• Record product sales growth reported for fourth quarter and full year 2017
• Company has over 300 of its ultra-high pressure instruments in research labs worldwide
• 2017 revenue exceeded $2.2 million with just one field sales rep; company’s field sales force expanded to five with recent hires
• December 2017 acquisition of high pressure IP allows company to enter the biologics contract research services sector
• Newly-issued patents in Ultra Shear Technology (UST) address broad markets for stable, water-soluble nanoemulsions, including cannabinoids

As scientific researchers who work with cellular material seek to uncover new potential for creating vaccines and drugs, counteracting harmful chemicals and making the therapeutic properties of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals more effective, Pressure BioSciences Inc. (OTCQB: PBIO) is watching its development of pressure-based laboratory tools and related consumable products gain a growing worldwide following. Pressure BioSciences’ products are based on the notion that using high pressures to break open cells in order to tap their potential for medicinal and therapeutic uses is a more productive, beneficial way of extracting the biomolecules inside, as compared to traditional methods of ‘beating up’ cells that are commonly employed in research. The company expects recent product development, company acquisitions and personnel decisions to drive it toward a banner year in 2018.

“We have about 300 instruments already placed in research labs all over the world. These instruments generate pressures from levels of several hundred pounds per square inch (“psi”) all the way up to, believe it or not, 90,000 psi,” CEO Ric Schumacher said in a March interview with Uptick Newswire (http://ibn.fm/2HdWm). “They basically are pressure chambers that sit on a laboratory bench, which then offer scientists who are working to find new cures and preventive strategies a very safe way to generate pressures that can be used to kill viruses and bacteria for safer handling, to better control reactions in scientific experiments and to more efficiently break open cells to get to the biomolecules, such as DNA and proteins, that will enable new discoveries.”

Pressure BioSciences’ patented pressure cycling technology (“PCT”) platform uses alternating cycles of hydrostatic pressure ranging between normal levels and the super-high extremes of which its equipment is capable to safely control bio-molecular interactions in the laboratory setting in a manner that complies with the good manufacturing practices (“GMP”) expected of biotherapeutics drug makers by regulatory agencies such as the FDA. That includes the ability to generate downloadable data reports on its processes designed to help ensure consistent outcomes and regulatory compliance. The company’s equipment also generates constant, or static, pressure as part of its applications in such areas as biomarker discovery and scientific forensics, but the company’s PCT platform is the revolutionary (and patented) aspect of its business enterprise.

As Pressure BioSciences has developed new software for its recently released, next generation PCT instrument and acquired new customers throughout the world in recent months, it has also increased its sales force. Schumacher said that reaching a multi-million dollar revenue level just wasn’t possible with the single sales representative that the company has employed for the past 10 years, so it hired four additional field sales reps to cover the entire United States. Even with the new sales reps just hired and trained, the fourth quarter and full year 2017 marked record sales periods, with instrument sales soaring by 55 percent in Q4 and consumable sales up 30 percent for the 12-month period.

“Our instruments are selling well, but what’s also important is that the consumables are also showing good growth— it’s one thing to sell the razor, but you also have to sell the razor blade,” Schumacher said by way of example. “This was by far the largest increase we’ve ever had year over year for the combination of instruments and consumables.”

The company is also excited about its acquisition of Colorado-based high pressure biotechnology company BaroFold, Inc., which gave Pressure BioSciences eight new patents and extends the reach of some of its other patents for another decade. Schumacher said that BaroFold “ran into some problems” with its operation, but he believes that Pressure BioSciences can revive its productivity and take it to the next level.

“All of their intellectual property relates to high pressure and its effect on biomolecules; furthermore, their high pressure applications work on our equipment. We don’t have to build anything new, we don’t have to modify anything,” he said. “Their technology is basically a way of making protein (drugs) better. This acquisition has opened up a whole new business unit for Pressure BioSciences.”

With the BaroFold acquisition and the new developments in Ultra Shear Technology (including two issued patents), Pressure BioSciences now has three distinct working groups — its research products and services unit, its biologics contract research services unit and its Ultra Shear Technology (UST) development unit.

The UST platform incorporates a novel technique based on the use of intense shear forces generated from ultra-high pressure valve discharge, which the company believes can drive a number of commercially important areas including the preparation of extended shelf-life ‘clean label’ food and the formulation of high-quality, stable nanoemulsions that are mixtures of two or more liquids that normally would not mix with each other without the addition of chemicals called emulsifiers. Nanoemulsions are expected to provide an advanced way of making drugs more bioavailable to the body, and they were recently touted as a way to potentially improve the effectiveness of cannabinoids such as CBD in medical marijuana applications (http://ibn.fm/NHw1E).

