• Lexaria Nicotine LLC partners with one of the world’s largest tobacco companies
• Opportunity to change nicotine delivery and improve the lives of millions
• Retains ownership of DehydraTECH while licensing the technology out to multiple industries

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lexaria Nicotine LLC, has partnered with one of the world’s largest tobacco companies to fund the research and development of Lexaria’s patented DehydraTECH (http://ibn.fm/YwFuE). The partnership may potentially commercialize this cutting-edge technology for oral nicotine delivery.

Chris Bunka, CEO of Lexaria Bioscience, is excited about the opportunity to work with a world-class partner. In a recent press release, Bunka stated, “Together we have the opportunity to change nicotine delivery and make a difference in the lives of millions of consumers.”

Lexaria’s goal is to create an oral product that eliminates the need for inhalation and helps curb the smoking habits of consumers. Over six million deaths a year worldwide are attributed to nicotine delivery through smoking. The company believes that its DehydraTECH technology may help the 69 percent of U.S. adult smokers who want to quit move from cigarettes to a safer, more effective delivery of nicotine (http://ibn.fm/Aps9F). This new partnership allows for further research and development into oral, reduced-risk nicotine consumer products.

In exchange for a minority equity interest in Lexaria’s nicotine subsidiary, the partner will fund up to $12 million through multiple phased private financings for Lexaria Nicotine LLC to conduct further research and development. Assuming nicotine products using DehydraTECH become available to consumers, Lexaria Nicotine will receive a royalty on revenue generated. The partner has been given exclusive license rights to commercialize oral nicotine products in the United States and nonexclusive rights for global commercialization. The partner also holds the option to acquire ownership of the subsidiary and has the right to appoint one of seven directors to the subsidiary’s board of directors, with the potential to appoint additional directors in the future.

Lexaria has created a number of individual subsidiaries, such as Lexaria Nicotine, that allow the company to retain ownership of DehydraTECH technology and license its use to multiple industries. This innovative oral technology improves the taste, smell, rapidity and delivery of bioactive compounds, which allows for the delivery of substances within edible food products rather than the traditional unhealthy practice of smoking.

DehydraTECH works as an enabling technology rather than a competing one, thereby allowing partnerships within multiple industries. Currently, the technology is patent protected for cannabidiol and all other non-psychoactive cannabinoids. Patents are pending for THC, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), nicotine, other psychoactive cannabinoids and other molecules. Lexaria has a total of 10 patents issued with over 50 more pending.

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

• ETST gives Forzagen exclusive distribution rights for its high-grade, full-spectrum cannabinoids in all Latin American countries
• ETST chairman says that partnership will give company additional exposure and revenue as products are sold in new territories
• SeeThruEquity projects that ETST will achieve $7.1 million in revenues by 2020 as it grows distribution of CBD product line

Earth Science Tech Inc. (OTCQB: ETST), a biotech company focused on the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields, as well as medical devices and hemp cannabinoid (CBD) products, has partnered with premium dietary supplement provider Forzagen to distribute ETST’s line of cannabinoids throughout Mexico and South America (http://ibn.fm/OnLqW).

As part of the agreement, Forzagen will be given exclusive rights to distribute ETST’s high-grade, full-spectrum cannabinoids in all Latin American countries. Forzagen’s distribution includes retailers such as Sam’s Club and Petco.

The partnership marketing, to be launched in the future, calls for Forzagen to distribute three ETST products: High Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids–Raw (.05 oz.), High Grade Full Spectrum Pet Cannabinoids–Raw (1oz.) and High Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids Veggie Caps.

ETST, based in Doral, Florida, says that it will collaborate with Forzagen on the linguistics of product labels and marketing in each Latin territory within the distribution network. “Powered by ETST” will be on the Spanish packaging to ensure that consumers are informed about the highly effective quality of the company’s cannabinoids.

“This partnership is an amazing opportunity for us to tap into fresh territories through Forzagen’s established distribution network,” ETST Chairman Nickolas S. Tabraue stated in a news release. “We expect to gain great exposure and additional revenue through this strategic partnership.”

ETST sees FY2019 as a pivotal expansion year. SeeThruEquity projects that ETST’s diverse activities will enable the company to reach revenues of $7.1 million by 2020 (http://ibn.fm/5ANRl).

