• Strategy is to expand its product line, leverage VitaMist’s branding and longevity, and utilize the company’s spray technology for a delivery system as a future for CBD consumption
• The LOI is with BCDBG, Inc., parent of VistaMist, for sales by CIIX to the global Asian market; the agreement would give CIIX rights to sell the brand’s organic vitamin spray line
• Under the agreement, BCDBG would also develop an exclusive and proprietary product line for CIIX that will include vitamin sprays and vitamins/CBD spray combinations

ChineseInvestors.com, Inc.’s (OTCQB: CIIX) LOI with BCDBG, Inc. for the global Asian community sales rights to organic VitaMist is not only expected to expand its consumer division; it also calls for development of an exclusive line giving CIIX vitamin spray as well as a vitamin/CBD spray technology. The result would be the growth of CBD products internationally for CIIX (http://ibn.fm/HwnnS).

The timing of the LOI is seen as critical, CIIX said, because industry leaders believe that the final farm bill, and its provisions for the legalization of industrial hemp at the federal level, could be reached by the end of this year. In anticipation of the proposed agreement, as outlined in the LOI, CIIX has placed initial orders with BCDBG for VistaMist products.

In a news release, Warren Wang, CEO of CIIX, said, “We truly believe VistaMist’s innovative and effective delivery system is the future for CBD consumption.” CIIX’s CBD division, which includes CBD Biotech, Hemp Logic, Inc. and ChineseHempOil.com (http://ibn.fm/BWRZo), is projected to achieve greater CBD product distribution in 2019. Prior, CIIX outlined plans to spin off its CBD division in the future.

VitaMist was awarded the first patent ever for a spray vitamin in 1985. Wang of CIIX said that this is an “exciting time for the global cannabis industry” because South Korea has become the first East Asian country to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. He is hoping other countries will do the same, such as Thailand. “We look forward to more opportunities such as this licensing offer as we expand our reach into (the) global industrial hemp industry,” Wang added.

CIIX sees CBD Biotech, its wholly owned foreign enterprise, delivering higher CBD product distribution in FY2019, both domestically and in China. It reported an 800 percent increase in product sales led by ChineseHempOil.com, Inc. in 1Q19. It had 70 percent higher YOY sales in 1Q19 (http://ibn.fm/nm8OP).

Wang continued, “CBD hemp sales in China continue to be the foundation of our focus. Our subscription services will continue to provide a steady revenue stream along with the new educational services covering the cryptocurrency market… With increased marketing resources devoted to our industrial hemp-based CBD products, we anticipate a productive fiscal year 2019.”

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

• Breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed in women, with more than two million new cases diagnosed this year
• BriaCell Therapeutics advancing prospects of its trademarked Bria-IMT immunotherapy treatment for breast cancer in phase I/IIa trial
• Company presented data from ongoing trial during San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, one of the largest breast cancer conferences in the world

The holidays can be a particularly poignant time for receiving a cancer diagnosis as all of society celebrates a season of cheer and shares goodwill with each other, but the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), one of the largest breast cancer conferences in the world, and participants such as BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (OTCQB: BCTXF) (TSX.V: BCT), shared a gift of knowledge about breast cancer this month through presentations on the latest science in the fight against it and the avenues of hope for those who have been diagnosed with it.

BriaCell Therapeutics counts among the more than 7,000 physicians and researchers from more than 90 countries who gathered for the five-day conference that began December 4 to allow professionals opportunities to connect with each other, learn about developments and obtain continuing education credit. BriaCell presented information on its trademarked Bria-IMT immunotherapy technology, which has shown promise as a monotherapy and still greater potential in combination with a renowned protein-inhibiting antibody recognized for its ability to manipulate a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer.

“Bria-IMT has demonstrated positive proof-of-concept in advanced breast cancer patients, and we will delve into these data in San Antonio,” CEO Dr. Bill Williams stated in a news release about the conference (http://ibn.fm/q7tAf). “We have firm grounds to believe the anti-tumor effects of Bria-IMT can be greatly improved by combination with pembrolizumab [KEYTRUDA®; manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK)]. We are excited with the early clinical findings of this novel treatment approach and look forward to presenting our data.”

