NanoViricides™ is on the cutting-edge of nanobiotechnology, with a rapidly developing portfolio of indications designed to treat some of the most daunting viruses known to man and do so in a wholly new and compelling fashion, to which said viruses may never be able to effectively adapt. The company’s core technology exploits the very mechanism and features of a virus which allow it to bind to a cell. By focusing on the receptor binding molecules on the surface of a virion itself, which are chemically similar even among viruses of varied protein signature and which rarely change as a virus mutates, the company’s nanoviricides actually cover up and block a virus’ multiple binding sites.

By using virus-binding ligands that are derived from the virion’s own cell surface receptor binding sites, which are covalently attached to nanomicelle polymers as a backbone carrier (an aggregation of surface tension lowering molecules with polymer strands that can unfold and encompass a virion, potentially also carrying active pharmaceuticals), the company’s nanoviricides provide an unrivaled versatility when it comes to how they work and how they can be administered. Nanoviricide technology represents a real breakthrough in how we handle viral infections and because the technology may be capable of optionally attacking the viral genome itself and eradicating the virus, as well as smuggling active pharmaceutical ingredients in, right up to the surface of the virus, there is considerable upper limit potential here as well.

This platform technology is being developed along two distinct vectors. Firstly, for providing solutions to highly targeted and virus-specific applications, as is suitable for treating HIV, Influenza and Avian (bird) Flu, like the A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) strains that have crossed over into humans. Secondly, for providing broad-spectrum nanoviricidal indications which could prove extremely effective at combating some of the most rapidly changing tropical diseases, such as Ebola. The company’s virus-specific nanoviricides function in such a targeted manner that the non-specific (side) effects which are typically experienced with most anti-viral agents on the market today, impacting both the virus and healthy host cells, are essentially eliminated. The PEG-based (polyethylene glycol) polymer used also means an optimum safety threshold with very limited immune reactions and foreseeably easy clearance via the FDA.

The company’s broad-spectrum nanoviricides have the potential to address up to 95% of known viruses, providing the same kind of shotgun approach that allows various classes of antibiotic to treat multiple forms of bacteria, because they exploit a feature that is common to all bacteria. Furthermore, the company’s proprietary Accurate-Drug-In-Field™ (or ADIF) technology could quickly become the go-to field solution for containing outbreaks, giving healthcare providers the ability to dynamically respond to outbreaks around the world, using stockpiled nanomicelles as their primary weapon. This key technological advantage offers healthcare providers the ability to have the first dosages of a treatment drug up and running in as little as three weeks, with a window as short as three months possible for being able to roll out enough of the drug in order to treat people external to the outbreak zone and really contain the virus.

The capacity of ADIF technology to generate a drug targeted at a specific virus, without having to understand its molecular biology or even have a specific identification, has enormous biodefense potential, and represents a true frontline solution for combating novel viruses, in addition to its obvious ability to help put handles on an outbreak of a known virus. The capacity to rapidly develop a field solution that can simply and completely gum up the ability of virtually any virus to bind to host cells could mean one of the only universally effective ways to head off a future biological catastrophe at the pass. And because the mechanism of action in a nanoviricide is wholly different than that of typical vaccines, which rely on stimulating the host’s immune system, nanoviricidal indications could prove to be highly successful even in patients with compromised or weakened immune systems.

This novel mechanism of action not only future-proofs the company’s technology due to its ability to fool practically any virus that emerges, effectively coating the virus in nanoviricide and eventually destabilizing/dismantling it without the help of the host’s immune system, it is also backed up by considerable IP, given that all of the company’s candidates are based on the highly-tailorable TheraCour® polymeric micelle technology created by Anil R. Diwan, PhD, NNVC’s President and founder. The biomimetic capabilities of such nanoviricides, which mimic existing biochemical processes, take full advantage of such properties as addressing and encapsulation, as well as lipid fusion, not just blocking a few sites, but engulfing the virus particle in its entirety and initiating its decomposition. With exclusive worldwide license to this technology and two broad international patent applications covering everything from manufacture to materials, as well as the methods and fields of use, NNVC is in a very strong IP position and intends to file patent applications on each separate drug as they go along.

