• The article covers the concentration of cannabidiol in hypertensive women and men using the company’s patented DehydraTECH(TM)-processed CBD
• The global cardiovascular drugs market is expected to grow from $146.51 billion in 2021, reaching $173.48 billion in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.1%
• The article supports Lexaria’s efforts as it pursues IND status from the FDA for DehydraTECH-CBD as a potential treatment for hypertension
• Company is planning to begin preparations for a clinical trial that could start as early as the fourth quarter

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ: LEXX), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, recently announced that its groundbreaking research utilizing its patented DehydraTECH(TM)-processed cannabidiol (DehydraTECH-CBD) has been published in eight peer-reviewed articles across six different publications. Lexaria’s research into DehydraTECH-CBD is being considered for indications including hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, and more. Hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes are broad fields of interest for the company, with DehydraTECH-CBD generating positive pilot-study data.

“We’re proud of the impressive amount of research that our Company has been able to develop through its HYPER-H21 series of clinical studies that has now been assessed by a variety of our respected peers,” said John Docherty, President of Lexaria (https://ibn.fm/3SiWY). “Lexaria is establishing itself as one of the world’s leaders in the investigation of cannabidiol for the purposes of controlling human blood pressure, and we are now focused on launching an FDA-registered IND program to formally investigate DehydraTECH-CBD for hypertension this year.”

The global cardiovascular drugs market is expected to grow from $146.51 billion in 2021, reaching $173.48 billion in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.1%. The market’s growth is supported by the increase in sedentary jobs, busy lifestyles, and changing consumer preferences – factors affecting the disease profile in world populations. North America contributed as the largest cardiovascular drug region in 2021 (https://ibn.fm/wnBEH).

The most recent publication in June 2023 in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Molecular Sciences is “Differences in Plasma Cannabidiol Concentrations in Women and Men: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study” (https://ibn.fm/3syrx). The addition of this research article builds on the growing body of peer-reviewed literature developed by Lexaria’s leading research team into the effects of DehydraTECH-CBD and human health.

The findings and conclusions from the most recently published article revolve around the concentrations of CBD in a subject’s plasma and the bioavailability of the drug, examining the potential therapeutic benefits of CBD in the triple-blind study. Of the 62 hypertensive volunteers, concentrations of CBD were found to be higher in women and correlated with the proportion of adipose tissue. Lexaria found that the difference between the sexes was attributed to higher levels of fat tissue in women compared to men, and the men’s higher metabolism contributed to lower levels of CBD during the study.

Lexaria’s patented DehydraTECH technology improves how active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”) enter the bloodstream by promoting healthier oral ingestion methods and increasing the effectiveness of fat-soluble molecules. DehydraTECH is covered by 34 granted patents and many pending patents.

The benefits of using DehydraTECH technology include:

• Improves the speed of onset, with effects felt in minutes
• Increased bioavailability by more effectively delivering the drug into the bloodstream
• Increased brain absorption, with testing suggesting up to 17x improvement
• Reduction in drug administration costs through a higher ratio of drug delivery

Lexaria’s next steps for its hypertension program include IND submission and additional preparations for its clinical trial. If the FDA clears the IND, Lexaria could begin its Phase Ib study as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LEXX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/LEXX

• Digital money is replacing physical cash and further supporting the growth of a growing cashless society driven by the pandemic and other factors
• FEXD supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of reducing cross-border transaction costs from 7 percent to 3 percent
• FEXD plans to offer a diverse portfolio of products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America

Financial technology, more commonly referred to as fintech, fuels economic growth and reduces inequality, poverty, and informality in underdeveloped companies. For impoverished people and small businesses without access to financial services as simple as a bank account, fintech creates opportunities and the ability to send and receive payments securely and access to savings, credit, and insurance products. Fintech Ecosystem Development (NASDAQ: FEXD), a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”), was formed with the mission of creating and growing a global financial services ecosystem to address unmet mobile money needs in developing and industrialized countries and markets.

With digital money replacing physical cash, consumers buy products and services from anywhere in the world, making payments across borders. FEXD plans to offer a diverse portfolio of products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America – using a growth strategy that includes developing mobile transaction platforms, applications, and services to help implement the changing financial landscape.

Mobitech International LLC (dba Afinoz), an artificial intelligence-enabled digital lending platform used by India’s leading banks, non-banking financial companies, and fintech loan providers, is currently a targeted acquisition for FEXD. Afinoz’s fintech platform supports enterprises making loans primarily to middle- and working-class borrowers via its website or mobile phone app. This platform makes loans available and affordable to millions of Indian workers and unbanked users by providing access at a low cost from more than 50 lending partners.

