• Cost-cutting becomes a priority for businesses looking to remain strong during record inflation
• “It’s always a question of what to prioritize and which costs to minimize while preserving the quality of your product,” states a Forbes article
• Cerberus ensures that companies not only stay more secure but also build a culture of cybersecurity

In a fragile economy with a possible recession looming on the horizon, savvy companies are taking a close look at ways to tighten their belts. As they do so, a recent Forbes article cautions wise business leaders to keep cybersecurity in the forefront (https://ibn.fm/ui99g), a strategy that Cerberus Cyber Sentinel (NASDAQ: CISO) can help with. The article details “why cyber protection should become a ‘must-have,’ not a ‘nice-to-have’ in your business decision-making process and why you should prioritize it in times of economic uncertainty.” Titled “Why Businesses Shouldn’t Cut Cybersecurity Costs—Especially During a Crisis,” the piece notes that “the global economy has been shaken enough times in the past two years for some experts to say the world will likely enter another recession soon.” “While it’s essential to work on a renewed crisis management plan, it’s always a question of what to prioritize and which costs to minimize while preserving the quality of your product,” the article continues. “In evaluating risks, it might seem reasonable at first to eliminate the costs that don’t directly affect production. If your business has never been exposed to a real cyber threat before, expenses for security systems might seem too pricey — a common misconception.” The article calls out three key reasons why cybersecurity shouldn’t be on the budget chopping block: cutting cybersecurity costs may result in greater expenditures in the long run; neglecting cybersecurity compliance can have a legal — and financial — impact on a business; and an up-to-date security architecture can be a competitive advantage. This is where insight from seasoned partners can help organizations identify new efficiencies, business enablement, and ROI that can be tied to their cybersecurity investments. Still, the savings in prevention alone make security improvements worthwhile. “Neglecting simple details such as installing cyber protection and providing cybersecurity awareness to your employees can cost you more in the long run,” reported Forbes. “According to the most recent IBM report, the current cost of a data breach for a company averages $4.35 million—and this price only grows yearly.” Additionally, Forbes explained that “fulfilling certain cybersecurity compliance requirements is not only a question of mediating potential financial risks for your business — in many cases, it’s simply a law. As a business, you are free to protect your own physical and intellectual property in a way that benefits you. However, when it comes to things you don’t own (the customer or partner data that you work with or market information that you gather), you have to fulfill your local data management and protection requirements.” Finally, the article observed that cybersecurity literacy is growing in business-to-business and business-to-consumer sectors, with many existing and potential customers and partners beginning to realize how serious the implications of a careless attitude to cyber risks might be. “If you cannot ensure that the data they provide is secure, why should they choose your service over a competitor that fulfills their requirements?” the article asks. Cerberus Sentinel understands these points, recognizing that cyber resilience is a journey that is often made unnecessarily complex and confusing in today’s marketplace. “Cerberus Sentinel is on a mission to demystify and accelerate our clients’ journey to cyber resilience, empowering organizations to securely grow, operate, and innovate,” the company states on its website. Widely recognized as a managed cybersecurity and compliance provider, Cerberus is rapidly expanding by acquiring world-class cybersecurity, secured managed services and compliance companies with top-tier talent that utilizes the latest technology to create innovative solutions to protect the most demanding businesses and government organizations against continuing and emerging security threats and compliance obligations. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.CerberusSentinel.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CISO are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CISO

• Hillcrest Energy Technologies recently unveiled a commercial prototype of its 800-volt, 250-kilowatt Zero Voltage Switching (“ZVS”) traction inverter
• The production of a commercial prototype comes only months after the company had published white papers, extolling the potential of their revolutionary technology
• The inverter will be developed and integrated alongside Hillcrest’s partners, Hercules Electric Mobility as well as a separate Tier 1 automotive supplier
• The company envisions its inverter technology being deployed with batteries, electric motors, generators, fuel cells and any other power source requiring power conversion

Hillcrest Energy Technologies (CSE: HEAT) (OTCQB: HLRTF), a clean technology company focused on developing transformative power conversion technologies, has recently announced the completion of its 800-volt, 250-kilowatt Zero Voltage Switching (“ZVS”) traction inverter commercial prototype. Whilst initially directed towards the electric vehicle industry, Hillcrests ZVS inverter technology can eventually be applied with batteries, electric motors, generators, fuel cells or virtually any other power source where power conversion is needed. A key issue affecting both electric vehicle manufacturers as well as owners is efficiency losses emanating from a vehicle’s powertrain. A vital component in an EV powertrain, an inverter seeks to convert DC charge from the battery to AC to drive the electric. The more efficient the inverter is, the more efficient the vehicle is as a whole and the greater the amount of driving range that can be extracted from the battery. Having published white papers on its revolutionary technology mere months ago (https://ibn.fm/7xkWx), the production of a commercial prototype in such a short span of time has goes a long way towards validating Hillcrest’s technological claims. “We’ve validated our core technology and will continue working with Hercules Electric Mobility and a Tier 1 automotive supplier, our previously announced co-development partners, on integrating our ZVS traction inverter into their specific powertrain applications,” commented Hillcrest CTO Ari Berger. “Implementing our technology in these systems, expected to occur by Q2 2023, will mark another important milestone by transitioning the technology out of our lab and into real world demonstrations of the Hillcrest ZVS inverter in commercial applications.” Hillcrest’s ZVS, or soft switching capabilities will seek to overcome challenges habitually found in hard-switched wide-bandgap devices such as silicon carbide (“SiC”) traction inverters. Through the material elimination of switching losses, Hillcrest’s inverter technology has been shown to reduce the thermal management needed across the entire powertrain system. This in turn can result in substantial savings in the manufacturing process, reducing system complexity and improving system reliability by reducing stress placed upon power devices. “In just one year, Hillcrest progressed from a 10-kilowatt proof of concept to a 250-kilowatt ZVS traction inverter commercial prototype,” said CEO Don Currie. “Add the incredible customer interest we’ve already received, highlighted by two announced MOUs, and I believe we are clearly demonstrating our ability to be at the forefront and deliver innovations that will advance power electronics for the next generation of mobility. Leveraging upon their next generation inverter solution, Hillcrest Energy Technologies will seek to deliver a step-change in the performance of electric vehicles. Not only does the inverter deliver motor efficiency gains such that it has the potential to reduce the overall size of an EV’s battery, but the reduction in battery size and consequently, the battery’s cost, can drive savings for both automotive manufacturers and end consumers. Berger remarked, “[The] high efficient of an inverter is only the beginning of the story…from there we have several benefits at the system level.” For more information, visit the company’s website at www.HillcrestEnergy.tech. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to HLRTF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/HLRTF