Nanoviricides as a tool have the potential to effectively combat some of the most daunting viruses in existence that have defied medical science for decades or more, like the constantly and rapidly changing Influenza virus, better known as the common cold, for which existing vaccination regimens have proven to be only marginally effective. With the CDC’s own data openly acknowledging the widely ranging effectiveness of vaccination against various strains of Influenza and with other daunting viruses on the loose like dengue (fever), which was just recently the subject of an epidemic declaration in Brazil by the country’s Health Minister, as well as HIV, herpes, and even Ebola now spreading around the globe, the demand for a wholly new and clinically effective approach is greater than ever before.

Currently, the company has six commercially significant drug development programs in various stages, including both an injectable and oral version of an Influenza drug, aptly named FluCide®. Injectable FluCide™ saw a good safety report profile come out back in January of this year, showing no direct adverse clinical effects observed after a 4,200mg/kg total intravenous dosage over 14 days in a GLP-like toxicology study in rats, which was conducted by Bioanalytical Systems (NASDAQ: BASI). This injectable version of FluCide is in IND-enabling studies at the moment and represents the most advanced of all of the company’s pipeline candidates. With this latest study confirming earlier results of a non-GLP toxicology study in mice and also showing positive findings in different influenza A strains, posting similarly high marks for safety and toxicology, FluCide is now clearly ready to move on to the next step. Commissioning operations are currently in the offing and are slated to take place at the company’s new state-of-the-art cGMP-compliant manufacturing and R&D facility in Connecticut, which was acquired in January this year.

The company’s strong cash-in-hand position and $36.4 million in current assets plus restricted cash reported at the close of 2014, on a burn rate in the neighborhood of $2 million a quarter, NNVC feels very comfortable having grabbed this important 18k square foot facility, which has all the lab, as well as cGMP-compliant raw materials handling/dispensing and clean room suites needed, to make and package clinical-scale quantities of the company’s nanomedicines. More importantly, the acquisition is a much more economically sustainable option than leasing and the company is confident that this facility, combined with their strong financial position, will ably carry them into human clinical studies on at least one of their promising candidates, and quite possibly allow for one other drug to reach the IND development stage.

The company’s anti-HSV (herpes simplex virus) drug candidates have demonstrated greater than 99.9% inhibition in cell culture against two distinct, different strains of herpes. The incredible effectiveness of the company’s anti-herpes drug candidates reported in April this year – where it blew the current standard of care, acyclovir, out of the water, with lethally infected HSV-1 H129c strain mice showing substantially complete survival – is a clear indication of how promising these anti-HSV candidates truly are. NanoViricides will seek rapid drug approval from the FDA for its anti-herpes candidates and the company is especially confident considering that acyclovir used at two times the concentration needed for humans has only showed a less than a 58% survival rate. What’s more, the anti-herpes candidates from NanoViricides demonstrated a significant reduction in disease severity alongside the extremely high survival rate, potentially making it a shoe in for FDA fast track. NNVC has also seen some powerful results in EKC (epidemic kerato-conjunctivitis), or severe pink eye disease, with their EKC-Cide™ candidate, and ongoing work in HIV/AIDS has also been quite promising, with sustained viral load reduction in HIV-1 even after treatment with HivCide™ was stopped, according to a recent mouse model study.

Also worth mentioning here is how the company’s rapid design platform has led to several EbolaCide™ candidates being developed in recent months, with positive results from the company’s collaborating BSL-4 facility in January showing broad-spectrum efficacy against both Ebola and the closely related Filoviridae family hemorrhagic fever virus, Marburg. Given the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the largest in the planet’s history according to CDC data, with two reported cases having been officially imported to the U.S. during the outbreak, NNVC’s EbolaCide candidates could be just the thing that the CDC and WHO have been looking for in order to help stop the next outbreak before it happens.

Mimicking natural host cell receptors and tricking a virus to bind to nanoviricidal nanomicelles, effectively encapsulating the virus and making it non-infectious, is a potentially disruptive, game-changing technology for the roughly $27.6 billion global antiviral market, which is on track to hit upwards of $36.44 billion by 2019 according to recent analysis published by Mordor Intelligence. The space is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 5.71% over the next several years through 2019, and NanoViricides is positioned to capture significant market share if their revolutionary nanomedicines pan out as hoped.