A McKinsey & Company research report outlines major trends driving the growth of digital payments worldwide, especially in the emerging markets that FEXD plans to service. The first trend outlined in the report is the pandemic, which accelerated the trend of contactless payments. Second, ecommerce continues to grow and evolve, being expected to increase by 12 to 15 percent annually by 2025. Third, governments are pushing for cashless payments to facilitate inoperability, plug tax leakages, and ensure effective aid distribution. Finally, the report points out that investors are hungry for digital payments, leading to an abundance of payments-focused fintechs (https://ibn.fm/HHUHb).

With so many areas of the world severely underserviced by financial service markets, FEXD plans to make it easier for people to access faster and cheaper ways of transferring money directly across borders to fund business transactions and provide support. With the increased interest in smartphone operation, mobile money platforms provide a solution for those who want to access financial institutions without requiring access to physical banking facilities. The company also allows people in other countries to access USD online accounts with FDIC assurance.

FEXD supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of reducing cross-border transaction costs from 7 percent to 3 percent – using advanced technology to lower fintech costs and international fees. The company is led by a management team with extensive expertise in developing and managing financial service platforms and applications that will further drive the mobile money sector toward a cashless society.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FEXD are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FEXD

• National awareness of glioblastoma tumors (“GBM”) sustained by Congressional leaders aim to improve efforts to treat brain cancers and ultimately improve patient survival
• GBM is a widely occurring, aggressive and effectively incurable brain cancer that few patients survive beyond three years
• U.S.-based drug developer CNS Pharmaceuticals is in the midst of a global potentially pivotal clinical trial for its lead pharmaceutical candidate, Berubicin, which it aims to show improves on standard of care chemotherapy agent Lomustine’s approach to treating GBM
• Berubicin is a novel anthracycline that is practically unique in its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier to directly target tumors, and a Phase I trial of the drug in 2006 produced a surviving patient with over 15 years cancer-free
• An interim futility analysis of the current trial is anticipated later this year

A simple search of the Internet shows a number of clinical trials attempting to improve treatment options for glioblastoma (“GBM”) brain cancers, and Congress will recognize a National Glioblastoma Awareness Day next month to further support development of effective brain cancer responses.

That’s because, as the U.S. Social Security Administration acknowledges in its protocols for speeding disability applications through “compassionate allowances,” GBM tumors are “the most malignant of the primary brain cancers” and they respond “poorly to all currently available treatments.”

The protocols for compassionate allowance in GBM cases further note that “prognosis is grim, as most patients die within 2 years and few survive longer than three years” (https://ibn.fm/GhhSL).

Texas-based cancer drug innovator CNS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CNSP) is nearing the release of its interim analysis for its potentially pivotal clinical trial tracking the effectiveness of drug candidate Berubicin, which has already produced one patient with over 15 years of GBM survival.

Berubicin distinguishes itself by being virtually unique in its status as a cancer-fighting anthracycline that crosses the blood-brain barrier to attack central nervous system tumors directly.

Berubicin also distinguished itself by presenting statistically significant improvement in nearly half of the two dozen patients evaluated in a Phase I trial in 2006, including one patient whose last-known status remained cancer free as the current trial process began ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Association for Cancer Research recently highlighted the case of GBM patient Adam Hayden, who has survived his diagnosis since 2016 — a decade less than the Berubicin trial patient but highly noteworthy nonetheless at seven years. 

Hayden’s role as a patient advocate led to an audience with Congressional leaders in May in which he and his family lobbied the lawmakers for increased funding for cancer research, as well as his participation in President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative at the White House (https://ibn.fm/iPbfm).

A bipartisan Congressional resolution designated last month as Brain Tumor Awareness Month in support of efforts to find better brain cancer treatments, and Arizona senior Sen. Kyrsten Sinema co-introduced bipartisan legislation designating July 9 as National Glioblastoma Awareness Day in honor of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, who died of GBM in 2018.

Sinema’s resolution “calls for treatments of glioblastoma and related brain cancers to slow its progression, improve quality of life, and recognize the importance of molecular biomarker testing to improve diagnosis and treatment” (https://ibn.fm/gRvBo).

CNS Pharmaceutical has raised sufficient capital to enable the company to secure its trial beyond the interim analysis at least into the fourth quarter (https://ibn.fm/aWCfQ).

