• ETST projects a breakout year in 2018 from its new line of High Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids, marketed as a cannabinoid complex
• Checkout sells to major retailers, such as Walmart and Target, as well as a network of independent distributors and retail owners
• ETST’s new line is sourced from European industrial hemp, but it is mixed, bottled and packaged in the U.S.

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST) is projecting a breakout year in 2018, resetting its executive team and implementing a new marketing strategy. Playing key roles in the predictions of higher volume and performance are new Netherlands-sourced industrial hemp-based products and Mr. Checkout, the specialty distributor that focuses on retail placement (http://ibn.fm/aRPfX).

The company recently launched its revamped and repackaged line of industrial hemp products as a cannabinoid complex. It uses a CO2 extraction process with organically grown and unfiltered industrial hemp. It sources the product from Europe, but it is mixed, bottled and packaged in the U.S. The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) for a product review, and its next meeting is set for May 2018 (http://ibn.fm/Ok2ET).

ETST is an innovative biotech company based in Doral, Florida. Its new line consists of High Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids product. It is focused on the cannabinoid, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields, and it also conducts R&D for certain medical devices. The new cannabinoid complex line is unique, because it offers the user a specific disclosure of the milligrams (mg) of each cannabinoid. The cannabinoid complex is rich in Terpenes and Saponins, ETST said.

Mr. Checkout, a distributor originally launched in 1989, specializes in distribution to major retailers, such as Walmart, Target and Walgreens, and it also to a network of 1,100 independent distributors and 50,000 independent retail owners within a national network in the U.S. It also offers comprehensive logistics expertise in shipping and boasts a ‘Fast Track’ program designed to get product onto retail shelves quickly (http://ibn.fm/zI8dd).

ETST markets a 100 percent natural and organic high grade hemp cannabidiol and holds three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Earth Science Pharmaceutical has a line of low-cost, non-invasive medical devices for the detection of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); Cannabis Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company; and KannaBidioilD is targeted to the recreational market.

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

• Letter of Intent to acquire Agro-Biotech, to become vertically integrated from “seed to derivatives”
• Development and commercialization of therapeutic pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals
• Patented formulation and delivery technologies

Scientific studies have provided empirical credence to the medical efficacy of cannabinoids for multiple maladies. Globally, researchers and biopharmaceutical companies are now laser focused on cannabinoid-based therapeutics that may hold blockbuster medical potential, providing solutions to a range of unmet medical needs. However, current drug delivery techniques remain antiquated. There are inherent metabolic and bioavailability issues affecting the consistent, effective delivery of cannabinoids. It’s becoming clear that these new pharmaceutical therapeutics require revolutionary delivery techniques. Pivot Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: PVOT) (OTCQB: PVOTF) is establishing new paradigms in cannabinoid drug development and delivery.

Pivot Pharmaceuticals is transforming the development and commercialization of these new therapeutic pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals with unique drug delivery platform technologies. Pivot’s medical cannabis product division, Pivot Green Stream Health Solutions (PGS), conducts research, development, and commercialization of cannabinoid-based nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, and it has acquired worldwide rights to BiPhasix™ Transdermal Drug Delivery platform technology (topical) and Solmic Solubilisation technology (oral) for the delivery and commercialization of cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-based products. The company recently filed three provisional patents for cannabinoid-based product delivery with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (http://ibn.fm/6Oi4A), and these latest patent filings join an established number of global rights to topical, oral, transdermal, food and beverage technologies that Pivot has already secured.

Pivot’s pipeline of potential CBD-based pharmaceuticals now covers treatment indications for supportive care to relieve nausea, mucositis and pain, including cancer-related and menstrual pain, dermatological conditions and even glaucoma. Pivot is also developing and commercializing an array of pharmaceutical-grade formulations for cannabinoid-based consumer health care products.

