• If successful, acquisition of two profitable hydroponic cultivation supply companies will boost Sugarmade’s 2019 revenue guidance to $75 million
• Global hydroponics market expected to be worth more than $10 billion by 2023
• Expansion into hemp market includes significant investment into hemp cultivation
• Hemp-derived cannabidiol market worth $591 million, expected to hit $22 billion in under five years

Sugarmade, Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD), one of the largest publicly traded hydroponics supply companies moving into the industrial hemp space, is seeking to expand its portfolio with the acquisition of two hydroponic cultivation companies working in the lucrative cannabis space. Bringing the two companies into the Sugarmade fold “will not only significantly boost our top line revenue growth, but will expand our distribution across the most important sectors of the fast-growing cannabis marketplace,” Jimmy Chan, Sugarmade’s CEO, said in a news release (http://ibn.fm/iguce).

The company’s formal acquisition proposals target a profitable and cash-flow positive Southern California-based major supplier of hydroponic cultivation supplies to the wholesale sector and to large commercial cultivators. Under the terms of the proposal, Sugarmade would acquire the organization, which is producing in excess of $40 million of revenue per year, for a combination of cash and Sugarmade common stock. The second target is a Washington state-based retailer, which is also profitable and cash flow positive, producing approximately $5 million of revenue per year. Under the terms of the proposal, Sugarmade would issue common stock to acquire the retailer.

“In addition to the revenue growth opportunities, we will also be afforded very meaningful cost savings across many operational functions,” Chan stated in the release. “In particular, we believe there are strong cost synergies relative to manufacturing, purchasing, international transport, warehousing, and shipment to customers. Perhaps most exciting, however, is that these acquisitions will place us among the largest public companies in the booming cannabis sector.”

The global hydroponic market is expected to flourish over the next five years, reaching a valuation of more than $10 billion by the end of 2023, according to a report issued by KD Market Insights (http://ibn.fm/j3Suf). Rising consumer demand for locally produced food and specialty crops such as cannabis and related cannabidiol (CBD) products, including those produced with industrial hemp, are expected to bolster profits. Regulatory changes in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe that favor the legalization of some form of cannabis are expected to provide significant opportunities for cannabis retailers and companies such as Sugarmade that provide essential supplies and services to the industry.

Sugarmade’s recent commitment of an investment of $1 million in capital over the coming year into Hempistry, Inc.’s ultra-high CBD industrial hemp cultivation project in Kentucky is seen as another strategic move, Chan said when announcing the project (http://ibn.fm/3NbXG). An agreement to provide hemp cultivation supplies is expected to add additional revenues.

“Demand for industrial hemp and products derived from hemp is soaring, with no let-up in sight. We expect our direct investment into Hempistry to be accretive to common shareholders and our supply agreement to be lucrative. All of us at Sugarmade see a tremendous opportunity to become a supplier to this fast-growing sector,” Chan stated in the news release.

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

• Patient dosing has commenced in a combination study of Bria-IMT with KEYTRUDA or YERVOY in advanced breast cancer
• Company recently announced positive proof of concept data in the Phase I/IIa study of Bria-IMT in advanced breast cancer patients, which indicated excellent targeted anti-tumor activity and outstanding safety and tolerability
• KEYTRUDA and YERVOY are highly recognized for their potent immune boosting properties, which validates BriaCell’s strategy to use these therapeutics in its combination study

BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (OTCQB: BCTXF) (TSX.V: BCT), an immuno-oncology-focused biotechnology company engaged in developing targeted and safe approaches for cancer management, recently announced (http://ibn.fm/Hej9T) that it has initiated patient dosing in a Phase I/IIa study of Bria-IMT, its lead clinical candidate, in combination with pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA, which is manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc. [NYSE: MRK]) or ipilimumab (YERVOY, which is manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company [NYSE: BMY]). This combination study is listed on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03328026.