Primary completion of the trial is expected next year, with final results in late 2024 or early 2025. The trial has achieved global status, recruiting patients in the United States, Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy. The trial’s ultimate aim is to show Berubicin offers a better rate of overall survival compared to Lomustine, but there are also several secondary measurements that will be evaluated, including improved survival without tumor progression or adverse treatment events, and improvement in the overall proportion of patients responding to treatment.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNSP are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP

BREATHE! Convention at The Expo @ World Market Center Las Vegas will showcase the emerging and decentralized technology that continues to shape the future of work, art, finance, and more!

Professionals interested in exploring the potential of Web3, Blockchain, AI, and other emerging tech applications are invited to attend the three-day event at one of the world’s largest and most recognized convention centers.

“Anyone who attends, whether you are an emerging tech pro or newbie, has the opportunity to put the power of emerging tech applications into the palm of your hands,” says BREATHE! Public Relations Director Brian Edmiston. “BREATHE! is here to ease the education and adoption process for anyone who wants to make use of ChatGPT, AI, Blockchain, Digital Ownership, and the Metaverse in their daily lives.”

BREATHE! features workshops, panel discussions and keynote presentations from industry experts selected by event producer 5AM Global based on their merit, expertise, and engagement skills. The presenters are neither paid nor paying for the opportunity to stand at center stage — it’s all about passion and positioning at the forefront of this new generation of applied science.

The Web’s first iteration launched in 1990 was a read-only sharing of information across global computer networks, followed by the 2.0 evolution currently used in which computer users can read and write in receiving or distributing information across the Web’s expanding networks. Web3 envisions transforming the model to a read-write-own sharing of knowledge and commerce at the most fundamental level.

The official BREATHE! White Paper details its focus on empowering attendees through blockchain, Metaverse, AI, and adjacent Web3 technologies including token-based economics. BREATHE! began its pre-launch organization in November and, following on its full launch at the beginning of the year, has populated its website with an increasing number of speakers and participating brands.

Attendees at September’s event will learn about decentralized finance (Defi), crypto universe developments amid continually fluctuating markets, and the potential of non-fungible token (“NFT”) use in the ever-expanding digital ecosystem. Programming focused on the Metaverse will introduce innovations in augmented reality, virtual reality and new levels of gameplay possibilities.

In addition to providing an education on emerging tech developments, BREATHE! will deliver an opportunity for attendees to network with experts, investors, and industry leaders.

Key takeaways:

• BREATHE! is focused on education, experience, and entertainment for a fully comprehensive and socially engaged emerging tech convention
• BREATHE!’s three-day convention takes place at one of the world’s largest convention centers in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of the most recognized event, entertainment, and business destinations in the world
• There is a growing anticipation for BREATHE! to host more than 5,000 attendees, more than 80 speakers, and more than 200 brands on display
• The convention’s panel discussions, fireside chats, hot seats, and keynote presentations will provide insights, releases, and applicable knowledge on how emerging tech innovations will impact every corner of society today, tomorrow and for years to come
• BREATHE! Villages will establish an ecosystem of interconnected projects and companies showing the scope of emerging tech services and technologies
• Workshops, panel discussions and keynote presentations from industry experts were selected based on quality and passion, not financial incentive

Behind the Scenes:

5AM Global is a strategic marketing and business management firm with a developed brand and reputation whose Co-Founder and CEO Shawn Willis was recognized by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives as 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year in Nevada. BREATHE! has an advisory board of subject matter experts and investors from all over the world, with strategic event collaborators in the MENA Region, United Kingdom, France, and other emerging tech hotspots.

Registering for early access tickets BREATHE! Convention is available directly at https://tickets.breatheconvention.com/

BREATHE! Convention is powered by Metakeep and NFT-TiX

• Lexaria is a global innovator in drug delivery platforms with an expanding portfolio of patents that currently stands at 34 granted patents and many patents pending worldwide
• These patents pertain to the company’s method of improving bioavailability and taste as well as the use of DehydraTECH(TM) as a delivery platform for a wide variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”)
• The company has, since June 2015, simultaneously filed the US utility patent application and an international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”) procedure, both through the USPTO
• The PCT procedure has made the process of initiating international patent applications a bit easier by eliminating the need to file multiple applications directly to each target country
• Lexaria is looking to leverage the protection its portfolio confers to pursue commercial out-licensing opportunities

“Patenting is one way for a company to differentiate itself. Patents can protect innovation, create licensing value, advance a brand, and reward innovators – all of which contributes to a larger corporate identity,” Alan Fisch of Fisch Sigler, a patent litigation firm in Washington, DC., told WIRED (https://ibn.fm/WMroF). According to WIRED, patenting can be a process that takes years, ending in success for only about half of patents submitted. So it’s a significant accomplishment and, according to Fisch, “patenting is one way for a company to differentiate itself. Patents can protect innovation, create licensing value, advance a brand, and reward innovators—all of which contributes to a larger corporate identity.”

