• 359 Mobile targets mobile gaming for the first release in its joint business agreement with DevLex; it focuses on providing predictive analytics for the sport of cricket, which is second only to soccer in global popularity
• Mobile gaming market forecast to surpass $1 trillion by 2022; industry analysts predict that mobile offerings will take a “disproportionate slice” in countries with high smartphone penetration

Consorteum Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CSRH) subsidiary 359 Mobile, Inc. is optimistic about the future of its Universal Mobile Interface™ (UMI) platform as smartphone penetration grows globally. Newzoo research finds that mobile device penetration in 2018 is highest in China, India, the U.S., Brazil and Russia (http://ibn.fm/jizHn).

CSRH is targeting sports gambling for its first release as part of its joint business agreement with DevLex. It combines its UMI with DevLex’ Predictive Analysis Platform and focuses on the sport of cricket, which is second only to soccer in worldwide popularity with an estimated 2.5 billion fans, according to Topend Sports (http://ibn.fm/nt3Aa). The cutting edge Edgelytics platform analyzes a massive historical database encompassing player as well as team statistics, which users can query and run tailored analytics on to help facilitate a more informed basis for wagering on particular cricket outcomes.

CSRH offers complex mobile solutions and mobile payment solutions through a mix of license agreements, strategic partnerships and joint venture revenue sharing arrangements. Its 359 Mobile subsidiary acts as a technology and services aggregator, meeting the diverse needs of clients.

Juniper Research projects that the online gaming market will reach $1 trillion by 2022 (http://ibn.fm/XGJui). “There are already strong signs that mobile offerings will take a disproportionate slice of the online gambling market in countries with a high penetration of smartphones,” states 359 Mobile’s website (http://ibn.fm/NtOxP). Research in Zenith’s Mobile Advertising Forecasts 2017 finds that, in 2018, smartphone ownership will grow to 66 percent of individuals, up from 63 percent the prior year (http://ibn.fm/LS2tr).

Juniper Research also predicts that the number of online gamblers will almost double to 684 million by 2022. CSRH believes that the growth in ownership of smartphones bodes well for its UMI mobile platform. Statista research projects that global smartphone users will exceed five billion by 2019 (http://ibn.fm/pKxWE).

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

• Several nations are preparing to ban or reduce petroleum-fueled vehicle sales, raising the capital of electric vehicle components
• First Cobalt is exploring the potential of quick-to-market resources for supplying EV battery needs
• In spite of industry’s exploratory efforts to reduce reliance on cobalt, experts continue to predict outsized market for coming decade

Companies tied to the mining industry generally would not be among the first to receive recognition for their efforts to sustain the planet’s ecosystem, but the reality is that mineral explorers such as First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (ASX: FCC) are actively engaged in searching for ways to deliver resources to the commodities market that are friendlier to the environment than those preferred in dominant technologies.

Automobile manufacturers are on the front lines of the global shift in fuel standards occasioned by developed nations’ efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions that pollute the air. Countries such as France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, India and the Netherlands have begun establishing governmental policies that will ban the sale of traditional combustion-engine vehicles after a coming date (http://ibn.fm/Lt4gK), while China is aiming to improve its environmental quality by requiring two million EV sales per year by 2020 (http://ibn.fm/I4LE4). Likewise, 10 states within the United States, led by California, plan to require millions of EVs on the road as a percentage of their automotive markets within the coming decade in what is shaping up as a potential battle with the federal government (http://ibn.fm/JSejE).

While the health impact of air pollution has occupied a significant amount of the discussion, concerns about fossil fuels’ impact on the environment are also visible in the increasing reports of global climate change, such as news about the warming of arctic regions (http://ibn.fm/BjzAI) and the impact of rising sea levels on ocean-front real estate values (http://ibn.fm/qigcv).

That global interest has driven the cobalt market to astronomical price increases during the past two years. Cobalt is a metal key to the development of electric vehicle conversion plans because of its significance in providing low-heat stability to the lithium-ion batteries currently used as standard in EV power trains. Cobalt is in relatively scarce supply compared to the pending demand, however, and its primary sourcing from countries out of favor with developed Western nations has spawned efforts to find cobalt-alternative battery supplies. Amid those efforts, the demand for cobalt is still forecast to rise by more than double its current high levels, according to commodities research-house Wood Mackenzie (http://ibn.fm/x1yBL), and the head of strategic cobalt marketing at Kazakh mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) recently predicted that the cobalt boom “is guaranteed for the next seven to 10 years” based on continued “legacy” demand in ceramics, jet engines and other products (http://ibn.fm/roF26).