• 66% of US consumers (80% of consumers aged 18-34) are willing to pay more for products made with sustainability in mind
• The luxury home décor market is expected to reach $207 billion by 2027, growing from $118 billion in 2020 at a CAGR of 5.14%
• Coyuchi guarantees the highest environmental and ethical standards through its certifications – The Global Organic Textile Standard (“GOTS”), Fair Trade Certified, and MADE SAFE(R)
• Coyuchi is built upon four foundational pillars – protecting the environment, innovating circular design, living sustainably, and enriching the community – with over 1400 SKUs made from 100% organic cotton
• The company is currently accepting investment through Regulation A+ offerings

Coyuchi is setting the gold standard in sustainable luxury home goods, offering sustainably produced luxury organic bedding, sheets, towels, apparel, and other home goods for the environmentally conscious home. For 30 years, Coyuchi has explored organic farming and sustainable textiles, and guarantees the highest environmental and ethical standards through its acquisition of certifications, including The Global Organic Textile Standard (“GOTS”), Fair Trade Certified, and MADE SAFE(R). Backed by a seasoned leadership team, a robust e-commerce shopping experience, and a healthy customer base driving the fast-growing organic luxury market, Coyuchi is positioned to propel its new growth phase as the world awakens to sustainability at scale.

The home décor market consists of anything that makes a home look more stylish and aesthetically pleasing while having a specific purpose for the occupants within the home. Products that fall within this category include carpets, rugs, shelves, towels, paintings, bedding, and more, with interior designers charging fees that range from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the size of the home. In 2020, the United States was the single largest national market for luxury home décor, next to Europe, which dominated the global market, driven by strong demand in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. The demand for luxury home décor is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.14% from 2021 to 2027, from $118 billion in 2020 to $207 billion in 2027 (https://ibn.fm/lKvkr).

Despite the threat of rising inflation, which has grown from 1.4% in 2020 to 8.5% in 2022, 66% of consumers (80% of young consumers ages 18-34) report a willingness to pay more for sustainable products (https://ibn.fm/TI0dx). To be considered sustainable, products must provide environmental, social, and economic benefits while protecting public health and the environment over the entire lifecycle of the product – from the extraction of raw materials to manufacturing, distribution, and disposal.

Coyuchi is built upon four foundational pillars – protecting the environment, innovating circular design, living sustainably, and enriching the community. Coyuchi’s product assortment consists of consciously designed products spread across 1400 SKUs. The company’s current product base consists of four core categories:

• Bedding – Coyuchi provides a full suite of sustainable, organic, high-quality sheets, duvet covers, blankets, and throws
• Bath – luxury line of towels, bath rugs, and mats
• Apparel – premium apparel for men and women, including robes, sweaters, pants, and pajamas
• Lifestyle – the lifestyle category offers over 135 SKUs ranging from organic napkins to crossbody totes

The global market for organic bedding had an estimated value of $814.3 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9%, resulting in a value of $1.1 billion by 2027 (https://ibn.fm/Y83Dm). Coyuchi’s organic bedding uses only 100% organic cotton materials, a standard utilized across all its products. In 2021, the company earned $33.3 million in net sales, amounting to 26% YoY growth, approximately five times the industry average of only 5%. The company also achieved customer growth resulting in 200,000 active customers and averaging 35% repeat customer purchase rates.

Coyuchi is currently accepting investment as part of a Regulation A+ offering. The company’s profile can be found on Manhattan Street Capital or through its Offering Circular.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Coyuchi.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Coyuchi are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/COYU

• Lexaria Bioscience is a global innovator in drug delivery platforms whose patented DehydraTECH(TM) technology has demonstrated the ability to improve the bioavailability and increase the speed of onset of many drugs
• In calendar 2022, the company achieved a number of milestones in various areas, including research programs, receipt of patents, and licensing agreements
• Lexaria started and completed its fourth and most comprehensive hypertension study yet, investigating the capabilities of DehydraTECH-CBD, with the study showing that its formulation resulted in a sustained reduction in blood pressure over the study period (five weeks)
• The company has also started investigating DehydraTECH-CBD as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of dementia and diabetes and is planning to begin another study on DehydraTECH-nicotine pouch performance
• Over the course of the year, Lexaria was granted four new patents, and entered into separate licensing agreements with four new partners

In his concluding remarks in this year’s letter to shareholders published January, Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ: LEXX) CEO Chris Bunka underlined that “Management of [the company] feels we are on track, on schedule, and on budget to deliver what we hope and expect will be great results in 2022” (https://ibn.fm/cD2BJ). Since then, the company has achieved crucial milestones that can well be described as “great results,” and rightly so. These milestones are centered around Lexaria’s patented DehydraTECH(TM) drug delivery technology.