With enhanced drug delivery and development well underway, Pivot has turned to its next business objective, vertical integration. The company just announced a Letter of Intent for the proposed acquisition of Agro-Biotech, a Québec-based ACMPR Canadian licensed cannabis producer (http://ibn.fm/ERNrg). Agro-Biotech operates a fully licensed, purpose-built, indoor hydroponic cannabis production facility capable of producing a cumulative 10,000 kilograms per year.

Pivot is already a differentiated player in the Canadian cannabis industry due to its unique approach to enhanced dosing and bioavailability of cannabinoids with proven pharmaceutical and patented formulation and delivery systems. With the acquisition of Agro-Biotech, Pivot Pharmaceuticals expects to become vertically integrated, controlling the entire manufacturing process from “seed to derivatives” and capturing margin along the entire supply chain.

In the news release, Dr. Patrick Frankham, Pivot CEO, stated, “I am delighted to welcome Agro-Biotech to Pivot… With this acquisition, we are well positioned to enter the Québec cannabis market and attract experienced scientists to our organization. Pivot will seek to expand its footprint in the province beginning immediately following financing activities which are underway. After several months of identifying and discussing with potential partners in the cannabis space, the Pivot management team and our scientific advisors agreed that it was in the best interest of our shareholders to acquire the compliment of licenses which will enable us to develop our pipeline of patented formulation and delivery technologies all under one vertically integrated process from seed to derivatives. Pivot will only work with partners who truly control their processes and have the finest infrastructure and qualified personnel. We believe that these characteristics will define best in class products for wellness and health conscious consumers using bio-cannabis….”

This latest announcement follows a pattern of strong corporate development by Pivot Pharmaceuticals and uniquely positons the company to become a major force in the burgeoning cannabis markets not only in Canada but around the world.

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

• The Green Organic Dutchman raised $112 million to fund 970,000 square foot expansion of cannabis cultivation facilities in 2018
• This includes $55 million investment by Aurora Cannabis Inc.
• Strategy positions The Green Organic Dutchman to be one of the world’s largest, most technically advanced cannabis producers

Headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd., known as “TGOD”, has formed strategic alliances with industry leaders with a view to becoming the world’s largest organic cannabis company. To achieve this goal, the company has taken an approach unique in the cannabis industry, by growing cannabis organically at a low cost, expanding its cultivation facilities to scale, hiring world class senior management and forming strategic partnerships with major players, including Eaton Corp. (one of the world’s largest power management companies) to lower electricity costs and Ledcor Group, the second-largest and one of most respected construction companies in Canada.

TGOD cultivates farm-grown, organic and synthetic pesticide-free medical cannabis using all natural, organic craft growing principles. The company is licensed to produce medical cannabis under Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (“ACMPR”). TGOD is currently performing a 970,000 square foot expansion to its cultivation facilities, which will enable the company to produce 116 tons of cannabis annually. This expansion project is scheduled to come online in phases, beginning in 2018, to meet the increased demand expected with the legalization of recreational cannabis throughout Canada.

TGOD recently announced that it had secured $112 million in private placement financing, including a $55 million strategic investment by Aurora Cannabis Inc. (OTCQX: ACBFF) (TSX: ACB), an established company in the marijuana industry. This investment will fully fund TGOD’s planned expansion. Its strategic partnership with Aurora positions TGOD’s cannabis production facilities to be among the largest and most technically advanced in the world.

The project management consortium for this expansion includes Eaton Corp. and Ledcor, who will report to TGOD management on project progress. Both of these companies have extensive international experience in power, project and construction management. Eaton devises energy-efficient solutions for the efficient management of electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. Ledcor will ensure an accelerated production schedule by using advanced multidisciplinary design/build processes and implementing scalable operational and project plans. These companies will deploy their world-class project teams to ensure that the projects are completed on time and on budget.