First Cobalt Corp., with headquarters in Canada, is a vertically integrated North America pure-play cobalt company. First Cobalt is operating three significant North American assets: the Iron Creek Project in Idaho, which has a historic mineral resource estimate (non-compliant with NI 43-101 reporting standards) of 1.3 million tons grading 0.59 percent cobalt; the Canadian Cobalt Camp, with more than 50 past-producing mines; and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials.

The currently shuttered refinery has the potential to play a significant role in an emerging metals market on the continent — for now, China’s refineries process 80 percent of the world’s supply of cobalt (http://ibn.fm/CXTEo), creating a significant reliance on trade with that nation amid recent escalations in commerce politics between the United States and China.

First Cobalt listed earlier this year on the OTCQX Canada Index and is focusing its efforts on bringing the Idaho site’s historic estimate up to modern reporting compliance before the end of the year.

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

• VC operating in computer science and information technology space
• Employing venture capital services model
• Finbridge subsidiary is a player in fast growing alternative finance market

Information technology is transforming the global economy, and this fascinating exposition gives some examples of those changes by pointing out (http://ibn.fm/8KwqT) that “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.” Disruptive digital technologies, coupled with access to large amounts of data, are, as one commentator noted (http://ibn.fm/Uuf3T), “facilitating new products and services, creating new processes, generating greater utility, and ushering in a new culture of management.”

At the forefront of this revolution are companies like Accelerated Technologies Holding Corp. (OTC: ATHC). Like most VC companies, ATHC acquires and monetizes the equity in portfolio companies. However, in addition, it employs a venture capital services model and so provides guidance, infrastructural support and investment capital to entrepreneurs with game-changing ideas.

That approach is already underway at its Finbridge subsidiary. The fintech company was set up to provide capital to alternative lenders, with receivables between $2 million and $5 million, operating in the merchant cash advance and other short-term micro loan environments by factoring their receivables. These alternative lenders include independent sales organizations (ISOs) that market debit and credit card processing services to merchants on behalf of credit card member banks. An ISO will provide ongoing customer service to the merchant once the account has been activated and, in many instances, some degree of funding, for which it is compensated. However, as a result of providing credit, its cash resources fall and receivables build up on the balance sheet. Consequently, if origination of merchant accounts is to continue, access to short term funding is vital. The factoring services provided by Finbridge can play a crucial role in ensuring that ISOs have the funds to facilitate new merchants.

Finbridge, based in New York City, was incorporated in 2017 and began operations the same year. The company’s lending model provides ISOs with an alternative to applying for a bank loan or leveraging private investment capital to obtain cash to grow their business. Apart from originating new accounts, ISOs may also require funds to add sales agents, expand operations, buy out a partner or invest in their IT infrastructure.

Although its primary source of revenue will be derived from the loans made to ISOs and Merchant Cash Advance Lenders (MCAs), Finbridge will also provide other revenue-earning services. These include performing credit checks, split funding, ACH capabilities, lockbox and data visualization, CRM software, merchant background checks, services to determine a merchant’s repayment ability and collection services to be undertaken by an in-house legal team. MCAs are short term lenders that will advance a lump sum to a merchant in exchange for a percentage of daily credit card sales, plus a fee.

Also in ATHC’s portfolio is IconXchange, which is being developed to fund personality brands, such as those associated with sports and entertainment personalities. Using blockchain technology, IconXchange will offer a decentralized, open, resilient infrastructure that allows individuals, for the first time, to quickly and safely obtain and exchange direct investment in personality “icons” of the sports and entertainment industry, which will be facilitated by using IconXchange Coins, an easily tradeable cryptocurrency designed exclusively for such trading.

Another company in the ATHC fold is XStreamCorp, which presents an opportunity to market a revolutionary Reality Gaming Social Network. Designed to compete with Facebook’s Social Gaming market, the platform will incorporate proprietary technologies providing users with streaming video, audio and messaging capabilities, with the aim of enhancing both the user’s experience and the gaming effect.

ATHC’s most recent venture, launched in July 2018, is Intelagy. This is a business hub for small to mid-sized businesses that will provide affordable electronic payment and point-of-sale solutions, alternative funding and digital media and branding services for merchants operating in retail, online and mobile environments.