DehydraTECH can be applied to many drugs and fat-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”), with the resultant formulation boasting better speed of onset, bioavailability, and brain absorption. So far, Lexaria has evidenced, through pharmacokinetic (“PK”) studies, that its technology delivers higher quantities of cannabidiol (“CBD”), oral nicotine, and antiviral drugs into the bloodstream in less time, properties that are technically known as increased bioavailability.

For Lexaria, however, the end goal does not only lie in uncovering DehydraTECH’s ability to improve the bioavailability of various APIs. Instead, the company is keen on establishing whether DehydraTECH can be applied broadly within the pharmaceutical industry. And calendar 2022 has brought the company closer to realizing this goal, with the company initiating a slew of research programs, many of which it has already completed. Moreover, its intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio has received additional patent protection in different jurisdictions around the world. Lexaria has also entered into multiple manufacturing and/or licensing agreements with global partners.

Research Programs

DehydraTECH-Processed PDE5 Inhibitor

Lexaria kicked the year off with an announcement of ground-breaking findings in an animal study evaluating DehydraTECH-processed sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase (“PDE5”) inhibitor used in the management of erectile dysfunction. The study, whose results were announced February 2, showed that the DehydraTECH formulation delivered more sildenafil (roughly 70% more drug) and at a faster rate (about 25% faster) than the concentration-matched, generic control formulation (https://ibn.fm/fSxz3).

DehydraTECH-Processed CBD

In 2022, much like in 2021, Lexaria’s biggest area of investigation was CBD – or, more specifically, DehydraTECH-processed CBD. The company expanded the scope of its research to include not only investigations on hypertension or high blood pressure, a condition on which it had completed two human studies (HYPER-H21-1 and HYPER-H21-2) the year prior, but also diabetes, seizures, and dementia.

Building on the HYPER-H21-1 study, a 24-person study that evidenced a rapid and sustained drop in blood pressure, and HYPER-H21-2, which showed that DehydraTECH-CBD caused a 23% average reduction in overnight blood pressure and reduced arterial stiffness, Lexaria also released the findings of its 16-person HYPER-H21-3 study in April this year. This third study evidenced that the pulmonary artery systolic pressure was attenuated by about 5 mmHg or 41% overall in male participants (https://ibn.fm/6DBAM).

The positive findings from the HYPER-H21-3 study set the stage for the commencement of the fourth human clinical study (“HCS”), HYPER-H21-4, the most comprehensive study Lexaria has ever undertaken, that same month (https://ibn.fm/7179M). A 66-person randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, cross-over study, HYPER-H21-4 was designed as a multi-week study whose dosing was completed in July with no serious adverse events reported. That was a vital outcome given that the main objective of most FDA-registered Phase I studies is to prove safety and tolerability.

This news was a precursor to even more positive news reported in late October when Lexaria announced that HYPER-H21-4 “may be the world’s first study to evidence a sustained drop in blood pressure (“BP”) in normally active hypertensive patients following multiple weeks of oral CBD therapy, using Lexaria’s patented DehydraTECH-CBD capsule formulation.”

The study showed a significant BP reduction by 2.5 weeks, with this attenuation sustained over the entire five weeks of dosing. Moreover, Lexaria also observed that the decreases in BP were similar in persons receiving treatment with standard-of-care BP medication as in persons who were not undergoing any current treatment, suggesting DehydraTECH-CBD’s potential abilities to offer additive BP reduction benefits above and beyond the therapeutic improvements of standard BP medication. This can have important regulatory implications.

“That we were able to lower blood pressure in our patient population over multiple weeks using DehydraTECH-CBD is an exceptional discovery, given that previous studies by others using other oral CBD formulations have failed to evidence this sustained benefit,” Chris Bunka commented. “DehydraTECH also demonstrated excellent safety and tolerability results and no adverse changes in liver enzymes throughout the study. Indeed, of the handful of minor, non-serious adverse events reported, there were nearly as many reported by those patients receiving placebo as those who received DehydraTECH-CBD.”

HYPER-H21-4 was designed to enhance Lexaria’s probability of success with its expected Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application to seek the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval to begin registered clinical testing. Against the backdrop of the findings from this study, and having already received positive feedback from a pre-IND meeting with the FDA, according to an August press release (https://ibn.fm/OQl3x), Lexaria is on track to file the full IND application in 2023. (Following the pre-IND meeting, the FDA confirmed its support for an abbreviated approval pathway in line with section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.)

Meanwhile, in a separate three-part animal study that kicked off in March that aimed to assess the effectiveness of DehydraTECH-CBD in reducing seizure activity compared to the FDA-approved seizure medication Epidiolex (https://ibn.fm/X6zl1), Lexaria evidenced that DehydraTECH-CBD can be more efficacious at lower doses than Epidiolex. Additionally, the company observed that DehydraTECH-CBD can act more rapidly than Epidiolex. According to Lexaria, work is ongoing to complete the third and final part of the study that intends to establish the dose required to achieve seizure inhibition in 50% of the animals tested or ED50 (https://ibn.fm/hOsRb).

