABCCF)
ABcann Global (TSX.V: ABCN) (OTCQB: ABCCF) ABcann Medicinals, Inc. is a globally licensed, cost efficient producer of premium quality organic standardized medicinal cannabis. One of the earliest licensed Canadian medical marijuana producers under Canada's federally-controlled Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), ABcann has five years of operating experience in the burgeoning medical marijuana space. The company currently owns and operates a fully functioning 14,500 square foot facility in Napanee, Ontario. Additionally, ABcann owns 65 acres of real estate with proper zoning and existing infrastructure in place to support the construction of another production facility of up to one million square feet.
In a November 2016 report, market research firm Canaccord Genuity Group forecasted that the medical marijuana market in Canada could see sales in excess of $8 billion by 2024, creating a sizable opportunity for the country's licensed producers (LPs). The research firm also noted that the "rigorous process of becoming a licensed producer of cannabis in Canada imposes significant barriers to entry and there will be a shortfall of supply in a legalized market in the short-term." This market barrier serves as a strategic advantage for ABcann as it prepares for its highly-anticipated IPO, which is currently scheduled for April 2017.
Canaccord's synopsis of the Canadian cannabis industry is supported by recent market activity, as companies sporting one of the illustrious Canadian government licenses for medicinal production have recorded strong growth following IPO. Canopy Growth (OTC: TWMJ), one of the largest fully-licensed Canadian marijuana growers, saw share prices skyrocket by more than 700 percent in the months following its initial offering. Aphria Inc. (OTC: APHQF), another licensed grower, climbed by more than 900 percent following its IPO. Other companies that have recorded huge growth since going public include Aurora Cannabis (OTC: ACBFF), climbing nearly 900 percent, and SupremePharma (OTC: SPRWF), which soared more than 1,300 percent.
With these market trends in mind, ABcann's impending IPO is one that prospective investors in the marijuana sector will want to explore. Recalls from some of the biggest players in the Canadian cannabis industry have highlighted the considerable learning curve that LPs face in today's market, which makes ABcann's proven track record in the market all the more noteworthy. The company has built a reputation over the years for its best-in-class standardized approach to growing cannabis, including the thoughtful omission of pesticides and a computer monitored growing technique that allows ABcann to minimize the risks of variance in its yields and ensure the creation of consistently high-quality products.
This technique, which the company calls the ABcann Advantage, has helped it record a customer retention rate of 94.7 percent alongside 30 percent month-over-month customer growth. When combined with ABcann's current yield rate, which it has measured at roughly 100 percent greater than the industry average, the company has constructed a strong foundation upon which to build a sizable presence in the global cannabis industry. This global growth potential is illustrated by ABcann's partnership with Israel's Syqe Medical, producer of the world's first selective-dose pharmaceutical grade medicinal plant inhaler. After visiting the company's production facility, Perry Davidson, founder of Syqe Medical, noted that ABcann's production technologies put it "in a class with the best in the world" in its ability to produce standardized pharmaceutical grade cannabis.
ABcann's entry into the public sector is being guided by a seasoned management team, board of directors and advisory board that feature well over a century of combined industry experience. Ken Clement, the company' founder and executive chairman, has been the key component and driving force behind ABcann's development since its inception. His vision of standardized production and dosage sets ABcann apart in the medical cannabis sector. Clement is joined on the company's management team by CEO Aaron Keay. Keay brings more than a decade of capital markets experience to ABcann, having played a role in raising approximately $250 million for public and private market issuers.
Notably, ABcann also has access to the 'Father of Cannabis Research', Raphael Mechoulam, PhD, through its board of advisors. An organic chemist and professor of medicinal chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mechoulam was the first scientist to isolate both cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and he has received more than 25 prestigious academic awards, including the Rothschild Prize in Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences in 2012.
With more than 65 acres of growth capacity, a healthy cash balance to fund upcoming construction efforts, steady sales growth, industry-leading yield rates and an established operations team in place, ABcann is well-positioned to compete in the rapidly-expanding Canadian medicinal cannabis industry. These factors, along with the company's ongoing global expansion into the European, Australian and Israeli markets, show why ABcann Medicinals' upcoming public offering fits the bill as "Canada's Next Medical Marijuana IPO."
AppSwarm, Inc. (SWRM)
AppSwarm, Inc. (SWRM) is a technology development and incubation acceleration company that partners up with developers through joint ventures, royalty agreements, marketing partnerships, and outright purchase agreements. Focusing on the ever-growing mobile applications market, the company provides all the resources needed for engagement, retention, virality and monetization.
The global games market generated approximately $100 billion in revenues in 2016, but large global game companies have made it extremely difficult for smaller developers to achieve success in the marketplace. As a result, many great ideas aren't monetized. AppSwarm solves this problem by providing the funding and critical business expertise needed to successfully launch and market new applications.
Business applications is another area of focus for the company. Targeting small to medium sized businesses, AppSwarm will be developing and acquiring mobile application tools and platforms that increase productivity and security via data encryption, cloud storage, content management and delivery, digital payments, automation, and customer loyalty marketing solutions. Recent acquisitions made so far represent only a small example of future planned initiatives to develop and market tools for the business community.
Regardless of the target market, AppSwarm can help developers accelerate the success of their app through funding, technology and marketing expertise, as well as a unique eco system that accelerates user acquisition. The company is able to assist at any state of development with completion of concept, market analysis, business and financial management, direct sales and marketing, social game development to ensure correct product application and expedient deployment with cost efficiency.
Ron Brewer, CEO of the company, has accumulated extensive leadership in the technology sector and brings valuable knowledge gained as a Director of Southbridge Advisory Group for nearly 20 years. Ron's C-level experience includes merger & acquisition and post-acquisition turnaround in both the private and small-cap public sector. John Rabbit, director of finance, is a seasoned business veteran that has worked with Fortune 500 firms and served in CEO, COO and CFO positions for firms ranking from $5 million to $300 million in annual revenues. John was directly involved in numerous acquisitions and served in executive capacities for several multinational subsidiaries.
With a well-suited management team, multiple synergistic revenue streams, and diversified growth strategy, AppSwarm is well positioned in a steadily growing industry with countless opportunities for capitalization.
Bollente Companies, Inc. (BOLC)
Bollente Companies, Inc. (BOLC) is in the early stages of developing a diverse portfolio of companies, targeting disruptive technologies that positively impact the environment and emerging economies. Their current focus is on high-efficiency electric tankless water heaters, manufactured and sold under "trutankless", a division of Bollente, including a line of economy tankless water heaters sold under the Vero name. Units are available for both residential and commercial application.
The primary Bollente advantage is their use of advanced technology, superior to previous tankless systems, together with a growing U.S. and global market. Traditional water heaters are one of the costliest appliances to operate. The two primary energy sources used in U.S. homes are electric and natural gas, with less than half of U.S. homes having natural gas available. In addition, there are no significant electric whole home tankless manufacturers.