With this massive expansion to its facilities in Ontario and Quebec, and by leveraging innovative technology and low-cost power solutions, TGOD could be positioned as one of the most cost-efficient, high-quality cannabis producers in Canada. The company has formed an alliance partnership with Hamilton Utility Corp., which has enabled it to reduce its power cost from $0.13 per kWh to less than $0.05 per kWh. TGOD’s position as a low-cost cannabis producer will be strengthened in Quebec, the province with the lowest power rates in Canada, which can be as low as $0.04 per kWh.

TGOD also plans to secure a share of the growing cannabis oils market. It has commissioned a purpose-built extraction laboratory, a commercial-scale CO2 extraction unit which can process up to 12,000 kg of raw material per year for the production of around $170 million worth of organic cannabis oils. Cannabis oil is a critical raw material for the production of several recreational market verticals, including topicals, edibles, concentrates and beverages.

The company has a world-class management team with proven executive and operational experience in the cannabis, consumer products, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and finance industries. Plans for a public listing with the Toronto Stock Exchange are underway, with the launch of an initial public offering (IPO) expected imminently.

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

• First Cobalt’s exploration program at the Cobalt Camp has yielded impressive results, with high grade cobalt and nickel confirmed at the historic Bellellen mine
• Company controls 50 historic mining operations in the popular Ontario camp
• Canada’s cobalt exploration epicenter may eliminate ‘conflict minerals’ supply need

First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQB: FTSSF), the largest land owner in Ontario, Canada’s reborn Cobalt Camp mining district, continues to investigate the possibility of a tech-friendly resource boom driven by exploration far from the controversial mineral fields of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where more of the world’s supply of cobalt is currently produced than at all other sources (http://ibn.fm/bY93B). The DRC sites remain highly controversial, drawing as they do on child labor and the manipulation of questionable political ethics.

Cobalt has become a critical element in the operation of the lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars, which are becoming an in-demand alternative to the petroleum-based pollutants fueling the world’s automobile industries, as well as in other electronic devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. Although the 7,300 metric tons of cobalt produced in Canada during 2016 pale in comparison to the 66,000 metric tons produced in the DRC that year, the potential for a revitalized cobalt production industry at North American sites including First Cobalt’s Ontario properties is generating excitement among a number of prospectors looking for ethical alternatives to African ‘conflict minerals’.

“Our own little property itself that we have right now that we’re focused on could produce enough cobalt to supply the gigafactory that Elon Musk is building today,” First Cobalt president and chief executive officer Trent Mell told CBS News in 2017 in reference to automaker Tesla’s plans to roll out half a million Model 3s each year beginning in 2018 (http://ibn.fm/UtnnZ).

First Cobalt controls 50 historic mining operations across the Cobalt Camp on over 10,000 hectares (24,710.54 acres) of land for prospecting. The company is working to increase its understanding of the bulk-grade characteristics of the materials on its properties and apply that understanding to the potential processing of ores from the Cobalt Camp sites. Its exploration program is returning positive results, with the presence of high-grade cobalt and nickel already confirmed at the historic Bellellen mine, where drilling began in January 2018. The Bellellen findings follow other positive results reported at the Juno mine in Cobalt North, the Woods and Watson veins in the southern part of Camp Cobalt and the Keeley-Frontier mine in Cobalt South over the last few months.

“First assays from Bellellen drilling confirm the grades found in muckpile material sampled in 2017 and support our view that we now have a third area of interest in the Cobalt Camp. The Bellellen structure has adequate strike length to remain a priority target. Our 2018 drill strategy is to test several new target areas to confirm the cobalt grades of known systems throughout the Camp and then focus on those of sufficient size to support large tonnage operations,” Mell said in a company press release (http://ibn.fm/GlFIB).

On January 16, 2018, First Cobalt also launched a C$7 million exploration program for 2018, which consists of 26,500 meters of drilling at 13 different targets, aside from Keeley-Frontier and Bellellen (http://ibn.fm/Kl2ut). The program significantly expands on the company’s exploration activities in 2017, with the goal of testing various mineralized areas and different geological settings across the Cobalt Camp, including the near-surface potential of certain areas that have never been assessed for their global content before, Mell explained.