BriaCell continues its commitment to exploring new methods of addressing the advanced breast cancer community’s unmet medical needs, and the company is eager to test this novel combination treatment approach and believes that it will offer significant clinical benefits to patients who have advanced breast cancer.

Bria-IMT is essentially a breast cancer cell line that has been engineered to produce an immune-activating factor (GM-CSF) and has been shown to stimulate T-cells, which are vital cells within the immune system. Earlier this year, BriaCell published these findings in a leading immunology journal (http://ibn.fm/XicgM). Based on Bria-IMT’s published, proposed mechanism of action, BriaCell anticipates that Bria-IMT, combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, can exert additive or synergistic tumor-directed effects resulting in even more potent anti-cancer immune responses and leading to the company’s strategy of combination studies of Bria-IMT with KEYTRUDA or YERVOY. It is important to note that pembrolizumab and ipilimumab have not been shown to work independently in breast cancer but are each approved for other indications.

On September 26, BriaCell announced positive proof of concept data in a phase I/IIa study of Bria-IMT in advanced breast cancer, which resulted in outstanding safety and efficacy in patients with HLA matches with Bria-IMT. An impressive point to note is that the safety and efficacy data appeared superior to that of other advanced or approved drugs for breast cancer when they were at a similar clinical development stage.

Analysis of blood samples collected in the phase I/IIa study showed that circulating tumor-associated cells expressed the immune checkpoint molecule programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). PD-L1 molecules block immune cells from attacking cancer cells. KEYTRUDA neutralizes the blocking mechanism of PD-L1, while YERVOY blocks other aspects of immune suppression and, therefore, may also activate the immune system to destroy cancer cells.

Bria-IMT with KEYTRUDA or YERVOY Combination Study Details

• KEYTRUDA Combination: Patients with expression of PD-L1 or PD-L2 on their cancer will be treated with the combination of Bria-IMT and the anti-PD-1 antibody KEYTRUDA.
• YERVOY Combination: Patients without expression of PD-L1 or PD-L2 on their cancer will be treated with the combination of Bria-IMT and YERVOY, which is also expected to enhance the immune response induced by Bria- IMT.

It is hypothesized by the BriaCell team that patients in the combination therapy trial may receive particular benefit from these combinations with Bria-IMT.

Bria-IMT with KEYTRUDA or YERVOY Combination Study Rationale

Immune checkpoint inhibitors like pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA; anti-PD-1) and ipilimumab (YERVOY; anti-CTLA-4), which are designed to overcome immune suppression in cancer patients, have become forerunners in the fight against cancer, offering substantial benefits for certain patients. The significance of immune checkpoint inhibitors was most recently recognized by the Nobel committee in awarding the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Dr. Tasuku Honjo (PD-1) and Dr. James P. Allison (CTLA-4) (http://ibn.fm/pZKh4). This greatly validated BriaCell’s decision to launch a combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

An important preclinical study conducted in 2010 by Dr. Allison’s group showed that combination with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies potentiated the tumor-rejection effect of irradiated melanoma cells engineered to produce immune-activating factors.

BriaCell envisions that Bria-IMT and immune checkpoint inhibitors can exert additive or synergistic tumor-directed effects. In a recent interview, company CEO Dr. William Williams discussed the company’s immunotherapies in detail, and how the company is building offerings for the $30 billion immunotherapy market (http://ibn.fm/9D4Wk).

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

• Revenue from CBD-infused beverages could become a $260 million market in the U.S. by 2022 with THC-infused beverages raking in about $340 million
• Rising global trend in popularity of wellness beverages includes CBD-infused drinks
• Investor interest in CBD increasing following U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for first cannabis-derived drug to be sold in U.S.

American Premium Water Corp. (OTC: HIPH), headquartered in Playa Vista, California, is a diversified holding company, manufacturer, distributor and marketer of branded consumer products. HIPH, the acronym for “Hi-Power of Hydro,” maintains a portfolio of subsidiaries catering to the health-conscious consumer and luxury fashion brand connoisseur. The company’s two main pillars focus on the development of health and beauty biotech, dedicated to unlocking the power of hydrogen and nanotechnologies. Paired with cannabidiol or “CBD” in a unique beverage, the technology is proving to be a significant health and wellness option for astute consumers.

