There’s a growing obesity epidemic in the United States. Currently, almost 80 million people in the U.S. are obese, with two out of every three Americans considered to be either obese or overweight.

The obesity rate in 1990 was 12 percent, which nearly doubled to 23 percent in 2005. It increased to 35 percent by 2010 and now exceeds 38 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected the U.S. obesity rate to exceed 42 percent by 2030.

This rampant increase persists while obesity remains one of the most significant drivers of preventable chronic diseases and health care costs in the United States. Estimates for obesity-related health care costs range from $147 billion to well over $200 billion annually.

This epidemic presents enormous opportunity for pharmaceutical companies targeting obesity. Analysts estimate that the worldwide market for obesity drugs, devices, and surgical procedures totals hundreds of billions of dollars. Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) introduced Saxenda, its first medical treatment for obesity, to the market over a year ago. Results have been promising, but Saxenda is expensive and requires patient injections. Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) and Arena (NASDAQ: ARNA) both introduced weight loss drugs designed with the intention of aiding obese people with a BMI of 30 or higher. Neither of these drugs has captured attention or market share like orlistat.

Orlistat, the best-selling weight loss medication of all time, is marketed in different formats by Roche (OTCQX: RHHBY) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). Orlistat has proven safe and effective in over 100 clinical trials, however, orlistat produces unpleasant gastrointestinal effects that have led to significant sales declines.

Less than a year ago, M Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OTCQB: MPHMF) acquired exclusive rights to a reformulation of orlistat, the obesity drug C-103, in both prescription strength and over-the-counter formulations. With three patient studies completed, M Pharmaceutical’s reformulation of orlistat was shown to eliminate the adverse effects in 98 percent of trial patients.

With patent protection in 131 countries through 2030, M Pharmaceutical has global designs for its reformulation of orlistat and may exceed current orlistat to become the best-selling weight loss medication of all time.

For more information, visit www.M-Pharma.ca

To date, the standard of care for men and women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been a mix of medications, often pills, from different antiretroviral classes that hinder different steps of the HIV lifecycle. Although generally effective, the drug regimens that currently dominate the HIV treatment space also have limitations. They require daily dosing. They are linked with side-effects. They are vulnerable to drug resistance. And, in some patients, they are simply not effective. As a result, there are long-term HIV survivors who are now dealing with issues of drug resistance and need new treatment options.

There is general agreement within the medical community that HIV treatments will soon be dispensed through subcutaneous or intra-muscular injections. Biotech companies at the forefront of this space, including ViiV Healthcare (a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and CytoDyn Inc. (OTCQB: CYDY), are now developing this category of drugs and have progressed to the late stages of clinical development.

CytoDyn, with its focus on improving the standard of living for HIV patients, has plans for new breakthrough therapies that serve the unmet needs of a growing number of treatment-experienced HIV patients with virologic failure.

One of the monoclonal antibodies that CytoDyn has under development is its lead drug candidate, PRO 140, a therapeutic anti-viral agent in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of persons already infected with HIV. With several potential benefits, including less frequent dosing and minimal side effects, PRO 140 belongs to a new class of HIV/AIDS therapeutics that protects healthy cells from viral infection. Last month, CytoDyn took an important step to further distinguish PRO 140 from currently-used HIV treatments. It filed a request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking the federal agency to assign PRO 140 the Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

To learn more about this biotech company’s breakthrough therapies, visit www.CytoDyn.com

Expanded distribution to 36 more of the top national grocery retailers propelled The Alkaline Water Company, Inc. (OTCQB: WTER) to reach revenues of $8,927,976 for the nine months ended December 31, 2016. This represents an increase of 78% compared to $5,010,547 generated during the same period in 2015. For its third quarter ended December 31, 2016, sales were $2,973,689, a 67% increase from its sales of $1,777,701 for the same period in 2015. The company is in the bottled water industry. Its fiscal year ends March 31.

For both periods, the company sharply cut its losses. For the three months ended December 31, 2016, the net loss was $498,374, compared to its loss of $1,094,721 during the same period in 2015. For the nine months ended December 31, 2016, the net loss was $2,787,681, compared to the net loss of $3,644,028 during the same period in 2015.