The December 6 conference poster session presentation showed safety and efficacy results of BriaCell’s phase I/IIa targeted immunotherapy trial in patients with advanced breast cancer, as well as the early safety data of the combination study of Bria-IMT™ with KEYTRUDA®. KEYTRUDA® targets protein PD-1, which can block immune system cells from fighting off tumor cells. KEYTRUDA® attempts to “release the brakes” set in place by PD-1 and let the immune system do its work. BriaCell believes that the combination of Bria-IMT™ with KEYTRUDA® will be much more effective in killing the tumor cells compared with using either of the drugs alone.

“There’s mini-symposia that are sort of small, more thematic meetings that are going to cover several areas like immunotherapy in breast cancer” SABCS co-director C. Kent Osborne noted in a video (http://ibn.fm/ffWdD), “It’s been proven to be effective in certain other tumors; it’s just getting started in breast cancer, so that will be a major part of our conference this year.”

“What is discussed at the SABCS truly guides what is studied in the field of breast cancer all over the world,” another co-director, Dr. Virginia Kaklamani of the University of Texas Health San Antonio breast cancer program, told the San Antonio Business Journal (http://ibn.fm/eqS80). “The physicians and scientists take what they learn here back to their practices or labs the following Monday morning to improve care for patients.”

BriaCell’s aim is to produce personalized, off-the-shelf medication to match patients’ needs without the time, expense and complex manufacturing logistics associated with other personalized immunotherapies, and to do so with fewer side effects than currently approved personalized immunotherapies.

More than two million new cases of breast cancer have been diagnosed this year, making it the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International (http://ibn.fm/tzVSy). There is tremendous need for new treatment options for advanced breast cancer.

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

• Globe-leading cobalt supplier DRC’s decision to declare metal a strategic resource includes exponential increase in industry tariffs
• Cobalt is a critical element of computer-powering lithium-ion batteries
• First Cobalt has North America’s only cobalt refinery capable of producing material suitable for lithium-ion batteries
• Company is testing varied cobalt feedstocks for suitability as it eyes possibility of restarting the shuttered refinery
• First Cobalt is also fast-tracking development of its flagship cobalt exploration project in Idaho, with plans to complete updated resource estimate by early 2019

The announcement that government officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have signed off on a long-anticipated plan to declare cobalt a strategic resource (http://ibn.fm/XUfCi) underscores the importance of efforts by pure-play cobalt explorer First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (ASX: FCC) to establish a North American source for producing the computer-complementing metal.

Reuters’ report on the DRC prime minister’s signing of the strategic metal declaration states that the decree also affixes a 10 percent royalty rate for mining companies to pay in order to extract the metal, which is in demand because of its critical importance to the lithium-ion batteries used in products that include smartphones, mobile computers, electric vehicles and military technologies. The royalty has been a fraction of that amount — at 3.5 percent – since June, when that rate superseded the prior two percent royalty.

While computer products utilizing lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in modern society on a global basis, the sourcing of the batteries’ key components is not at all cosmopolitan; the DRC is responsible for more than 60 percent of the world’s current supply and is far and away the world’s largest producer. China, parenthetically, controls the majority of the world’s cobalt refining operations and receives about 90 percent of its raw cobalt from the DRC.

Hence the interest of companies such as First Cobalt in developing domestic sources of the metal in North America that are not dependent on the market influence of overseas powers. First Cobalt has been fast-tracking development of exploration in Idaho at what it regards as its flagship project, and the company is also working on restarting its cobalt refinery in eastern Canada — the only currently permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing materials for lithium-ion batteries (http://ibn.fm/9ub2j).

The company also has a third significant North American asset — the Greater Cobalt Project in the renowned Canadian Cobalt Camp of Ontario, with more than 50 mines that were historically productive.

“Our vision at First Cobalt is to become the largest primary cobalt producer outside the DRC and the most attractive cobalt stock on the market,” the company’s website states. “Our strategy at First Cobalt is to explore, develop and refine material in North America for sale back into the American battery market.”

First Cobalt recently began testing cobalt hydroxide material as feedstock for its refinery (http://ibn.fm/CxUgU). Different cobalt feed materials are being tested for suitability using the company’s current flowsheet, beginning with cobalt hydroxide to see how it will perform in production of cobalt sulphate or metallic cobalt products for sale in the North American market.

Drilling at the Idaho site has identified an expanding number of areas with commercial potential, and the company is working to complete an updated resource estimate by early 2019. The company announced its latest drilling results shortly before Thanksgiving (http://ibn.fm/dVvMk), with CEO Trent Mell’s evaluation that the results “confirm the continuity and consistency of mineralization predicted by our geological model and add further support for the development vision for the future of the project as we build towards the updated resource estimate in early 2019.”