In addition to the hypertension and seizure studies, Lexaria recently commenced separate investigations on the potential therapeutic use of DehydraTECH-CBD in both diabetes and dementia. Dubbed DIAB-A22-1, the study investigating  DehydraTECH-CBD’s potential utility in the treatment of diabetes kicked off on November 8 (https://ibn.fm/V45Lm), while DEM-A22-1, the study on the potential use of DehydraTECH-CBD in dementia, begun a couple of days later on November 10 (https://ibn.fm/xp2mS).

DehydraTECH-Processed Nicotine

Calendar 2022 also marked the year when Lexaria began expanding its research on nicotine to include human subjects. Having resolved the manufacturing and logistics challenges that had previously pushed back the commencement time as well as having received Independent Review Board (“IRB”) approval for the planned human oral nicotine study, NIC-H22-1, Lexaria expects to begin dosing in December 2022 (https://ibn.fm/6L0fJ).

A 36-person human PK, randomized, double-blinded, cross-over-study carried out in current cigarette smokers, NIC-H22-1 will see each participant receiving only one brand of oral nicotine pouch on each of the three visits to the laboratory over a period of weeks. Upon administration, each person will undergo both subjective and objective evaluations, with vital signs such as respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature also collected. Overall, the study is specifically designed to compare the performance of Lexaria’s DehydraTECH-nicotine pouch to On!’s (a pouch brand manufactured by Altria) and Zyn’s (the world’s leading nicotine pouch product manufactured by Swedish Match).

Competition in the nicotine pouch category is heating up, with PMI have just completed its US$16 billion acquisition of Swedish Match.

Previously, Lexaria had demonstrated in animal study NIC-A21-1 that oral nicotine pouches processed using DehydraTECH were 10 to 20 times faster in reaching peak delivery of nicotine to the bloodstream than controls.

Patents

In 2022, Lexaria continued to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, receiving four new patents as described below:

• In March, Australia granted Lexaria a patent entitled “Compositions Infused with Nicotine Compounds and Methods to Use Thereof” that covers most oral forms of nicotine, including sprays, gums, pouches, capsules, lozenges, tablets, and pills. The patent also covers various forms of nicotine, including free base nicotine, polymer resins of nicotine, nicotine salts, and other forms of nicotine complexes (https://ibn.fm/o9j34).
• In April, the United States Patents and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) granted Lexaria its first-ever patent for using DehydraTECH technology to enhance the delivery of antiviral drugs (https://ibn.fm/GVR4X).
• In July, Lexaria received its fourth patent granted in Japan, entitled “Lipophilic Active Agent Infused Compositions with Reduced Food Effect,” which acknowledges the ability of DehydraTECH to deliver APIs more effectively regardless of the presence of foods within the gastrointestinal system (https://ibn.fm/B7VuC).
• In August Lexaria received a new patent in Mexico that covers multiple claims, including but not limited to the treatment of hypertension, neurological diseases, diabetes, hepatic diseases, and more (https://ibn.fm/7RM1Q).

With the receipt of the four patents in 2022, Lexaria now has 27 worldwide patents granted, with about 50 more patents pending worldwide. The company believes that should the remaining patent applications become granted patents, its ability to generate meaningful license revenue from its IP may increase from multiple other countries and regions outside of the United States. And if this year’s licensing agreements are anything to go by, Lexaria is progressively inching closer to this goal, one partner at a time.

Licensing Agreements

Generally, the company’s granted patents help to buttress a part of the company’s business plan, which according to its latest annual report, is to “encourage new and existing participants to license and utilize DehydraTECH to enable enhanced performance of their products” (https://ibn.fm/FzUTU). To that end, this calendar year saw the company onboard new partners who have licensed the DehydraTECH technology for use in their respective markets. Anchored in licensing agreements announced in June, the licenses include:

• A European and United Kingdom DehydraTECH license for medical cannabis applications from wholly owned subsidiary Lexaria Pharmaceutical Corp. to Valcon Medical A/S, a European contract manufacturing organization (“CMO”) that manufactures medical cannabis extracts for the European Union (“EU”) and the UK (https://ibn.fm/ciTUJ)
• An exclusive commercial licensing agreement granted to Premier Wellness Science Co. Ltd. for the Japanese non-pharmaceutical market for the use of DehydraTECH with CBD and hemp ingredients in oral liquid and non-liquid products, topical, hair, lip-care, and cosmetics products (https://ibn.fm/0f8D0)
• A five-year, non-exclusive DehydraTECH license to AnodGen Bioceuticals of Ireland, a CMO, for the manufacturing and distribution of DehydraTECH-processed cannabinoid API powders within Europe, Australia, and New Zealand (https://ibn.fm/FjMBZ)
• Two agreements – a manufacturing operating agreement and a commercial license agreement – with Atlanta-based BevNology LLC. (https://ibn.fm/vEY4J)

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaBioscience.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LEXX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/LEXX

• SideChannel is a company making cybersecurity accessible and simple, especially for small and mid-sized businesses (“SMBs”)
• The company provides cybersecurity services in the form of virtual CISOs (“vCISOs”), engineering services that enable the vCISOs to provide operational day-to-day security and privacy to clients, and proprietary security software called Enclave
• SideChannel’s differentiator from its competition is its team of experts, and recently the company hired IT and cybersecurity veteran Sean Higgins as Principal Consultant
• In this role, Sean will help client companies’ CISOs and senior management evaluate and have greater levels of confidence in their security programs

SideChannel (OTCQB: SDCH), a company focused on making cybersecurity more accessible and simple, especially for small and mid-sized businesses (“SMBs”), recently expanded its team with the hiring of Sean Higgins as Principal Consultant (https://ibn.fm/AeZGL).