Take a closer look by visiting www.nanoviricides.com

Through the engagement of Softon ITG, Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. has ramped up its efforts to launch a formidable online travel agent (OTA) in the underserved Central American-Caribbean market. With several planned social and visual media components, Oveedia, Pure’s online hospitality booking engine, is currently being developed as one of the most unique OTAs on the market. Estimates for completion of the initial phase of coding integration clocked in at just 527 hours, allowing the company to consider the possibility of moving the scheduled 2015 launch forward.

The massive potential of the Oveedia platform benefits from its “first-mover advantage” within the niche market. With an estimated $30+ billion of online travel revenue, anticipation for sizable growth in the rapidly expanding Central American market is high.

“As Pure Hospitality Solutions ramps up coding integration, we are working diligently to further reduce debt and overhang, aggressively developing Oveedia’s marketing plans, exploring financing options for the company and signing on local hotels in the Central American-Caribbean region,” stated Melvin Pereira, President and CEO of Pure. “[The company] is on a ‘fast-track’ to revenue stemming from online operations.”

The target Central American region encompasses over 16,000 destinations that are currently grossly underserved by OTA providers, making it a prime location for rapid growth. According to a study by global travel market research company Phocuswright, Latin America accounted for just three percent of global OTA market share in 2010, despite accounting for approximately seven percent of overall travel. This figure continues to rise, however. From 2010 to 2012, the region led all global markets in total growth.

Industry experts insist that the current lag in OTA penetration is a result of an underserved market. In 2012, less than 30 percent of all online booking in the Latin American region was completed using major players in the OTA industry, such as Priceline, Expedia and Travelocity. Instead, travelers opted for lesser-known OTAs that delivered customized support including native language prompts, diversified payment options and helpful local content.

“What this means, simply, is that… we now have the ability to establish a broader market presence ahead of advancing our niche focus – the underserved travel destinations of Central America and those Latin countries of the Caribbean,” continued Periera.

With similarly structured regional OTAs, such as Agoda, being acquired by major travel companies in recent years, the potential financial advantages of the Oveedia platform can’t be overstated. As Pure continues to move towards carving out a sizable share of the world’s most rapidly expanding online tourism market, the company could be in a strong position for regional acquisition in the years to come. In any case, increased financial commitment to the programming and software development of Pure’s booking engine makes it an intriguing time for investors of this growing company.

For more information on Pure Hospitality Solutions, visit www.purenow.solutions

Let us hear your thoughts: Oriens Travel and Hotel Management Corp. Message Board

Halcon Resources is leveraging an experienced staff and the most advanced technology available to grow its influence in the oil and gas industry. The relatively young company is focused on the acquisition, production, exploration and development of onshore liquids-rich assets in the United States, particularly at its two core operations in North Dakota and Texas.

The first of the company’s primary operations is located within one of the most promising reserves in the country: the Bakken Formation. As of the end of 2014, Halcon held approximately 129,000 acres throughout the state, and early results have been promising. This year, the company expects to begin drilling operations for 25 to 30 new wells in the Williston Basin. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the region’s production climbed to nearly 600,000 barrels per day in 2012, highlighting the extreme production potential of the basin that’s been unlocked by modern drilling technology.

El Halcon, the company’s second core operation, is located in the most active shale play in the world, the Eagle Ford Shale Formation of East Texas. Halcon plans to begin drilling operations on 12 to 15 operated wells this year. This play could provide Halcon with potentially massive increases in production capacity. In March 2015, the region’s production totals climbed to 1.6 million daily barrels, according to Fuel Fix.

With operations in two of the country’s most promising regions, as well as a collection of non-core plays around the nation, Halcon is in a strong position to increase its market share in the competitive industry. Following the release of the company’s Q1 2015 financial results, industry analysts were optimistic about the potential for strong growth moving forward. In addition to dramatic decreases in operating costs, Halcon was able to meet its average production goals for the period, netting just over 43,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Led by proven Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Floyd Wilson, former Petrohawk President and CEO, analysts agree that the company has made significant steps towards growth in recent months. With a rapidly improving balance sheet and sufficient liquidity “to fund operations… for the next several years,” according to Wilson, Halcon is embracing the vision and agility needed to become a resource powerhouse in the oil and gas industry. As the market appears to be headed toward a lasting shift in both prices and production targets, look for Halcon to continue making waves in the years to come.