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

• Gamify ecommerce platform employs game mechanics to increase customer engagement
• Gamification market to hit $22 billion by 2022
• Management team has successful track record in game development

Playing games, one historian has said, is more fundamental than civilization, for even animals play, an observation indicating that game characteristics may be found or employed in a variety of real life situations (http://ibn.fm/BEzs5). As a result, in marketing, in particular, and in business, generally, assimilation of game mechanics is now thought to lead to greater customer engagement. This is propagating the fast growing market (CAGR of 41 percent) of gamification, which is projected to reach $22 billion by 2022. In the vanguard of this novel development is DeepMarkit Inc. (TSX.V: MKT) (OTCQB: MKTDF), a gamification company out to create innovative ways to use game mechanics for business purposes. The company is home to a team of ecommerce and marketing professionals working together with game developers and software engineers to deliver a unique game-based marketing platform for businesses.

Games may seem to be a far way removed from the serious business of marketing but marketing initiatives attempt to activate some of the same psychological attributes – achievement, competition, collection, collaboration and community – to which games appeal. A game that awards points triggers our need for achievement, for example. One with levels fulfils our desire for status, while another that calls for teams fosters our sense of community. What this means is that cleverly employed game attributes can be used to generate customer leads, promote products and deliver rewards, as well as to build brand awareness and strengthen customer loyalty.

The DeepMarkit platform will allow customers to build branded games that incentivize audiences, generate leads and drive sales. It integrates a variety of gaming elements with interactive advertising and powerful visuals, including 3-D images; is flexible enough to be scaled for campaigns of all sizes; and is suitable for multi-channel and omni-channel approaches that incorporate web, mobile and social media. It’s a marketing platform that can create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for a company or brand and make it stand out from the crowd… and it’s affordable. Both free and paid solutions are available (http://ibn.fm/9oUAy).

Known as Gamify, the platform offers a selection of easily customizable gaming apps featuring a customer’s branded e-store, as well as tailored landing pages, technical support, real-time analytics, data collection and engaging marketing campaigns. Gamify’s patent-pending app comes complete with unique user incentives that draw consumers in with games and prizes, which in turn engages shoppers, turning them into buyers and building brand loyalty.

Darold Parken is the CEO and a director of DeepMarkit. He practiced corporate securities law for over 20 years and has extensive experience in creating, funding and managing public companies. He is the founder and was CEO of Chartwell Technology Inc. from its inception in 1998 to its sale to Amaya Gaming Group in 2011. Chartwell developed an industry-leading online gaming software system that continues to power some of the largest gaming companies in the world.

Jason Saelhof is head client architect. He has over 15 years’ experience as a graphic designer, developer and client architect in the online gaming industry. In 1999, he joined Chartwell Technology as a graphic designer and began taking on increasing responsibilities, becoming game developer then creative lead and on to lead client architect. Saelhof’s team developed one of the first casino games to operate on a mobile platform. He is a specialist in HTML.5, JavaScript and ActionScript.

Paulyn Tran is marketing manager. She comes from a background of international public affairs and government relations and has led several nonprofit organizations’ social media teams.

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

• Production ramp-up using Petroteq’s proprietary oil extraction technology generates interest in national media
• Company preparing to produce 1,000 barrels of oil per day with 8,000 bpd target set in two years as proof of technology concept
• Petroteq exploring licensing agreements and joint ventures, as well as expansion of its blockchain application

A buzz-worthy oil extraction operation in the bitumen-rich desert of northeastern Utah continues to build toward full-scale operation as energy industry insiders watch with growing interest to see if the mining technology developed by Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTC: PQEFF) (FSE: PQCF) will yield the anticipated benefits that it envisions.

“We have a very disruptive technology,” Petroteq CEO David Sealock told the New York Times in a recent report (http://ibn.fm/CoPfK). “There was a treasure chest here that didn’t have a key, and this technology is the key.”

Petroteq has spent the past two months ramping up anticipation for its environmentally friendly, proprietary process of removing fuel crude from oil sands at its leased 2,541-acre Asphalt Ridge operation. Despite historical failures elsewhere by corporations intent on mining oil sands in a commercially feasible way, Petroteq’s closed-loop system promises to produce Asphalt Ridge’s expected 87.5 million barrel yield inexpensively and without contaminating local ground and water resources.