“With these new initiatives firmly in place, a priceless global customer base, a newly released next-generation instrument with GMP-compliant software, additional key opinion leader customers, greatly enhanced sales and marketing capabilities, and our new BaroFold and Ultra Shear Technology (UST) programs, we look forward with excitement to 2018, which we believe should be a solid year of growth and expansion,” Schumacher said in a news release issued on March 13.

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

• Demand for cobalt as component in lithium batteries climbs
• Present cobalt sources mainly located in Africa
• First Cobalt is largest North American explorer focused on cobalt
• Recent drill results promise profitable commercialization

In mining, the lament is often ‘good depth, pity about the size’ or ‘good size, pity about the depth’, since what determines high-grade mineralization is always related to the depth and size of the intersection. Arguably, size may be a weightier factor. Mining technology today has advanced to the point where excavation at the most abysmal depths is commercially feasible. The Kennecott Copper Mine, an open-pit mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, is at 0.6 miles (0.97 km) deep and 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, the largest and deepest excavated hole in the world.

However, while deep holes may make the record books (Kennecott, also known as the Bingham Canyon Mine, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966), miners naturally prefer to find their minerals closer to the surface. Thus, drill results like those announced by junior exploration company First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQB: FTSSF) augur well. Assay results from the Woods Extension Zone of Cobalt South in the Canadian Cobalt Camp confirm cobalt mineralization extending over a broad area that includes 0.47 percent cobalt in one hole and 0.77 percent cobalt in another (http://ibn.fm/ZH4Xp). Such rich mineralization, in samples found at depths of less than 150 meters, certainly increases the possibility of profitable commercialization.

First Cobalt’s drill results signal significant cobalt potential in the Woods Extension Zone. The company has identified broad breccia areas not previously seen at either the Frontier or Keeley Mines, and new fault zones continue to be discovered. Cobalt mineralization has been confirmed in two different structures at relatively shallow depths that may extend to surface. As a result, the company’s 2018 exploration program will be focused on identifying potential targets in the Cobalt Camp that could be amenable to open-pit mining.

First Cobalt is the largest landowner in the Cobalt Camp of Ontario, Canada, a region that includes the historically significant Keeley-Frontier mine, the Haileybury mine and the Bellellen mine. The company controls over 10,000 hectares of prospective land and 50 historic mines, as well as a mill and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials. It began drilling in the Cobalt Camp in 2017, and the company is seeking to build shareholder value through new discovery and growth opportunities.

Demand for cobalt is expected to continue at elevated levels. The metal is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries, where it is used in the cobalt-oxide cathode. Batteries employing lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) technology can be found in mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles. Though they are preferred for their high energy density, satisfying demand for cobalt remains problematic. ‘About 90 percent of China’s cobalt originates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where Chinese firms dominate the mining industry’, according to the Washington Post (http://ibn.fm/vIUt8). The largest of these, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, supplies ‘some of the world’s largest battery makers.’ However, for over a decade, reports have been surfacing of widespread human rights abuses, both within its operations and throughout DRC-based cobalt mining in general. Moreover, the U.S. Labor Department has listed Congolese cobalt as a product that it suspects is produced using child labor.

These geo-economic forces put First Cobalt in a unique position. The company is the largest exploration company operating in North America that’s focused purely on cobalt. Apart from its properties at the Cobalt Camp, First Cobalt is in the midst of acquiring the Iron Creek cobalt project in Idaho, which is estimated at 1.3 million tons of 0.59 percent cobalt. This may be why the company’s share price has soared by 90 percent, according to Bloomberg (http://ibn.fm/NTX0e).

Recently, First Cobalt announced its inclusion on the 2018 TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking of the top 50 publicly traded companies on the TSX Venture Exchange (http://ibn.fm/O7UOR). The TSX Venture 50 lists the top 10 companies in five major industry sectors, identified as leaders in creating shareholder value based on market capitalization growth, share price appreciation and trading volume. From a total of 1,200 mining companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, First Cobalt was ranked fourth on the list of leading mining companies for 2017.