The U.S. Department of Energy now requires tanks of 55 gallons or more to have efficiency levels requiring expensive heat pumps to achieve. Bollente's trutankless electric tankless water heater employs specialized sensors for constant water temperature, solid state electronics, and proprietary software, resulting in one of the most efficient heat exchangers ever produced. The technology includes smart grid and home automation capabilities, remote control and monitoring, and even smartphone alerts. It also allows adjustable custom power management settings, so that users can further enhance energy usage and performance. It is now estimated that tankless heaters used in every home would save over $8 billion annually in the U.S. alone.
By maintaining 99 percent efficiency, Bollente's trutankless heaters use less energy than tank heaters, while providing the convenience of always-hot water. The system only uses power when there is demand, producing water to exact temperature, within one degree, even with sudden changes to input. Wireless apps allow for remote settings, notifications, and monitoring, and models are compatible with existing home automation and energy management systems. The technology also reduces size, for easy location, and the system's self-flushing design provides up to 20+ years of maintenance free operation, significantly reducing upkeep and replacement costs. This becomes an additional environmental benefit since roughly 8 million used water heaters are dumped in landfills every year.
Bollente has also announced the formation of Bollente International, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, for the international production and sale of trutankless systems. Taking advantage of growing interest in their technology, Bollente International is working with an international manufacturing firm for the production and distribution of trutankless systems throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, with the first step being the testing and certification necessary to meet the various international standards.
Bollente has made electric tankless water heating compelling to a major consumer market, both in and outside the U.S., offering economic as well as operational efficiency and convenience, attractive to builders as well as to end consumers.
ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX)
Founded in 1999, ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX) has become a leading financial information website for Chinese-speaking investors in the United States and China. Recognizing unprecedented opportunities in the U.S. cannabis industry, CIIX is also laying the groundwork to capitalize on growing demand for cannabidiol (CBD)-based nutrition and health products.
Through its primary website, www.ChineseInvestors.com, CIIX offers a variety of investor education products and services, including real-time market commentary, analysis and educational related services in Chinese language character sets; consultative services to smaller private companies considering becoming a public company; and advertising and public relations related support services.
At the center of this initiative is the ChineseInvestors Method, a unique integration of a disciplined investing process, web-based tools, personalized instructions and support. Using this strategy, CIIX provides reliable market information to help investors make informed investment decisions and meet their individualized financial goals.
CIIX is also leveraging its financial expertise to enter into the burgeoning CBD industry, which within a few years has grown from a relatively invisible sector to a billowing market expected to reach $2.1 billion in consumer sales by 2020.
The increasing demand for CBD-based products is a catalyst for innovative business endeavors. To this accord, CIIX has established a three-year development plan to capitalize on the convergence of CBD and the nutrition and health products market in mainland China, where the benefits of CBD oil have not been widely recognized.
Under a wholesale agreement with a reputable CBD health brand, CIIX is launching the world's first online CBD health products store published in the Chinese language. The site, www.ChineseCBDoil.com, caters to a growing number of Chinese people awakening to the numerous health benefits of CBD oil for treatment of a variety of conditions such as anxiety, stress, poor sleep, Alzheimer's disease, and more. CIIX expects to launch this website at the end of January 2017, and plans to sell CBD-infused products via online and in-store.
In conjunction, CIIX's cannabis-focused "Yelp"-style mobile app is in development as a platform for Chinese people to review and discuss various cannabis products. The app will be the first marijuana social media mobile app designed for Chinese-speaking customers worldwide.
EVIO, Inc. (EVIO)
EVIO, Inc. (EVIO), via the EVIO Labs division, is the nation's leading provider of accredited analytical testing, scientific research and advisory services to the regulated cannabis industry. EVIO Labs provides state-mandated ancillary services that are required to ensure the safety and quality of the nation's cannabis supply. EVIO Labs has performed over 50,000 tests during the past two years and grown from one laboratory in Oregon to nine labs spanning California, Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts and Florida.
EVIO Labs is driving the cannabis testing industry by providing clients nationwide with consistent high-quality cannabis analytical services backed by quality control assurances. The company also provides advisory services that help cannabis producers and retailers enhance production processes, achieve regulatory compliance and meet quality goals.
EVIO Labs is on track to open 18 laboratories by the end of 2018 at locations around the United States. The Oregon-based company provides analytical services that include testing cannabis and industrial hemp flower, extracts and infused products. The labs specialize in performing the following tests:
- Cannabinoid analysis, which properly characterizes the many primary cannabinoids found in cannabis including THC, CBD, and several other cannabinoids.
- Terpene analysis, which identifies the aromatic compounds of the plant (terpene), which can help identify the therapeutic potential of a cannabis flower or extract.
- Moisture content and water activity, which measure the moisture levels of dried cannabis and are indicators of microbiological growth potential.
- Pesticide residue analysis of over 100 different pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, growth regulators and other agrochemicals that may be present on cannabis.
- Detection of harmful residual solvents left behind in the cannabis extract production process.
- Microbial testing screen for bacterial and fungal contamination in cannabis and cannabis-infused products.
- Detection of heavy metals including lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic.
EVIO Labs is rapidly becoming the nation's leading cannabis biotechnology company. Led by a management team with extensive experience in designing and rolling out successful business ventures, product research and development, regulatory and compliance protocols, medical cannabis cultivation, production and analytical chemistry techniques, EVIO Labs is prepared to take advantage of today's fastest growing industry.
Global Payout, Inc. (GOHE)
Global Payout, Inc. (GOHE) provides comprehensive payment solutions that can be fully customized for virtually any domestic and international organization distributing money worldwide. The company is committed to enabling global access to technology for optimizing financial transactions and delivering a global financial eco-system with top-tier banking institutions and the highest level financial technology partnerships.
Today, more than ever before, commercial enterprises and government institutions need powerful financial technology solutions that have the flexibility to deliver innovative customer centric services and drive operational efficiency gains throughout the organization. The Global Reserve Platform is Global Payout's fully configurable "banking-in-a-box" web-based platform that can fulfill the front-to-back office processing requirements of domestic, foreign exchange and international payment service providers. This platform is designed to improve work flow, operational efficiencies, and global financial management for enterprises operating across the globe.
The Global Reserve Platform can manage practically any financial product, including core and traditional banking products, online banking, card management, mobile wallets, merchant payment processing, biometric payments and authentication management, bill payments and P2P payments, international remittances, government benefits management, loans management, FOREX, and SWIFT / ACH / SEPA payments. Powered by the Global Reserve Administrative module, the platform can be customized for enterprises across a multitude of business sectors.
Investment in financial technology (FINTECH) companies has grown dramatically in recent years with the role of today's banks shrinking and demand for improved financial solutions continuing to rise. As the industry has continued to expand rapidly, Global Payout's management team has directed its focus on identifying the most promising market sectors with FINTECH needs. The four core areas selected are logistics, small and medium enterprises (SME), banking and travel.