In an effort to potentially restart the refinery within 18 months and use it to help fund ongoing exploration at the Idaho site, First Cobalt’s executives are in talks with third party investors who could help “minimize or eliminate any equity dilution” as the refinery gets up and running, according to the news release.

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

• PRO 140 has FDA fast track designation that allows accelerated approval
• The drug protects healthy cells from HIV infection by binding to CCR5 cellular co-receptor
• Market for PRO 140 as a single agent therapy projected at about $4 billion annually
• CYDY recently initiated its first cancer trial in triple negative breast cancer, targeting an unmet medical need

CytoDyn Inc. (OTCQB: CYDY), a biotechnology company focused on the development and potential commercialization of humanized monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), expects to gain final FDA approval for its HIV treatment, PRO 140, by the fourth quarter of 2019, with market availability estimated to follow by 2020.

“We do have a rolling submission with the FDA,” Nader Z. Pourhassan, Ph.D., President and CEO of CytoDyn, said in a recent interview (http://ibn.fm/5mOd9) with Uptick Newswire. “So, we can submit as we get each module ready. By the end of the first quarter of 2019, we should have all of our BLA modules submitted to the FDA. If we do, our fast track designation for PRO 140 allows us to have accelerated approval which is 6 months.”

Leronlimab (PRO 140) is part of a new class of HIV drugs that protects healthy cells from infection by the virus. It’s a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody that binds to CCR5, a cellular co-receptor with multiple roles including implications for HIV infection, tumor metastasis and immune signaling. Less frequent dosing, minimal side effects and hardly any toxicity are among multiple potential benefits that distinguish PRO 140 from HIV treatments in current use.

“Our product is a simple, one dose per week and it’s a simple injection,” Pourhassan continued. “This is once per week, self-administered at home. They can forget about their HIV for the rest of the week.”

The HIV co-receptor CCR5 plays a key role in the ability of HIV to enter and infect healthy T-cells. PRO 140 blocks the CCR5 receptor and prevents viral entry. Results of clinical trials so far have shown that PRO 140 has no negative affect on normal immune functions mediated by CCR5. There have been no drug-related SAE’s in the roughly 700 patients who have taken it. Phase 3 human clinical trials have shown that PRO 140 can significantly reduce viral burden in patients infected with HIV. The company is also conducting a phase 3 investigative trial with PRO 140 as a once weekly single agent therapy for HIV patients. If approved as a monotherapy it could replace the current standard of care, called Highly Active Antiretorviral Treatment (HAART), for certain patients.

HIV weakens the body’s immune system by attacking the T-cells, which keep the body protected against infections and some cancers. The World Health Organization reports that 1.8 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2017 (http://ibn.fm/B5YkW). Globally, nearly 37 million people live with HIV, which has already claimed 35 million lives. While there is no cure for HIV infection, effective antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can control the virus and help prevent transmission so that people with HIV can enjoy long and healthy lives. The potential market size for PRO 140, when used as an anti-viral therapy in combination with a patient’s current HIV treatment, is projected at $1.2 billion annually. The annual market for PRO 140 used as a single agent monotherapy is estimated at about $4 billion.

CytoDyn recently announced that it has a green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct a clinical trial with PRO 140 as a treatment for patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options because of a lack of targeted therapies (http://ibn.fm/QG0qs).

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

• Hydrocarbon exploration activity by majors intensifies in Southern Africa
• Aziza Project holds $100 million interest in Namibia
• Plans to offer crypto tokens – Aziza Coins – to raise $60 million

Oil majors are still a-goggle at the huge gas reserves discovered in Mozambique and Tanzania over the past decade. The 160 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of recoverable gas in the Rovuma Offshore Basin of Mozambique is on par with Nigeria’s 180 TCF and Algeria’s 160 TCF. The 57 TCF reserve in Tanzania’s Mafia Deep Basin, though not quite as big, is substantial enough to merit investment. As a result, Africa has definitely gotten its fair share of attention, and some of the largest players in the oil industry – ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum – are acquiring assets and stepping up exploration activities (http://ibn.fm/5b3oX). The Aziza Project plans to do the same. It is hosting a tokenized investment fund to invest in oil and gas businesses operating in Southern Africa. The project owns one-fifth of Africa New Energies (ANE), which has concessions from the government of Namibia to explore for hydrocarbons onshore. Based on a recent unsolicited offer, Aziza Project’s 20 percent stake is worth about $100 million. To start ANE’s drilling program, the project is out to raise $60 million through the sale of Aziza Coins, an asset-backed security token compliant with the ethereum blockchain ERC20 standard.