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

• LXRP recently received a new U.S. patent allowance for ‘composition of matter’ related to its DehydraTECH™ platform’s delivery of cannabinoids; based on past experience, company expects formal granting of patent within 100 days
• Company filed new U.S. patent application for use of DehydraTECH to improve the speed of absorption of active pharmaceutical ingredients through the skin; compared to other commercial formulations, LXRP product exhibited up to a 225 percent increase in permeability
• LXRP gets primary revenue through third party licensing fees related to its proprietary and patented intellectual property; goal is to partner with leading firms globally to deliver best-in-class products, creating greater shareholder value

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) continues to grow its portfolio of worldwide patents related to the use of its DehydraTECH technology for the delivery of cannabinoids to the body. Not only will these patents enable LXRP to commercialize and defend its IP; they are also expected to generate more revenue stemming from licensing agreements with other companies.

LXRP has continued to add to its existing portfolio of patents in the U.S. and Australia in recent months, with more than 40 patents pending in some 40 countries worldwide. The company’s most recent addition is its new U.S. patent allowance for ‘composition of matter’ for DehydraTECH’s delivery of cannabinoids (http://ibn.fm/t97zK). It also filed a U.S. patent application for technology regarding absorption of active pharmaceutical ingredients through the skin (http://ibn.fm/W3PY2).

LXRP is a British Columbia-based, cannabis-focused food bioscience company, and it is a technology disrupter for edible cannabinoids. Its DehydraTECH technology aids in the body’s absorption of cannabinoids.

The company’s most recent patent filing follows successful laboratory evaluation of DehydraTECH in the transdermal delivery of cannabidiol (CBD). Results showed an increase of up to 225 percent in permeability when compared to control formulations from leading commercial penetration enhancers. The company indicates that it will begin third-party licensing discussions for this new transdermal application as soon as possible, and, based upon past experience, it expects the patent to be formalized within 100 days.

In a news release, John Docherty, president of Lexaria, commented on the U.S. patent allowance approval. “This allowance has been granted by the USPTO upon review of the compelling scientific data Lexaria has amassed demonstrating its significant bioavailability performance enhancement properties,” he noted.

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

• Identifies quality, undervalued real estate investment opportunities with the potential of a high rate of return on investment
• Strategically positioned to serve as a global conduit between the U.S. equity markets and property markets in Switzerland and Northern Europe
• Experienced management team comprised of investment industry experts

American-Swiss Capital, Inc., headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a development-stage company that seeks out superior quality, yet undervalued real estate investment opportunities designed to generate a high rate of return. American-Swiss Capital originated in 2015 with the inspiration that there was a need for a company to be a conduit between the U.S. equity markets and leading enterprises in Switzerland and Northern Europe. American-Swiss Capital’s experienced management team possesses the knowledge and skills required to consistently provide accurate and reliable research specifically designed to identify the safest and most profitable investment opportunities.

The company’s team of investment industry experts have already identified several highly appealing, distressed properties in the sovereign state of Montenegro in southeastern Europe. Montenegro, which presents an attractive business opportunity for foreign investors, is committed to promoting economic development through the government’s Montenegrin Investment Promotion Agency (“MIPA”) that welcomes and encourages foreign investors. Montenegro’s enviable location on the Adriatic Sea includes the fjord-like Bay of Kotor, rugged mountains, glacial lakes, medieval villages, modern cities and gorgeous beaches along its coastline.

Properties located in Montenegro under investment consideration are:

The Tivat Montenegro Property

• An 18-unit apartment beachfront development in the Boka Bay community of Tivat, home to Porto Montenegro and the heart of the coastline’s burgeoning tourism industry. American-Swiss is in negotiations to purchase the property, which was constructed in 2012 but never occupied, for approximately $1.9 million. An independent court surveyor and authorized evaluator expert has valuated the property at approximately $4.5 million. The apartment units range in size from 60-160 square meters. The property has a private beach with a fixed pontoon boat berth situated only 1 kilometer not far from the full-service marina of Porto Montenegro.

The Kovac Gated Community Project

• This nearly 4-acre piece of property, while not in a distressed situation, offers incredible development potential. Located in Tivat on the beautiful, UNESCO-protected Bay of Kotor, about 6.2 kilometers from Porto Montenegro, this property is envisioned as a gated community with the construction of 30 villas, each measuring about 360 square meters (or about 3,875 square feet). American-Swiss estimates the total cost of the project would be approximately $9.3 million, which could be funded by presales and debt financing.