Among the company’s holdings are:

• LALPINA Hydro beverages mix hydrogen with nanotechnology into consumer beverages that combine the best of health, nutrition and fitness to deliver short and long-term therapeutic health benefits. LALPINA Hydro utilizes atomic molecular hydrogen, or diatomic hydrogen, which converts antioxidants in the body to H2O to further enhance hydration, which helps increase endurance, reduce lactic acid and melt away fatigue. Over 500 peer-reviewed articles demonstrate hydrogen to have therapeutic potential in essentially every organ of the human body and in 150 different human disease models.
• LALPINA Hydro CBD is a technically superior CBD-infused beverage. Using hydro and nanotechnology, LALPINA Hydro CBD encapsulates water molecules with cannabidiol molecules, making them infinitely more bioavailable and accelerating delivery to the body’s cells and tissues. Each bottle of LALPINA Hydro CBD contains 3 million nanograms of CBD free from the psychoactive compound THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). HIPH is the first to introduce a hydro-nano CBD-infused beverage on the market, which is a more effective delivery mechanism for administering CBD into the blood stream than traditional beverages or oils, with up to a 90 percent higher absorption rates.

The company recently signed a distribution agreement for its subsidiary, LALPINA Hydro CBD, to sell its beverages to two SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) e-commerce channels: SingleSeed.com and DIGSHydro.com. SING is a technology and investment company with a portfolio that includes mobile payments, blockchain solutions and ancillary cannabis services. HIPH will drop ship its product to the customers.

HIPH CEO Ryan Fishoff said the e-commerce arrangements “could bring in excess of a million of revenue over the life of the agreement.” The agreement serves as a pillar of the company’s e-commerce distribution strategy, driving awareness and impressions for the LALPINA brand.

In addition, HIPH seeks to market emerging fashion brands and leverage its relationship with classic retail partners while incorporating disruptive blockchain technologies to expand its retail footprint with the following:

• Gents, a producer of luxury hats and other fine accessories and apparel, was acquired in September 2017. Gents is distributed across many luxury retail outlets including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, and other high-end channels. The company added the Worthy streetwear brand to its portfolio in June 2018.
• HIPH also acquired the license to operate the FashionCoinX exchange, a blockchain exchange focused on creating utility tokens for the fashion industry, and created THRD Coin, a multi-branded utility rewards token that is also the first token to be traded on the exchange. The company is leveraging its retail footprint and expertise in the fashion and apparel space with the burgeoning blockchain sector.

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

• Advancing technologies and market adoption of electric vehicles expected to fuel lithium-ion battery market growth to $93.1 billion by 2025
• QMC has initiated planning of a geochemical survey over select areas of its Irgon Lithium Mine Project
• The company has several advantages expected to reduce the time required for exploration and to bring the Irgon Lithium Mine Project online

A positive market outlook and advantages enjoyed by Vancouver-based QMC Quantum Minerals Corp. (OTC: QMCQF) (TSX.V: QMC) (FSE: 3LQ) have placed the exploration company in a favorable position to benefit from projected higher global demand for lithium. The metal is needed as a key raw material in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power electric vehicles, consumer electronics and energy grid power storage systems.

The global lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach $93.1 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 percent, according to a report by Grand View Research, Inc. (http://ibn.fm/gnwXH). Advancing technologies that reduce the cost and weight of batteries while boosting power output, in addition to a worldwide boom in market adoption of electric vehicles, are expected to continue fueling demand growth.