In 2015, Global Payout introduced MoneyTrac Technology Inc. as a majority owned subsidiary to more effectively focus on the development of financial technologies that specifically address many of the challenges that enterprises in a variety of alternative and "high-risk" market sectors are faced with in processing financial transactions. Powered by Virtu Network Solutions, the MoneyTrac Technology platform is one the most configurable and intuitive financial technology platforms available to alternative and "high-risk" enterprises and provides them with solutions that effectively manages everything from pin debit and virtual currency, to compliance and cash flow logistics.
With the global economy constantly becoming more diversified and connected, Global Payout is well positioned with the technology software solutions its team has developed to address many different needs worldwide. Management has committed itself to exploring and identifying every avenue possible for further establishing itself as a recognized leader in FINTECH solutions.
Greenkraft, Inc. (GKIT)
Greenkraft, Inc. (GKIT) is a nationally recognized company specializing in the production of alternative fuel automotive products, including engines and commercial trucks. Located in Santa Ana, California, the company's mission is to provide clean, green, energy efficient automotive products that have a price advantage coupled with unparalleled American performance. Established in 2008, Greenkraft, Inc. serves the commercial truck market powered by the alternative fuels CNG and LPG in classes 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Greenkraft's new line of trucks, known as the G3 and G4, will accommodate weights of 26,000 lbs. and 33,000 lbs., respectively. George Gemayel, CEO of Greenkraft, Inc., said the demand for larger trucks that run on alternative fuels continues to increase.
"Greenkraft is going to revolutionize the trucking industry with these new 26,000 and 33,000 lbs. trucks that run on CNG and PROPANE fuel," Gemayel states in a press release. "The only way we can meet increased demand for Greenkraft products is to expand our current factory. This expansion is one of many factors that will substantially increase the Company's revenue in 2017."
Greenkraft produces a cab forward design for its commercial trucks, which allows the passenger area to be much larger than in other similar sized vehicles. Several tank capacity options exist, making it easy to select the most efficient model for a client's specific needs. Greenkraft is one of the only companies in the world to offer a refrigeration option with an alternative fuel truck – an essential, must-have option for many businesses.
Greenkraft trucks, considered among the best performing in the heavy-duty market, are used in a variety of industries and in some of the nation's largest cities. The company also offers a line of trucks designed to run with a package from Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ALSN), which gives clients the option of purchasing a fully automatic transmission vehicle. This option expands the size of the driver pool since fully automatic shifting reduces driver fatigue, contributes to solving the issue of driver retention, and it is easy to use.
CNG and LPG conversion systems made by Greenkraft are available for several major automobile brands including Ford, GM and Isuzu/GM. Installation, service, parts and warranty are all available through Greenkraft facilities and its partners.
Grey Cloak Tech, Inc. (GRCK)
Grey Cloak Tech Inc. (OTCQB: GRCK), a Las Vegas, Nevada-based company, targets the rapidly growing cannabinoid (CBD) market through its wholly owned subsidiary Eqova Life Sciences, which focuses on providing a full spectrum line of clinical-grade hemp oil (CBD) products to the medical practitioner market. Eqova Life Sciences develops its own high quality, branded product line of hemp oil health products, with the offer of producing private labels to qualified partners.
Eqova Life Sciences recently exhibited the company's CBD products at the Integrative Medicine Summit in Denver, Colorado, which was attended by over 200 medical professionals. As part of the exhibition, Eqova Life Sciences also debuted its new CannaBio Salve, an innovative topical salve infused with several aromatic natural oils. The company's formulations combine the scientifically-validated, powerful benefits of cannabinoids in standardized products which are then distributed to patients under the care of qualified health practitioners. All Eqova products are carefully researched and go through rigorous third-party testing before and after marketing, providing the security of a clinical-grade product made in cGMP Compliant Labs located in the United States.
According to The Hemp Business Journal, the CBD products marketplace is projected to grow 700 percent by 2020 with annual sales reaching $2.1 billion. The recent purchase of Eqova Life Sciences is a natural fit for the company since it has been looking for a way to build shareholder value by adding acquisitions from the rapidly growing CBD sector. Grey Cloak Tech believes medical practitioners seeking high-quality CBD products represent a vastly underserved market. To date, no other hemp oil company has exclusively focused on providing clinical-grade, full-spectrum hemp oil products to this important segment of the medical community.
Grey Cloak Tech also develops advanced software to overcome costly digital threats, most commonly known as online fraud. Grey Cloak Tech leads the industry with continuous development of the most comprehensive and effective weapons against online security threats. The company's proprietary digital advertising fraud detection software, Fraudlytic, provides a cloud-based, secure platform that monitors Internet traffic in real time, blocking malicious and false clicks, while allowing real consumers to view offers and make purchases.
InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CSE:IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF)
InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CSE:IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF) is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of novel therapeutics leveraging the pharmacological benefits of cannabinoids. Utilizing its proprietary bioinformatics assessment tool, InMed aims to identify bioactive compounds found within the cannabis plant that have the potential to offer optimized therapeutic benefit while demonstrating limited adverse effects. This assessment tool, in combination with the company's cannabinoid biosynthesis technology and drug development pipeline, serves as InMed's fundamental value driver.
Bioinformatics is a proprietary, computer-based program designed to assist in the identification of novel cannabinoids using comprehensive algorithms to integrate data from numerous bioinformatics databases, as well as a database on the structure of currently approved pharmaceutical products and an extensive database on over 90 individual cannabinoid drugs found in cannabis. This extensive collection of data is derived from both public and propriety-based sources. Leveraging this tool, the company aims to create associations between approved pharmaceuticals and cannabinoids with similar structures in order to identify active cannabinoids that have the potential to treat specific diseases. Per InMed's website, this type of bioinformatics assessment represents "significant promise for future drug discovery, as it integrates many data sets and builds holistic models to approach a specific disease."
After discovering these promising active cannabinoids, InMed moves to test and confirm their activity in biological systems through in vitro and in vivo experimentation. It is at this stage of development that the company's proprietary biosynthesis process of cannabinoid manufacturing will be most promising. InMed is currently developing a robust, high-yield biosynthesis process for manufacturing all 90+ naturally-occurring cannabinoids. By modifying the agriculture-based formula for harvesting cannabinoids, InMed aims to combine the inherent safety and known efficacy of the natural drug structure with the convenience, control and quality of 21st Century laboratory-based manufacturing processes.
The company's pipeline currently includes two drug candidates in preclinical development, including INM-750 for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) and INM-085 for the treatment of glaucoma. Referred to by the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of America as "The Worst Disease You've Never Heard Of," EB is a rare genetic connective tissue disorder that affects roughly one out of every 20,000 births in the United States. The condition currently has no approved treatment or cure. Through the development of INM-750, InMed is attempting to address this significant unmet medical need. The drug candidate replaces missing keratins in the skin with specially selected cannabinoids in an effort to modulate the painful manifestations of EB.