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ: LEXX), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, recently hit a milestone, announcing it had received notification of four newly granted patents that grew its intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio to 34 granted patents worldwide as of July 13, 2023 (https://ibn.fm/li1hY), with many more pending worldwide. Lexaria now has patents issued in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, India, the European Union and Japan, pertaining to its method of improving bioavailability and taste, as well as the use of DehydraTECH(TM) as a delivery platform for a range of active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”).

Formative Years

“Lexaria began filing for DehydraTECH in [June] 2014 with two initial US provisional patent application filings by the original inventors Poppy’s Teas LLC. (“PoViva”), which Lexaria acquired by way of exclusive, worldwide license rights and controlling interest in the founding company,” the company explains in its annual report for FY 2021 (https://ibn.fm/UwmF1). But the provisional applications, which have a 12-month pendency period that cannot be extended, would be pointless if the company did not act within the specified timeline. So, to enjoy the benefit from the earlier filing of the provisional application, the company, on June 2015, filed a nonprovisional utility patent, following which the USPTO issued a patent granted in October 2016. The company’s first in the US, this patent was titled Cannabinoid Infused Food and Beverage Compositions and Methods of Use Thereof (https://ibn.fm/yi3MI) under its Patent Family #1.

The company’s decision to first file a provisional application followed by a nonprovisional application has benefits, according to the USPTO. “A provisional application provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a later-filed nonprovisional patent application filed under 35 USC §111(a). It also allows the term ‘Patent Pending’ to be applied in connection with the description of the invention,” explains USPTO’s website (https://ibn.fm/bQnuX). And for a company that was still growing, it provided an effective and fast avenue to gain protection for 12 months before filing the nonprovisional patent.

US Patent Application Process

In its subsequent patent applications, at least in the United States, Lexaria has largely prepared and submitted nonprovisional patent applications, a process that has several steps. Before submitting an application, the applicant must decide on whether to file the application on their own or with the assistance of a registered patent attorney or agent, pay for and conduct a search to establish if the invention has already been publicly disclosed by another party, and create and validate a USPTO.gov account, just to mention a few crucial initial steps.

They then submit the application, whereupon they obtain a filing date. This application should contain the following elements: Utility Patent Application Transmittal Form or Transmittal Letter; appropriate fees (captured in a Fee Transmittal Form); bibliographic data (captured in an Application Data Sheet); specifications, including the description of the patent, at least one claim, and an abstract; drawings (when necessary); executed oath or declaration; nucleotide and amino acid sequence listing (when necessary); and large tables or computer listings (when necessary).

The USPTO then examines the patent application and sends a Notice of Allowance if it meets all legal patent requirements. The applicant must then pay the issue fee within three months from the date of mailing of the Notice of Allowance, at which point the patent becomes granted (https://ibn.fm/pfCqx). Patent maintenance fees may apply thereafter.

International Patent Application Under PCT Procedure

A patent granted in the US does not, of course, guarantee international protection for companies like Lexaria targeting the international market. For them, the international patent application is the only recourse. And while it may sound daunting, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”), administered by the World Intellectual Property Organizations (“WIPO”) (https://ibn.fm/PFiYW), has made the process a tad easier.

Under the PCT, applicants can file a single international patent application that they then use as the foundation to file national filings. (National filings are necessary because legal patent requirements vary from country to country, but the steps are largely more or less the same.) Because applicants do not need to file multiple applications directly to each target country, the PCT can save time and money.

It is this route that Lexaria has continually used, starting June 2015 when the company first initiated the simultaneous filing of the US utility patent application and an international patent application under the PCT procedure, both through the USPTO. Lexaria has used the PCT procedure to seek the protection of its IP for multiple patent families, with some applications successful and many more pending worldwide. These granted patents include:

Benefits of Lexaria’s Growing Patent Portfolio

• Patent Family #1: Food and Beverage Compositions Infused with Lipophilic Active Agents and Methods of Use Thereof, granted in the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, and Europe
• Patent Family #2: Methods for Formulating Orally Ingestible Compositions Comprising Lipophilic Active Agents, granted in Australia, Japan, and Mexico
• Patent Family #3: Stable Ready-to-Drink Beverage Compositions Comprising Lipophilic Active Agents, granted in Australia, India, Japan, and Mexico
• Patent Family #6: Transdermal and/or Dermal Delivery of Lipophilic Active Agents, granted in Canada
• Patent Family #7: Lipophilic Active Agent Infused Compositions with Reduced Food Effect, granted in Japan
• Patent Family #8: Compositions Infused with Nicotine Compounds and Methods of Use Thereof, granted in Canada and Australia
• Patent Family #18: Compositions and Methods for Enhanced Delivery of Antiviral Agents, granted in the United States and Australia
• Patent Family #21: Compositions and Methods for Treating Hypertension, granted in the United States