QMC is currently working to confirm the historic 1950s resource estimate (1.2 MT at 1.51 percent Li2O) for its 100-percent-owned Irgon Lithium Mine Project, located in southern Manitoba’s bountiful Cat Lake-Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field (http://ibn.fm/AVzce). This area is prime lithium prospecting country because of the abundance of large, rare-element pegmatites containing spodumene mineralization, a lithium aluminum inosilicate which can contain up to eight percent Li2O. As part of the ongoing exploration program, QMC has initiated planning of a Mobile Metal Ion (“MMI”) geochemical survey over select targeted areas within the Irgon Mine Project property.

The company has invested two years in the exploration of the Irgon Lithium Project. While a typical hard rock mining project takes three to five years to reach this stage, QMC has several advantages that are expected to reduce the time needed to bring the project into production. The property was previously developed during the 1950s, and, by the time QMC acquired it, it already contained a published historical resource detailing exactly where to start extracting the lithium-bearing spodumene mineralization.

The Irgon Mine Property lies only 150 km (93 miles) from Winnipeg (http://ibn.fm/griZ0) and is 20 km north of Cabot Corporation’s TANCO mine, a world-class pegmatite deposit. A provincial highway crosses the QMC property, and rail transportation and hydroelectric power are located nearby. In addition to a road leading from the highway directly into the mine, a mineshaft and underground drifting was created decades earlier during previous development at the site. These advantages are expected to drastically cut costs and give QMC access to a trained labor force.

QMC is a Vancouver-based company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium and other resource properties. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious, base, rare-metal and resource properties of merit. Currently, all of the company’s properties are located in Manitoba, including the Irgon Lithium Mine Project and two VMS properties, the Rocky Lake and Rocky Namew, which are collectively known as the Namew Lake District Project.

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

• Blockchain-based B2B/B2C e-commerce platform currently under development
• Agri-Blockchain solutions will initially focus on the agricultural supply chain between China and Brazil
• Internet of Things integration will allow enhanced product tracking, as well as safety and management of complex supply chains

An emerging development technology corporation and master licensor of Hyperledger blockchain-based systems, Pacific Software, Inc. (OTC: PFSF) is currently working on a proprietary e-commerce trade platform targeting both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer sectors. The platform, set to launch in November of this year, will initially focus on the agricultural supply chain between China and Brazil, which primarily facilitates beef trade between the two countries, and integrating with international distribution channels (http://ibn.fm/NTjEo).

By integrating the company’s Agri-Blockchain technology, the platform will offer increased transparency and trust regarding origin, quality and safety of products in the supply chain. This will also help speed up removal of contaminated food, making it easier to trace the source of contamination, thus reducing costs exponentially. Using IBM’s Hyperledger Blockchain “Backend as a Service” infrastructure, Pacific Software’s platform will be able to store, record and track digital product information from farm to fare, including batch identification numbers, expiration dates, factory and processing information, shipping details and more.

To further enhance transparency of supply chains, Pacific Software is working on integrating Internet of Things capabilities into the platform – more specifically the ability to incorporate data from Internet-connected devices such as RFID or barcode readers. By linking to the Internet of Things, the platform will be able to gather valuable product data and make complex supply chains more manageable and overall safer.

The blockchain-platform could be used successfully to track supply chains in any field of agriculture, as a growing number of agricultural sectors are already beginning to consider the benefits of blockchain applications for enhanced transparency and increased customer trust. The U.S. Dairy Farmers of America, a farmer-owned cooperative with more than 14,500 members, announced recently (http://ibn.fm/cQwZw) that it would be using a blockchain platform to track milk products so as to give “consumers real-time data, which can really help increase trust and confidence about food production from start to finish.”

Pacific Software’s multilingual platform is developed by Cobalt 47 Technologies Ltd., a spin-off of leading Chinese Microsoft distributor KBQuest Group, Inc., under an agreement signed in August of this year. While the primary focus remains trade and supply chains between Brazil and China, the technology could have a much wider application in industries where effective product tracking methods and supply chain management are required, such as the cannabis market – to improve seed-to-sale supply chain traceability and management – and opioid/controlled substance management – to create a verifiable and trusted ledger between manufacturers and consumers.