American-Swiss Capital is led by John Karatzaferis, who has served as chief executive officer, secretary and treasurer and as a director since March 2015. Karatzaferis served for 25 years as a consultant for several major organizations, including PeopleCo., AGWS, and NAB Bank in Melbourne, Australia. His experience includes working in the consulting and recruitment fields in both Australia and Europe. For three years, he worked exclusively in debt management and credit control for NAB Bank and NCC in Melbourne, Australia. Karatzaferis received a diploma for accounting and computing.

Robert Sultani has served as a director of American-Swiss Capital since February 2018. Since January 2016, he has been a managing director of RCS Global Services, an international firm providing advisory, audit and training services with respect to the sourcing of natural resources. Sultani works in the Dubai office which serves the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and has worked with clients in the mining, oil and gas, and enterprise software industries. He was a consultant and regional director for the Middle East and Africa for Viziya Corporation and Global PTM, both of which specialize in enterprise resource planning maintenance software and consulting. Sultani has worked in the Middle East region since 1985 with companies in the telecommunications, information technology, petroleum, finance, software and petrochemical industries. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Southeast Missouri State University in 1984.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AS-Capital.com

• Diversified holding company specializing in the direct selling industry and network marketing
• Record 20.5 million people involved in direct selling in U.S. during 2016, a 1.5% increase from previous year
• Estimated direct retail sales of $35.54 billion in 2016 is the second most in direct selling history
• Growing collaborate economy poses opportunities for direct selling with consumers giving industry 81% neutral or high favorability ratings

Sharing Services, Inc. (OTC: SHRV), headquartered in Plano, Texas, is a diversified holding company focused on reshaping how entrepreneurs succeed today. Sharing Services Inc. owns, operates or controls an interest in a variety of companies specializing in the direct selling industry that either sell products to the consumer directly through independent representatives or offer services that range from health and wellness, energy, technology, insurance services, training, media and travel benefits. SHRV has created the “Blue Ocean Strategy,” which melds three keys together to implement the company’s vision. These keys include elevating home-based entrepreneurs, known as “Elepreneurs,” utilizing the direct selling channel to generate 100 percent organic growth, and sending as many successful company “families” as possible on vacation.

Sharing Services Inc. subsidiaries include:

• A growing international network of home-based entrepreneurs, called “Elepreneurs”
• Growing selection of health and wellness products dedicated to elevating the well-being of all people
• Insurance from auto, home and life to health benefit discounts and health insurance that help families elevate their options
• Wholesale travel and payment programs with travel concierges that empower more families to go on vacation
• Live seminars and training events – from Vacationars™ to EduTainment – that elevate the skills and knowledge of entrepreneurs around the world
• Unique compensation and reward programs crafted to help entrepreneurs elevate their health, wealth and happiness

Sharing Services recently expanded its corporate footprint by moving to a 10,000 square foot facility in Plano, Texas, that offers room to expand as the company grows and its subsidiaries flourish. The larger corporate locale provides space for a growing customer service department, product fulfillment, opportunity and training rooms, as well as a video production suite.

“The opportunity to expand to the rest of this new building over the course of the next six to 12 months ensures we won’t have to move again anytime soon,” Sharing Services Inc. Chairman Robert Oblon said. “We are on track for very significant growth here in the U.S., as well as upcoming international expansion, so this move is in preparation for what’s in front of us.”

The company recently signed a joint venture agreement with Health Wealth & Happiness Limited (“HWH”) to expand its “Elepreneurs” brand and market its products throughout Asia. The newly formed company will be named “Elepreneurs Asia Limited” and will have marketing and sales rights to China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Papua, New Guinea. A soft launch of the Elepreneur program is scheduled sometime later in 2018 with HWH CEP Fai Chan and his team leading the effort. Formed in Hong Kong, Health Wealth & Happiness Limited is dedicated to working with visionary partners like Sharing Services Inc. to deliver the best products and services to improve the well-being of consumers.

Nearly 1,000 people attended Sharing Services, Inc.’s first “Elepreneur Happiness Convention,” held March 2-3, 2018, in Dallas, Texas. Attendees arrived from several countries including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Singapore and Hong Kong. Keynote speakers included several internationally known motivational leaders – Shawn Achor, Sandra Yancey, John Fleming and Les Brown – who provided exceptional material and inspirational discussion points.

“The enthusiasm of our attendees and the early success that we are experiencing is incredible considering our growth has been 100 percent organic, with almost no marketing from the company,” Oblon said. “I’m speechless by the dedication of our Elepreneur leaders and their entire teams, as they share our incredible line of products that have helped so many people.”