Lexaria’s approach to seeking protection for its IP has been nothing short of strategic. The company not only pursues international patent protection through filings under the PCT, to which 157 countries are current signatories, but it also follows that up with national filings in jurisdictions with the highest commercial potential. The company also understands the commercial opportunities that a robust patent portfolio confers.

In his latest annual letter to shareholders (https://ibn.fm/xXhqo), CEO Chris Bunka emphasized that “Lexaria’s business model is to out-license our technology in exchange for royalties” and that “any out-licensing transactions Lexaria achieves with pharmaceutical companies may also be accompanied by significant, potentially multi-million dollar staged development milestone fees payable to Lexaria.”

Last summer, the company signed commercial licensing agreements with Japan’s Premier Wellness Science Co. Ltd. (https://ibn.fm/krI4E), Atlanta-based BevNology (https://ibn.fm/JOYsR), Denmark’s Valcon Medical A/S (https://ibn.fm/sGjaR) and Ireland’s AnodGen Bioceuticals (https://ibn.fm/ICPht). Lexaria is also in discussions with a number of larger companies in Europe and North America regarding the licensed use of DehydraTECH technology for the consumer sectors and within the pharmaceutical industry, according to Bunka. In addition, if and when the company’s remaining patent applications become granted patents, its ability to generate additional license revenues from its IP may increase from multiple other jurisdictions.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LEXX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/LEXX

• Businesses around the world are expected to face as many as 33 billion data breaches throughout 2023
• Increasingly, businesses are finding that firewalls and antivirus software are unable to keep hackers at bay
• Cyber Threat Intelligence (“CTI”), a data collection tactic that allows companies to better assess the potential threats they face, has become an increasingly valuable tool in helping businesses address their vulnerabilities
• Data443 Risk Mitigation’s CTI-enabled product suite has been designed to provide businesses with an array of tools designed to help safeguard their data

Cyber-attacks have become an increasingly ubiquitous facet of modern business; in 2023 alone, cyber-attacks are expected to result in businesses worldwide suffering through approximately 33 billion account breaches – equivalent to a hacker attack every 39 seconds. Moreover, and increasingly, investment in security solutions such as firewalls, antivirus software, encryption tools, and other protective measures are failing to deter the sophisticated and evolving threats businesses face. In response to this, businesses have sought to adopt cyber threat intelligence (“CTI”) tools to assist them in better identifying and understanding the nature and scope of potential and actual cyberattacks to better prevent them going forward.

Data443 Risk Mitigation (OTC: ATDS), a data security and privacy software company, has focused its corporate mission around data mitigation, providing companies with the necessary software solutions to secure their data across devices and databases. With over 10,000 customers across 100 countries, CTI has rapidly emerged as a key tactic used by Data443 to help businesses make informed decisions about their cybersecurity strategies.

Data443 now manages and markets a myriad of tools designed to help businesses and customers safeguard their data against any potential breaches. From free data classification tools, secure archiving, and privacy managing to secure data transfer mechanisms and ransomware recovery tools that can help a business recover from the ramifications of a ransomware attack by way of a single reboot, Data443 has sought to create a comprehensive product suite designed to safeguard a company’s valuable information from gestation, through to its eventual distribution and storage.

Cyber threat intelligence involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting details about potential or actual cybersecurity threats; the information can vary – encompassing data gleaned from open-source intelligence, dark web monitoring, social media, and other threat intelligence fields. While not a solution, CTI can provide organizations with the ability to gain further insights into threat actors’ motives, targets, and behaviors, to protect themselves accordingly.

From providing businesses with real-time insights into potential threats at an earlier stage; allowing businesses to get a better understanding of their vulnerabilities; to improving a business’s overall security posture and potentially giving a company a competitive advantage over competitors and enhancing their reputation among clients, CTI has emerged as an increasingly valuable framework to apply to corporate cyber protection.