An information technology (“IT”) veteran with over 35 years of experience, almost 30 of which have been focused on cybersecurity, Sean previously worked as the Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”) and Co-Founder at Herjavec Group, a global cybersecurity product and services provider. In his Principal Consultant role at SideChannel, Sean will help SideChannel’s clients’ in-house Chief Information Security Officers (“CISOs”) and management assess and have confidence in their security programs.

Higgins’ onboarding is timely, given the prevailing cybersecurity challenges SMBs face and the ever-growing volume of threats. According to a July 2022 article in Forbes, SMBs face more hurdles than larger corporations when trying to safeguard their computing and networking infrastructure against the growing number of cyberattacks and allied threats. The drawbacks, the article notes, include a lack of resources, skills, and staff (https://ibn.fm/EeciE). And as the 2022 CISO Survey of Small Cyber Security Teams report, which was quoted in the article, established, this problem is further compounded by the fact that small security teams are often allocated small budgets. It comes as no surprise then that these teams are paying attention to fewer security alerts in 2022 than they did the previous year.

The study further documented the problems SMBs face when operating threat protection products. The biggest include having overlapping capabilities of different technologies, viewing the full picture of an attack, and deploying and maintaining disparate technologies on one machine. Moreover, the report ranked the lack of skilled security personnel as the top barrier to maintaining security posture. Other barriers include excessive manual data analysis, a remote workforce, ineffective user awareness training, and a lack of budget.

With the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) warning of imminent cyberattacks in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (https://ibn.fm/uMIXf), SideChannel is positioning itself as the cybersecurity company whose products and services are designed to help SMBs get around the existing challenges. SDCH specifically provides cybersecurity services in the form of virtual CISOs (“vCISOs”), engineering services that enable the vCISOs to provide day-to-day operational security and privacy to clients, and proprietary security software called Enclave. Enclave allows organizations to micro-segment their corporate networks, thus preventing network-wide access by hackers in the event of an attack.

In a presentation delivered during the Windy City Roundup 2022 Conference held in October, SideChannel CTO and Co-Founder Nick Hnatiw explained why the company offers vCISO services. (A recording of the webcast is available upon registration at https://ibn.fm/TCOY1. CISOs, Nick began, implement and create strategy documents that guide the security of organizations. These documents detail how to protect the company from cyber threats and ensure compliance with regulations.

“SideChannel has discovered that all organizations need to have a CISO, but they all cannot afford one,” Nick underlined the gap in the market. To further emphasize this point, a fall 2021 study, entitled The State of Cybersecurity Leadership and Readiness, found that 45% of companies do not employ a CISO. In addition, 60% of the companies delegate the role of developing their cybersecurity strategies was to IT and compliance teams or even the executive leadership rather than to dedicated CISOs (https://ibn.fm/M8EPb).

With the aforementioned 2022 study having already cited budget constraints as one of the hurdles to implementing cybersecurity programs or hiring personnel with the requisite skills, SideChannel is filling an existing gap. The idea behind providing vCISO services, Nick noted, “is to fractionalize the time of the CISO and distribute it to many organizations.” SideChannel matches companies with an expert vCISO so the organization can assess cyber risk and ensure cybersecurity compliance.

“Our differentiator to our competition is our people. SideChannel is the leading cybersecurity firm with a growing list of former enterprise-level CISOs to deliver vCISO services to clients,” SideChannel’s website reads.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SideChannel.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SDCH are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SDCH

• The NanoAbs may provide improve upon existing treatments such as Paxlovid, which has several contraindications
• The company’s pipeline of alpaca-derived NanoAb therapies aims to address diseases with large underserved medical needs, including COVID-19, asthma, psoriasis, and more
• The global COVID-19 therapy market was valued at $16.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20%, resulting in a value of $35.42 billion by 2025

A study recently published in JAMA Network found that nearly 15% of COVID-19 patients admitted to 36 Paris University hospitals had contraindications (excluding factors) to Paxlovid, the leading COVID-19 treatment. While Paxlovid can reduce hospitalization and death among high-risk COVID-19 patients, there are situations where it is not recommended due to ritonavir’s ability to increase concentrations of drugs that strongly depend on hepatic cytochrome P-450 3A metabolism. The study further supports the argument and necessity for radically improved COVID-19 treatments (https://ibn.fm/h26qS). BiondVax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BVXV), a biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative immunotherapeutic products primarily treating infectious and autoimmune diseases, announced statistically significant (p<0.001) efficacy results in a preclinical in-vivo proof-of-concept study of its innovative inhaled nanosized antibody (NanoAb) COVID-19 therapy (https://ibn.fm/j25pD). BiondVax is developing a pipeline of alpaca-derived NanoAb therapies to address diseases with large underserved medical needs, including COVID-19, asthma, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and macular degeneration. Compared with current monoclonal antibodies (“mAbs”) treatments, BiondVax’s NanoAbs exhibit strong potential for superior patient convenience, safety, and clinical outcomes, at a lower cost. BiondVax’s study was designed using an industry-standard animal model for COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines and compared weight loss in two groups of hamsters after infection with SARS-COV-2. The experimental group was treated with the company’s anti-COVID-19 NanoAb, administered via inhalation, starting one day after infection. The control group was treated in the same manner but with saline as a placebo. These studies were conducted by The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (“ITEM”) and The University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (“TiHo”), Germany, two world-renowned institutions. The study concluded that compared to pre-infection weight, the control group’s weight declined on average at 12.01%. In contrast, on average the weight of the experimental group using BiondVax’s NanoAb therapy declined only 3.80%. The successful result of the study was further supported by eight other tracked parameters, including heart rate and social behaviors, indicating that the group treated with NanoAbs experienced a milder, shorter illness. According to Research and Markets, the global COVID-19 therapy market was valued at $16.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20%, resulting in a value of $35.42 billion by 2025. A key factor driving the therapy market’s growth is the fact that social restrictions in place during the pandemic have generally eased, and preventative vaccine and booster uptake is waning, with an expected consequence of more COVID infections requiring treatment. (https://ibn.fm/lx8iz). “We are excited that the study results confirm the inhalation concept of our exclusively licensed NanoAb as a therapy for COVID-19 illness,” said BiondVax’s Chief Science Officer (“CSO”), Dr. Tamar Ben-Yedidia Ph.D. “Following these promising results, we intend to continue the study early next year by testing additional dose levels of the inhaled NanoAb therapy and as a prophylactic (preventive) treatment. Results of the trial will inform design of the first-in-human clinical trial of the inhaled NanoAb COVID-19 therapy, which is planned for late 2023.” For more information, visit the company’s website at www.BiondVax.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to BVXV are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/BVXV