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

• Icon plans to operate in both medical and recreational cannabis markets
• Preparation of 40,000-square-foot resource in Brantford, Ontario, underway
• Recreational marijuana market forecast to record CAGR of 77.9 percent from 2018 to reach $3 billion in 2021

What may be a tough call in horseracing is much easier in Canada’s cannabis market. The odds of choosing both the winner and the second-place finisher in any race – an exacta – are never good, but, for Icon Exploration Inc. (TSX.V: IEX.H), the probability of picking winners in Canada’s cannabis market is decidedly better. In what is a win-win situation for Icon, the company has placed bets on both recreational and medical cannabis. This legal market is growing at double-digit rates, and, capitalizing on that growth, Icon is aiming to create a well-diversified company that produces long-term returns for shareholders. To do so, it intends to be a leading purveyor of medicinal and recreational cannabis, while, at the same time, providing the most comprehensive and customer-centric user experience for both patients and consumers.

It has already embarked on that enlightened mission. Icon’s strategy has begun with a foray into medical cannabis, and it plans to capture and market that theme of wellness and good health garnered from marketing medicinal marijuana as it sets about its recreational cannabis operations. The company is finalizing its acquisition of City View Green (“CVG”), a vertically integrated cannabis company. CVG has submitted an application to Health Canada for a producer license under Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), which is currently in the in-depth review stage.

CVG is in the process of preparing a 40,000-square-foot resource in Brantford, Ontario, about half of which will be converted into a modern greenhouse. Pending receipt of the license, this facility will produce pharmaceutical-grade cannabis. CVG has engaged experienced contractors with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and medical cannabis space to manage the process. The grow area will have state-of-the-art LED lighting, HVAC and dehumidification systems and automation technologies designed to optimize the quality, safety and consistency of cannabis production. A 4,000-square-foot extraction laboratory is also on the drawing board; initially, it will employ an ultra-efficient CO2 supercritical extraction process and, subsequently, ethanol extraction technology.

Production will be marketed through an associated distribution channel that CVG is in the process of setting up. The company has signed an agreement with a retailer that has applied for 37 cannabis licenses in Alberta. The agreement provides that, on closing, each company will receive an equity interest equal to 19.99 percent of the other. The deal essentially creates a vertically integrated entity, with guaranteed supplies for retailing and a ready market to which production can be dispatched.

CVG believes that it has assembled an experienced team that can deliver on its business plan. The company has secured a master grower with cannabis-industry experience to attend to indoor grow operations and has identified both a quality assurance manager and head of security. CVG has also retained an extraction expert from the Seattle, Washington, cannabis market, who has amassed significant expertise in developing and launching new products from extractions. In addition, the company plans hires with strong experience in the alcohol and beverage industry.

Winning in the Canadian cannabis market should be a piece of cake. The Canadian government projects that 450,000 customers a day will participate in the cannabis market, making recreational cannabis in Canada a $900 million industry. It expects initial market demand to be 100,000 kg, and users are projected to grow by more than a half million within the first three years of legal cannabis sales in the country. Adult-use spending is expected to record a rapid CAGR of 77.9 percent from 2018, reaching $3 billion in 2021.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.IconExploration.net

• TGOD among mere handful of Canadian cannabis cultivators dedicated to organic growing principles
• Health Canada seeks public input on regulations governing upcoming legalization of edible cannabis, extracts and topicals
• Deloitte survey notes that 60 percent of Canadians plan to purchase cannabis edibles
• Company has funded capacity of 170,000 kg and is currently building three cultivation facilities in two countries
• Cannabis-infused food and beverage market in the U.S. and Canada was expected to top $1.5 billion in 2018

The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF), a premium, organic cannabis-focused research and development company, is seeking to hasten the company’s time from harvest to sale as Health Canada assures consumers that cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals will be legal by October 2019. While medical cannabis has been available to patients for some time in Canada, adult-use recreational cannabis became legal in October 2018 with the caveat that additional cannabis products – such as edibles, topicals and extracts – would follow. Health Canada’s public comment period on the proposed regulations concludes on February 20, 2019 (http://ibn.fm/kw4Zl).