In its February 14, 2017, SEC 10-Q filing (http://dtn.fm/aHu7g), The Alkaline Water Company, Inc., stated that its jump in revenues for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, was attributed to the increase in its distribution. In both 2016 and 2015 periods ending on December 31, the company’s products were available in all 50 states. However, for the year ended March 31, 2016, its water products were in 25,000 retail locations instead of just 20,000 the prior year. That increased distribution, the company reported to the SEC, generated the increased revenues for the most recent three- and nine-month periods ended December 31, 2016.

In the SEC filing, the company said that it sells to customers including the food chains of Albertson’s, Safeway, Kroger, Jewel-Osco and more. It also sells to convenience stores and natural foods product stores, the filing stated. It sold direct to large national distributors. In both the three-month and nine-month periods ended December 31, 2016, the company’s increased volume meant that its gross profit rate increased, as it was able to buy raw materials in larger volume from its suppliers. As a result, its losses for both the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2016, were reduced.

In the 10-Q, The Alkaline Water Company, Inc., reported that it had entered, on February 1, 2017, a $3 million, three-year, revolving credit agreement with SCM Specialty Finance Opportunities Fund, L.P. It has drawn $686,080.94 on that financial revolver to pay off the amount it borrowed earlier from Gibraltar Business Capital, LLC. Of the total, $628,782.94 was used to pay off the Gibraltar debt, and the remaining monies paid closing costs.

For more information, visit www.TheAlkalineWaterCo.com

Billions of dollars are generated from the U.S. gambling market each year. Despite a new movement toward online gambling, especially in the United Kingdom, physical brick and mortar casinos are still dominating in terms of revenue.

A political aspect that could impact the casino industry in the U.S. is the election of Donald Trump. Although moral issues still surround the market, the new president has close affiliations with the casino industry. In 2015, gross gaming revenue (GGR) came in at over 40%, but in 2016, according to CasinoNewsDaily.com (http://dtn.fm/r1Qjq), the U.S. was at the top of the full-year losses chart, the number representing the amount staked by gambling customers minus payouts.

According to InvestmentWatchBlog.com (http://dtn.fm/Qfro6), the casino annual growth rate in Nevada came in at 4.5% between 2011 and 2015, with a market growth during that period of 7.3%. Despite it not being known how much revenue makes up the online casino industry compared to the brick and mortar casino industry, slots make up 50% of gaming revenue in Nevada.

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEN), the largest branded tavern operator in Nevada and a market leader in distributed gaming, is set to capitalize on the immensity of the U.S. gambling market through its robust development and acquisition pipeline, which included the acquisitions of C. Lohman Games, Inc. in January 2016, and Amusement Services, LLC in April of the same year. The company now has over 10,000 devices in over 1,000 locations across the United States, including Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino, Gold Town Casino, and Lakeside Casino & RV Park, all of which are in Nevada.

Golden Entertainment has multiple paths to achieve meaningful growth. For 2017, the company has seven new taverns under development with a robust pipeline of new-build sites. The company plans to acquire smaller distributed gaming operators that lack the scale to compete in profitability, as well as regional casino assets, and also to reinvest in existing casino properties, such as its Rocky Gap and Pahrump facilities.

Golden Entertainment currently owns rights to potential distributed gaming locations and aims to pioneer new distributed gaming jurisdictions across the country. Additionally, by merging with public gaming operators, the company is offering the potential for increased liquidity to shareholders.

For more information, visit www.GoldenEnt.com

Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR) announced on February 8, 2017, that it has reached an agreement with Encina Business Credit, LLC (EBC) for a $30 million credit refinancing, including a funded term note, a draw term loan, and a revolving line of credit. The company indicated that the funds will be used to retire debt and for working capital.

Vertex Energy, Inc., refines and markets high quality hydrocarbon products. It filed an 8-K with the SEC on February 7, 2017, defining the new credit facility from EBC.