INM-085, InMed's second development candidate, is formulated to reduce the elevated intra-ocular pressure that is often associated with glaucoma. Additionally, the cannabinoids utilized in INM-085 are expected to provide neuroprotection for the retinal ganglion cells and other optic nerve tissues following topical administration. Although it is still in preclinical development, INM-085 targets a sizable market. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness with no approved cure. The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 3 million Americans currently have glaucoma, and more than 120,000 have been blinded by the disease.
InMed is focused on progressing toward validation of its drug candidate selection, using data to secure its patents and developing key disruptive technologies. In 2016, the company was successful in completing financings of $1.9 million. In January 2017, InMed completed a non-brokered private placement of common shares generating aggregate gross proceeds of C$1.5 million, strongly positioning the company to attract the new investment required to fund its aggressive growth strategies in 2017.
The company's management team has well over a century of combined experience in the biopharmaceutical space. Company CEO Eric Adams has more than 25 years of experience in company and capital formation, global market development, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and corporate governance. During his time as CEO of enGene Inc., he led the gene therapy startup to a position at the head of the industry.
Joining Adams on the InMed management team are Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Sazzan Hossain; Senior Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Alexandra D.J. Mancini; SVP, Corporate Strategy & Investor Relations Chris Bogart; and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Charpentier, as well as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ado Muhammed, MD, DPM, MFPM.
Muhammed, in particular, has an extensive history in the pharmaceutical industry, having previously served as an executive of GW Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines. During his time as Associate Medical Director of that company, Muhammed played an instrumental role in the development and FDA approval of one of the first cannabis drugs. This GW Pharmaceuticals development program coincided with a sharp rise in share price from less than $9 in 2013 to more than $129 today, with the company's current market value totaling more than $2.9 billion.
Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQB: LXRP)
Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQB: LXRP) has developed and out-licenses its proprietary technology for improved taste, rapidity, and delivery of bioactive compounds, including cannabinoids. Though boasting a wide range of health benefits, cannabinoids are traditionally poorly absorbed by the body's gastrointestinal tract. To achieve higher effectiveness, consumers usually default to smoking. Lexaria provides a superior administration method by delivering hemp oil ingredients – or through locally licensed partners, cannabis oil ingredients – through a patented process within food products.
The key differentiator between Lexaria's products and others on the market is the company's disruptive technology proven to enhance the absorption of orally ingested cannabinoids while improving the "unusual" taste of cannabinoids and allowing for lower overall dosing with higher efficacy. Lexaria is primarily a B2B enterprise, and is in licensing discussions or has existing agreements with companies in Canada, the largest-market states in the USA, and internationally. Lexaria has also developed its own brands partly for demonstration purposes, utilizing its patented technology to infuse hemp oil ingredients within lipids in popular foods. These brands include ViPova™, Lexaria Energy Foods, and TurboCBD™.
In 2015, Lexaria commissioned an independent, third-party lab to test its technology under carefully monitored in vitro conditions. Results showed that the company's technological process and lipid formulation both improve intestinal absorption as much as 500%. Additional follow-up studies in human volunteers suggested that Lexaria's processed, lipid-infused tea may be more effective in an actual gastrointestinal system than in an in vitro simulation with results indicating as much as a 1,000% increase in overall absorption.
Lexaria also has an R&D partnership with the Canadian government's National Research Council. That R&D is expected to characterize molecular bond formation theorized to occur with Lexaria's unique technology between the lipid delivery agents and the bioactive substances it processes and combines. Results from this R&D are expected to support accelerating B2B relationships – not just in the cannabis industry, but also to support new B2B business relationships in the fields of vitamins, NSAIDs, and nicotine delivery. All of these sectors expected to offer additional future growth potential.
Aside from testing, a critical component of Lexaria Bioscience's business model is a strong intellectual property portfolio that utilizes the most commonly used food processing techniques. As of 2017, the company's patent portfolio includes 19 patent applications filed and pending in more than 40 countries around the world. The most recent patent applications expand Lexaria's lipophilic food and beverage composition claims to include the processing of cannabinoids, vitamins, NSAIDs and nicotine in many of the world's most commonly used food processing ingredients. Lexaria is expecting additional new patent awards both in the USA and internationally in 2017 and 2018.
Royalties play a vital role in Lexaria's revenue-generating business model. The company out-licenses its technology (royalty) to third party partners, and has several deals signed and/or pending. The company's growth initiatives are guided by a management team headed by CEO Chris Bunka, a serial entrepreneur who has raised more than $50 million in working capital for the companies he has led over the course of his career. He is supported by a team of professionals with extensive experience in pharmaceutical and bioscience sectors, invention, toxicology, consumer goods, and other relevant skillsets.
Medical Innovation Holdings, Inc. (MIHI)
Medical Innovation Holdings, Inc. (MIHI), a Colorado-based publicly traded company, owns and operates strategically aligned healthcare service and product companies focused on the delivery of patient care, management services for physician offices, lab services, and pharma; and non-pharma medicines and alternatives to patients and consumers. Healthcare services are delivered and managed through the company's MSO, 3Point Care. 3Point Care uses virtual telemedicine with a unique customized software and hardware platform as a way of bringing quality medical care to rural and medically underserved areas (MUAs) of the country.
3Point Care provides personalized high-tech, high-touch telemedicine encounters that link virtual health specialty doctors with traditional primary physicians and their patients. This approach helps reduce the cost of care while enhancing the quality of care. The company's telemedicine approach is vastly different from other providers who rely on a monthly subscription to opt in the network and then require an encounter fee by the patient each and every time an on-demand physician is utilized. This approach breaks the continuum of care, relies on symptom-based diagnosis, does not accept insurance, and there is no certainty you are dealing with a licensed practitioner. In summation they are not a medical practice but a contract service to deliver virtual care. Because 3Point Care deploys doctors through an actual medical practice, there is no subscription fee. The company works with anyone and everyone that has insurance including Medicare and Medicaid. It works hand and hand with the patient's primary care physician so the continuum of care is always maintained. Part of the integrated software application enables the processing of insurance claims whereby doctors are paid for their services. This allows deductibles to be captured, allowing the patients to take advantage of medical tax deductions.
TeleLifeMd, a multi-disciplinary specialty healthcare practice with strong experience in telemedicine, is the primary deliverer of patient medical care. 3Point care has a unique and exclusive relationship with TeleLifeMD, acting as its management services organization by providing all levels of service that include scheduling, providing telemedicine hardware and software products and support, processing claims, paying all invoices and payroll incurred by TeleLifeMD, as well as any other service required to operate the practice.
BKare Diagnostics, another wholly owned subsidiary of MIHI, is tasked with delivering medical and health-related services such as laboratory testing, diagnostics, and alternative medicines primarily proven nutraceuticals. Its goal is to eventually infuse these products with 100% CBD/Hemp oil and THC-based oils to create new product categories as the law catches up with the cannabis marketplace. The opportunity to offer workable solutions that solve real health problems outside typical big pharma is very exciting for the company. It sees significant revenue opportunities in this space.