For TGOD, its newly signed royalty-bearing commercial sublicense with EnWave Corporation (TSX.V: ENW) (FSE: E4U) and Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) offers the company the ability to increase its production timeline through EnWave’s proprietary Radient Energy Vacuum (“REV”) dehydration technology, according to a news release (http://ibn.fm/Sgsok). EnRay’s REV technology is an innovative method for the precise dehydration of organic materials. Tilray is a licensed partner with an exclusive right to use and sub-license EnWave’s proprietary REV technology in Canada. Under the license agreement, EnWave and Tilray will share royalties from TGOD’s use of the REV technology on an undisclosed basis.

“We are incredibly excited to utilize this proprietary and advanced dehydration technology, which will promote consistency in the manufacturing of our premium organic products, improve space efficiency by reducing the need for drying rooms and quicken TGOD’s time from harvest to sale,” TGODF Chief Executive Officer Brian Athaide stated in the news release.

Spending on cannabis-infused food and drink reached an estimated $1 billion in 2017 in the U.S. and Canada, representing around 11.4 percent of the total $9.1 billion in those two markets, and it is expected to top $1.5 billion in 2018, according to a report by Arcview Market Research in partnership with BDS Analytics (http://ibn.fm/e4WFg). Consumers are shifting toward consumables, the report states, with edibles and concentrates taking a larger share of cannabis inventory.

In a 2018 survey from Deloitte, close to 60 percent of Canadians said that they would use cannabis edibles, with overall consumption of cannabis expected to rise by up to 35 percent (http://ibn.fm/H2b2a). Canadian cannabis consumers also want better quality products, the report states, with more than half noting a preference for products that are certified free from pesticides and other harmful materials.

The $4.2 trillion wellness industry is another vertical that’s certain to benefit from Canada’s pending legalization of additional cannabis products in October, according to an article published on Yahoo! Finance (http://ibn.fm/l0fUd). TGOD is solidifying its place in that arena with a strategy focused on developing a premium, organically-grown cannabis product line.

”We believe that the beverage and edible market will be the largest single segment of the cannabis market. Cannabis, as the base ingredient, makes these products possible,” TGOD President Csaba Reider stated in the article. “The medicinal and recreational market for CBD and THC will only increase over time and starting with an organic input is the most important aspect to developing these higher margin products.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.TGOD.ca

• The company plans a nationwide expansion of its Where’s Weed segment and related assets
• Total sales force expected to triple so as to cover the entire U.S. market, while network of distributors and dispensaries integrated into the Where’s Weed mobile platform will also grow
• Where’s Weed’s rapid growth is coinciding with legislative changes in the U.S. that are anticipated to stimulate the significant expansion of the legal cannabis industry over the coming years

Golden Developing Solutions Inc. (OTC: DVLP), an emerging leader in the cannabis, hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) marketplace, has announced a broad nationwide expansion of its Where’s Weed platform and its primary assets – the www.WheresWeed.com website and the Where’s Weed mobile app. The online and mobile cannabis services hub enables fast and efficient discovery, as well as purchases of cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes.

The expansion is a result of the record-breaking transactional volume of $18 million achieved by Where’s Weed in 2018. Due to the popularity and considerable growth of Where’s Weed, the company will also triple its sales force, according to a press release issued on January 17 (http://ibn.fm/EUdRa). The aim of this expansion is to help cover the entire U.S. market and build a growing network of partner dispensaries and distributors integrated with the Where’s Weed web/mobile platform.

Where’s Weed is growing at a rapid pace, and, as the Federal Farm Bill is changing the legislative landscape in the U.S., Golden Developing Solutions is willing to work even harder on fueling that growth, as noted by CEO Stavros Triant.

Commenting on the benefits of the platform, Triant said that “as far as we know, [Where’s Weed is] absolutely the best way to guarantee that the dispensary you go to will give you the product you want. Without searching and locating the product and pre-purchasing it over the Where’s Weed mobile platform, you may waste an hour of your time and end up finding that what you want has just sold out before you get there.”

According to Golden Developing Solutions management, the powerful growth of Where’s Weed has triggered important network effect benchmarks that outline the potential for dominance in the niche of cannabis location, purchase and delivery app services online and on mobile. The implementation of a minor usage fee is currently being considered as a possibility for the monetization of the Where’s Weed platform.

Apart from announcing the successful performance of Where’s Weed, Golden Developing Solutions has also hinted at an expansion of the company’s overall presence in the legal cannabis sector. Golden Developing Solutions will be making a major addition to its core business model that will be presented over the coming weeks.