For more information, visit www.halconresources.com

Stellar Biotech is the industry leader in the field of sustainably manufacturable Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin, or KLH, a revolutionary pharmaceutical protein derived from a scarce species of limpet that only lives in the northeast Pacific, Megathura crenulata, more commonly known as the great or giant keyhole limpet. The exceedingly complex structure and size of the KLH molecule has placed it well beyond the capabilities of even the most advanced synthetic production technologies, meaning the only source for this extremely useful carrier protein is this scarce organism, which lives in only one region of the earth’s waters, an increasingly endangered ocean habitat. KLH is already in use across a wide variety of both research and therapeutic vaccine applications whenever developers can get their hands on enough of the stuff, due to a significant litany of advantages offered by the molecule which simply cannot be found elsewhere or replicated using synthetic alternatives.

What really sets Stellar apart within this niche industry is their world-leading, proprietary aquaculture technology that allows them to sustainably farm giant keyhole limpets and extract an abundant supply of GMP-grade Stellar KLH™ without harming the organism. KLH is eagerly sought after for its ability to carry peptides, typically small proteins of low molecular weight and other drug molecules that do not elicit an immune response on their own. Some of the most significant advantages of this molecule as a carrier protein are its established track record of being extremely safe in the human body, an exceptionally large molecular size with numerous epitope (the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system) binding sites for maximized antigen conjugation, and a proven ability to function as a high-efficiency carrier in multiple different applications.

With the granting of an FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for a KLH-based immunotherapy compound earlier this year in March, developed by Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CLDX), which is studying its application in adults suffering from a type of brain cancer known as GBM (EGFRvIII-positive glioblastoma), Stellar Biotechnologies (OTC: SBOTF) (TSXV: KLH) is now extremely well positioned, given that this will likely turn out to be one of the historically most important milestones for validating the KLH-conjugate approach in immunotherapy. The company is aggressively moving to strengthen its overall market presence and really capitalize on the emerging realization throughout the industry of the vast potential of this immune-stimulating protein, and its potential applications across a whole host of immunotherapeutic markets.

The company has now announced a crucial move to up-sell KLH into said markets through a greatly expanded online presence, pushing the company’s corporate communications channels further out into the realm of social media, with a concerted effort to provide the relevant educational content and information about Stellar’s game-changing technology, as well as keeping everyone updated on the company’s constant innovations and activities. The plan is to branch out from the main corporate site www.stellarbiotech.com, leveraging the enormous wealth of scientific and clinical data compiled at www.klhsite.org, in order to establish a bold presence across the three main social media vectors. Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) rapidly growing Google+ framework, which is arguably one of the best ways to increase search visibility in the business world due to its native dovetailing with Google’s ever-changing algorithms, via the “+StellarBiotech” handle, as well as through the still enormously popular venue Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) via the company’s www.facebook.com/StellarBiotech page, and of course by using Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), via their @StellarBiotech account.

Keeping investors and key industry players alike up to date through consistent communication of the company’s activities, as well as routinely pushing relevant data regarding industry developments and the important role Stellar’s KLH technology plays, will no doubt be fundamentally important to the company’s overall marketing strategy. Investors should keep a close eye on Stellar Biotechnologies as their social media footprint takes shape and KLH cements an increasingly frontline role in immunotherapy.

For more information, visit www.stellarbiotechnologies.com

Growblox Sciences, a biopharmaceutical research and development company, is focused on creating safe, standardized pharmaceutical-grade cannabis-based therapies for various medical conditions. The company is pioneering technology, industry-leading processes, and a big data-driven clinical research and development algorithm to bring relief to patients in communities across the country.

The company’s GrowBLOX technology suite includes the TissueBLOX, GrowBLOX, and CureBLOX equipment. Together, these components provide unparalleled control and monitoring of cannabis cultivation throughout the plant’s life-cycle. These patent pending processes were designed to produce a safe and consistent cannabis product under cGMP guidelines. Utilizing a computer-regulated system that optimizes the nutrients, water, temperature, and gas levels, the GrowBLOX suite produces cannabis with more active ingredients per pound than traditional cultivation methods.

Also, based on an analysis of preclinical and clinical data from thousands of peer-reviewed studies, Growblox Sciences has identified the most effective profiles of cannabinoids and terpenes for the treatment of conditions within seven therapeutic categories. As a result of this extensive research and the analysis of the active ingredient profiles of 30,000 Cannabis strains in conjunction with a major testing lab, the company will be able to provide patients with natural cannabis strains containing the ideal ratios for treating specific diseases or symptoms.