MIHI firmly believes the best way to provide access to high-quality medical care is through support and delivery of evidence-based virtual medicine, commonly known as telemedicine. With 80 million people living in rural, medically underserved areas of the nation, the company is poised to fill a glaring void in the healthcare industry by applying cutting-edge technology and time-tested business practices to deliver real-time care. Among the 16 areas of medical specialties available are cardiology, infertility, gastroenterology, pediatrics and obstetrics.
The company serves a number of constituents and stakeholders interested in reducing the cost of health care while simultaneously increasing the quality of care, improving access to health services for millions of people, and bringing value to company shareholders. Its unique platform incorporates every aspect of a telemedicine visit into a single, comprehensive package.
MGX Minerals Inc. (CSE: XMG) (FKT: 1MG) (OTCQB: MGXMF)
MGX Minerals Inc. (MGXMF) is a diversified Canadian resource company developing large-scale mineral portfolios in specific commodities and jurisdictions in North America. The company controls significant interest in lithium, magnesium and silicon assets that offer streamlined development timelines and low capital expenditures. MGX Minerals and its engineering partner have developed a patent-pending, low-energy design process to extract valuable minerals from the abundant, highly mineralized brine wastewater produced each year by oil and gas companies.
This proprietary, petrolithium process rapidly concentrates lithium and other minerals from brine in less than a day. That's a stunning advancement from the conventional method of extracting minerals from brine through an evaporation process that can take up to 18 months, requires hundreds of acres of land, and averages less than a 50 percent mineral recovery rate. Using this advanced water purification technology, MGX Minerals cleans the wastewater that accompanies petroleum as it's being pulled up to the surface. The company's petrolithium process eliminates the need to inject contaminated wastewater back into the ground, which prevents drinking water contamination and possible earthquakes.
In January 2017, MGX Minerals successfully recovered concentrated lithium from heavy oil evaporator blowdown wastewater using its rapid recovery process, an accomplishment independently confirmed by the Saskatchewan Research Council. In August 2017, the company also successfully processed wastewater and lithium brine from eight North American projects at its one-cubic-meter-per-hour processing plant, proving the technology is economically viable. Research group Global Water Intelligence expects the wastewater treatment industry to grow into a $45 billion market annually by 2025, which suggests there are ample revenue-generating opportunities for MGX Minerals technology.
Lithium, the "white gold" of the new energy economy, is the key to clean energy development as global demand for hybrid and electric vehicles, high-drain portable electronic devices, and large-scale energy storage systems ramps up. Grand View Research, Inc. reports that the global lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach $93.1 billion by 2025. Current market forces show a high demand for lithium and a low supply, which further supports the necessity of MGX Mineral's cleaner, faster method of extracting high-value minerals from brine wastewater.
MGX Minerals is led by a team of industry standout performers who have worked in the mining and technology industries for decades. The leadership team is joined by an array of top-notch technical partners with unmatched experience in the oil and gas sectors, environmental services industry, marketing and product development, along with applied research and commercial development of technologies.
ORHub, Inc. (ORHB)
ORHub, Inc. (ORHB) is a cloud-based software platform designed to transform the business of surgery into a value-based model. The platform empowers care providers at every stage of the surgical process to collaborate, organize, deliver, measure, and reimburse in one intuitive, easy-to-use program. This significantly decreases cost and improves outcomes by eliminating inefficiencies, duplications of effort, and errors and omissions that result from siloed processes in outdated software and poor handoffs from one part of the care process to another.
The need for ORHub is clear. Health care costs are out of control at more than 17% of US GDP, which equates to over $3 trillion per year. With costs rising every year due to an aging population and increasingly expensive treatments, providers are under severe pressure to become more efficient and reduce costs. This is happening because payors are aggressively reducing reimbursements and finally moving away from fee-for-service and toward a performance-based reimbursement system referred to as value-based health care.
Accurately measuring the cost of treating a condition and relating that cost to the patient's outcome is at the heart of value-based health care. Institutions that have adopted this model have reaped savings of 20-40% on their overall cost of care. Unfortunately, today's siloed IT systems are fundamentally at odds with this process. Legacy health care solutions come from a fee-for-service world and have reinforced the problem and produced a system with erratic quality and unsustainable costs. Most health care applications today are incremental improvements on these existing systems or are simple digital implementations of antiquated pen-and-paper processes.
Providers wanting to practice value-based health care need value-based software. ORHub creates a value-based solution that will revolutionize surgical care delivery by tracking the cost of treating a condition from diagnosis to discharge, and tracking outcomes that resulted from that treatment.
In an industry where major IT rollouts traditionally cost millions of dollars and take an average of eighteen months, pilot installations of ORHub have been completed in less than a month. By avoiding integration with legacy systems completely through a radically comprehensive and collaborative approach, providers see results right away. This approach produces real-time metrics in a uniform manner at any institution, which makes it ideal for large providers looking to make improvements across the board at multiple facilities.
ORHub started as a pilot program developed in cooperation with a major Southern California hospital. It has since expanded operations into a second facility at the number two non-profit hospital system in the US. Three additional pilot programs are scheduled prior to a national launch.
The company is also a showcase member of the startup program at Microsoft, which has been a key partner by providing financial assistance, strategy, introductions to influencers and mentors, and access to its sales organization who see ORHub as an exciting partner to expand the utilization of Microsoft Surface devices and Azure Cloud. Microsoft is funding a major case study in partnership with Intel about the impact of ORHub on participating institutions to be concluded sometime in Q2 2017.
ORHub's leadership team is helmed by Colt Melby, who was appointed CEO in 2016 and has been crucial to developing and executing the company's business strategy. Mr. Melby's extensive business experience includes the NASDAQ uplisting of Smith and Wesson (now American Outdoor Brands), CUI Global Inc., and Quest Resource Holdings Corp. His wealth of information and relationships have been vital in helping the company go from concept to production in institutional medicine in less than a year.
Delivering surgical care to a single patient is a complex process that may take half a dozen companies and more than a dozen departments cooperating inside and outside the care facility. ORHub simplifies and streamlines this process by enabling vendors, providers, and surgeons to collaborate on providing care.
Petrogress, Inc. (PGAS)
Petrogress, Inc. (PGAS), founded in 2009, owns and operates a fleet of tankers from its base in the historic Port of Piraeus, Greece, through a series of Marshall Islands subsidiaries. The company is an international merchant of petroleum products which includes reliably marketing and trading crude oil, distillates, and refined products off the coast of West Africa. The company also operates service and shipping facilities at the Port of Limassol in Cyprus and the Port of Tema, Greater Accra, in Ghana. It is actively seeking expansion opportunities, including in operating and developing natural gas production and transmission facilities along with LNG processing in the U.S., refinery operations in north and west Africa, and the transport and sales of LNG in Europe.