Where’s Weed was developed in 2017, with the www.WheresWeed.com website launching in 2018. Within a single year, the performance of the brand exceeded expectations, with over 76,000 separate orders placed. Golden Developing Solutions completed its acquisition of Where’s Weed at the end of September 2018.

Golden Developing Solutions is developing an online retail business for CBD, health oil and wellness-related products, offering a wide range of high-quality products via its joint venture partner, Pura Vida Vitamins (www.PuraVidaVitamins.com). In addition, the company runs its own ancillary software division (www.GreenerGrows.org), launched in 2018, which enables cannabis growers to get valuable industry information and to communicate effortlessly with each other via a digital channel.

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

• Supreme Cannabis continues to identify new opportunities to build innovative cannabis businesses
• The company’s 7ACRES subsidiary operates a 440,000 sq. ft. cultivation facility
• Supreme Cannabis’ goal is to become the leading producer of premier commercial cannabis

The Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. (TSX.V: FIRE) (OTC: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1) concentrates on building innovative cannabis businesses around the world. A global movement headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the company established 7ACRES as the first licensed producer focused on growing high-quality cannabis in large quantities. The 7ACRES licensed producer subsidiary operates a 440,000 sq. ft. facility in Kincardine, Ontario. On March 11, 2016, 7ACRES was federally licensed to produce (http://ibn.fm/WOiwo).

Supreme Cannabis developed 7ACRES’ state-of-the-art greenhouse, technology and thorough cultivation practices to enable 7ACRES to grow premier cannabis sustainably and at scale. 7ACRES is the largest facility of its type to engage in growing with advanced HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and CO2 enrichment utilizing the full-spectrum sun instead of limited-spectrum lamps. What results in the final production is indoor-quality buds with sun-grown characteristics, as the greenhouse is essentially an indoor facility with skylights.

7ACRES is on course to becoming Canada’s foremost cultivator of consistently first-rate commercial cannabis. 7ACRES leverages a customizable cultivation program and a proprietary drying technology. In addition, it features a hybrid manual finish encompassing automated trimming and hand trimming.

For early this year, the estimated production run rate at 7ACRES is 50,000 kg at full capacity. As of September 1, 2018, the annual production run rate was 13,333 kg (http://ibn.fm/d9pDN). 7ACRES concentrates on the high margin segment of the market and is listed as a premium product by all Canadian provinces.

Supreme Cannabis Company has partnerships with a number of Canadian cannabis firms (http://ibn.fm/H7BY8). These include Aurora Cannabis, Emerald Health Botanicals, Namaste and Zenabis, among others. These partners are some of Canada’s top cannabis retailers.

Supreme Cannabis also focuses on high-quality investments. The company has an equity interest and distribution agreement with Medigrow Lesotho (PTY) Limited (http://ibn.fm/3mzs0). With this distribution partnership, cannabidiol oil will be exported to Canada and other global markets in the European Union (EU) and South America.

Recently, Supreme Cannabis Company announced its reception of conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) to uplist from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) and list its common shares on the TSX (http://ibn.fm/q3k22). With the completion of the final listing requirements, Supreme Cannabis Company’s common shares will be delisted from the TSXV and will begin trading on the TSX under the symbol ‘FIRE’.

In a news release, Navdeep Dhaliwal, Supreme Cannabis Company’s chief executive officer, said, “Graduating to the TSX will broaden our investment appeal and leave us well positioned to execute on our strategic imperatives for 2019, which is why we’re pleased to add this milestone to our list of accomplishments for the year.”

Supreme Cannabis Company offers investors the opportunity to grow with them as they work to identify new opportunities to build unique cannabis businesses. With a vision to become an international leader in cannabis, the company is focusing on continuous growth via research and innovation. With its 7ACRES brand named ‘Brand of the Year’ at the 2018 Canadian Cannabis Awards (http://ibn.fm/WFn55), Supreme Cannabis is positioned for new heights in the cannabis industry.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Supreme.ca

• Pacific Software has opened a Hong Kong office and retained an adviser to lead its operations in China
• The hyperledger systems developer expects to complete a blockchain-based software platform by month’s end to manage supply tasks
• Supply chain management is particularly crucial to the food industry, which has dealt with high-profile contamination concerns during the past year
• The company’s e-commerce portal and trade platform will also provide services in smart contracts, digital marketing and fintech

Two days before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning to the entire country — don’t eat romaine lettuce. For the second time this year, restaurants and grocers found themselves pressured to toss their inventory for fear it might be among the produce tainted by the E. coli bacteria, and the Thanksgiving cooks at home had to decide if they needed to do something different for salads. Emerging technology development business Pacific Software Inc.’s (OTC: PFSF) foray into blockchain-based agricultural supply chain management envisions a world in which such incidents are limited in scope, and the source of the contamination is more rapidly ferreted out.