“The refinance of the company’s prior credit facility reflects our belief in the future growth of the company,” said Benjamin P. Cowart, CEO of Vertex. “We believe that this step was necessary in ensuring that we clean up our balance sheet, which includes paying off both of our prior lenders, consolidating our debt into one facility and strengthening our cash position.”

EBC is an asset-based lender specializing in middle market borrowers. Its revolving lines of credit and term loans range from $5 million to $50 million. It lends to both public and private companies. Positive cash flow is not required.

Cowart added that Vertex Energy is positioned to grow its business in 2017.

“With the financing completed, we were able to close on the acquisition on the assets of a small collection company in Louisiana. With approximately 90 million gallons of processing capacity, we believe that our collections vertical is key to our growth,” he said.

The company anticipates growing its self-collected gallons from some 20% of overall production to 25% in 2017, he added.

The SEC 8-K filing detailed the arrangements with EBC. It stated that $12 million was loaned to Vertex by EBC on February 1, 2017, and an additional $8 million may be loaned from time to time, under the new credit agreement. The other $10 million will be made available by EBC to Vertex under a revolving credit agreement formula, including ‘eligible’ inventory. The revolving credit agreement terminates on February 1, 2020, when any unpaid amounts and interest are due, the filing states.

Vertex Energy, Inc. stated that its use of revolving credit funds would be for working capital, capital expenditures and to refinance existing credit obligations. The company used $11,282,537 for that purpose. As of the filing date, the company had borrowed $12 million of the EBC credit agreement and $884,000 under the revolving credit agreement.

For more information, refer to www.VertexEnergy.com

China is one of the leaders of the online to offline (O2O) market, with this community expected to increase nearly 15-fold in the next five years according to Roland Berger (http://nnw.fm/N2DUc). The country is now leading the O2O world both from an adoption and innovation point of view. Brands across the country are now taking advantage of this new opportunity, with marketing campaigns that incorporate the digital and physical worlds.

Why has the popularity of O2O grown so significantly in the past decade? Firstly, the sheer number of people connected to the internet via a mobile device has grown significantly. New technologies also play a role in this shift toward the O2O market, with more people embracing QR codes that connect them directly to a brand.

The introduction of mobile payments has made everything more accessible to consumers. People are able to pay directly via their mobile devices. Contactless cards and online payments can be made with minimal effort. With China leading the mobile payments industry, new innovative ways of making payments have been put to the test.

However, the surge of mobile devices, the internet, and mobile payments are not the only driving factors of the O2O market in China. Convenience is at the forefront, with design and messaging platforms being a key priority for any business. Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC) has mastered both of these through its Moxian+ Business and Moxian+ User applications.

Providing social marketing and promotional platforms designed to help merchants advertise to their audiences via social media offers companies the chance to create awareness through a simple application. The application has a basic design, giving users the chance to enjoy rewards and get involved with fun activities while meeting new people and playing games. It also allows users to communicate with friends and find out about the latest news through its media messenger feature. Moxian works under the motto of ‘online lifestyle, offline fun’, giving consumers and merchants the chance to interact on a more comprehensive level.

For more information, visit www.Moxian.com

AudioEye, Inc. (OTCQB: AEYE) has 51 new banking customers this year, it announced on February 6, 2017 (http://dtn.fm/Sa5h3), giving it a total of 175 additional banking clients over the past 12-month period.

AudioEye, Inc. develops accessibility compliance software that enables its clients to use advanced technology to achieve greater accessibility. The result is that engineers are able to add accessibility into their websites.

Dan Sullivan, vice president of sales, pointed out that adding 51 new banking clients in the first 47 days of 2017 is more than one new client per day in this sector. “Risk mitigation continues to be the dominant driver in the increase of service agreements, but when our potential new customers realize accessibility opens up access and usability to a new population of users to upwards of 10%-15% of the population, they find a true return on investment (ROI) in our service.”