With the drug supply chain in particular, the Pacific Software platform could prove to be a valuable tool in combating the current opioid epidemic, which is estimated to have cost the U.S. more than a trillion dollars since 2001 (http://ibn.fm/m2OWH). The Hyperledger blockchain system would allow for better bookkeeping, which would help track drugs from production to final use, helping identify pill mills that overprescribe painkillers or cases of double doctoring where patients take out prescription from different doctors.

Pacific Software is already considering the potential impact of blockchain technology in this field by assessing how its platform could help struggling African countries deal with counterfeit drugs and medications. The issue was discussed during a recent meeting between company officials and representatives of the African Chamber of Commerce focused on building a partnership for trade.

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

• Assay work underway to complete five-hole exploration project at Chile’s northeastern border
• Assay of first Lithium Chile exploratory hole has returned results rivaling other companies’ projects in neighboring Argentina
• Lithium Chile holds one of the largest lithium land holdings in a country that has about 50 percent of the world’s reserves

After securing one of the largest lithium land holdings in one of the largest lithium-producing nations on Earth, mineral explorer Lithium Chile Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF) is expecting good news resulting from its drilling program near Chile’s northeastern border with Bolivia.

The region known widely as the ‘Lithium Triangle’ has become renowned for exploration and extraction of the lightweight metal, which is much sought-after for its heat-resistant properties in computer-driving batteries — particularly the large ones in use in electric vehicle engines, as those EVs are gaining a pollution-fighting gravitas worldwide.

Lithium Chile’s current five-hole program at a dried salt lake bed near the village of Ollague is being assayed, with results from the first hole fueling hopes that the zone will become a significant mineralization site for the company.

A fifth drill site was added to the original four-hole project last month based on findings from the first hole that showed increasing grades of lithium as the drill reached lower depths. The drilling of the original holes was terminated at 250 meters in accordance with the surface rights contract negotiated with the community of Ollague, but the additional fifth hole was approved to go to 500 meters (http://ibn.fm/Pe3ia).

Assay results from the other four holes have not yet been released, but the company stated that the results from the first hole showed lithium concentrations on par with the average grades in Argentina, which shares the Lithium Triangle’s borders with Chile and Bolivia.

Chile is home to about half of the world’s identified reserves of lithium and has traditionally been the world’s largest producer, although Australia overtook Chile for the top producer spot last year, according to Mining.com (http://ibn.fm/zYcDi), amid debate in Chile over the cumulative impact of loosely measured water rights granted to copper and lithium miners in the world’s most arid desert, according to Reuters (http://ibn.fm/uij3R). New quota agreements finalized this year with the only two companies currently extracting lithium from the Salar de Atacama, the salt bed with 81 percent of the country’s reserves, are expected to boost Chile back into the top position, according to the report.

Lithium clearly has a key economic importance to Chile, and the government has been friendly to explorers, despite the concerns about water rights and additional concerns about how some of the salt brines are being processed. The country generally provides nearly 40 percent of the world’s supply of lithium and, by 2025, can expect to be producing about 45 percent of the predicted 484,000 tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) global demand, according to Leonidas Osses Sagredo, the president of the Commission on Lithium at Chile’s Institute of Mine Engineers (http://ibn.fm/Lkogm). That figure alone shows the rosy expectations for lithium demand, given that, in 2017, the worldwide market for lithium was estimated at 37,000 tons, which is equal to 197,000 tons of LCE, according to his report.