The company utilizes a process of crushing oil-rich rocks and applying a “benign” proprietary solvent mixture to withdraw the fuel from the crushed rock before transporting it to Salt Lake City refineries 150 miles away. The “cleaned” rock is returned to the ground and the solvent mixture is recycled for new batches of rock extraction, the Times reported.

Petroteq recently announced the completion of continuity testing as part of its plan to begin extracting 1,000 barrels of oil per day during the third quarter of this year, which it expects to quickly increase to 8,000 barrels per day by late 2020 or early 2021 (http://ibn.fm/4IzpQ). The Times notes that such volume is a trifle in the global 100 million barrel-a-day market, but the company’s extraction technology is where the real potential lies and the Asphalt Ridge operation is designed as a proof of concept.

The company is in talks with companies in Australia, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago about joint ventures or licensing agreements involving the technology. The company also has a joint venture with Recruiter.com and Oilprice.com that attempts to improve industry job placement and other career services, and it is involved in potentially looking for other heavy oil reserves throughout the United States.

The buildup to full production at the Utah site has been slowed by a few “hiccups,” the Times notes. “There have been logistical, electrical and mechanical challenges and glitches during equipment testing”, the report states.

Still, the work is moving forward, and Petroteq recently announced that it is advancing its blockchain initiative as well in hopes of improving transparency and effectiveness in the industrial supply chain. MetzOhanian, a software engineering firm in Austin, Texas, will help develop applications for the company’s PetroBLOQ platform. The platform is being used by Petroteq to enhance its operational efficiency, reduce its administrative costs and provide support to departmental systems, but it has potential marketability to other industry players as well, especially when it comes to cleaning up sites previously contaminated through other companies’ efforts to mine oil sands.

“The potential for PetroBLOQ’s blockchain principles to create a technology consortia’s [tool] for remediation, and reclamation projects is equally as compelling. We anticipate that as interest grows in leveraging Petroteq’s proprietary technology for surface oil sands mining, the remediation and cleaning of contaminated sites and oil waste reclamation will come to the forefront,” Sealock stated in a news release.

The company has filed an application to uplist to the Nasdaq stock exchange.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Petroteq.energy

• NUGL’s directory services app expands reach across North America
• Search platform and internet directory lets companies and clients locate and connect with each other
• Users of cannabis-related products can leave real reviews of goods and services
• App available for Android and Apple devices and works on all platforms

With the cannabis industry entering the mainstream in a big way, there is a growing need among consumers to be able to find reliable products and services or even specific brands. Technology company NUGL Inc. (OTC: NUGL) seeks to address this major pain point and help customers overcome the challenge of finding reputable and reliable supplies of specific products and services.

Moving in aggressively to fill in this information gap, NUGL has built and launched the world’s first search app and internet directory dedicated to all types of cannabis companies. The online platform and app will allow companies and clients to locate and connect with each other and leave unbiased reviews of goods and services. Available since last year, the platform’s reach has now expanded across all of North America (http://ibn.fm/OnmgW).

Transparency and reliability are of primary importance to NUGL, whose main goal is to set a new standard of technology excellence in the cannabis industry. The platform does not sell listing space, nor allows fake reviews, which means that users are able to get more reliable and unbiased information as they search for goods and services and read reviews and ratings.

Through the web portal or the mobile app, which is available for both Android and Apple devices, NUGL’s users can create a personal or business profile. They are able to carry out a geographical search and find suppliers of products and services in a specific area. Business profiles allow companies to display and market their information to private users. These customers, in turn, after they have transacted business with the companies, are able to leave reviews for other potential clients and customers to see.

On opening the app or web platform, users can see a detailed map which highlights information specific to the legal cannabis industry. This would include, for example, dispensaries and doctors’ offices, complete with their latest profiles, reviews and user ratings. A powerful and user-friendly search function allows the NUGL platform’s users to filter their results and find the information that they are seeking more easily.

Industry analysts predict that consumers in the legal U.S. marijuana market will spend $11 billion in 2018, and that, by 2022, the number will reach $23 billion (http://ibn.fm/9PS3C). As the industry continues to grow and attract new investment, NUGL will be able to connect investors with entrepreneurs seeking capital.

Through the platform, companies will be able to offer each other business-to-business services, such as growers linking to dispensaries. Ancillary services, such as soil and nutrient firms, providers of distillation equipment and accounting or real estate services, can also use the platform to connect with and form business relationships with companies in the cannabis industry. In additional to directory services, NUGL’s platform can be used as a social networking platform, giving it significant marketing and networking potential for businesses.