The reported results seem to back Mell’s optimism for the company property’s potential, especially amid predictions that, in another decade, the DRC will no longer be such an overwhelmingly significant player in the global tech mineral rush as the country’s human rights violations are in the spotlight.

Congressional hearings on the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act in April 2017 included Human Rights Watch representatives detailing the murder, rape, forced child labor and otherwise destructive practices pursued by several armed privateer groups, foreign-backed rebels and, at times, the DRC’s army itself in relation to mining activities the groups used to fund themselves. Gold mining operations have been the primary focus of those groups, but cobalt’s rising star has created a new emphasis on the mineral once regarded as little more than a byproduct of exploration. (http://ibn.fm/R0Y3Z). “Never in the history of modern mining have you seen cobalt as a primary focus for us miners,” Mell told CBS News. “It was an after-thought.”

The CBS News report acknowledges the challenges of producing sufficient cobalt and other minerals to meet the expected rise in demand for increased electric vehicle production, primarily driven by China and Europe. However, sustainable and responsible cobalt investments and mining assets such as First Cobalt’s are likely to cover a significant part of global demand in the near future. First Cobalt’s focus on expanding its exploration program, with the goal of producing more than the 7,800 tons of cobalt required to supply Tesla’s factory and Model 3 roll-out, could help position the company as a leading provider of cobalt worldwide, as well as build shareholder value via new growth and discovery opportunities.

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

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• Chinese investors seek cryptocurrency education as they adapt and continue to diversify portfolios with bitcoin
• CBD Biotechnology advancing distribution of baijiu
• CIIX planning to spin-off ChineseHempOil.com and CBD Biotechnology subsidiaries in order to focus on cryptocurrency markets

ChineseInvestors.com (OTCQB: CIIX) is an emerging leader in the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. The company has been leading the way in providing financial information and education for Chinese-speaking investors in the United States and China since 1999. CEO Warren Wang believes that cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies will play a growing role in China’s future economy.

Currently, CIIX broadcasts a daily newscast titled ‘Bitcoin MultiMillionaire’ and operates www.NewCoins168.com, a free Chinese-language bitcoin education site. The company is ready to meet the challenges associated with a growing need for informed reporting and education among the rapidly emerging middle- and upper-class in China, as well as new investors. There are challenges on the horizon with the adoption of blockchain technologies (http://ibn.fm/0nTPK) that CIIX is ready to meet. Chinese investors have managed to adapt to the Beijing ban on cryptocurrency and continue to diversify their portfolios with bitcoin. CIIX is meeting the demand through innovative moves such as the recent addition of a bitcoin ATM in the lobby of its U.S. headquarters in California.

CIIX plans to focus on its new cryptocurrency division and core financial education business. Part of the process is to spin-off its CBD Biotechnology and ChineseHempOil.com subsidiaries, with plans to register them as a separate publicly traded company. This move will allow CIIX to focus more on educational services related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies targeted at the Chinese public. It also offers new opportunities for its subsidiaries.

CBD Biotechnology Co. Ltd. acquired a wholesale alcohol License in China in 2017. The company has expanded its Chinese consumer division to include distribution of baijiu, a popular Chinese grain liquor, by aligning with China GuiZhou HanTai Wine, Inc. CBD Biotechnology has also partnered with Jinri Toutia (translation: Today’s Headlines) to strengthen its marketing platform. Both moves are in hope of strengthening CBD Biotechnology’s brand awareness and sustainable revenue growth.

CIIX’s goal, through subsidiary ChineseHempOil.com, is to become the leading publicly traded company targeting Chinese medicinal marijuana. The creation of an Apple App Store-approved Yelp-style app allows customers to find and recommend nearby locations for medical and recreational cannabis. The company has plans to open a retail store in San Gabriel, California, this year, and it continues to provide nutritional supplements containing CBD through its online platform at www.ChineseCBDoil.com.