AudioEye, Inc. also announced, on February 6, 2017, its goal for 2017 cash contract advanced bookings was $4 million-$6 million, indicating that its new business pipeline is in excess of $5.4 million. Earlier, AudioEye reported cash contract sales for 2016 at $1.93 million. It said it was targeting governmental agencies, schools, banks, retail and human resources as markets that require accessible technologies.

AudioEye, Inc. has also been named vendor to Seattle Public Schools District 1 (http://dtn.fm/3tWVj) to ensure the web content, websites and pages are compliant and available. The vote to name AudioEye, Inc. was unanimous, the company announced on January 24, 2017. AudioEye, Inc. makes software designed to enable all entities, from corporations to governmental agencies, to make technology more easily consumable.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) stated that the decision to choose AudioEye was made after an extensive vendor evaluation process to find a company that could solve a difficult problem economically.

In the news release, Sean Bradley, president and CTO of AudioEye, said, “With approximately 98 school locations, 8,000 staff and 54,000 students within the limits of Seattle, SPS is prioritizing digital inclusion as they seek to ensure an accessible user experience for all their constituents, regardless of individual ability.” The solution was located in AudioEye’s digital platform and managed services.

For more information, visit www.AudioEye.com

Based in Florida, National Waste Management Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NWMH) is a growing waste management company providing compliant and comprehensive solutions for waste management. The company has created long-term partnerships with a variety of customers from multiple sectors, including municipal, commercial, industrial, and institutional.

NWMH operates based upon a three-pronged approach: acquiring complementary businesses in Florida, Upstate New York and surrounding areas; expanding its presence across the United States; and increasing its operational efficiency with both its existing clients and any future acquisitions.

In Florida, the company is currently covering Marion, Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, Sumter, Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough Counties. National Waste Management Holdings has been showing impressive growth with an aggressive acquisition strategy, acquiring and restructuring existing “mom and pop type” facilities in Florida and neighboring counties, but also in Kingston, NY, and the surrounding areas in Upstate New York.

National Waste Management Holdings completed its acquisition of a permitted waste processing and disposal facility, Waste Recovery Enterprises, LLC, in Bainbridge, NY, for $250,000 and 2.75 million restricted shares of the company’s common stock. Waste Recovery also offers commercial and residential garbage collection and roll-off services, with plans to expand service offerings to include recycled cardboard and paper shredding operations. In addition to the above, the company recently closed its acquisition of Northeast Data Destruction and Recycling, and it has three acquisitions actively in negotiation, with plans to execute letters of intent for each entity by the end of February, including a construction and demolition (C&D) and class III transfer station in New Port Richey, FL, and a recycling facility in Lakeland, FL.

The company plans to continue enhancing its geographic footprint by exhausting local opportunities and expanding into neighboring counties and states, identifying cash flow positive companies to acquire, and generally building shareholder value through accretive acquisitions and a tuck-in strategy to maximize free cash flow. To expand its national presence, NWMH plans on creating new satellite offices in order to become more customer-centric and operationally economical. In the next three to five years, NWMH plans to make an additional 12 to 20 acquisitions, representing approximately $40 to $65 million in revenue.

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

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Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRX) on January 10, 2017, filed with the SEC a prospectus (http://dtn.fm/rU7Lh) for the sale in the aggregate of $33,842,512 of its common stock. The use of proceeds will be to fund both clinical and non-clinical studies of its product candidates and for general working capital.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals is a development stage biopharmaceutical company which is developing CPP-115 to treat reduced GABAergic signaling-associated neurological conditions, such as Tourette’s and post-traumatic stress disorder. The FDA has designated CPP-115 orphan drug status in the U.S. for the treatment of infantile spasms. In Europe, for the treatment of West syndrome, it has been granted E.U. orphan medicinal product designation. In addition, the company is also developing a generic version of Sabril® (vigabatrin).

This prospectus offering is part of the company’s Shelf Registration Statement declared effective by the SEC on March 19, 2014. That enabled it to periodically sell its stock shares in the aggregate of $33,842,512, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals said in the new prospectus filing.

The company originally had 150 million shares of common stock and five million shares of preferred. Currently, it has 82,972,316 shares of common outstanding and no preferred shares outstanding.