Petrogress has created a diversified revenue stream, giving it a significant advantage over similar companies working in the oil and gas shipping arena. A case in point is the recent formation of "PG Cypyard & Offshore Service Terminal Ltd. ("Cypyard"), through the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Petrogress Int'l, LLC. Cypyard is concluding negotiations for an operations and management agreement covering ports in Hellenic Cyprus, including the Port of Limassol, directly with the Cyprus Ports Authority. Current plans include a long-term lease with renewal options covering all in-place port facilities, including floating dock and dry dock areas, with cranes and scaffolding, construction and repair workshops and storage, and complete on-site administrative and office space.
"I think the opportunities there are great, and dealing directly with partners in government has numerous benefits," said Christos P. Traios, president of Petrogress Inc. in a news release announcing the venture. The recent appointment of two industry experts to the Petrogress Advisory Board is expected to help the company capitalize on future growth opportunities while simultaneously developing a comprehensive U.S. and international lobbying and government outreach program to facilitate business plans in the U.S., European Union and Africa.
Additional Petrogress Inc. subsidiaries are:
- Petrogress Co. Ltd., an international merchant of petroleum products that combines regional market knowledge with over 20 years of excellent shipping experience.
- Petronave Carriers LLC, which manages an in-house fleet of crude oil carriers and trades them in West Africa, a country known as a difficult area for navigation and trade.
- Petrogress Oil & Gas Energy Inc., which has expansion plans through a supply of liquified natural gas located in the oil fields of Texas with an eye toward exporting LNG to Mediterranean markets.
Petrogress continues to "adjust its sails" in order to meet new challenges. Opportunities include upstream oil resources and exploration, the addition of more product fleet carriers, downstream movement of petroleum products from refineries to finished sales, and sea transportation of liquified natural gas. A closely followed economist, Jim O'Neill, states that oil prices could spike more than 25% in the next year. O'Neill, now an economics professor at the University of Manchester, says the market is finally waking up to the fact that global economic growth is gaining momentum and likely expanding at 4 percent or higher. That means there will be more demand for oil, the article states, which translates into brighter days ahead for companies like Petrogress.
Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF)
Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF) is a Canadian-registered, publicly traded company engaged in the development and implementation of proprietary technologies for the environmentally safe extraction of heavy oils from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits. The company is focused on oil and gas exploration and production on mineral leases it owns in Texas with Accord GR Energy Inc. and in expanding production capacity at its Asphalt Ridge heavy oil extraction facility in Utah.
Petroteq Energy's patent-pending application is a closed-loop, solvent-based process, which results in significantly lower per barrel production costs than those incurred with traditional hot water-based oil sands extraction technologies. This green technology utilizes a small, modular footprint, produces no greenhouse gases, requires no high temperatures, leaves only clean dry sand, and could be deployed to unlock heavy oil deposits located around the world.
The company's Asphalt Ridge mineral lease on 3,000-plus acres in northeastern Utah features a large contingent oil sands resource base with an estimated 87 million barrels of oil equivalent. In 2016, the company produced 10,000 barrels of oil from the Utah location and plans to increase production are underway. Utah holds over 32 billion barrels of undeveloped oil sands resources, which are also known as "oil-wet" deposits containing a mixture of sand and a dense, extremely viscous form of petroleum referred to as bitumen or tar. A recent upswing in developing domestic energy sources has intensified interest in technological advances such as Petroteq's Liquid Extraction System.
The company's Texas location includes an ownership interest (46%) in 7,000 acres under mineral leases with Accord, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company that focuses on the development and recovery of heavy oil reserves and deposit. Two enhanced, licensed oil recovery technologies designed to increase oil recovery from more than 80 shallow oil wells on the property are expected to substantially improve the recovery rates of heavy oil deposits in this area. In both the Utah oil sands and traditional oil patch Texas project, the company, its subsidiaries and Accord are using proprietary technologies, processes and methodologies to recover heavy oil, providing a distinct, strategic economic advantage for Petroteq Energy and its shareholders.
The company continues to evaluate the development of other medium to heavy oil exploration, production and recovery projects on a global basis through a variety of structured agreements. These opportunities or other arrangements with private and governmental entities that utilize Petroteq Energy's proprietary licensed technologies are expected to generate a significant return on investment.
The company's management team, board of directors and officers form an invaluable cross-section of industry leaders with extensive experience ranging from chemical engineering and solvent research, business development, international project management, entrepreneurial achievements, and senior management for global energy companies in North America and the Middle East. This impressive knowledge base covers both conventional and unconventional oil and gas projects and production, both in upstream and downstream industry sectors.
PotNetwork Holding Inc. (POT)
PotNetwork Holding Inc. (POTN), based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a holding company. The company's First Capital Venture Co. subsidiary is the owner of Diamond CBD, Inc., a producer of widely-distributed CBD hemp extracts and the primary operating entity of PotNetwork Holding.
Diamond CBD is made up of chemists and other scientists focused on developing and producing very high-quality CBD oil over a broad range of products, based upon a thorough understanding of the various natural molecules found in hemp and their particular properties. All products are made with federally legal cannabidiol (CBD), and are available in hundreds of flavors and sizes. The company emphasizes a dedication to 100% natural lab-tested CBD ingredients, with a carefully monitored process all the way from the source farm, through production, and final delivery to retail shelves.
PotNetwork, through Diamond CBD, delivers products to all 50 states, as well as internationally, and controls 15 CBD brands. The company lists the following product brands:
- Diamond CBD Gummies – Diamond CBD branded edible gummies made from crystal isolate. Available in a variety of flavors and gummy styles, including rainbow bites, mini fruit, gummy worms, sour snakes, and more.
- Chill Gummies – Chill gummies are more robust than its counterpart, the "Relax" gummy line. Chill Gummies are edible CBD gummies available in a wide variety of flavors, strengths, and styles including gummy bears, sour snakes, rainbow bites, watermelon slices, sour snakes, rainbow bites, peanut butter chocolate, ocean gummies, gummy worms, gummy rings and more.
- CBD Liquid Gold – CBD Liquid Gold is derived from naturally grown industrial hemp plants, certified by USA labs and then carefully mixed with a patent-pending (non-PG) all-natural base formulation.
- Blue CBD – Blue CBD Crystal Isolate is a high-end vapor liquid and oral drop infused with premium CBD rich hemp oil. CBD liquids are Premium Gold quality and test at a 7X higher concentration.
- Relax Gummies – Relax Gummies give a lighter effect of CBD with some natural flavors in comparison to its counterpart Chill Gummies. Relax Gummies are perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth that's looking for a lighter effect without sacrificing quality or taste.
- Premium Hemp Liquid Pet – CBD For Pets is a new and refreshing product from Diamond CBD for all the millions of pets out there. It is an organic product and also has unique flavors in it.
- CBD Re-Leaf – Disposable, long-lasting, and ready to Use CBD Re-leaf vaping pens available in a variety of flavors. Easily take CBD anywhere on the go.
- Relax Extreme CBD – Relax Extreme CBD Oil provides a high-quality, high-strength dose of CBD through oral drops. It is very easy to use and works instantly. Simply place a drop under the tongue. Available in various strengths.