NUGL has already expanded its services beyond California, where it is based, and has plans to spread its reach across the globe as the cannabis industry continues to see tremendous growth in international markets.

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

• Annual revenue growth from $75 million in 2012 to $166 million in 2017
• YGYI selected by NASDAQ as Fit Week Company in January 2018; added to Russell Index in June 2018
• Youngevity’s strong presence in large, scalable, top global vertical market segments includes the $216 billion anti-aging sector, $154 billion skin care space, $11.6 billion brain health market, and $241 billion weight loss industry
• International expansion well underway with corporate infrastructure, product approvals, newly acquired distributors and customers now driving revenue
• CLR Roaster has entered into a 5-year contract with a major coffee important and exporter for the sale and processing of over 41 million pounds of green coffee on an annual basis; contract is estimated to generate revenues of $250 million from 2019 through 2023, with first shipments beginning January 2019

Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) is a leading omni-direct lifestyle company offering a hybrid of the direct selling business model that includes e-commerce and the power of social selling. Among the Top 100 Global Direct Selling Companies, Youngevity offers products from the six top selling retail categories: health/nutrition, home/family, food/beverage (including coffee), spa/beauty, apparel/jewelry, and a range of innovative services. Created through the 2011 merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences with Javalution® Coffee Company, today’s Youngevity International Inc. is a virtual worldwide Main Street of products and services under one corporate entity that supports a healthy and empowered lifestyle.

Youngevity International is dedicated to improving lifestyles through the universal desires of vibrant health and flourishing economics. Catering to health-conscious consumers, Youngevity believes that combining the best of the direct selling industry with the fundamentals and capabilities of a traditional business model will maximize shareholder value. The company’s Nutritional, Lifestyle and Telecommunications products and services are distributed through a global network of Preferred Customers and Distributors.

Youngevity’s wholly owned CLR Roasters LLC business line offers quality branded and private label coffee to retail stores, office coffee services, hospitality, food services, distributors, convenience, petrol stores and vending businesses. Today, CLR Roasters is the largest coffee provider for cruise lines in North America and the second largest roaster in the state of Florida. Producing a consistent premium product with superior taste, CLR Roasters has earned numerous certifications that demonstrate the company’s commitment to the craft of providing the highest quality coffee products using the best practice standards available.

Youngevity, operating in the direct-selling channel, is rapidly expanding its product and distributor base through acquisitions and mergers under an innovative concept called “the Network Cloud” that provides other direct selling companies with a home base. The company’s YoungevityGO2 mobile distributor app, a new technology-driven web platform supporting expansion of global e-commerce and social selling platforms, is available on Google Play and the App Store. In addition to the Network Cloud concept, Youngevity International owns CLR Coffee Roasters which operates a traditional coffee roasting business offering a JavaFit® gourmet product line that vertically integrates with Youngevity and its growing network of direct marketers.

Youngevity International offers more than 1,000 high quality, technologically advanced products under the following categories:

• Health and Nutrition
• Home and Family
• Food and Beverage
• Spa and Beauty
• Fashion
• Essential Oils
• Photo and scrapbooking
• Services for Home and Business

Youngevity International Inc. has compiled a best-in-class management team with a strong track record of success in private and public companies. Steve Wallach, CEO, has nearly two decades of sales and network marketing experience and has successfully guided Youngevity International Inc. to become an international, publicly-traded direct marketing company positioned for worldwide growth. Dave Briskie, president and CFO, has shepherded the company’s development into a fully vertical coffee roasting and distribution company that owns the direct marketing brand JavaFit® and the retail brand, Café La Rica.

Youngevity has also attracted a stunning group of Brand Evangelists who endorse its products. Among these are actress, author and well-known health and wellness activist Marilu Henner; former NBA basket player, Mike “Stinger” Glenn; former NFL wide receiver Drew Pearson; “Greatest Natural Bodybuilder in the World” Gene Nelson; and WNBA champion, Olympic gold medalist Delisha Jones.