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

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• Epazz, Inc. plan to release the segment of its Cordtell solution that offers blockchain storage technology in Q3 2018
• A legal expert says a growing number of law firms and financial institutions are utilizing smart or digital legal contracts for accurate digital record keeping, enforcement and verification of signatures, as well as tracing or ensuring that all terms and payments of contracts are performed
• Cordtell will be marketed by Epazz to law firms, health care companies and governments

Epazz, Inc. (OTC: EPAZ) is ahead of the curve in its planned release of its now under-construction and patent-pending Cordtell blockchain smart legal contracts technology (http://ibn.fm/PvWIb). The company plans to introduce Cordtell in the near future.

A growing number of legal entities are adopting smart legal contracts or distributive ledger technology, both to prevent fraud in business transactional contracts and to ensure that all aspects of a contract are being performed properly, as an industry analyst explained in a recent podcast (http://ibn.fm/RQUdj). Initially, Epazz plans to release (in Q3 2018) the blockchain storage technology segment of Cordtell.

Epazz focuses on enterprise cryptocurrency blockchain mobile apps and cloud business process software. Epazz has acquired 11 software companies that have converted or are in the process of converting their legacy software to cloud software using Epazz technology. Epazz then markets these cloud-based solutions to new and existing clients.

Judith Alison Lee, partner in Washington, D.C. law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, explained in a podcast interview that, when one person in a blockchain makes a change to a record, everyone in the chain sees that change immediately. She added that people are excited about its application to other technologies in other fields. In particular, the tech could have important applications within the legal community.

As a result, Cordtell aims to play a significant role in reducing fraud in business transactional contracts, since a digital smart contract makes a permanent record of the entire agreement. It is a living contract that can be tracked and traced, Epazz said. Additionally, Cordtell will verify signatures, document terms and track any changes.

“Where you have cases where there is a lot of paper or a great deal of data-intensive processing, these type of contracts can be really helpful,” Lee stated in the interview. “In particular, the syndicated loan agreements area applies where there is a lot of paper generated and a great deal of trust required among the participants.” She also praised the smart contract elements of facilitation and enforcement.

In addition to law firms, Cordtell will be marketed by Epazz to health care providers, businesses and governments. It will also offer data storage and retrieval from a blockchain storage unit, the company said.

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

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• Universally-patient friendly, meaning formulations that can be used in children and adults alike
• Transport of drugs through blood-brain barrier marks top priority for researchers
• North American legal cannabis market projected at more than $24 billion by 2021
• Global market for pain management, drugs and devices estimated at over $61 billion by 2023

PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) is a Vancouver-based health sciences company dedicated to research and development of innovative, organic and Nature Identical™ options for preventive and curative therapies for a wide array of devastating medical conditions. Developing what the company believes will be the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved cannabidiol (CBD)-soluble gel product to deliver the therapeutic benefits of CBD directly to the central nervous system (CNS) is a top priority for PreveCeutical Chief Researcher Officer Dr. Harry Parekh, who is based at the University of Queensland, Australia, School of Pharmacy (http://ibn.fm/kBmsw).

Breaking through the blood-brain barrier, which functions as the last line of defense for the body’s most vital organ, is a prime research target, as noted in a May 2017 article published by The Pharmaceutical Journal (http://ibn.fm/ZvSM5). Delivering life-saving drugs directly to the brain to treat complex brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and depression in a safe and effective manner continues to be a major topic of discussion and compelling research around the world (http://ibn.fm/oUmS3). The need for a solution, a way to present a medication directly where it will do the most good with the fewest side effects, is a key driver for Dr. Parekh and his research collaborators as they continue their work on cannabinoids, formulating them into Sol-gels for further testing.