Another significant advantage held by the company stems from an accelerated drug development program to finish in 3-5 years instead of the 15-20 years typically seen in traditional pharmaceutical development programs. Armed with an intellectual property strategy that takes full advantage of the design of the GrowBLOX technology suite and protects the valuable foundation laid, Growblox Sciences has positioned itself well for long-term success in the burgeoning cannabis space.

For more information, visit www.growblox.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Growblox Sciences, Inc. Message Board

Modern electronic devices are often sold on the principle of mobility, and that principle is a gripping prospect for an expanding number of consumers. As evidence, consider that, as of October 2014, an estimated 64 percent of American adults owned a smartphone, according to Pew Research Center. Despite the promise of mobility, however, personal electronic devices continue to be limited by a common factor: power. According to Geek.com, a typical smartphone provides users with approximately five hours of talk time, but these figures are greatly diminished with other activity, including gaming or surfing the web. So, how can electronic devices ditch the wires and deliver on the promise of true mobility? Energous Corp. (NASDAQ: WATT), through its WattUp™ transmitter, is providing the solution.

With its proprietary product ecosystem, Energous allows users to charge any battery-operated device that requires less than 10 watts (cell phones, tablets, wearables, cameras, etc.) through a radio frequency (RF) signal. Similar to a Wi-Fi system, WattUp™ delivers safe wire-free energy to devices up to 15 feet away from the transmitting device. With compatibility for up to 12 devices simultaneously managed by a single system, it provides a safe and efficient solution to the classic power conundrum.

In addition to its revolutionary hardware, the WattUp™ system utilizes a customizable mobile app interface to allow for device prioritization based on users’ charging needs. Using the software, a consumer could set household devices to charge while he or she was away, while placing the focus on cell phones and tablets after work. This functionality could make thoughts of charging devices a thing of the past.

In addition to personal offerings, Energous is currently seeking target destinations for ubiquitous wire-free power outside of the home. High traffic commercial locations, including coffee shops, restaurants, metro stops, malls and airports, are all currently on the company’s radar of potentially suitable areas for initial efforts. Through the engagement of key infrastructure providers and operators, the company has access to historically relevant data from the delivery of similar services (e.g. paid Wi-Fi zones) to the market, giving Energous a significant advantage in analyzing market potential.

The demand for increased mobility is on the rise, as can be seen by the 350 percent increase in global public Wi-Fi hotspots over the past four years, according to the Wireless Broadband Alliance. Wireless power currently stands as the last significant restriction on full mobility, ensuring that the wire-free charging industry will maintain significant demand moving forward. With plans in place for both public and private applications of the WattUp™ product line, Energous looks to be set for tremendous growth opportunities in the years to come.

For more information, visit www.energous.com

Cara Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics to treat human diseases associated with pain, inflammation and pruritus. The company’s most advanced candidate, CR845, is a patented compound possessing analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-pruritic activities that make it appropriate for a variety of therapeutic applications. Currently, the compound is undergoing clinical testing for the treatment of acute pain and pruritus.

“The first half of 2015 continues to be an important period for the Company as we finalize and initiate our Phase 3 Program for I.V. CR845, which offers the potential for post-operative pain relief without typical opioid side effects,” stated Dr. Derek Chalmers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cara.

The demand for pain medications throughout the United States is considerable. According to IMS Health, the total market for pain management pharmaceuticals throughout the country accounted for $18.2 billion in 2012. Despite its size, however, the pain and inflammation market currently represents an area with substantial unmet patient need. This is because the majority of existing pain medications are severely limited by a host of adverse side effects. The potentially negative effects of opioids, which are currently the most common treatment for moderate-to-severe pain, include diminished effectiveness over time, potential for addiction and nausea, among others.

Cara’s CR845 possesses peripherally-selective molecules that interact with the kappa opioid receptors located directly on pain-sensing nerves. In early testing, the compound has been shown as extremely effective in terms of kappa receptor selectivity and has shown no significant affinity for non-opioid receptors. If these results prove to be consistent throughout clinical testing, the drug candidate should produce a similar pain management effect to currently available options without many of the dangerous side effects.