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

• Chile’s lithium exports reached $85 million in July, more than double that of the same month last year
• Exploratory drilling at Ollague discovers a major zone of brine 110 meters below surface in first hole
• Lithium Chile wholly owns 152,900 hectares in the world’s highest-grade lithium district making it the largest lithium project landholder outside of the government and SQM

Chile’s lithium exports are soaring, with production hitting $85 million in July, more than double that of July 2017. Additionally, the country’s lithium revenues have gone up more than 51 percent since the start of 2018 (http://ibn.fm/eKT7s).

The largest private owner of lithium-rich land in the South American country, Lithium Chile, Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF) is continuing its progress toward taking a serious stake in this fast-growing market, with exploratory drilling at its wholly owned Ollague property yielding promising results. The company recently released an update on the work at the property and reported that a 180-meter zone of brine has been found just 110 meters below the surface (http://ibn.fm/6kGuS). Samples of this brine are currently being assayed by an internationally-accredited laboratory to identify the presence of lithium and assess its concentration.

Lithium Chile director and expert in the South American lithium sector, Andrew Bowering explained that, while 70 percent of the world’s lithium occurs in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, Bolivia does not allow foreign ownership and therefore no lithium production comes out of that country, and Argentina has significantly lower lithium grades than Chile, with less overall lithium and less opportunity. “We’re going to see a lot more foreign investment coming into Chile as a result of changing mining conditions,” Bowering said in a news release.

Chile also has the lowest lithium production costs in the world. Australia, for example, another of the world’s largest producers, has to extract lithium out of hard rock. This costs magnitudes more than in Chile, whose lithium reserves are held in brine found underneath the country’s northern salt flats.

Lithium Chile owns 15 projects in the world’s highest-grade lithium district. The company fully owns 152,900 hectares located within 14 salars and one laguna complex. The samples taken to date are very promising, and this is just the first drill hole of what is set to be a multi-project program. With $8 million in working capital and exploration well underway, the company is aiming for resource estimates later this year.

“After amassing one of the largest lithium land packages in Chile, we have now begun drilling on one of our more advanced projects which have had sampling and geophysics completed on them,” Lithium Chile President and CEO Steve Cochrane said in a news release. “The new government has been clear in its support for the lithium sector and we are similarly encouraged by the strong community support we have received. This is an exciting new growth phase for the Company and our goal is to maximize our early-mover exploration advantage in Chile.”

Lithium Chile has assembled a team of industry heavyweights to lead it forward as it realizes its potential. Between them, the team has accumulated many decades of experience in the natural resources and mineral exploration sectors. Crucially, it also has excellent in-country connections thanks to its VP of exploration and chief geologist, Terry Walker, who has been based in Chile for the last 25 years. These connections have enabled the company to get community support for its drill programs and start drilling while competing explorers have yet to mobilize a single drill rig.

The rise in electric vehicles is fueling world lithium demand, since lithium is a key component of the batteries that power these vehicles. Some industry experts estimate that 80 percent of all new vehicle sales will be electric within the next 15 years. Numerous governments around the world, including heavyweights like China, are throwing their weight behind the electric vehicle revolution. A number have already legislated future bans on gas-driven cars within the next two decades, and others are planning similar bans. According to Grand View Research, the global lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach $93.1 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 17 percent (http://ibn.fm/yJ5sI).

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

• DehydraTECH™ methodology offers safer alternative to smoking
• Possible nicotine delivery platform for Big Tobacco
• Several licensing agreements for technology already signed

Formula One racing is not the only place to find speed. The drug delivery platform DehydraTECH™, developed by Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP), has proven that it’s just as fast. In recent in vivo tests, the technology delivered 203 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of nicotine in 15 minutes, 70 percent more than the control. Such rapidity may rival smoking; particularly as new research (http://ibn.fm/cvW29) suggests that “nicotine takes much longer than previously thought to reach peak levels in the brains of cigarette smokers.” For tobacco industry giants on the search for safer delivery methods than smoking, the DehydraTECH™ platform is increasingly beginning to look like an attractive alternative.

Earlier in August, Lexaria announced the results of its second in vivo study of 2018, evaluating the use of DehydraTECH as a nicotine delivery system (http://ibn.fm/riRAx). The company revealed that it had successfully transported nicotine in an edible form into blood plasma just minutes after dosing in an animal in vivo study. Its DehydraTECH technology delivered nicotine at each of the two-, four-, six-, eight- and 10-minute intervals post-dosing, with 90.2 percent greater delivery than the concentration-matched control formulation by the 10-minute mark (95 percent CI; p=0.044) and significantly greater absorption levels than the control formulation at all subsequent time points in the study.