PreveCeutical’s proprietary Sol-gel formulations begin as a liquid that is administrated into the nose, which then forms a gel as it is warmed in the nasal cavity where it can then be absorbed. This effectively bypasses the stomach and intestines – eliminating first pass metabolism – and may dramatically improve bioavailability, even compared to nasal sprays and newer delivery systems. This nose-to-brain delivery method offers numerous benefits, including fewer side effects and avoidance of unwanted rapid metabolism.

“This feature can potentially be exploited to deliver drugs through the nasal mucosa,” Dr. Parekh stated in a news release. “The longer-term goal is to develop Sol-gels as safe, reliable delivery systems for cannabinoid extracts across a range of disease indications.”

PreveCeutical’s Sol-gel CBD-based technology could provide a clinical benefit for patients seeking relief for any number of medical indications, such as pain, inflammation, seizures and neurological disorders. In addition to its ease of application, a CBD-based Sol-gel will stay in the nasal passages longer, slowly releasing the CBD while keeping it active for up to seven days.

The legal cannabis market, which includes CBD-based therapy, is projected to reach $24 billion by 2025, according to a report published in Hemp Business Journal (http://ibn.fm/hF6uk), with an overwhelming number of those surveyed stating that CBD therapy was being used for depression or pain. An analysis by Stratistics MRC also shows that the global pain management, drugs and devices market is expected to reach $61.52 billion by 2023 as the population ages and improving health care technologies and alternative therapies attract more attention (http://ibn.fm/Qf1P2).

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

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• Negotiated partnerships provide PGAS, through its subsidiaries, with growth in the energy field and expansion into Nigeria and Cypress, Greece
• Physical trading in oil commodities and logistics is the company’s core business; it makes strategic investments, then operates subsidiaries separately as standalone businesses, leveraging transactions with other company sectors and third parties
• Company also owns and operates a fleet of tankers through a series of Marshall Islands-based subsidiaries that provide sea transportation for oil and liquefied natural gas

Petrogress, Inc. (OTC: PGAS) is growing and maximizing shareholder value by negotiating partnerships, such as those in Nigeria and Cypress (Greece), while also planning for expansion in its tanker business and oil commodities and liquefied natural gas sea transportation (http://ibn.fm/8qfQG).

Most recently, the company’s subsidiary, Petrogress Int’l LLC (“PIL”), entered into a partnership agreement with A&E Petroleum Co. to jointly form and operate a corporation to be named P&A Nigeria Oil Co. Limited (“PANOC”). The combined company’s stated goal is to engage in oil and gas opportunities in Nigeria while also operating storage tank facilities, providing sea transportation and distribution, and facilitating the sale of gas, oil and other petroleum products (http://ibn.fm/5Z6G4).

In a news release, Christos P. Traios, CEO of Petrogress, said, “Our companies’ combined facilities, assets and services are not only expected to provide for enhanced revenue streams, but also ensure our future in this important international market.”

PGAS is a New York-based, fully integrated oil and natural gas energy company with offices in Piraeus, Greece, and Tema, Ghana. PGAS holds subsidiaries, including Petrogress Co. Limited, Patronav Carriers LLC, and Petrogress Oil & Gas Energy Inc. Petrogress’ vision is to be a vertically-integrated energy company. To achieve a more focused approach in management and enable these subsidiaries to pursue individual growth strategies, the company is separating its shipping business and petroleum sales.

The company is also divided into distinct groups. Its upstream group consists of oil resources and exploration. The midstream group represents its product fleet carriers. Its downstream group features its refinery and finished products. Finally, its liquefied group hosts its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sea transportation operations.

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

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• Company successfully emerges from three-year bankruptcy process to relaunch its proprietary imaging system and once again seek FDA approval
• Medical imaging industry is expected to grow to more than $55 billion by 2025
• The Dominion VI SmartScan™ has virtually infinite potential applications not only for medical imaging and diagnostics, but also in multiple other industries

Imaging3, Inc. (OTCQB: IGNG), a development stage company targeting disruptive technologies in the medical imaging industry, is set to revolutionize the market via proprietary technology offering significant advancements in real-time 3D imaging. The unique technology could prove to be a game changer in the growing medical imaging market, which is expected to reach $55.7 billion worldwide by 2025 as a result of an exponential increase in the use of portable diagnostic devices and the growing prevalence of chronic and sedentary lifestyle diseases (http://ibn.fm/LCXqA).