According to a report from ABC News, while the United States makes up only 4.6 percent of the world’s population, as much as 80 percent of the world’s opioids are consumed within the country. This statistics shows the incredible demand for painkilling medications, but experts also suggest that it is an indicator of the overall addictiveness of currently available drugs. Cara, through the continued development of CR845, is both addressing the issue of addictiveness and positioning itself for substantial growth in the pharmaceutical market moving forward.

With hydrocodone combination products being moved from the more-permissive Schedule III to the restrictive Schedule II category in the United States late last year, the market may soon be on the hunt for a more easily accessible alternative to the country’s most widely-prescribed pills. If CR845 receives a “lower scheduled or potentially even non-scheduled designation” at the conclusion of trials, as has been previously suggested by Dr. Chalmers, Cara is in a strong strategic position to make a substantial impact on the biopharmaceutical industry for years to come.

For more information, visit www.caratherapeutics.com

IFAN Financial, a designer, developer, and distributer of software to enable mobile payments, has been selected by Blue Like Neon to provide the digital branding agency with cutting-edge mobile payments solutions.

Blue Like Neon utilizes a multi-pronged market enhancement strategy designed to create campaigns that allow clients to better engage with their customers while increasing visibility and retention. IFAN Financial will deploy its mobile gateway to enhance this approach by providing Blue Like Neon with a social commerce platform that can be customized for each client’s unique needs.

“We believe the days of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to mobile commerce are over. Blue Like Neon is one of the leaders in providing the next generation of user experiences in the digital domain and we are honored to have been selected by them as an industry partner,” IFAN Financial’s president and CEO, J. Christopher Mizer, stated in the news release.

Blue Like Neon’s founding partner, Landis White, further explained how IFAN’s technology will complement the company’s existing platform.

“The flexibility and security features of IFAN’s solutions are very appealing to us and our clients. IFAN’s payment solution allows us to integrate state-of-the-art technology into the app and e-commerce architecture. The end result increases convenience and security while lowering costs. We view this as providing a significant competitive advantage,” White stated.

For more information, visit http://ifanfinancial.com

Let us hear your thoughts: IFAN Financial, Inc. Message Board

Nearly everyone has a smartphone, and the capabilities of these revered devices is seemingly endless. But it wasn’t always so. In the early 2000s, the most extravagant cellphone features included email, fax and web browsing. Since then advancement has been rampant, and today you can use smartphones to video message someone on the other side of the world, pay your utility bills, or remotely control your home lighting system. The sky is the limit.

Consorteum Holdings has spent the last three years of the technological evolution developing relationships and licensing agreements needed to compete in the emerging mobile gaming market.

Through its mix of on-deck partnerships, license agreements and joint-venture revenue share arrangements, the company specializes in utilizing smartphone capabilities for the delivery of mobile content, mobile payment solutions and other products.

Consorteum’s approach is designed to enable ultimate flexibility when sourcing solutions to achieve smarter, faster deployment of technologies, competitive pricing, and the potential for new streams of revenue.

The company’s ThreeFiftyNine Inc. subsidiary is working with a software development team that previously designed the world’s first regulatory compliant mobile platform for delivery of gaming content created by a third party. The result of years of development and millions of engineering costs, the platform is the first generation software delivery platform for mobile devices. The technology is capable of delivering any digital content across any cellular network to any mobile device, a key differentiator that makes it possible for Consorteum to approach many different markets that are in the business of providing mobile connectivity and mobile content.

As the broader smartphone and technology industries continue to evolve in application and capability, Consorteum is pursuing mobile initiatives that benefit multiple business verticals. The company has designed its business initiatives to create repetitive transactions on an ongoing basis.

For more information, visit www.consorteum.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Consorteum Holdings, Inc. Message Board

Dolls make up one of the largest chunks of the roughly $22 billion U.S. market for traditional toys at around 10.5% of the overall space. Dolls did roughly $2.22 billion in 2013 and approximately $2.32 billion last year, representing a four percent growth rate according to market research company NPD Group’s (formerly National Purchase Diary) consumer panel tracking data, which is published by the Toy Industry Association. NPD Group is consistently ranked as one of the top 25 companies on the annual Honomichl Top 50 report covering Fortune 500 market research firms and thus the above data, which represents roughly 80% of the U.S. retail toy market, gives investors a very clear picture of the market’s size and growth.

While Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) has historically been the dominant player in the doll market – owing to established brands like Barbie and newer, still-growing brands like Monster High, as well as temporarily hot but nevertheless exciting successes linked to Disney Princess brands like Frozen – their mainstay brand Barbie has been in significant decline since 2012 according to retailer panel data compiled by mass retail analyst firm Klosters Trading Corporation. Private company MGA Entertainment, known for their Bratz, Moxie Girlz, Rescue Pets plushies and lifelike baby dolls marketed through a partnership with Zapf Creation (ETR/FRA: ZPFK), has also seen substantial decline in recent years according to the Klosters data, clearly telegraphing how fragmented the doll market has become, a phenomena which has opened up substantial room for newer brands and concepts to grow and flourish.

One such company is One World Holdings, Inc. (OTC: OWOO), whose Prettie Girls! brand, developed and marketed under their subsidiary known as The One World Doll Project, continues to capture attention and retail space in the attractive and still niche market for ethnically diverse dolls, a segment that has been routinely, yet unsuccessfully courted by major sector players. The most recent example of how ham-fisted major players like Mattel have been in this area is the PR nightmare surrounding their Mexico-inspired Barbie for their “Dolls of the World” collection, which was lampooned by the media and consumers alike as essentially being a cynical cash-grab that reinforces a negative stereotype of Mexican women, with the doll wearing a fiesta dress, sporting a pink passport, and carrying a pet Chihuahua. The subsequent attempt to salvage their reputation by changing the doll to Mariachi Barbie has not met with the hoped-for success and this fiasco demonstrates the lack of savvy major doll market players have had when it comes to appealing to not only an increasingly ethnically diverse American population, but to global markets, where young girls seek role models they can identify with.

The Prettie Girls! brand on the other hand has won fast favor with consumers and industry players alike, stealing the show at the 112th North American International Toy Fair due to the well-defined characteristics and personalities of each doll, which, while being ethnically diverse, are not focused on that ethnicity so much as on the wonderful and inspiring personalities crafted for each doll. This ingenious and adept approach was masterminded by OWOO’s Stacey McBride-Irby, who used to be a project designer at Mattel and developed the sorority Barbie modeled on the first African-American Greek Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, before leaving Mattel after a 15-year run in order to make dolls which fully live up to her motto that a “happy, inspired childhood creates happy, inspired, and powerful women.”

Part of the success at Toy Fair 2015 for OWOO was the introduction of the tween versions of the company’s Prettie Girls! brand, the Tween Scene dolls, which are aimed at directly representing preteen girls and bringing an array of even more approachable, ethnically diverse role models to younger girls. Also at the Toy Fair, OWOO received confirmation from the Walmart.com buying team that sales performance of their Prettie Girls! brand was quite positive and that the brand would be featured in Walmart’s Easter sales promotion, as well as via the Walmart.com special offers program for approved members. Similar retail deals have given the company a sizeable retail footprint already, with a distribution agreement between OWOO and online sales giant Amazon.com having recently been signed, and the Prettie Girls! brand finding their way onto shelves at such popular brick and mortar retailers as Toys “R” Us, which has over 870 stores in the U.S. and more than 725 stores worldwide, as well as at Texas-based H-E-B Grocery, which has over 350 stores across Texas and northern Mexico.

Rather than cynically pandering to various ethnicities, the Prettie Girls! and Prettie Girls! Tween Scene brands lovingly cater to the ambitions, career goals and positive values all girls should aspire to, celebrating the ethnic diversity and fashion style of each highly unique doll, but not in a heavy-handed way that ultimately turns consumers off. With characteristics like an emphasis on participating in after-school activities and clubs, or desire to help their communities, as well as getting good grades and taking their futures seriously, this brand of dolls is light years beyond the state of design on offer from the major players in the industry. These revolutionary design elements make OWOO a company investors should keep their eye on, especially as the company moves to further flesh out their growing retail footprint with promotional efforts like games and cartoon shows based on the dolls.

With a 532% YoY jump in revenues reported for fiscal year 2014, OWOO has proven that their mix of intelligent brand design and marketing efforts focused on media venues frequented by their core target demographics is a successful blend of product and presence.

Take a closer look by visiting www.oneworlddolls.com

Let us hear your thoughts: One World Holdings Message Board