- CBD Double Shot – CBD Double Shots are specifically designed for one-time use. Easily squeeze the package in your mouth and swallow; it's that simple. Take it anywhere you go. Relaxation is now conveniently in your pocket. Drinkable CBD shots provide a quick boost of relaxation on the go. Available in various flavors.
- Chill Pill – CBD infused capsules available in various strengths. Relax, take a Chill Pill.
Over 1.2 million people currently use cannabis, including CBD products, for medical application, including cancer, epilepsy, and depression. By sourcing hemp outside the U.S., the company avoids current federally-based legal problems involved in growing cannabis domestically. In the meantime, PotNetwork Holding continues to target a large and rapidly developing cannabis market, expanding from $6.5 billion in 2016, to an expected $30 billion in 2021 (Forbes), and $50 billion in 2026 (Bloomberg). The cannabidiol market alone is projected to reach $2.1 billion in 2020, a 700% increase from 2015. PotNetwork Holding Inc. plans to expand its subsidiaries as well as make strategic acquisitions.
SinglePoint, Inc. (SING)
SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) has grown from a full-service mobile technology provider to a publicly-traded holding company. Through diversification into horizontal markets, SinglePoint is building its portfolio by acquiring an interest in undervalued subsidiaries, thereby providing a rich, diversified holding base.
SinglePoint's approach is to first research and identify acquisition opportunities in which it can take an active and influential role among existing leadership to provide enhanced strategy and direction. Target companies are undervalued, cash-flow positive, with high potential and verified assets. SinglePoint acquires and takes controlling interest of successful candidate companies.
SinglePoint recently signed a Letter of Intent to acquire an interest in Jacksam Corp., dba Convectium, a profitable California-based provider of equipment, branding, and packaging solutions for the cannabis industry. Convectium has developed the world's first cartridge and vape pen oil filling machine for wholesale distribution to dispensaries. The 710Shark and 710Seal systems can fill and package over 100 cartridges or disposable vape pens in 30 seconds and are sold to dispensaries through its EquipCanna.com brand. The company also operates a consumer brand that includes BlackoutX and HazeSticks and reaches customers in over 52 countries.
Additionally, SinglePoint has raised more than $300,000. The move provides management with ample capital to execute its business plan, while avoiding debt repayments that can eat into cash flow and reduce flexibility over time. It's also a rare development for a development-stage company in the cannabis industry.
Guided by a visionary leadership team with extensive experience in technology, engineering, marketing and raising capital, SinglePoint continues to explore high-potential acquisition opportunities to grow and diversify its current holding base. The company also plans to uplist to the OTCQB and become a fully reporting company during the current fiscal year.
The company has engaged Milost Advisors to pursue acquisitions and financing facilities toward funding acquisitions, as well as to provide working capital. Milost Advisors will assist SinglePoint in the acquisition of undervalued companies with annual revenues of at least $50 million, and has already identified potential acquisition targets for the company to consider.
Skinvisible, Inc. (SKVI)
Skinvisible, Inc. (SKVI), through its wholly owned subsidiary Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a Research and Development company whose patented Invisicare® technology can be used to revitalize or create new medical or skincare products, allowing a company that licenses Skinvisible's formulations to sell their own patented product and combat generic competitors.
A prescription dermatology product can generate $100 million or more a year, with the potential to lose 50-90% of that revenue when it goes off patent. Preserving that revenue is why the licensing of a product made with Invisicare is a very desirable option for many companies. The Company has developed a pipeline of 40 products using Invisicare, with a primary focus on optimizing the performance and increasing the value of "gold standard" dermatology drugs and licensing them to international and multi-national companies in the pharmaceutical, over-the-counter and cosmeceutical markets.
Invisicare® is a high performance topical and transdermal delivery system which enhances the delivery of drugs and other ingredients to and through the skin. The key to Skinvisible's patented technology and trademarked Invisicare® family of polymer delivery vehicles is its formula and process for combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers into stable complexes in water emulsions. Invisicare® can be a key component of life cycle management, extending the life with a new patent-protected product, dramatically expanding the company's revenue stream.
Independent studies of Invisicare ® have shown the following benefits:
- Active ingredients stay on the skin for up to four hours or more and resist wash off and rub off.
- Delivery method results in improved efficacy, reduced skin irritation and lower required dosage.
- Unique formulations are non-drying and provide the ability to control the release of active ingredients.
- Products form a protective barrier, which means normal skin respiration and perspiration occur and the product wears off as part of the skin's natural exfoliation process.
Terry Howlett, President, founder and CEO of Skinvisible Inc., said the Company has more than 15 years of scientific research and product development experience. All development is conducted using stringent pharmaceutical standards. The Company has licensed a number of its formulations including a prescription hemorrhoid cream in the USA, its anti-aging Kintari® line of products and DermSafe®, its non-alcohol hand sanitizer to a licensee in China. Producing licensed products for the booming cannabis industry is also an important element of the company's business strategy.
Skinvisible's foray into the rapidly expanding market for medicinal and recreational cannabis products is already underway with the development of the company's first hemp-derived CBD (cannabidiol) products. Skinvisible has negotiated an exclusive licensing deal in Canada with Canopy Growth Corporation, one of the world's leading cannabis companies. As part of the company's overall growth strategy, Skinvisible is also negotiating with a Licensed Producer in Las Vegas where Skinvisible scientists will develop THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) products for the legal recreational and medical marijuana market for the USA. Notably, Skinvisible is actively pursuing potential licensees through-out the world where medical cannabis is legal. These licensees will have the exclusive right to manufacture and distribute Skinvisible's cannabis products within their territory.
"We are excited about the results we are already seeing just with our hemp-derived CBD products," Howlett says. "Our science shows that our CBD products release almost four times that of market leaders and our transdermal product had an 81% penetration rate at 6 hours. These results are significant and provide the difference between ordinary cannabis products and ones enhanced by Invisicare."
The Company's business model includes out-licensing its formulations for a development fee, license fee and on-going royalties in addition to selling its Invisicare polymers to its licensees.
Tapinator, Inc. (TAPM)
Tapinator, Inc. (TAPM) is a developer and publisher of mobile games on the iOS, Google Play and Amazon platforms. The Company's portfolio includes over 300 mobile gaming titles generating hundreds of thousands of daily player downloads that provide predictable and attractive returns through the sale of branded advertisements and consumer app store transactions. Tapinator, based in New York and with product development teams located throughout the world, was founded in 2013 by a visionary team that has been building mobile games and applications since 2007 and has achieved multiple successful exits.
Tapinator's business strategy includes the creation of a select number of best-in-class Full-Featured Games, such as ROCKY™ and Solitaire Dash, which provide game players with more in-depth, unique content that supports long-term retention and generates higher investment returns. The Full-Featured Games model creates the potential for sustainable $100+ million franchise-type games that have product lifespans of at least five years. Tapinator uses a proprietary set of dynamic development and marketing processes factored upon gaming category, estimated player retention and projected player profitability.