• Marijuana sales are projected to hit $33 billion in 2022, up from $3 billion in 2015, and are on track to hit $53 billion by 2026
• REZYFi, a growth mortgage origination and specialized financing company, with target markets including the legalized cannabis industry, is set to be one of the key beneficiaries in this anticipated growth
• With the ongoing conversation around marijuana, along with the bipartisan support for its legalization, the company is optimistic that the demand for its products and services will see a spike as time progresses
• REZYFi still believes that financing options for cannabis-related firms will continue to be scarce, despite progress in marijuana legalization, presenting an opportunity for the company

Back in 2017, marijuana sales were valued at $9 billion. By the end of 2022, sales are projected to hit $33 billion, posting a 20% growth. The sector is also on track to hit $53 billion in sales by 2026 (https://ibn.fm/uAE7p). REZYFi, a growth mortgage origination and specialized financing company based in the United States, is set to be one of the key beneficiaries of this anticipated growth. Given its focus on licensed and permitted cannabis companies, owners of real estate who lease to cannabis companies, along with companies and individual homeowners seeking a variety of real estate-related and additional mortgage-based financing, the growth of the marijuana sector is bound to come with expanded market opportunities for the company. For the longest time, cannabis-related businesses and companies have struggled to obtain financing from traditional banks. Federal law has forced traditional banks to shun such businesses, given that marijuana use is criminalized. However, with the ongoing conversation around marijuana, along with the bipartisan support for its legalization, REZYFi is optimistic that the demand for its products and services will see a spike as time progresses. “REZYFi believes the demand for innovative financing offerings by players in the cannabis market will continue to grow as more geographic markets legalize recreational and medical cannabis usage, a belief that has fueled its expansion within the United States,” notes a recent article (https://ibn.fm/ysCHh). Despite progress in the legalization of marijuana, REZYFi still believes that financing options for cannabis-related firms will continue to be scarce, as traditional banks are slow to adapt to the changing environment. As a result, it reckons that these entities will continue to experience difficulties obtaining financing from these traditional sources, which, while a downside on the businesses’ part, is an opportunity for REZYFi. So far, REZYFi is licensed in 36 states, with plans to expand into additional jurisdictions, hopefully within the coming year. With President Biden set to sign the first official stand-alone piece of marijuana legislation this month, the company anticipates a bump in demand for its offerings. In addition, the proliferating bipartisan marijuana legislation, coupled with the growing public support, highlights encouraging long-term momentum for the entire marijuana industry, which will be integral to REZYFi’s growth. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.REZYFi.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to REZYFi are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/REZY

• Residential solar power installations posted a 34% growth from 2.9 gigawatts in 2020 to 3.9 gigawatts in 2021. In addition, 17.6 gigawatts of new utility-scale solar capacity came online between June 2021 and June 2022
• This growth has been linked to the falling cost of solar power infrastructure, with solar PV posting a 70% drop since 2014
• Correlate has seen a notable spike in demand for its products and services in recent months and is currently executing a $200 million project pipeline
• Through its finance platform, the company is making proprietary technology available to interested parties, and through its unique data-driven approach powered by proprietary analytics, it is helping tailor renewable energy solutions specific to customer needs
• Correlate is helping make renewable energy affordable and accessible, to help the country spur economic growth without sacrificing the environment