Founded in 1993, Imaging, Inc. has successfully overcome some difficult challenges to pursue a 510K with the Food and Drug Administration. The Burbank, California-based company might sound familiar to seasoned investors, as it was a popular stock with more than 14,000 investors trading a few years ago. Its lead product and proprietary technology, the Dominion VI SmartScan™, is a patented fluoroscopic device with the capability of producing real-time 3D images, including multi-axis slice through views like a CT, but much faster and with significantly lower radiation exposure to patients. The system is fully portable and works off of any standard 110-volt energy source. In addition to imaging human parts, the Dominion has also imaged agricultural products over the past few months. These images are available on the company’s website (http://ibn.fm/wc2i6).

The Dominion was developed nearly 10 years ago, when Imaging3 was primarily focused on refurbishing C-arms, the fluoroscopes that have been the standard in the imaging industry over the past 40 years. Created with detailed knowledge of how fluoroscopes work and how they could be significantly improved, the Dominion differs from standard C-arms, as it has an O-ring design. The O-shape allows the “eye” – the cone x-ray which emits the low-level radiation – to entirely encircle the target subject or object. During that revolution movement, which can happen as quickly as one revolution per second, the eye is able to take multiple images. The standard approach is one image per degree for 360 degrees, but the number could be higher if required. The images are then assembled into a 3D image, which is displayed via proprietary software. Users can view the image in both 2D and 3D, and they can rotate it to view it from different angles, as well as slice through it in any direction.

The near-term potential uses for the Dominion VI SmartScan™ are virtually infinite, with opportunities available wherever a very fast (one second of imaging time), portable, low-radiation device that can display images like an x-ray or a CT would be to the benefit of a patient or health care provider. Obvious examples include the emergency room for triaging patients, in sports medicine clinics or sporting facilities, in any community in the U.S. or abroad where access to a CT is not readily available or the costs are prohibitive, and in settings where getting a better 3D view of a part of the body can enable the health care provider to do a better job or monitor progress. Additionally, there is significant potential for the device to aid in real-time imaging for minimally-invasive surgery.

The Imaging3 team is confident that it can revolutionize the imaging space with the Dominion VI SmartScan™. The company has already been approached by several industries outside of the medical arena, with security, agriculture, food, transportation and veterans’ organizations each expressing interest in the product.

Imaging3’s work on the revolutionary device several years ago raised a great deal of attention in the industry, and hopes for FDA approval were high. However, the company’s 510K submission was rejected at the time because it failed to provide adequate support to justify claims that exceeded the capabilities of the devices submitted as predicates — comparable devices used in the 510K process. Furthermore, it was discovered that the company’s founder and CEO had committed fraud by not divulging negative FDA feedback to the directors and officers of the company. As a result, the company was forced to seek protection under federal bankruptcy laws.

The company worked through a three-year bankruptcy process and a Securities and Exchange Commission-mandated self-remediation, both of which were completed last year. In November of 2017, the company received a letter from the Division of Corporate Finance of the SEC stating that it, at that time, had no further comments on the company’s post-bankruptcy periodic reports. With that behind it, the company once again focused on preparing the Dominion for FDA review. The company completed the first half of the FDA preparation last year by enlisting one of the leading regulatory consulting companies to conduct an evaluation of the Dominion software. The hardware evaluation, expected to include hazard testing and take roughly three months, is yet to be completed. Once these assessments are finalized, the company will compile the new 510K and submit for review by the FDA. The company hopes to file in the first half of the year.