As the information systems and data repositories of today’s organizations become ever more complex and exposed to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, tools that contribute to the cyber resilience of businesses and society are being adopted on an ever-wider scale. As such, cyber threat intelligence can help provide a better picture of the threat landscape that will help players better anticipate and detect threats and share information across a given sector of industry or community of interest. Through its toolkit of products – via secure data repositories and data protection managers or their award-winning antivirus protection manager, Data443 is leveraging CTI to help businesses stay one step ahead of cybercriminals worldwide.

Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (ATDS) Investor Relations Matthew Abenante ir@data443.com 919-858-6542

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Data443.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ATDS are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ATDS

• Reichman discusses BiondVax’s 2023 achievements, including the development of innovative NanoAbs in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute targeting interleukin-17 (IL-17) targeting diseases such as psoriasis
• Annual sales for current anti-interleukin-17 monoclonal antibodies now total about $7.5 billion annually – and BiondVax is positioned to penetrate this market with promising results

Investor Brand Network (“IBN”) recently announced the release of its latest episode of The Bell2Bell Podcast, featuring Amir Reichman, CEO of BiondVax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BVXV). The Bell2Bell Podcast delivers informative updates and exclusive interviews with executives operating in fast-moving industries – like BiondVax’s innovative platform technology using alpaca-derived nanosized antibodies, known as Nanobodies (NanoAbs) (https://ibn.fm/6TsnQ). These NanoAbs address infectious and autoimmune diseases with large unmet medical needs, such as COVID-19, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, asthma, and macular degeneration.

BiondVax, in collaboration with the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (“MPG”) and the University Medical Center Göttingen (“UMG”), both in Germany, is developing a pipeline of innovative NanoAbs that exhibit multiple significant competitive advantages over existing antibody therapies, including stability at high temperatures, superior binding affinity, more effective and convenient routes of administration, and efficient production. BiondVax is uniquely positioned to advance nanosized antibody innovation from R&D through commercialization.

This recent interview between podcast host Stuart Smith and Reichman is a follow-up from December 2022 – beginning with BiondVax’s recent achievements, as detailed in a letter to shareholders issued late last year. Reichman told Smith that the company successfully executed a round of financing at the end of 2022, raising about $8 million. BiondVax also in-licensed the next antibody from the Max Planck Institute – a NanoAb designed to target interleukin-17 (IL-17) for the treatment of psoriasis, HS, and other important indications. BiondVax is now fast on the trail of developing what could be a very promising drug.

Autoimmune diseases are often chronic and require patients to take drugs for life, with annual sales for current anti-interleukin-17 monoclonal antibodies totaling about $7.5 billion. With their NanoAbs, BiondVax aims to generate a highly potent, highly specific drug that is safe to use for the large and underserved population of mild-to-moderate psoriasis patients. BiondVax expects to complete a proof-of-concept trial later this year, followed by human clinical trials.

Reichman explained that there are currently several treatment options on the market for psoriasis patients, such as, for example, creams and other topical drugs, biologics, and oral drugs for plaque psoriasis patients. However, the topicals are not highly sophisticated drugs, and they come with considerable side effects. “When a person needs to take steroids once in a while for an infection, they can tolerate it, but when you need to take steroids for an autoimmune disease with chronic inflammation, you create tolerance and deal with potential side effects,” the BiondVax CEO explained.

As for biologics, they are highly potent, but they are restricted to moderate and severe cases of psoriasis, which accounts for only 15% of patients with psoriasis. “The 85% that are left have to choose between drugs based on 1960s and 1970s technology. There hasn’t been much breakthrough in recent years to serve these patients,” Reichman added.

Additionally, BiondVax has also begun to offer contract development and manufacturing organization (“CDMO”) services. The CDMO services were designed to keep the BiondVax team abreast of the latest industry developments and trends while building experience and generating revenue to support the company’s primary focus – its potentially blockbuster NanoAb pipeline.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to BVXV are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/BVXV

• FEXD, a company formed to develop a global financial technology ecosystem, continues to develop a diverse portfolio of FinTech-related products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America
• The goal is to empower underserved populations by providing FinTech solutions that boost and shift purchasing power
• Fintech innovations affect various dimensions of financial services, including domestic payments, credit, remittances, savings, insurance, and investment management
• Access to credit and remittances have been shown to have positive effects on purchasing power
• On its part, FEXD aims to develop products that help consumers buy products and services from anywhere, make payments across borders, remit money to recipients in other countries, and send money to people in remote locations

As early as 2016 – and perhaps even earlier – the signs were emerging of the disruption that financial technology, or FinTech, was set to cause in the market. “FinTech is a dynamic segment at the intersection of the financial services and technology sectors where technology-focused startups and new market entrants innovate the products and services currently provided by the traditional financial services industry. As such, FinTech is gaining momentum and causing disruption to the traditional value chain… Cutting-edge FinTech companies and new market activities are redrawing the competitive landscape, blurring the lines that define players in the financial services sector,” wrote PwC in its 2016 Global Fintech Report (https://ibn.fm/JRcUH).