Pacific Software is a designer and developer of hyperledger blockchain-based systems that is focusing its resources on agricultural and drug trade supply lines. The company’s farm-to-table blockchain solution aims to help the market follow the distribution of products such as heads of romaine lettuce, particularly through the use of Internet of Things (IoT) barcode or RFID technology that can allow easy application with handheld computers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ultimately determined that this fall’s E. coli outbreak could be traced back to a specific Santa Maria, California, farm and potentially others, as well, according to an announcement (http://ibn.fm/qjtrJ) by the federal agency on December 13 that led the identified farm to recall three additional types of produce “out of an abundance of caution.”

The fall E. coli outbreak sickened a reported 59 people from 15 states and Washington, D.C., hospitalizing nearly half of them (http://ibn.fm/WQWVW). None died, but in the E. coli taint incident linked to romaine lettuce in Arizona between March and June of last year, five of the 210 sickened people died, and the specific farm from which the lettuce originated was never able to be identified. While the two cases do not appear to be related, the E. coli strain involved in the latest case appears to have the same genetic fingerprint as one that sickened people in the United States and Canada late last year, according to the Washington Post (http://ibn.fm/UjTki). The source of that contamination was also never identified.

“The quick and aggressive steps we’re taking today are aimed at making sure we get ahead of this emerging outbreak, to reduce risk to consumers, and to help people protect themselves and their families from this foodborne illness outbreak. This is especially important ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, when people will be sitting down for family meals,” FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told the Post after the most recent romaine alert was issued.

Pacific Software is developing a multi-lingual software platform designed not only to protect the agricultural pipeline domestically from such a nationwide scare, but to safeguard the international transport of food products, as well (http://ibn.fm/F87Z4). The e-commerce portal and trading platform is scheduled for release at the end of Q1 2019, and it is expected to provide services that include blockchain solutions, smart contracts with a search interface, digital marketing and fintech applications.

The company announced on November 29 that it had opened an office in Hong Kong, and it has retained experienced investment businessman Wallace Lo to serve on its advisory board and to oversee its business operations in China (http://ibn.fm/Jb6PV).

“Reassurance regarding the provenance, safety and quality of products delivered may save exporters significant time and resources in the event a product becomes subject to recall,” the company stated in making the announcement. Through the use of its blockchain-based solution, “an error free, tamper proof record covering the entire supply chain may be provided which could pinpoint the precise origin of any contamination, thereby enabling a narrow, focused and efficient recall of the affected products.”

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

• Q3 revenue up 300 percent year-over-year, with an equally impressive 200 percent increase in net income
• Recent acquisition of Telnet Solutions Inc. brings new clients, capabilities and solutions to Spectrum Global portfolio
• Proven track record of selling and supporting Fortune 1,000 accounts and Tier 1, 2 and 3 carriers
• U.S. telecommunications industry expected to invest $157 billion in capital upgrades for new and existing networks by 2021
• 5G networks expected to roll out in 2019

Leading telecommunications engineering and infrastructure services provider Spectrum Global Solutions Inc. (OTCQB: SGSI) is targeting a massive market that analysts project will require an infusion of more than $150 billion in fiber infrastructure over the next five to seven years. As a full-service provider, Spectrum Global has the capability to upgrade, install and maintain next-generation telecommunication networks, including the highly anticipated deployment of a nationwide 5G network (http://ibn.fm/MceyM).

In an interview on The RedChip Money Report, a television program that delivers commentary on small-cap investing, financial book reviews and executive interviews, Spectrum Global President Keith Hayter emphasized the company’s abilities as a comprehensive, single-source services solutions provider.