Over 30 countries worldwide have achieved “absolute decoupling,” with 25 pulling off this incredible feat over the past few decades. Absolute decoupling entails figuring out how to reduce carbon emissions while continuing to grow economically. One major contributing factor to this achievement is the move from fossil fuel to renewable alternatives such as solar, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy, among others (https://ibn.fm/wfNTs). Correlate Infrastructure Partners (OTCQB: CIPI), a tech-enabled development, finance, and fulfillment platform for distributed energy solutions across North America, believes in the potential of solar energy and the value it holds for aiding the United States to achieve absolute decoupling. Its understanding of the market and the renewable energy sector has allowed it to focus on providing solar energy infrastructure and maintenance services, electric vehicle infrastructure, and intelligent efficiency retrofits for community-scale applications. These aspects have earned it a unique value proposition and a significant competitive advantage in the North American market. Correlate has seen a notable spike in demand for its products and services in recent months and is currently executing a $200 million project pipeline. This growth reflects an overall increase in the rate of solar power adoption in the United States, with residential installation posting a 34% growth from 2.9 gigawatts in 2020 to 3.9 gigawatts in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) (https://ibn.fm/O9lcV). In addition, 17.6 gigawatts of new utility-scale solar capacity came online from June 2021 to June 2022, bringing utility-scale solar capacity to 65.8 gigawatts (https://ibn.fm/L3llQ). The increase in solar power adoption has been linked to the falling cost of solar power infrastructure, with solar photovoltaics (“PV”) posting a 70% drop since 2014 (https://ibn.fm/eMCbD). On November 30, 2022, Correlate announced a 3.8-megawatt solar energy installation project with EnerSys (NYSE: ENS), a global leader in stored energy solutions, at their global headquarters in Pennsylvania, making it one of the largest behind-the-meter solar installations in the United States. The project was a critical addition to Correlate’s portfolio while also playing a pivotal role in showing the demand for the company’s distributed energy solutions and the value associated with solar power. In addition, it aids Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf in his goal to bring statewide green energy power usage to at least 40%, in a move that seeks to achieve a 26% drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. “This partnership and project bring together a decade of our team’s vision, whereby we are both supporting a corporate renewables program and helping decarbonize the supply chain with a global market leader,” noted Todd Michaels, Correlate’s CEO. “We’re proud to be working with EnerSys to further advance solar development in the Commonwealth and to support their commitment to long-term sustainability as an industry leader,” he added (https://ibn.fm/0zybr). With absolute decoupling heavily dependent on the affordability and availability of clean energy technology, Correlate is aggressive in its push to make this a reality. Through its finance platform, it is making proprietary technology available to interested parties. Additionally, through its unique data-driven approach powered by proprietary analytics, it is helping tailor renewable energy solutions specific to customer needs, aiding in its adoption and an overall transition from reliance on fossil fuels. EnerSys is a testament to Correlate’s meticulous approach to solar power installation and maintenance. It is also indicative of the company’s capabilities, it’s understanding of the industry, and its belief in the potential of solar power to help countries achieve economic growth without sacrificing the environment. The project also reflects Correlate’s commitment to creating value for its shareholders and pushing the envelope regarding innovation and service delivery. For company information, visit the company’s website at www.CorrelateInfra.com, including the following:

• Breaking Down Barriers To Your ESG Goals While Generating Additional Net Operating Income: www.CorrelateInfra.com/our-process
• Platform Generates New Rent And Operating Income, Allowing You To Meet Your ESG Goals: www.CorrelateInfra.com/program

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CIPI are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CIPI

• Glioblastoma, also known as GBM, is a fatal and incurable brain cancer that tends to recur aggressively after initial treatment
• CNS Pharmaceuticals is a U.S.-based pharmaceutical innovator whose flagship drug candidate, Berubicin, is a potentially pivotal treatment for treating GBM because of its novel apparent ability to cross the blood-brain barrier at effective levels
• CNS is building upon prior clinical trial outcomes with its global potentially pivotal trial currently registering patients in the United States and Europe
• Berubicin’s development is being advanced with potential time and cost savings thanks to the FDA’s decision to grant it Fast Track and Orphan Drug status

The most common primary brain cancer in adults and one of the most aggressive, glioblastoma, remains a critical unmet medical need because of its level of morbidity and the lack of effective treatment options nearly a century after it was defined by pioneering neurosurgeons Percival Bailey and Harvey Cushing in 1926. Glioblastoma, known simply as GBM, is effectively 100 percent fatal with extremely rare, noteworthy exceptions. The brain cancer is diagnosed in approximately 13,000 U.S. patients and only 10 percent or less of them survive to five years, most succumbing within about a year (https://ibn.fm/epCgQ). Biopharmaceutical innovator CNS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CNSP) is enrolling patients in the United States and Europe for its potentially pivotal global clinical trial in humans for its lead drug candidate designed to treat GBM. The drug, Berubicin, is an anthracycline chemotherapy agent that apparently has the unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier to target tumors directly. The inability of anthracyclines to cross the blood-brain barrier has been identified as a major obstacle in treating aggressive brain tumors such as GBM and creates an opportunity for CNS Pharmaceuticals. “Anthracyclines are designed to damage the DNA in cancer cells,” CEO John Climaco said during a 2020 webinar about the potentially pivotal global trial (https://ibn.fm/6WbPd). “Anthracyclines as a class of chemotherapy have been used for over 60 years to treat a variety of cancers, including breast, ovarian, lung, lymphoma and leukemia, and other malignancies as well. However, historically, anthracyclines have never been used to treat primary or metastatic brain cancers because scientists could not demonstrate that anthracyclines were able to cross the blood-brain barrier and achieve significant levels of activity in the brain. Berubicin may change that history.” A Nov. 14 news release provided a corporate update, noting that 68 clinical sites have now been identified in the United States, Italy, France, Spain, and Switzerland with 29 of them currently enrolling patients (https://ibn.fm/AtOme). The news release shows several sites have been added even since the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s clinical trials registry was updated earlier this month. The majority of the recruiting sites are located in the United States, spread from California to New York, with sites in France the most recent to begin enrolling patients (https://ibn.fm/xulW0). The company is taking a phased approach to funding the worldwide complex trial, with current funding sufficient for operations into next year. During the corporate webinar, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sandra Silberman said up to 243 patients will participate in the trial, 162 of them receiving Berubicin and the other 81 receiving the chemotherapy drug lomustine. “We are evaluating responses defined as a decrease in the size of the tumor, as well as stability of the disease defined as no further increases in the size of the tumor once the patient is put on study, as well as the time to progression of these tumors and importantly overall survival of the patients,” Silberman said. Radiation and surgical removal can significantly improve overall survival (“OS”) of GBM patients but because of the tumor’s growth from critical brain tissue, it is generally impossible to completely remove the tumor without harming the patient so the cancer tends to recur. With recurrent GBM, medical intervention has been able to improve progression-free survival (“PFS”) for a few months but not OS, according to a recent report published in Oncology Nursing News (https://ibn.fm/kXguz). Research presented in a poster at November’s 27th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology compared treatment efficacy and patient characteristics in phase 3 trials of adults newly diagnosed with glioblastoma between 2005 and 2021, and identified 11 trials of 100-plus patients with OS as an endpoint, of which only three reported an OS benefit ranging between medians of 12 and 48 months (https://ibn.fm/PD0wZ). Berubicin appeared on the scene as a potential outlier in 2006 when a small safety trial conducted by its original developer, Reata Pharmaceuticals, resulted in one of the two dozen evaluated patients emerging cancer-free, remaining so over the years since, while nearly half of the trial’s other patients experienced a statistically significant improvement in clinical benefit (https://ibn.fm/Ngg2z). CNS entered a collaboration agreement with Reata after its founding in 2017, leading to the current effort to establish Berubicin’s effectiveness and take it to market. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.CNSPharma.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNSP are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP

• Autonomous robotics are increasingly being used to automate manual logistics processes
• In addition to its own software solutions, Cepton collaborates with software provider Exwayz to present a robotic solution for global customers
• The company recently announced that it will unveil its upcoming next-generation automotive lidar solution, the Vista-X120 Plus, at the forthcoming CES 2023 event in Las Vegas
• As part of that product launch, Cepton has been recently recognized as a 2023 Innovation Award honoree by CES within the vehicle tech and advanced mobility category

In early June, Amazon unveiled its new fleet of autonomous robots, designed to revolutionize the way that half a million warehouse workers interact on a daily basis. Nicknamed ‘Proteus’, these robots would help automate the movement of large and heavy rolling carts of packages, creating a more efficient and safe process. These actions are traditionally undertaken by workers obliged to manually handle goods through areas where existing robots can’t go. Whilst the technology is part of a long-awaited wave of automation designed to improve productivity and boost safety standards within the logistics industry, it may not have been possible without the employment of the humble lidar sensor (https://ibn.fm/8hpG0). Although the first presentation of lidar sensors began in the 1960s, it would take until the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 for lidar to become “mainstream” with the technology being used to help map planetary surfaces. Half a century later, Cepton (NASDAQ: CPTN), a Silicon Valley innovator and leader in high-performance lidar solutions, has gained widespread renown across the industry for both its comprehensive lidar-based solution platform as well as its unique approach which focuses on performance, cost, and reliability. In early November, Cepton announced that it would be further broadening its technological reach by collaborating with Exwayz to develop novel lidar-based perception solutions for mobile robotics applications. Exwayz is a developer of plug-and-play perception software designed to help enable lidar-based 3D mapping, localization, and re-localization as well as object detection and classification. Similar to Amazon’s Proteus robot fleet, the venture’s lidar based solution will provide high-precision 3D data, which can help robotic systems navigate safely and autonomously while enabling operators to easily track their locations, gaining critical insights into how a space is being utilized (https://ibn.fm/NyERI). Cepton offers a full suite of lidar sensors for automotive and smart infrastructure applications, as well as proprietary perception solutions. Cepton’s collaboration with Exwayz further unlocks the potential utilization of its lidar technology across a wide range of mobile robotics applications. By leveraging the versatility and reliability of Cepton’s high-performance, easy-to-integrate lidars, Cepton and Exwayz aim to provide an immediate solution to expediting solution integration processes for global customers Henri Häfner, Director Product Management, Marketing and Business Development at Cepton, commented in regard to the tie-up: “Cepton’s automotive-grade lidar sensors have demonstrated the quality and reliability necessary for mobile robotics solutions. Our core lidar technology enables an optimal combination of high performance, ruggedness, and unrivalled embeddability. We are now pleased to be working with Exwayz to also deploy Cepton’s award-winning Nova Lidar for near-range applications.” The positive sentiment was mirrored by Mathias Corsia, CTO and Co-Founder at Exwayz, “We have been working with Cepton since the first day we released our product in October 2021. In addition to the impressive range and level of details measured by their sensors, we were very impressed by the compactness and variety of Cepton’s product line, which fits perfectly the industry needs in terms of integration and robustness for making autonomous systems a reality.” Although the tie-up with Exwayz as well as the expanded presence for Cepton, the company recently revealed that its core automotive offering had simultaneously been upgraded – with Cepton recently recognized for its next-generation automotive lidar product, Vista®-X120 Plus, in the prestigious CES Innovation Award program as a 2023 honoree in the Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility category. The Vista-X120 Plus is set to feature an unprecedented combination of ultra slim and small form factor, top-end performance, and real-time adaptive 3D perception. The Vista-X120 Plus will be unveiled by Cepton in January 2023 at the CES 2023 conference. “I am thrilled that Cepton’s innovative technology continues to be recognized at a global level and at events such as CES,” said Cepton’s Co-Founder and CEO, Dr. Jun Pei (https://ibn.fm/S9Mme). “Vista-X120 Plus is designed for both today’s consumer vehicles as well as the next generation – intelligent, electrified and software-defined. As the automotive industry evolves, our lidar innovations never cease to advance. This new product is an extension of Cepton’s vision since 2016, which is building capable, reliable and affordable lidar solutions to enable safe and autonomous transportation for everyone.” For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Cepton.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CPTN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CPTN