Lithium Chile’s portfolio covers 152,900 hectares (377,824 acres), where 14 dry salars and one wet laguna complex are located, including 6,600 hectares (16,309 acres) in the Salar de Atacama. The company has announced plans to conduct similar drill hole explorations at four of its advanced-stage projects once work is completed at the Salar de Ollague.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/LTMCF

• 665 Energy, Inc. positioned to supply upstream, midstream and downstream clients in oil and gas industry
• Global market for oil industry supplies expected to grow to $205 billion by 2020
• Company also advancing plans to expand into purchase, refurbish and resale of oil drilling rigs

The energy industry continues to form the bedrock of life-improving technological innovation more than a century after the end of the second Industrial Revolution, propelling global economies in which rapid transportation, mass manufacture and space satellite-enabled communication combine to elevate the standard of living for people around the world. As modern clean energy proponents work to inspire maturity in the industry, boots-on-the-ground companies such as 665 Energy, Inc. (OTC: SSOF) are helping to ensure that the precious gift of energy continues to propel living standards forward by supplying needed equipment and resources.

665 Energy is the parent corporation of Five Star Rig and Supply, Oklahoma Rig Fabricators and 66 Oilfield Services — companies that provide oilfield supplies and equipment, drilling rig refurbishing and inspection, and drill pipe parts and services. Its customers are companies active in all sectors of the industry pipeline, including contractors, repair companies, midstream operators, refineries and utilities. 665 Energy only recently completed the acquisition of Five Star Rig in July.

At a time when billions of people — almost 40 percent of humanity — only have access to basic forms of energy and maintain a low standard of living (http://ibn.fm/ipyuK), the ability to keep energy resources flowing to a growing world population and explore ever-new ways to distribute it is critical. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) CEO and Chairman Michael Wirth recently cited a report by The International Energy Agency in projecting that energy demand will rise more than 25 percent by 2040, at least half of which will be required of the oil and gas industry in spite of low-carbon green energy innovations (http://ibn.fm/oPCk3) because of population growth and rising incomes.

As a holding company in the oilfield equipment and supply industry, 665 Energy has the scale and presence necessary to couple the right inventory with the right services for its wide variety of clients. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City and has additional facilities in Germany and Dubai, granting it a worldwide reach and access to key industry production areas.

Market analysts at Statista predict that the global market for equipment to supply the industry will make quick gains from $194 billion in revenues now to $205 billion in 2020 (http://ibn.fm/cZHkj). 665 Energy president and CEO Jason Clayton reported recently that the company is expecting to secure at least $63.4 million in additional net profits (before financing costs) within the coming months from the purchase, refurbishment and resale of 11 oil drilling rigs (http://ibn.fm/Bz5Ir), evidence of the company’s recent decision to expand into such a line of operations.

665 Energy is currently working to complete a full audit of its operations in preparation to meet U.S. Security and Exchange Commission standards and uplist to the OTCQB Venture Market by the end of the year (http://ibn.fm/n4rif).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.665Energy.com

• Marifil Mines’ primary exploration goals involve high-demand gold, lithium and cobalt targets
• Argentina is the third-largest gold producer in South America and anticipates most of its geological potential has yet to be tapped
• Canada-based Marifil has numerous project sites throughout Argentina in search for gold, lithium, cobalt, nickel, platinum, silver, phosphate and potassium

Argentina’s nascent mining industry is proving to be a land of opportunity for Canadian explorer Marifil Mines Ltd. (TSX.V: MFM) (OTCQB: MFMLF), which has projects established throughout the country and most recently has been evaluating the gold and silver prospects of its property in the country’s southeastern province of Rio Negro.

Discovery of viable gold, lithium and cobalt deposits comprise the primary aim of the company, although it is involved in exploring for other metals as well. Argentina is the third-largest producer of gold in South America, thanks to the mineral-rich Andes mountain range and the vast plains of Patagonia. Overall, the country anticipates that more than 70 percent of its geological potential has yet to be developed (http://ibn.fm/qblHd). Despite its relative newness, it is competing with countries in which mining output has traditionally factored into the national economy.