In the hydrocarbon universe, Southern Africa is a relatively unexplored region. As such, its geology remains largely unknown. That was the case for East Africa not so long ago, but the mammoth discoveries of natural gas in Tanzania are an indication that large reserves of hydrocarbons may still lie hidden in Sub-Saharan Africa. Compared to the north, the region remains a geological mystery. More than 20,000 wells have been sunk in North Africa, around 14,000 in West Africa and some 600 wells in East Africa, yet only a few dozen have been sunk in the entire Southern African region. The reason is obvious; oil and gas are more likely to be found where oil and gas have already been found. This, perhaps, is why over a million wells can be found in Texas but less than 30 in Namibia. However, the times, they are a-changing. Through Africa New Energies, the Aziza Project is committed to undertaking a vigorous hydrocarbon exploration program.

To fund exploration activities, the project is offering crypto tokens to investors. The tokens – Aziza Coins – represent an indirect fractional ownership interest in the Aziza Project. This means that Aziza Coin holders, in effect, own part of the Aziza Project and are economic beneficiaries able to share in any of the profits made by the organization. The project’s first investment is a 20 percent stake in ANE, which has been operating in Namibia for six years.

Founded in November 2012, ANE has been on the search for natural gas and other hydrocarbons since then. After the company was granted a concession from the Namibian government, it embarked on an exploration program that utilized (http://ibn.fm/3E9WU) a variety of ‘innovative, non-industry standard exploration techniques.’ ANE developed an integrated surface exploration algorithm to analyze 17 layers of data gathered from satellite, airborne and ground surveys. Subsequently, the techniques and data have been back-tested on proven wells around the world. The company believes that the back-testing and integration of several layers of data have dramatically improved the overall probability of drilling success at one tenth the cost of industry standard methods.

Coupled with sightings of hydrocarbon seepage by local communities, the algorithm has, so far, flagged 32 potential oil and gas fields, with potentially billions of barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). Notably, the water well containing methane lies in the center of a potential 2,500 square kilometer giant oil field, 1,218 square kilometers of which fall within the concession. On the strength of these findings, ANE applied for, and was awarded, a concession area bigger than Wales on the most advantageous terms that industry experts had seen at the time.

Word of the possible treasures hidden on ANE’s claims has spread. The company recently received an unsolicited offer of $500 million for the concession.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Aziza.io

• Zenergy works to foster business efficiency through responsible energy use and management
• The company offers its Zero Cost Program that focuses on lessening utility use
• Zenergy also offers its residential suite and retail electronic provider platform

Serving commercial, industrial and municipal customers, Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTC: ZNGY) specializes in reducing utility consumption courtesy of its innovative Zero Cost Program. The company’s vision is to enhance businesses via responsible energy use and management. Zenergy’s Zero Cost Program enables customers to reduce utility consumption at no out-of-pocket cost.

From its corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the company is focusing on substantially reducing the carbon footprint in the United States. The Deloitte Resources 2018 Study (http://ibn.fm/Cifri) stated that, “Residential consumers and businesses are engaged in a mutually reinforcing relationship where residential consumers’ interest in reducing their carbon footprint – and in using digital technologies to help them do so – is leading many businesses to develop and deploy new tools for monitoring and reducing energy consumption.”

Zenergy Brands is a leader in advancing these initiatives. It facilitates reducing utility consumption by providing retail energy, energy conservation, smart controls and efficiency-based products and services. The company offers customers the ability to decrease utility consumption from 20 percent up to 60 percent via its Zero Cost program. With this program, savings derived from energy conservation, counterbalance implementation expenses within five to seven years (http://ibn.fm/8MOjM).

Moreover, with the initiation of each Zero Cost contract, Zenergy performs a carbon footprint analysis to ascertain the environmental impact per customer contract. Forbes notes that energy consciousness and carbon emissions reductions must be a significant consideration for corporations (http://ibn.fm/egOS2). Zenergy makes it possible for businesses to advance programs that address sustainability concerns.