Recent successful launches of two new Full-Featured titles – Big Sport Fishing 2017 and Dice Mage 2 – were recognized on the Apple iOS platform as "New Games We Love." During the game's first seven days after global release, Big Sport Fishing 2017 received well over 520,000 player downloads. Four new titles, ColorFill, Divide & Conquer, Shadowborne and Fusion Heroes, are in the pipeline for release in Q4 2017 and Q1 2018 as well. The formula for these game combines proven gameplay elements with best-in-class monetization systems, supplemented by Tapinator's strong creative team of developers, strategists and product specialists. The company's Rapid-Launch Games division also saw increasing player interest recently with the launch of Fidget Spinner Superhero and Scary Shark Evolution 3D.
Tapinator's diversified revenue sources includes 54 percent from advertising placed within its mobile games and 46 percent from consumer app store purchases. The Company limits advertising placements to between game levels and also runs rewarded video ad units that are tied directly into the game's currency. Tapinator's portfolio includes more than 300 active titles, with no single game accounting for more than 25 percent of total revenues during the first half of 2017.
As Tapinator looks toward the future, opportunities in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) show great promise. The company has released several prototype VR games to gather data before pursuing a more significant VR product. Recent market reports suggest that the VR industry will hit $30 billion by 2020 and the AR industry will surpass that with a projected $120 billion. Tapinator also plans to pursue publishing transactions that leverage its network, platform relationships and operational excellence. Significant opportunities for expanding Tapinator's gaming IP to new platforms such as Steam and leading messaging apps are also on the horizon. The company is targeting a 30+ percent annual bookings growth target for 2017-2019.
Veritas Pharma Inc. (CSE: VRT) (OTC: VRTHF) (FRT: 2VP)
Veritas Pharma Inc. (CSE: VRT) (OTC: VTRHF) (FRT: 2VP) is an emerging pharmaceutical and IP development company publicly traded in Canada, the United States and Germany. Through its recently acquired 80 percent stake in Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd., also known as Veritas' R&D arm, the company is clinically profiling various marijuana cultivars to pharmacologically connect unique strains with specific disease conditions. Veritas Pharma's goal is to perform clinical trials to prove the efficacy of the designated lead cannabis strains and to market the clinically effective cultivars as prescription medicines in a fast-track protocol.
Veritas Pharma's management and R&D team comprises decades of pharmaceutical, clinical and scientific research expertise into several key industry leaders. Lui Franciosi, PhD, who has over 20 years of experience conducting pharmaceutical and medical device studies in academia and industry, leads the company as its CEO. In addition to a team of trained technicians and students working out of academic facilities, Veritas Pharma is pleased to have a renowned group of scientists on board to lead its research efforts. Team members hold 10 PhDs/MD licenses with expertise in chemistry, pharmacology and clinical trials.
Veritas Pharma's mission is to develop and commercialize the most effective cannabis strains, backed by clinical data. This innovative research and development path aims to solve the critical need for real science to support claims surrounding medical marijuana. The company's approach, combined with its strategic alliances, will effectively address the medical community's concerns over the complexities of cannabis potency, efficacy, quality and content in the nearly 800 marijuana strains currently known in the world. Opportunities for innovation and scientific advancement related to the field of cannabis therapeutics will accelerate the knowledge base and provide a valuable alternative to the global opioid market that is estimated at nearly U.S. $35 billion. A growing negative opinion regarding the use of opioids for pain will continue to drive the need for alternative medical applications such as those provided by cannabis.
Veritas Pharma's clinical cannabis development pipeline includes R&D for chronic pain, nausea, inflammation, muscle spasms, epilepsy and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The strategic alliance formed with Cannevert and its scientists will enable Veritas to be at the forefront of developing new and unique strains of medicinal cannabis. These plants, which they plan to patent protect for a variety of unmet medical needs, are destined to help patients suffering with chronic and debilitating symptoms of a variety of medical issues. Over 250 experiments have been performed so far with another 150 pharmacological and biological studies conducted. Veritas Pharma has also entered into an agreement with Sechelt Organic Marijuana Inc., which has a Licensed Producer application pending with Health Canada, to acquire 100 percent ownership in the company.
Results of the company's research to date illustrate Veritas' unique place in the medical marijuana industry. The company's focus on the biological effect of the actual spectrum of cannabinoids sets Veritas apart as it seeks to patent and protect results-driven strains.
Zinc One Resources Inc. (TSX-V: Z) (OTC: ZZZOF) (FSE: RH33)
Zinc One Resources Inc. (TSX-V: Z) (OTC: (ZZZOF) (FSE: RH33) is a Vancouver, Canada-based company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of prospective and advanced zinc projects in mining friendly jurisdictions. Zinc One's key assets are the Bongará Zinc Mine and Charlotte-Bongará Zinc-Oxide Project in north-central Peru. Historical production of the Bongará Mine, which was mined from 2007-2008 until a fall in zinc prices shut it down, revealed greater than 20 percent zinc grades and recoveries over 90 percent, all from surface mining. Bongará's high grade zinc mineralization is considered a rare situation and one that Zinc One management is poised to explore further. The neighboring Charlotte-Bongará Zinc-Oxide Project has multiple at-surface, high-grade drill intercepts providing numerous drill targets.
Zinc One controls both zinc-oxide mine projects, making it the first time a single operator has been in control of the two locations, giving the company a unique opportunity to delineate a substantial high-grade, zinc-oxide resource along a 4 kilometres-long trend. A previous operator produced 55.1 million pounds of zinc, running at 358 tonnes a day. Zinc One has access to all data and technical work dating back to the 1990s and controls a third zinc prospect located in central Peru as part of its portfolio.
The company has also received approval from Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines to suspend the mine closure at the Bongará location, which allows Zinc One to utilize the current Environmental Impact Assessment attached to the project for current and future permitting. This critical approval allows the company to take another important step forward in its plans to reopen production at the Bongará zinc-oxide project. Zinc One's project locations involve open pit/surface mining, requiring less infrastructure and a much better cost ratio than traditional underground mines.
Zinc One is managed by a proven team of exploration geologists and engineers with extensive experience in constructing and operating successful mining operations. The company's business strategy includes restarting production at the Bongará Zinc-Oxide Mine with exploration of targets along a 6-kilometer strike as well as exploring the Charlotte Bongará Zinc-Oxide Project.
World stockpiles of zinc are at multiyear lows while demand continues to be strong. In 2016, zinc demand became greater than the available supply for the first time in a decade. Zinc is essential for rustproofing steel and is used in a variety of infrastructures. It's also used to produce batteries, fertilizers, paints, plastics, cosmetics and multivitamins. The International Zinc Association estimates that zinc could save the world over $300 billion annually in direct corrosion costs and another $300 billion annually in indirect costs. Zinc is an invaluable base metal and a strategic priority for many industries.
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