“Telecommunications is going through a technology evolution and explosion that’s continuing through 2025, and we’re just at the beginning of that now,” Hayter said during the interview that aired January 16 on Bloomberg International (http://ibn.fm/QqYyL). “With this explosion in technology and the need to expand telecommunication network infrastructure, resources companies such as ours are in short demand, so that creates a need there that we can fulfill. We have the full service offering that allows us to plan, design, construct, install and maintain the networks. That’s a long-life cycle of services that we can provide.”

In its 2018 look at the telecommunications industry, Deloitte notes that there is a heavy investment demand related to the core fiber network to support anticipated growth in data services related to 5G. Carriers also have the ever-present obligation to continue to update legacy IT systems, particularly as they expand into new areas (http://ibn.fm/5O2j1). Deloitte projects a fourfold increase in mobile data traffic in the U.S. between 2016 and 2021, suggesting an investment of $130 billion to $150 billion could be required over the next several years to adequately support broadband competition, rural coverage and wireless densification (http://ibn.fm/6xYWX).

“The market opportunity is immense with over $1.5 trillion going to be spent on telecommunications,” Hayter told The RedChip Money Report. “For deployment services, which is where we primarily fit in and get our revenue streams, from $150 billion to $200 billion will be spent over the next couple of years. Again, once you extrapolate that through 2025, that’s an immense opportunity for us.”

5G wireless networks promise better performance for urban and rural customers, including increased data speed and responsiveness. A fully-functioning 5G network would be a game-changer in the way that higher education and other businesses use, manage and set up everything from Internet of Things devices to data-heavy applications, as an article in EdTech Magazine details (http://ibn.fm/9k9Ur).

Spectrum Global recently announced the acquisition of Telnet Solutions Inc. (“TNS”), a telecom services company that offers design, installation and maintenance of structured cabling system solutions to the enterprise market. Based in Des Plaines, Illinois, Telnet Solutions operates both nationally and abroad and has over 16 years of experience in the field. As of 2018, the company’s annual revenue was over $6 million, producing more than $1 million of adjusted EBITDA, according to a company news release (http://ibn.fm/OmVDT).

Spectrum Global is one of the few nationwide, full-service entities offering network engineering, construction, installation, maintenance and supportive professional services for metropolitan areas through its subsidiaries: AW Solutions, ADEX and Telnet Solutions. SGSI is professionally registered in every U.S. state but Alaska, as well as three U.S. island territories and six Canadian provinces, allowing it to respond to multi-location projects and the growing need for bundled services.

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

• Files Form S-1 Registration Statement to receive up to $10 million to fund expansion
• 2019 to see expansion of hempSMART brand into Europe and Asia
• MCOA to continue projects expanding role in hemp industry as a grower in the U.S. and Canada
• Aggressive pursuit of business plan includes recent upgrade to OTCQB Venture Marketplace
• U.S. hemp market projected to represent 32 percent of a $5.7 billion global hemp market in 2020

Now that U.S. federal prohibition on hemp farming has been lifted through the passage and signing of the 2018 Farm Bill, analysts are predicting that the nation’s hemp industry will swiftly establish itself as a global powerhouse in a market that is expected to reach $5.7 billion by 2020, according to Hemp Business Journal (http://ibn.fm/9Waky). This view of the future mirrors that of Marijuana Company of America Inc. (OTCQB: MCOA), an innovative hemp and cannabis corporation, as the company plans a bold expansion strategy that includes operations in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“Our company will continue to be aggressive in executing our business plan and we believe this is a necessary step to help legitimize MCOA as one of the top fully reporting public cannabis companies involved in the hemp-derived CBD sector,” Marijuana Company of America CEO Donald Steinberg stated in an earlier news release announcing the company’s uplisting to the OTCQB Venture Marketplace (http://ibn.fm/KoTgc). “MCOA will continue to expand our operations in the U.S. as well as launch our hempSMART product line internationally in 2019.”

MCOA will look to support that vision as it raises $10 million in capital to fund planned projects and expansion plans that include moving into Europe and eventually Asia with its line of hemp-derived CBD (cannabidiol) products. Right before the end of 2018, MCOA announced its filing of Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an important step in its efforts to raise those funds, according to a company news release (http://ibn.fm/jMrN1).

MCOA’s registration statement included a prospectus for the resale of up to 500 million of its common shares, issuable to K&J Funds, LLC, a selling stockholder, pursuant to a “put right” under an investment agreement, dated December 20, 2018, that the company entered into with K&J. The agreement permits MCOA to “put” up to $10 million in shares of its common stock to K&J over up to a 36-month period or until $10 million of such shares have been “put.”