Sharing Services and its management team plan to travel the U.S. to hold several mini conferences to expand on the messages presented at its Happiness Convention that focus on helping people become “healthier, happier and wealthier.” Details of the company’s aggressive global expansion initiatives are soon to be announced, Oblon said.

The law firm of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP has been retained as outside corporate counsel for all general business matters. The Dallas-based law firm will represent Sharing Services, Inc., and its subsidiaries as the company utilizes the direct selling channel for a significant component of its overall growth strategy.

John “JT” Thatch was appointed president and chief executive officer of Sharing Services, Inc., at a March 1, 2018, annual shareholder meeting. Thatch has successfully started, owned and operated several sized businesses in various industries. His experience with corporate growth, acquisitions, financing and negotiation in fast-paced and flexible environments will significantly assist Sharing Services Inc. as the company aims to expand and increase revenues.

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

• Global lithium-ion battery market projected at over $46 billion by 2022
• Promise of lithium metal battery technology could boost lithium battery cell’s specific energy by 35% and energy density by 50%
• Rare-metal deposits at QMC’s Irgon Lithium Mine reported historical resource estimate of 1.2 million tons grading 1.5% lithium oxide
• Global electric vehicle market projected to overtake gas-powered vehicles by 2040

QMC Quantum Minerals Corp. (TSX.V: QMC) (FSE: 3LQ) (OTC: QMCQF) is a British Columbia based company engaged in the business of acquisition, exploration and development of natural resource properties. QMC’s focus is on creating shareholder value through strategic acquisition and development of high quality lithium, silver, gold, nickel, copper and zinc prospects.

QMC’s current properties are in the Canadian province of Manitoba, one of Canada’s most productive, centrally located mining regions. These resources include the Irgon Lithium Mine project and two Volcanic Massive Sulphide (“VMS”) properties – the Rocky Lake and Rocky-Namew known collectively as the Namew Lake District Project – which contain base metal-rich mineral deposits. Excellent access and well-developed mining infrastructure to the company’s wholly-owned Irgon Lithium Mine Project offers significant value and ramps up the near-term production schedule, putting QMC in a position to take advantage of rising lithium prices.

The region’s historic resource estimate of lithium is well documented in a 1956 Assessment Report developed by a previous owner, Lithium Corporation of Canada Ltd. The project’s historical resource estimate of 1.2 million tons grading 1.51% lithium-oxide over a strike length of 365 meters and to a depth of 213 meters is being updated by QMC through a detailed channel sampling and subsequent drill program.

North Face Software Ltd. recently created an interactive 3-D model of the Irgon Dike utilizing all historical data derived from past drilling and underground work. The 3-D model clearly demonstrates that exploration and underground development has only taken place on the central portion of the dike, leaving significant potential to quickly increase tonnage.

The company’s latest assay results, obtained from 144 channel samples at QMC’s Irgon Lithium Mine Project, provided encouraging and positive results that compare favorably with the historic assays. QMC has received a drill permit from the Sustainable Development Office of the Manitoba government and is in the process of requesting and assessing bids from drilling contractors. The company plans to begin a 2,000-meter drill program to confirm the historic lithium oxide assay results documented in the historic 1953-54 drill program.

QMC’s experienced leadership team includes specialists in mineral exploration, geology, engineering, new business development, marketing and investor relations. The company’s team of qualified advisors includes consultant Bruce E. Goad, P.Geo., who has 40 years of experience in mineral exploration in Canada, Argentina, Asia and Africa. As a Qualified Person, Goad has worked on numerous deposit styles including rare element pegmatites, porphyry, banded iron formation (BIF) gold deposits, skarn, greisens, and VMS. He has a wide and varied skill set which includes precious, base, industrial and rare metal projects with a sharp focus on gold exploration. Goad is the author of several scholarly publications on pegmatite granites of the southeastern Manitoba region.

The market for lithium has surged over the past three years with prices per metric ton tripling. The world’s rising demand for portable power can easily been seen in the electric vehicle and mobile device industries – both of which use lithium-based, renewable batteries as a power resource. QMC’s high potential prospects and experienced management team, both in geology and corporate finance, put QMC and its shareholders in an excellent position to take advantage of the lithium, precious and base metals markets.

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

• Global biomarker diagnostic testing market projected to reach $53.34 billion by 2021 from $27.95 billion in 2016
• Zenosense’s device development incorporates key technology which is patent protected
• Technology platform could be used to test for a wide variety of common medical conditions that typically are undertaken in laboratory setting at huge expense
• Point of Care / rapid diagnostics market expected to reach $38.13 billion by 2022

Zenosense, Inc. (OTC: ZENO) is a healthcare technology developer that participates in transformational, disruptive medical diagnostic projects; particularly handheld devices used at the Point of Care which are displacing slow and expensive laboratory tests.