A financing tool, the Zero Cost Program underwent development based on an industry standard agreement called the Managed Energy Services Agreement (MESA) (http://ibn.fm/kcRnw). With the MESA, Zenergy Brands develops, obtains financing for and installs and maintains energy efficiency measures and equipment at clients’ facilities. The MESA permits Zenergy to retain a portion of utility savings for financing the upgraded, retrofit equipment and installation expenses until a specified repayment period ends. Subsequently, the customer secures all of the financial rewards of the installed technologies.

Regarding its residential suite, Zenergy’s “Smart Home” products include security monitoring and home automation, as well as energy conservation services. The company offers around-the-clock control capabilities via smartphone or Internet-connected smart devices. Zenergy aims to help customers achieve their sustainability goals and reduce damaging carbon emissions. To enhance its retail electric division, Zenergy acquired Enertrade Electric, LLC, a Texas-based REP. Therefore, Zenergy can provide package offerings such as retail energy and energy conservation through the company’s new subsidiary, Zenergy Power & Gas, Inc.

Zenergy Brands continues to unite smart controls with energy conservation and retail energy. With its focus on helping customers reduce electricity, natural gas and water consumption, the company is at the forefront of industry innovation. By providing a complete suite of cost-saving energy solutions, Zenergy offers value to its customers and stakeholders alike.

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

• Investing in products and brands with disruptive potential in the hydroponics and cannabis industries
• Utilizing advancements in hydroponics and modified atmosphere technology to produce a higher yield and longer shelf life
• Meeting a growing demand for hydroponic cultivation of cannabis

Sugarmade, Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD), a hydroponics supply company involved in various hyper-growth business segments, has established itself by investing in products and brands with disruptive potential. By expanding business operations across diverse marketplaces, the company continues to maximize stakeholder and shareholder value. SGMD focuses on a number of quality products, and customers keep coming back for more. A few of the company’s brands include Carry Out Supplies, Zen Hydro, BudLife Cannabis Storage Solutions and Sky Unlimited.

Carry Out Supplies (www.CarryOutSupplies.com) provides quick-serve restaurants with custom printed supplies. A leader in paper and plastic take out supplies, Carry Out believes strongly in providing quality products, low prices and reliable customer service. The company offers service with low overhead and is constantly looking for innovative ways to improve the quality of its product while becoming more and more environmentally friendly. Carry Out serves more than 2,000 quick service restaurants and plans to expand operations are in place.

Zen Hydro is an e-commerce hydroponics store (www.ZenHydro.com) for individual and commercial growers. Customers have access to grow lights, nutrient mixes, environmental controls, calibration solutions, grow tents and more. While SGMD is diversifying into the cannabis market, this e-commerce store is not just for the cannabis industry. Zen Hydro continues to serve home gardeners, farmers and large-scale growers, regardless of their crops.

BudLife Cannabis Storage Solutions utilizes intelligent packaging storage to expand the shelf life of the delicate cannabis flower. Prone to mold, yeast and pathogens post-harvest, the flower is also sensitive to oxygen and humidity levels. Packaging proves challenging, as refrigeration is harming, but the average jars and bags found at dispensaries have a very short shelf life. Without some innovative thinking, the industry would continue to require quick turnaround, be limited to local suppliers, and face shipping challenges. Enter BudLife (www.BudLife.net), a patented product utilizing modified atmosphere technology that is proven to preserve the medicinal integrity of the flower for up to six months.

SGMD recently acquired Sky Unlimited, LLC. The addition of Sky Unlimited provides the company with access to an increased range of hydroponic products, including advanced lighting systems and the super-oxygenation AeroFlo 60 aeroponic system. The acquisition also opens revenue streams from the wholesale market and commercial operations.

The demand for hydroponic cultivation is growing as the demand for cannabis Increases due to legalization across the United States. Hydroponics produces plants with faster growth, higher yield and better quality. Known as a quick-serve restaurant and hydroponics supply company, SGMD is shifting its primary focus toward serving, investing in and profiting from the cannabis industry.

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

• Net Element was included in Deloitte’s prestigious Technology Fast 500 list that ranks the fastest growing companies in North America
• Software developers dominated the list, showing a huge potential for new product development and adoption
• Net Element also released its financial results for the third quarter of 2018, reporting a significant growth in revenue and transactional volume

Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE), a global technology and value-added solutions group, is one of North America’s 500 fastest growing companies in 2018, as it’s ranked by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 (http://ibn.fm/WGOZn). Over the period for which the ranking accounts, Net Element grew by 183 percent.