During the three years since the mining-averse government that dominated national politics was succeeded by a business-friendly administration (http://ibn.fm/41Jtw), the country has faced growing pains associated with jump-starting the industry, according to Reuters. Still, investments in mining exploration rose to $300 million last year, up from $148 million in 2016, Reuters reported, citing official data. A significant increase in lithium production has led Mining Secretary Mariano Lamothe to predict that Argentina could be producing 290,000 metric tons of lithium per year by 2023 (http://ibn.fm/M8V7P), increasing its profile from some 16 percent of the world’s market’s consumption to as much as 45 percent (http://ibn.fm/8MLhh).

Marifil states that it has found more than 100 million metric tons of earth mineralized with disseminated zinc and lead sulfides containing gold, silver and indium at its Rio Negro site of San Roque, although completion of an official NI 43-101 resource report on the 42,321-hectare (104,577-acre) location is still pending.

In addition to the San Roque project, Marifil has more than 15,267 hectares (37,726 acres) of lithium-potential property in northern Argentina’s Puna grasslands, located within the ‘Lithium Triangle’, where that metal has been found in abundance. Additionally, its Las Aguilas property far to the south of the Puna in San Luis province comprises 359 hectares (887 acres) covering sulfide deposits featuring nickel, cobalt, copper and platinum — the biggest deposits for that combination of metals in the country. Further south yet, the company’s 37,384-hectare (92,378-acre) concession in Neuquen province contains extensive potash (a chloride salt of potassium) beds adjacent to where Vale (the world’s largest mining company) is extracting potassium by in-situ leaching from continuations of those same beds. Its properties in Mendoza province are adjacent to those in Neuquen, showing the same potash beds and also potential for discovery of bedded deposits of sulfur. In Chubut province, south of Rio Negro, the company has an exploration prospect for gas and petroleum (http://ibn.fm/5SYSD) where 12 holes done in the 1930s and 1940s yielded encouraging amounts of hydrocarbons.

The company is in the middle of a private placement financing effort, offering up to 10 million units for proceeds of up to $1 million. Marifil expects to close the financing effort by October 26.

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

• Global legal cannabis market projected to surpass $146 billion by end of 2025
• Cannabinoid-infused edibles, concentrates represent fastest-growing segment of industry
• Lexaria’s patented technology improves bio-absorption and bioavailability of active ingredients while masking unpleasant taste
• Lucrative licensing business model includes agreements to enhance cannabinoid (CBD) delivery before year-end 2018

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) and its proprietary technology found in the company’s drug delivery platform DehydraTECH has application for several subsets of the cannabis industry and other pharmacological verticals. As a technology proven to deliver increased intestinal absorption rates and higher bioavailability for a number of bioactive compounds, the DehydraTECH drug delivery platform could be a game changer for several industries, including the recreational and medical cannabis markets, according to a recent article (http://ibn.fm/bG3m4). While cannabis flower has been the early focus, cannabinoid-infused edibles and concentrates represent the fastest-growing segments of the $100+ billion industry, the article points out.

“We are focused on making ingestible or edible bioactive substances taste better, smell better, act faster and enhance potency,” Lexaria President John Docherty, a trained pharmacologist and toxicologist who is also the former president and chief operations officer of Helix BioPharma Corp., stated in a news release.

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH employs a patented, cost-effective delivery mechanism leveraging lipophilic agents that improves the bio-absorption and bioavailability of ingestible substances, as well as their taste and smell. That’s no small task when it comes to some of the pungent terpenes essential to the cannabis plant, as many cannabis consumers know well. Terpenes are aromatic components of the cannabis plant’s essential oils, and they also play an important therapeutic role, according to an article on GreenState.com (http://ibn.fm/3fVO1).

Lexaria’s disruptive DehydraTECH drug delivery platform is protected by a robust suite of patents granted or pending worldwide. It has been proven effective in multiple international studies in greatly assisting rapidity and quantity of absorption of a range of lipophilic (i.e., fat-soluble), bioactive molecules – such as those contained in cannabinoids (CBD), nicotine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other molecules. DehydraTECH offers a healthier, oral ingestion alternative to other delivery methods, such as smoking, which has known negative consequences, to quickly and effectively deliver the bioactive substances that cannabis and nicotine consumers are seeking, as Lexaria points out in detail on its website.