Zenosense is primarily focused on the development and commercialization of MIDS Cardiac™ through the Company’s joint venture ownership in MIDS Medical Limited (“MML”). MIDS Cardiac is in development as a cost-effective, handheld Point of Care (“POC”) diagnostic device and disposable test strip for the early, rapid detection of suspected acute myocardial infarction (“AMI”, or “heart attack”).

Identification of very low levels of cardiac markers can significantly accelerate critical triage, diagnosis, treatment and disposition of patients reporting chest pain. Cardiac troponin is well documented as the preferred biomarker for diagnosis of AMI, with evidence continuing to demonstrate that high sensitivity troponin is the most powerful prognostic biomarker for the assessment of cardiovascular risk in the general population. However, highly sensitive troponin assays are currently available only on state of the art, central laboratory analyzers. These analyzers are extremely expensive, not generally available at the POC and slow to turnaround results (typically 60 minutes) when time is critical.

True, high-sensitivity devices are not available in smaller handheld devices at the POC, where they are most needed. This is because the optical detection systems generally used in central laboratory analyzers cannot be effectively miniaturized.

MIDS Cardiac uses the patented MIDS technology platform, exclusively available to MML. Instead of using conventional optical detection, MIDS can detect and quantify assay beads nano-magnetically. This means it can be incorporated in a small device expected to achieve highly sensitive detection levels, which can support true high sensitivity cardiac biomarker tests in emergency settings, at the POC.

Harnessing world-class expertise, the MML laboratory is located at the prestigious Sci-Tech Daresbury campus in the U.K., internationally recognized for leading-edge, scientific research and commercial development. MML has the sole rights to the MIDS technology platform, which is protected by patent applications already granted in China and the USA, and applications now in the national phase in all other key geographic areas.

MIDS Cardiac aims to provide a single troponin I or T test within 3 minutes and three panel assay (additional cardiac biomarkers) on a disposable test strip within 8 minutes, using a hand-held device costing a fraction of the price of laboratory analyzers.

MIDS Cardiac should only require a pin prick of blood for a single assay test carried out on an easy-to-use, disposable microfluidic test strip. MIDS Cardiac is being designed to be operated quickly by minimally trained personnel, producing a simple to interpret result in emergency settings, even in the back of an ambulance.

Initial testing of the electronic and microfluidic components of the MIDS Cardiac “Hybrid Strip” system was completed in November 2017. The Hybrid Strip system used for development testing aims to replicate as closely as possible a fully integrated Lab on Chip MIDS test strip set-up. Development testing was conducted on both the assembled hybrid unit and its electronic and microfluidic components separately, focusing mainly on the electronics of the magnetic sensing system.

Testing revealed that a variety of brands and sizes of commercially available assay beads could be magnetically detected in very low quantities, including samples of beads that were previously undetectable. In several instances, the current “limit of detection” appeared to already be at or near to the range advised by MML’s assay consultants as suitable for a high sensitivity troponin assay.

Dr. Nasser Djennati, MML’s Managing Director and Chief Scientific Officer, said; “These results come in at the very high end of detection expectations, even at this Hybrid Strip stage. As we move forward into true Lab on Chip construction, I expect detection levels to improve further still.”

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the western world, accounting for more than 17 million deaths in Europe and the United States alone. Nearly 20 million patients each year visit an emergency room with reports of chest pain, with hundreds of millions spent on unnecessary admissions to the hospital. Zenosense Inc. is confident MIDS Cardiac will deliver unparalleled levels of accuracy, speed, reliability, ease of use and cost savings, making it the future device of choice for hospitals, emergency rooms, medical practitioners, paramedics and in low-resource settings.

The MIDS technology is also seen as having a far wider application, with the platform being capable of performing Point of Care immunoassay tests for a vast array of common healthcare concerns, a market projected to be worth $23.7 billion per year worldwide by 2019. The medical testing market as a whole is projected to be worth $53.34 billion by 2021. Zenosense believes the MIDS technology could be the most significant advance in diagnostic testing services in decades.