Continued growth in Net Element’s North America Transaction Solutions segment was one of the most important factors contributing to the achievement. Unified Payments, a brand of leading bankcard payment processing services under the NETE umbrella, is a particularly big contributor to the company’s overall growth. Unified Payments provides solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises throughout North America.

“We are excited to be recognized by Deloitte for our growth over the past three years. This is further affirmation that our approach to the reseller community levels the playing field and increases recurring sales for Unified Payments,” Net Element president of integrated payments Vlad Sadovskiy stated in a news release.

Software accounts for two out of three companies on the Technology Fast 500 list, as they continue to produce some of the most exciting technologies of the 21st century, including robotics, AI and predictive analytics, Mohana Dissanayake, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and industry leader for technology, media and telecommunications within Deloitte’s audit and assurance practice, said in a news release. Companies from across America are transforming the way in which business is done, and the inclusion of so many software development companies in the Technology Fast 500 list stands as evidence of the claim, Dissanayake added.

In 2018, the technology companies in the Deloitte list achieved revenue growth ranging from 143 to 77,260 percent. The median growth in the period from 2014 to 2017 was 412 percent. Net Element grew by 183 percent.

Net Element’s inclusion in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 came one day after the company announced its third quarter financial results during a dedicated earnings conference (http://ibn.fm/hORdL).

The company’s net revenue for the period went up 15.7 percent to reach $17.2 million, CEO and Director Oleg Firer said during the conference. The increase is primarily due to the 19 percent growth experienced by the company’s North American Transaction Solutions segment, as compared to the same quarter of 2017.

Overall net revenue for the first nine months of 2018 increased by 11.5 percent to reach $49.7 million. Once again, the North American Transaction Solutions segment was the driving force behind the increase, having experienced growth of 16.6 percent over the prior year.

The company’s U.S. business accounted for 90.4 percent of the total revenue during Q3 2018 and 88.5 percent for the first nine months of the year. International revenues accounted for the difference.

Total dollars processed for the first nine months of the year increased by 35 percent on an annual basis to reach $1.81 billion in transactional volume. Unified Payments contributed significantly to the expectedly high transactional volume. The North American Transaction Solutions segment grew the most – increasing by 39 percent to $2.17 billion. International transactional solutions went up 10 percent to reach $283 million. This means that the total number of transactions processed for the first nine months of 2018 increased by 34 percent.

Net Element operates a payments-as-a-service and value-added services platform. The global technology and value-added solutions group supports electronic payment acceptance in an omni-channel environment, including point-of-sale, mobile devices and e-commerce.

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

• Anticipated SinglePoint revenue for 2018 will reach $1 million, a record-breaking amount for the company
• Plans for 2019 will focus predominantly on acquisitions and portfolio expansion
• SingleSeed.com hemp CBD distribution line continues growth and adds additional products to portfolio

SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) recently announced that it is expecting record revenue exceeding $1 million by the end of 2018 (http://ibn.fm/ynWVM). In its annual recap, the mobile payment solutions and ancillary cannabis services/blockchain solutions enterprise also voiced expectations that the growth is to triple in 2019 through additional acquisitions and the expansion of the SinglePoint portfolio.

In its annual recap, SinglePoint announced that subsidiary SingleSeed.com is one of the primary areas of focus for the coming year. Throughout 2018, the ecommerce channel had multiple new products added, enabling an organic increase in the website’s reach.

For 2019 and the years beyond, SinglePoint is going to attempt to become a large distributor, both through its online presence and through retail distribution reach. The experience with CBD products so far has been quite positive, which is why additional funnels will be utilized in 2019 to increase the number of online customers.

In 2019, SingleSeed.com is expected to become one of the top revenue-producing subsidiaries of SinglePoint. “We have seen a huge explosion in the CBD space, and we are actively selling products through SingleSeed.com now. We are making a nice margin on the products and are seeing many new customers come to the site as we expand,” SinglePoint president Wil Ralston said in a news release.

The company expects additional profit from its recent agreement with TorusMed Inc., a subsidiary of PetroSun Inc. (OTC: PSUD). The aim of the agreement, announced at the end of November, is to distribute the company’s CBD products via SinglePoint subsidiaries and ecommerce channels SingleSeed.com and DIGSHydro.com. The line of product to be made available via the SinglePoint ecommerce network will include Sport Relief Topical Cream – a non-detect THC product for both amateur and professional athletes.