“We are extremely excited to have K&J as our financial partner for MCOA,” Steinberg stated in the news release. “They understand the history of the Company, our clear vision for the future and the enormous market within our reach, as reflected by this substantial commitment. This funding will give us the capital needed to expand our hempSMART brand into Europe and Asia in 2019 and prepare for our continued expansion into the hemp industry as a grower and processor in California and other areas.”

MCOA’s business model is constructed around the development of industrial hemp-based CBD products, which are poised to capture market share as the hemp industry takes advantage of its newly minted legal status in the U.S. Under the MCOA umbrella, wholly owned subsidiary hempSMART offers several full-spectrum CBD products designed to revolutionize and support a healthy lifestyle (http://ibn.fm/SCSVX).

“MCOA and our subsidiaries are anxious to take full advantage of opportunities that passage of the Farm Bill provides to the Company,” Steinberg stated in a news release following the Farm Bill’s passage (http://ibn.fm/D4njr). “2019 will be a year of international expansion for our hempSMART product line. We believe the new Farm Bill may also establish a precedence for other countries worldwide to adopt similar laws, which will allow us the opportunity to expand more internationally.”

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

• Experienced management has been involved in over 10 drug approvals
• Developing Bria-OTS, the first off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy targeting advanced breast cancer
• Impressive results in two proof-of-concept clinical trials revealed rapid response rate, repeated following re-treatment, and excellent safety profile for Bria-IMT, BriaCell’s lead clinical candidate
• Unmet medical needs of advanced breast cancer estimated between $1 billion and $5 billion, depending on treatment stage
• Developing Bria-OTS along with BriaDX, a companion diagnostic test, offering the ability to match and treat over 99 percent of the patient population with off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy

BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (OTCQB: BCTXF) (TSX.V: BCT), an immuno-oncology focused biotechnology company, is tackling problems in the cancer immunotherapy space with solutions that focus on off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy treatments that are expected to be highly effective and safe. BriaCell has been developing Bria-OTS, an off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy for the treatment of advanced breast cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund of the American Institute for Cancer Research states that breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall, with over two million new cases reported in 2018 (http://ibn.fm/gQDhw).

Initial data from a combination study of Bria-IMT and KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab/Merck) has demonstrated an excellent safety profile, as the company announced at the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (http://ibn.fm/DpIu2). Confirmation of Bria-IMT’s mechanism of action and positive proof-of-concept data for use as a monotherapy for the treatment of advanced breast cancer – demonstrated in an FDA-approved clinical trial – was also shared at the conference.

“I am very excited about our data continuing to show robust biological activity of Bria-IMT in advanced breast cancer,” Bill Williams, BriaCell’s president and CEO, stated in a news release (http://ibn.fm/00HHd). “These findings also reinforce our product development strategy for Bria-OTS, BriaCell’s novel off-the-shelf personalized immunotherapy, by showing predictability of the anti-tumor responses in patients using a relatively simple and inexpensive HLA test.”

“Based on the data of three proof of concept studies to-date, Bria-IMT has shown the ability to produce powerful immune responses and elicit tumor regression even in heavily pre-treated patients with very advanced disease,” Williams continued.

“We are highly confident of our strategy to use Bria-IMT in combination with KEYTRUDA, an approved treatment for multiple cancer indications and expect synergistic activity of this combination in patients with advanced breast cancer,” Williams added. “We look forward to additional clinical data and expect to share details at the Keystone meeting and other upcoming scientific meetings.”

Fighting cancer is costly, as patients and their caregivers know all too well. Cancer has a major impact on multiple levels, costing more than $180 billion per year in health care expenses and lost productivity, according to the American Cancer Society (http://ibn.fm/f4H2N).

BriaCell’s development of Bria-OTS, a personalized immunotherapy solution that matches the needs of the patient without a specialized manufacturing process, is designed to mitigate some of those worries. This personalized treatment is expected to be safe and highly effective while avoiding the high costs of creating personalized treatments for advanced cancer patients. In addition, Bria-OTS is created to produce a selective immune response that’s tailored to the specific needs of the cancer patient. Bria-OTS is expected to cover over 99 percent of the patient population, according to the company’s research data (http://ibn.fm/656Gq).

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