Subsequent to its emergence from bankruptcy and completion of the SEC self-remediation process, the Imaging3 board recognized the need to start building out a team capable of managing the FDA 510K process to successful completion. With 30 years of health care experience in pharmaceutical, biotech and device companies, including management of public companies listed on the OTC, new CEO John Hollister is prepared to lead this effort. Last month, Hollister and Imaging3 announced the formation of a scientific advisory board, with the first two members being well-respected and experienced radiologists.

Parallel to its FDA efforts, Imaging3 will be busy assessing which of the many potential markets will be the first target for its proprietary technology, while also focusing on designing the final product. The current working model is a prototype that facilitates testing and development, but it is not meant for final production. The company’s management believes that these efforts will result in the first commercial placements in the first quarter of 2019.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Imaging3.com

• Drug delivery platform ideal for M&A-driven growth
• $80 billion global dermatology market
• $30 billion global over-the-counter skincare market
• Half of the 100 million surgeries performed in the U.S. require post-surgical pain medication, according to Transparency Market Research report

If history repeats itself, as we are often told, then Skinvisible, Inc.’s (OTCQB: SKVI) proposed deal with Quoin Pharmaceuticals Limited (“Quoin”) could increase shareholder value after execution. In late 2017, the company announced its plan to merge with Quoin, a marriage made in heaven that combines Skinvisible’s virtues as a drug delivery developer with Quoin’s position as a producer of post-surgical pain products that replace or diminish opioid use (http://ibn.fm/GEuCN). Over the past two decades, mergers in the pharmaceutical industry have generally resulted in positive returns to shareholders, and today’s market leaders are the ones that have been most active in mergers and acquisitions.

There are many reasons why a merger may make sense. Taking over a rival, for example, means acquiring that rival’s market share and most, if not all, of its revenues. If product lines or business divisions overlap, costs can be cut and synergies exploited. In addition, purchasing a rival or merging with one may mean the acquisition of exciting new products at a much-reduced cost. It may cost the acquirer less to buy the target (and its product line) than to attempt to develop similar products in-house. Also, borrowing costs matter. If interest rates are low and likely to rise, now might be the time to borrow and spend. These are all good rationales for corporate consolidations. However, ‘growth is the main driver for most M&A deals: not just growth in drug distribution scale or earnings growth through cost cutting, but in revenues—and especially share price’, according to McKinsey & Company (http://ibn.fm/7sWhQ).

Skinvisible is ideally poised to grow by acquisition, since its core business revolves around a drug delivery methodology that’s applicable to a wide range of topical products. Such ‘platform companies’ have a bright future, since they are enablers rather than competitors to other drug companies. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, opined, ‘“platform companies”—those that grow through bolt-on acquisitions—enrich their shareholders with each new deal…’ (http://ibn.fm/LdErS). If that is to be believed, there’s little doubt that Skinvisible is treading the right path.

Since 1999, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical companies have been adopting Skinvisible’s Invisicare® technology, developed through wholly-owned subsidiary Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The technology can be used to revitalize or create new medical or skincare products, allowing a company that licenses Skinvisible’s formulations to sell its own patented product and combat generic competitors.

Products utilizing Invisicare have been effective at bonding active ingredients to the skin for up to four hours and longer. Invisicare is non-occlusive; it allows normal skin respiration and perspiration while moisturizing and protecting against exposure from a wide variety of environmental irritants. When topically applied, products formulated with Invisicare adhere to the skin’s outer layers, forming a protective bond, resisting wash-off and delivering targeted levels of therapeutic or cosmetic skincare agents to the skin. This allows enhanced delivery performance for a variety of topicals resulting in improved efficacy, longer duration of action, reduced irritation and lower dosage of active agents required. The ‘invisible’ polymer compositions that make up Invisicare wear off as part of the natural exfoliation process that removes the skin’s outer layer of cells.

With a $80 billion global dermatology market and a $30 billion global over-the-counter skincare market, the patented polymer delivery system for topical products developed by Skinvisible has a great deal of potential to add shareholder value.

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

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