Rapidity of delivery was notable; nicotine was detected in the first blood sampling at the two-minute mark. On average, Lexaria’s technology delivered 203 ng/mL to the blood in aggregate of the two-, four-, six-, eight-, 10-, 12- and 15-minute time points, compared to only 120 ng/mL in aggregate over the same period by the control, an improvement of 70 percent (95 percent CI; p=0.0004). This test represents Lexaria’s second in vivo nicotine study, building on the previous nicotine breakthrough study announced in April 2018. Its promising results are good news for Lexaria; as Big Tobacco continues its quest for ‘reduced-risk’ products, DehydraTECH may have a role to play (http://ibn.fm/7ofru).

The DehydraTECH drug delivery platform overcomes a serious limitation to nicotine ingestion. The human GI system struggles to process nicotine in the forms in which it is presently offered – one reason why there are currently no edible nicotine products available. However, DehydraTECH employs a patented, cost-effective delivery mechanism, employing lipophilic agents, that improves the bio-absorption and bioavailability of ingestible substances, as well as their taste and smell, as demonstrated by the recent in vivo studies.

Application of the technology extends beyond nicotine to non-psychoactive cannabinoids, vitamins and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and Lexaria has licensed the technology to a number of companies. These include chocolate maker Nuka Enterprises; cannabis beverage manufacturer GP Holdings; Biolog, which markets hemp-based, cannabidiol (CBD)-infused products and vitamins; and others.

Lexaria is expecting to sign more licensing agreements to enhance cannabinoid delivery before year-end 2018. These are typically six-figure contracts in the first year and potentially seven-figure contracts over the life of the deals. Licensing is a lucrative business model that typically yields 90-100 percent of revenues as profit. Lexaria is hopeful that its demonstrated speed of nicotine delivery will translate into technology licensing agreements for enhanced nicotine delivery. At present, the tobacco industry generates about 20 times more revenue than the cannabis industry, an indication that Lexaria’s DehydraTECH drug delivery platform may soon be available at your local smoke shop.

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

• Increasing value, visibility and transparency by becoming an OTCQB fully reporting company
• High Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids Line being expanded to 90,000 retail outlets, with three additional chocolate products added to the line
• Distributing vapes/e-liquids and gummy edibles in the recreational sector
• MSN-2 home medical testing kit allows for the testing of sexually transmitted disease in the privacy of one’s own home

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST), an innovative biotech company focused on cannabis and cannabinoid research and development, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, has initiated the up-listing process in anticipation of its Form 10 Registration Statement being approved. By becoming a fully reporting company listed on the OTCQB Venture Market, the company expects to increase in value, visibility and transparency (http://ibn.fm/ROn48).

By up-listing in anticipation of the approval, the company is advancing its timeline to achieve fully reporting status. “Once ETST is an OTCQB fully reporting company, we will attract many new investors while keeping current shareholders pleased with our progress,” President, Director and Chairman of ETST Nickolas S. Tabraue stated in a news release. “We can now communicate with large-net-worth investors to acquire the needed funds to strengthen our High-Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids line, KannaBidioiD line and MSN-2 medical device and to exponentially increase our revenues overall.” The up-listing holds promise of new potential investors and the company has a number of exciting updates that it plans to share soon.

Investors can now help the company strengthen innovative, and exciting updates already in the works.

• ETST’s High Grade Full Spectrum Cannabinoids line is being introduced by AATAC, an advisory board focused on convenience stores, to its 90,000 retail outlets throughout the United States. In addition, three unique new chocolate products are being formulated with joint venture partner Karmavore Superfoods, bringing the company’s product line to five unique CBD Raw Chocolate flavors. The launch of these new CBD-based formulas is anticipated for the third quarter of 2018 (http://ibn.fm/wuhEW).
• KannaBidioiD, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of ETST that manufactures and distributes vapes/e-liquids and gummy edibles in the recreational sector.
• ETST’s Earth Science Pharmaceutical subsidiary develops medical diagnostic tools which include the new MSN-2, a home medical testing kit. The kit is designed for the detection of sexually transmitted infections (STI), and the registration of the trademark is anticipated within the next nine to 10 months (http://ibn.fm/XWRUF).

Transparency is a key component in the expansion of ETST’s business as it maintains the confidence of investors and works toward becoming a fully reporting company listed on the OTCQB Venture Market.

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