Years later, FinTech has remained resilient, helping consumers and businesses weather a series of storms that battered the global economy, from the global pandemic and the uncertainty that came thereafter to the rising inflation in 2022 (https://ibn.fm/5RIb5). This resilience stems from the fact that FinTech enabled – and continue to enable – consumers to access their finances from anywhere, receive money sent from anywhere, manage liquidity and payments, use the built-in saving tools to meet short- and long-term goals, and stay on top of their investment holdings (investment management) during both good and bad times. In addition, digital lending platforms have penetrated areas that may be underserved by traditional banks.

To put it simply, FinTech provides stability, accessibility, flexibility, and opportunities to vast swathes of the population, and companies such as Fintech Ecosystem Development (NASDAQ: FEXD), a company formed to develop a global financial technology ecosystem, are watching keenly.

Many dimensions of financial services are affected by fintech innovations, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund (https://ibn.fm/Hl0Mq). These include domestic payments, credit, remittances, savings, insurance, and investment management. According to the report, digital payments have been the most common instrument of financial inclusion and can be expected to accelerate well into the future. Factors such as convenience, safety, and cost favor this acceleration, given their transformational impact on the daily lives of the underprivileged.

And as scores of people continue making digital payments, a lending opportunity emerges. Transacting on digital platforms generates data that, combined with proprietary algorithms, can be used to establish consumers’ creditworthiness, forming the basis upon which digital platforms can provide largely unsecured loans. And while digital payments have long taken much of the FinTech organizations’ attention, many are now alive to the intensifying demand for digital loans and the need to serve the underserved, providing the much-needed capital.

FinTech organizations operate 24/7 and can help SMEs easily access finance outside business hours. And according to the World Bank, a strong positive relationship exists between access to finance and employment or job growth (https://ibn.fm/atDk5). By extension, such organizations can help increase the number of employed people in a country, translating to greater purchasing power. Similarly, just as higher wages boost personal purchasing power, so too does availability of credit for consumers (https://ibn.fm/2zwLU).

At the same time, the IMF report reads, “The potential for FinTech to support affordable cross-border payments – notably for remittance – is high… FinTech combined with strong digital identification and robust money laundering and terrorism finance [controls] could have a great potential in supporting more affordable and remotely accessible cross-border transactions such as remittances that have been an important support for families in low-income countries.”

Such remittances increase the purchasing power of households and are a source of foreign income for many developing countries. From the lens of their impact on livelihoods, the remittances may provide capital for entrepreneurial activities, finance the purchase of basic consumer goods, housing, and children’s education and healthcare (https://ibn.fm/6CEre).

The positive impacts of FinTech for both consumers and businesses have indeed piqued the interest of FEXD. The company plans to offer a diverse portfolio of FinTech-related products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

These products are intended to help consumers buy products and services from anywhere, make payments across borders, remit money to recipients in other countries, and send money to people in remote locations who may not have access to traditional banking services. Thus, given the role of money transfers in boosting recipients’ purchasing power, FinTech Ecosystem Development aims to empower underserved populations in various regions worldwide.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FEXD are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FEXD

• Cepton advances lidar technology that integrates into traffic systems, intersections, and ADAS-powered vehicles to improve passenger and pedestrian safety
• Through partnerships with leading global OEMs, CPTN enables ADAS mass-market commercialization with ultra-compact, high-performance, and cost-effective lidar solutions
• CPTN’s Helius(R) Smart Lidar System was recently deployed in government-funded pedestrian safety projects in Texas and Utah
• Other applications of CPTN’s lidar technology include airport terminal monitoring, security systems, crowd analytics, railway obstacle detection, e-tolling, and traffic management

Lidar – a combination of the words “light detection and ranging” – is a sensing technology that sends out laser pulses and measures the time it takes for them to bounce back after hitting an object. Cepton (NASDAQ: CPTN), a lidar innovator, advances high-performance lidar technology currently being applied by leading global companies and governments to vehicles, smart  infrastructure and more.

Pedestrian fatalities are rising rapidly, according to a report by the Governors Highway Safety Association (“GHSA”) that reveals a 77% increase since 2010 (https://ibn.fm/uu2ZB). CPTN is dedicated to reducing accident risk through a holistic approach that integrates lidar into traffic systems, intersections, and ADAS-powered vehicles to improve safety for passengers and pedestrians.