“We are excited to add TorusMeds’ line of CBD products. We have met the team and seen the glowing reviews from TorusMed customers. We believe TorusMed and their suite of products will provide additional revenue for SinglePoint,” Ralston said in a news release (http://ibn.fm/CZuUG).

The annual recap also focused on the various businesses that SinglePoint acquired in 2018 and the products it launched as a part of the expansion strategy.

The development of Last Mile Delivery was a major milestone. The app was created for the needs of cannabis industry delivery companies that want to track shipments and provide clients with real-time information. The system was built to meet cannabis delivery guidelines within the U.S. In addition, Last Mile Delivery makes it easier for end customers to find nearby dispensaries and place orders.

In 2018, SinglePoint also invested in Jacksam DBA Convectium (OTC: JKSM), a company that went public in early December. SinglePoint acquired approximately nine percent of Jacksam, an entity with market capitalization of about $80 million.

SinglePoint is also counting on the expansion of DIGSHydro.com. Currently, DIGS is fulfilling many of the SingleSeed orders, and it is supplying bulk orders of CBD. DIGS can white label numerous products and provide drop shipping for them, as well.

As part of the annual recap, SinglePoint officials said that they’re working on two future acquisitions. Acquisitions will be a primary goal throughout 2019, providing new revenue growth opportunities and solidifying the SinglePoint financial structure.

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

• FDA now regulates the tobacco industry
• 22nd Century files Premarket Tobacco Application (PMTA) with the FDA
• Company receives order for 3.6 million SPECTRUM U.S. government research cigarettes

Since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22, 2009, the playing field for tobacco companies has changed. The Act definitively gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products, authority which the Supreme Court said in FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. (2000) that the agency did not have. As a result, the FDA has taken up the banner “as the primary Federal regulatory authority with respect to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products” in the U.S. It has exercised that mandate by proposing new rules to lower the nicotine content of tobacco products to less addictive levels. On December 5, 2018, 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII) filed an application under those new rules seeking authorization to commercialize certain cigarette products with the proposed brand name VLN (http://ibn.fm/M5jp6). 22nd Century says that it is “the only company in the world capable of growing tobacco with non-addictive levels of nicotine.” It may also be the first company in the world winning FDA approval to market a combustible cigarette as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP).

22nd Century Group is a plant biotechnology company that has been focusing its research efforts on developing reduced risk tobacco products, particularly by modifying the nicotine content in tobacco plants through genetic engineering and plant breeding. The company has submitted a Premarket Tobacco Application (PMTA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorization to commercialize its “BRAND A” cigarette products under the proposed brand name VLN (for Very Low Nicotine).

A PMTA is now the first step toward the commercialization of any new tobacco product in the United States. It precedes the more comprehensive Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), which will request FDA authorization to state on packaging and advertising that, among other things, the proposed VLN cigarettes contain just 0.5 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco. This proportion of nicotine is substantially below the average level of 19.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco found in leading brands.

A survey of the top 100 leading cigarette brands in the United States showed that conventional and highly addictive cigarettes currently sold in the United States contain an average of 19.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco, with an actual nicotine range of 14.7 mg to 33.2 mg per gram of tobacco. In its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to lower nicotine in cigarettes to minimally or non-addictive levels published on March 16, 2018, the FDA cited independent research (http://ibn.fm/RkrPi) that found “an absolute limit of 0.4 to 0.5 mg of nicotine per cigarette should be adequate to prevent or limit the development of addiction in most young people.”

The VLN cigarettes that are the subject of 22nd Century’s PMTA are a version of its widely accepted Very Low Nicotine Content (VLNC) SPECTRUM research cigarettes. Indeed, the PMTA refers to more than 50 independent studies that used the company’s proprietary SPECTRUM research cigarettes, while the World Health Organization (WHO) Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation has recommended that all member countries limit the nicotine content of cigarettes to the level found in VLNC SPECTRUM cigarettes. Earlier this year, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and public health researchers requested a further 3.6 million of 22nd Century’s proprietary SPECTRUM research cigarettes (http://ibn.fm/HPO9V).

Despite its achievements in the tobacco space, 22nd Century is not resting on its laurels. The company has been applying the same approach to cannabis sativa plants to alter the levels of cannabinoids for new medicines. With an extensive intellectual property portfolio of issued patents and patent applications relating to the botanical properties of tobacco and hemp/cannabis plants, 22nd Century won’t be surprised if Big Tobacco comes knocking on its door.

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