The company expects to report to the FDA top line results in the second half of 2017 for its second phase 3 trial evaluating its candidate drug Firdapse® for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndromes (LEMS). If the results are successful, the company expects to resubmit an NDA for Firdapse for the treatment of LEMS.

Further, if those test results are successful, the company expects to additionally provide evidence that Firdapse treats certain types of Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes (CMS) and request that CMS be included in its initial label.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., may also evaluate that drug for the treatment of myasthenia gravis and other rare neuromuscular diseases. No clinical programs for these indications have yet been developed, the company stated in the prospectus.

For CPP-115, the company intends to develop the drug for the treatment of epilepsy and Tourette’s syndrome. It would perform the required studies, subject to funding availability.

For more information, visit www.CatalystPharma.com

No one should have been astonished at the discovery, reported by NPR (http://dtn.fm/ah9NX), of a ‘trove of cannabis plants found in (an) ancient tomb in China’. China represents a past civilization that has sprung many surprises over the centuries, and has given us some of our greatest inventions, including the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing.

On par with these innovations has been Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has relied, in part, on herbal remedies (tui na). The use of plant derivatives to alleviate maladies is as natural to the Chinese as drinking tea, which itself is thought to promote dental health due to a richness of fluoride in some strains, with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties in others, and is a good source of Vitamin A in still others. Two millennia ago, a ‘tea’ made from hemp was consumed for medical purposes. Now ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) is going back to those roots. The company aims to be ‘the premier provider of cannabidiol (CBD) oil to the Chinese population in mainland China’.

CBD oil is a compound extracted from the cannabis plant. However, plants bred and grown for their high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content are commonly referred to as marijuana. THC is psychoactive and is responsible for the ‘high’ that marijuana use provides. Other cannabis plants contain only trace amounts of THC but have high concentrations of CBD, which is the second most common cannabinoid of the 85 or so found in cannabis. Unlike THC, CBD is non-psychotropic. Plants with a preponderance of CBD are called hemp.

Hemp oil is rich in protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega 6, omega 3 and insoluble fiber. It is a good source of tocopherols or Vitamin E antioxidants and is packed with minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium, and phosphorus, as well as microelements like strontium, thorium, arsenic and chromium. Hemp oil is thought to increase immunity, counteract aging skin and improve cardiovascular health. Several studies show that the linoleic acid present in hemp oil can slow down the aging process and fight psoriasis.

There have been encouraging reports (http://dtn.fm/P6Ps1) of CBD helping epileptics, and Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) has called for more study (http://dtn.fm/Rp9cM) into the use of CBD to treat epilepsy.

Unlike their western counterparts, Chinese companies have a long history of researching and developing cannabis products. Data published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) indicate that Chinese firms account for about half of the filings for patents on cannabis products.

Late last month, CIIX announced it was launching the world’s first CBD health products online store in the Chinese language under the domain name www.ChineseCBDoil.com. The company will use the site to sell CBD oil products to customers in the Chinese mainland, where hemp oil-derived products are legal, and to Chinese speakers in the U.S. and Canada.

At present, the competitive landscape is clear, with virtually no rivals, and CIIX has signed an agreement with a San Diego producer to white label and distribute a number of CBD products, which, since they are not THC based, are legal in all 50 U.S. states, as well as in China.

The prospects for success are excellent. Founder and CEO of CIIX, Warren Wang, recently cited an industry study as he announced an alliance with a Chinese private equity firm to raise capital for investment in medical and recreational marijuana ventures:

“According to The CBD Report published by The Hemp Business Journal, cannabidiol is one of the fastest growing market categories in the U.S. hemp and legal marijuana industries. In 2015, the CBD industry grew from a nearly invisible market… to $202 million in consumer sales, and it is further expected to grow to $2.1 billion in consumer sales by 2020. We are very excited that CIIX is launching the world’s first CBD online store focused on providing CBD health products for Chinese-speaking customers and making it possible for them to order various types of CBD products through www.chinesecbdoil.com.”

Traditional Chinese medicine is about to experience a renaissance.

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