Through engagements with the world’s leading OEMs, CPTN is taking lidar mainstream by commercializing high-performance, ultra-compact lidar solutions for ADAS that seamlessly integrate into modern vehicle designs. The company is also advancing its Helius(R) Smart Lidar System, which combines its MMT(R) lidar technology with edge computing and advanced perception software to provide anonymized, intelligent 3D perception that improves safety in public spaces.

“Pedestrian safety is essential to people-oriented transportation. We are thrilled that Cepton’s technology has been utilized in such groundbreaking studies and deployments that could revolutionize the way intersections are designed and operated,” said Cepton CEO Dr. Jun Pei (https://ibn.fm/vePh8). “Our advanced lidar perception solution is designed to provide accurate, real-time 3D analytics that ultimately helps improve the walkability of streets. I am excited to see Helius deployed in more U.S. cities to help transform America’s traffic infrastructure, making safe, smart mobility accessible to everyone.”

Helius has been tested in Texas through research funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (“NITC”), which receives support from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Texas-based study, led by researchers from the University of Texas Arlington (“UTA”), deployed the system at two traffic-intensive intersections to collect data and enable an innovative dynamic flashing yellow arrow (D-FYA) system that generates signal operations based on real-time pedestrian analytics. The solution is being implemented in Salt Lake City for further evaluation by the Utah Department of Transportation.

CPTN’s solutions are also being applied to other industries, including airport terminal monitoring, security systems, crowd analytics, railway obstacle detection, e-tolling, and more (https://ibn.fm/CpQF5). In addition to its use in physical environments, the company’s Vista(R)-X120 Plus lidar has also been integrated into NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform to enable real-time simulation and 3D visualization to digitize lidar deployment and testing and reduce implementation cost.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CPTN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CPTN

• McEwen’s 2023 PEA marks a turnaround from the 2017 PEA, which previously focused on the construction of a mine with a conventional mill and floatation concentrator
• The 2023 PEA preparation was guided by three fundamental principles: environmental footprint, reduced permitting risk, and cathode production
• McEwen’s management is optimistic that the new direction will draw the company closer to achieving its full and substantial potential, paying off monetarily while reducing the company’s upstream environmental impacts

McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX), an asset-rich diversified gold and silver producer in the Americas, just announced its reframed approach to sustainable innovation for its 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on its Los Azules Copper Project in San Juan, Argentina. This approach marks a turnaround from the 2017 PEA, which previously focused on the construction of a mine with a conventional mill and flotation concentrator responsible for producing a concentrate for export to international smelters (https://ibn.fm/BdCIa).

This 2023 PEA technical report was prepared by Samuel Engineering Inc., guided primarily by three principles- McEwen’s environmental footprint, reduced permitting risk, and producing cathodes. It proposes a heap leach project using solvent extraction-electrowinning (“SX/EW”) to produce copper cathodes for sale in Argentina and international markets. McEwen aims to obtain 100% of its energy for the facility from renewable sources in a combination of offsite and onsite installations. The project also aims to have long-term net positive impacts on the greater Andean ecosystem, local flora, and fauna, as well as the lives of miners and citizens of nearby communities.

Base highlights for this PEA included the production of 401 million pounds of average annual copper cathode during the first five years of operation and 322 million pounds over the 27-year life of the mine. The PEA also noted that an after-tax net present value of $2.659 billion, with an internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 21.2% and a payback period of 3.2 years, would be realized, in addition to an average C1 cash cost of $1.07 per pound Cu and all-in sustaining costs of $1.64 per pound Cu. Lastly, the PEA noted 1.182 billion tons of mineralized material placed on a heap leach pad with an in-situ total copper grade of 0.46% and in-situ soluble copper grade of 0.31%.

McEwen’s management is optimistic that its new direction will draw it closer to achieving its full potential and ultimately creating incredible value for its shareholders. This follows the recent collaboration agreement with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto Venture that provides a significant opportunity to optimize the mine plan and overall mining and processing operations (https://ibn.fm/hb38g). Through Nuton’s ability to provide benefits such as lower overall energy consumption and allowing earlier conversion to renewable energy sources compared to conventional sulfide mineral treatment processes, McEwen looks to draw value and achieve its short-term and long-term objectives.

As it stands, McEwen Copper is positioned to make significant progress in the coming months and years. Its management is confident and optimistic that its current strategy will pay off monetarily while reducing the company’s upstream environmental impacts. By doing so, it also hopes to carve out a significant market share while positioning itself as a leader in its sector.

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

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to MUX are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/MUX