Another key to Lexaria’s success is the fact that its technology can be licensed to improve existing drug delivery through orally-ingested products or to create new ones. The DehydraTECH drug delivery platform has limitless commercial applications for formulating and delivering lipophilic drug payloads. The company’s strategic intellectual property (IP) portfolio is growing, with three more patents in Australia and two Notices of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and several more expected prior to year-end 2018 (http://ibn.fm/RIdSf).

Lexaria’s IP portfolio already includes a patent for oral delivery of all cannabinoids, and it has licensed its products to numerous cannabis companies, including a maker of cannabis-infused chocolates in Colorado, a Canada-based developer of cannabis wines and beers and a new Canadian company focused on cannabis-infused edibles. With projections of a global legal cannabis market coming in at more than $146 billion by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/a1ni6), Lexaria Bioscience is poised to deliver a welcome technology to this booming, quickly expanding space.

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

• Company signs a worldwide licensing agreement with Pherin Pharmaceuticals for the development and commercialization of a Phase 3-ready CNS drug candidate for as-needed treatment of social anxiety disorder
• Untreated social anxiety disorder has a significant impact on a person’s overall quality of life
• Clinical studies support the potential of PH94B to be a superior treatment alternative for SAD due to the demonstrated rapid onset of efficacy, route of administration, as-needed dosing convenience and excellent safety profile

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new generation medicines for depression and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases and disorders with high unmet need. The company recently announced (http://ibn.fm/d4viI) that it has signed a license with Pherin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for neuropsychiatric and neuroendocrine conditions, for exclusive worldwide rights of a Phase 3-ready CNS drug candidate for as-needed treatment of social anxiety disorder.

An estimated 15 million American adults are affected by social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia or SAD. It is the third most common psychiatric condition, following depression and substance use, and generally precedes other disorders. A person suffering from SAD may have unrealistic fears of one or more social or performance situations that may have a significant impact on the person’s employment, social activities and overall quality of life.

Antidepressants are a common treatment for SAD but have a slow onset that may take several weeks to work, have numerous side effects and must be taken consistently over a long period of time. At this time, there is no FDA-approved treatment that provides rapid relief.

VistaGen has acquired exclusive worldwide rights from Pherin to develop and commercialize PH94B nasal spray, a Phase 3-ready drug candidate for as-needed treatment of social anxiety disorder, to address this problem. In a news release, Shawn Singh, CEO of VTGN, stated, “We are excited to be working with Pherin’s innovative team to develop and commercialize this medically and socially impactful treatment. Our key objective for the PH94B program is to commence our initial pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of PH94B nasal spray for SAD during the first half of 2019.”

The PH94B nasal spray utilizes Pherin’s first-in-class proprietary compounds called pherines. These synthetic neuroactive steroids engage chemosensory receptors inhibiting nerve circuits, mediating behavioral and physiological effects of anxiety. By engaging receptors in the nasal passage, pherines are rapidly effective in low quantities. The onset of results provides an excellent safety profile with greater patient convenience. Previous clinical trials of PH94B provided evidence of rapid (10-15 minutes) anxiety reduction of subjects with SAD and no adverse events with the nasal spray administration.

“This agreement provides a meaningful opportunity to continue our clinical progress and advance our mission to bring novel treatment alternatives to the many individuals affected with SAD,” added Dr. Louis Monti, executive vice president of Pherin, “Our prior clinical studies support the potential of PH94B to be a superior treatment alternative for SAD due to the demonstrated rapid onset of efficacy, route of administration, as-needed dosing convenience, and excellent safety profile compared to other existing therapeutic options which require chronic dosing and have concurrent side effects.”

VistaGen has also acquired an option from Pherin to license an additional CNS neuropsychiatry-focused product now in Phase 2 development.

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