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

• Forecasts predict $55.8 billion valuation for medical cannabis market by 2025
• Pivot Pharmaceuticals building portfolio of diverse tech for improving bioavailability of cannabinoid therapies
• Company’s leadership team builds on decades of experience in pharmaceutical arena

For nutrition-conscious consumers, scanning food product labels is a requisite part of any trip to the grocery store, but a recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (http://ibn.fm/727E5) found that the old maxim ‘what you see isn’t always what you get’ holds true when it comes to certain foods like nuts. Even though pistachios, for example, may have 161.9 calories per ounce, only 153.8 calories are utilized by the human body. The remaining five percent of those calories are given a pass by the body and not taken up, according to the research. Such information fuels the concept of bioavailability, or determining the portion of total nutrients that the body is able to extract for use in order to establish the real benefit a consumer derives from the product.

Bioavailability becomes a similarly important question in the consumption of medications, as health researchers and physicians work to determine how much real benefit a patient derives from a drug’s properties and how to improve the body’s use of them. For companies like Pivot Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: PVOT) (OTCQB: PVOTF) (FRA: NPAT), enhancing a drug’s bioavailability is part of their bread and butter as they not only develop products designed to improve patients’ quality of life but try to ensure that these products deliver maximum benefit to the human body’s systems.

Pivot Pharmaceuticals’ patents in the field of cannabinoid use comprise a portfolio of landmark technologies that strive to increase bioavailability, drug release rates and product stability so that consumers can “confidently take correct and accurate doses to help meet their health and wellness needs.” Some patents maintain the company’s impetus in making cannabis available through powdered formulations that can be combined with products in the food and beverage market. Through subsidiary Thrudermic (http://ibn.fm/Ru7IU), the company is invested in a transdermal lipid-based nano-dispersion technology that enhances skin absorption of cannabinoids, and the company’s water soluble, oral delivery product, PGS-N001, is designed to provide relief to cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced vomiting, nausea, neutropenia and anemia by utilizing a bioavailability technology already demonstrated in Europe.

Market forecasts anticipate that the therapeutic product derivatives of cannabis will fuel a $55.8 billion market by 2025 as a growing number of governments legalize the oft-controversial drug’s use, according to a report issued last year by Grand View Research, Inc. (http://ibn.fm/L15BV).

Pivot Pharmaceuticals’ innovations in the marketplace are driven by a leadership team that’s experienced in clinical, commercial, product development and financial management. CEO Patrick Frankham has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and services industries, leading successful development programs in oncology, and he has been a founder, investor and board member of several health care ventures during the past 15 years.

“Consumers deserve and will demand products that work, whereas regulatory authorities will require high quality, reproducible and safe products. Pivot has positioned itself to be the market leader of bio-cannabis products,” Frankham stated in summarizing the company’s mission (http://ibn.fm/IA0nv).

Board of Directors Chairman Ahmad Doroudian founded Merus Labs International Inc., and he has also filled executive positions for other pharmaceutical companies as part of his activities since becoming involved in early stage financing and management of private and publicly listed companies in the 1990s.

Dr. Wolfgang Renz, a business executive with expertise in medical innovation and cross-industry convergence, as well as a physician specializing in hepatology, serves on the board of directors, and accounting administrator Moira Ong serves as the company’s chief financial officer.

In 2017, Pivot’s Canadian leadership created a United States-based entity to take advantage of the increased legalization of the cannabis market in California and other North American locales, accelerating the monetization of the company’s Ready To Infuse Cannabis (“RTIC”) technology for products in the food and beverage industry. Pivot Naturals, LLC is led by President Pat Rolfes and Director of Research and Development Ross Franklin. Rolfes and Franklin led RTIC developer ERS Holdings LLC prior to the acquisition of that company and its patents by Pivot, and they are joined on the Pivot USA executive team by product formulation administrators Joseph Borovsky and Leonid Lurya, who were the scientific technology executives on the Thrudermic team upon its acquisition.

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

• EVIO is a leading provider of cannabis analysis and testing in the U.S.
• Company on track to open 18 labs in 2018
• Company is guided by strong team of industry and business experts

Operating in one the hottest industries in the marketplace right now, EVIO, Inc. (OTCQB: EVIO) is a life sciences company leading the charge in cannabis analysis and testing. The company currently operates several laboratories throughout the United States—with many more on the horizon—and is a leading provider of accredited cannabis testing, delivering top-quality analytical and consulting services for agricultural and biomedical industries, as well as performing product research. Through its EVIO Labs division, the company offers state-mandated ancillary services to help ensure the quality and safety of the U.S. cannabis supply.

EVIO is on track to open 18 additional labs by the end of 2018, and the company has reached this prime position under the guidance of a strong management team composed of business leaders and industry experts.

At the company’s helm are William Waldrop, MBA, and Lori Glauser, BSME, MS/MBA, who cofounded parent company Signal Bay, Inc. and have guided EVIO from its foundations as a startup advisory firm in 2014 to its current nationwide presence.

Serving as the CEO and board chairman for EVIO, Waldrop obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University-Long Beach and an MBA in finance from the University of Southern California. In 2014, he formed EVIO as a public company, and, in 2015, he oversaw the acquisition of EVIO’s first analytical laboratory. In past corporate incarnations, Waldrop served as board chairman and CEO of Newport Entertainment Group, president and COO of College Partnership, senior manager at AirTouch Cellular and vice president of operations for Leading Edge Broadband.

Also a driving force behind EVIO’s success, Glauser oversees strategic growth and day-to-day operations for the company. She additionally leads EVIO’s advisory services division. Glauser has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the University of Alabama. She is the founding chair of Women Grow-Las Vegas, has served on the FOCUS standards committee, is the coauthor of ‘Medical Marijuana Desk Reference’ and speaks frequently at cannabis industry conferences. Glauser has a 25-year background in engineering, management, consulting and startups, with expertise in business planning and operations, business process design, financial forecasting, risk, customer experience, and regulatory policy. She formerly served as a management consultant focusing on the energy industry, working with leading firms like Ernst & Young, IBM, Financial Times Group and SNL Financial.

In addition, guiding the EVIO team are chief science officer and Director Anthony Smith, Ph.D.; President Al Lustig, MBA; Evio Oregon Director and President Henry Grimmett, BS, MA; EVIO Labs Berkeley Laboratory Director Tobias Paquet, BS; EVIO Labs Colorado Laboratory Director Stephen Goldman, BS, MS; EVIO Labs Eugene Vice President of Sales Michael Lausmann; EVIO Labs California General Manager Catherine Emond, MS, MA; and EVIO Labs Eugene Vice President of Client Relations Sara Lausmann, BA.

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

• Company offers fast and affordable unsecured personal loans online in 20 states
• IEG Holdings exploring application of blockchain technology to its consumer lending business model
• Total consumer lending industry in the U.S. is at more than $1.4 trillion, with unsecured personal loan segment taking roughly $107 billion

A leading fintech company and direct lender licensed in 20 states, Las Vegas-based IEG Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: IEGH) is offering a unique and approachable consumer lending model based on the concept of online unsecured loans with fast approval rates and affordable repayments. The company provides unsecured personal loans of $5,000 and $10,000 via its wholly owned, licensed subsidiary, Investment Evolution Corporation. With rapid approval, same-day funding, no hidden fees and low repayments, this lending model positions IEG Holdings for a leading position on the booming consumer lending market.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank (http://ibn.fm/iDfTI), the value of consumer loans at U.S. commercial banks is more than $1.43 trillion as of February of this year. Unsecured personal loans take a $107 billion stake in the total, according to figures compiled by TransUnion (http://ibn.fm/8Fr5P). This number marks a 10.8 percent increase from 2016. Even if the growth rate is smaller than the year-over-year increase rates reported up to 2016, there is a clear growing trend that continues every year, signaling increased consumer confidence in the stability of the market and overall sources of revenue. It should also be noted that, in addition to the growing rate of consumer lending, delinquency rates have dropped significantly, according to an Experian report (http://ibn.fm/seIRg), to a national average, pre-recession rate of 0.74 percent for 90 to 180 days-past-due delinquency rates and 0.49 percent for 60 to 89 days-past-due delinquencies.

IEG Holdings aims to disrupt the market with its unique approach to consumer lending. Offered under the ‘Mr. Amazing Loans’ consumer brand via its website and the online application portal available at www.MrAmazingLoans.com, IEG Holdings’ unsecured consumer loans have a five-year maturity period and interest rates that are considerably lower than what payday lenders typically charge.  According to the Center for Responsible Lending, payday lenders generally charge interest rates ranging from 391 percent to 521 percent annual percentage rate (APR) on loans from $100 to $1,000 (http://ibn.fm/Ysf3i). With Mr. Amazing Loans, consumer loans are processed and funded on the same day, without any pre-payment penalties or hidden fees. Repayment interest rates are fixed at an APR of up to 29.9 percent for the duration of the loan. This allows for low fixed repayments, depending on the loan amount and other terms, so as to fit any consumer’s budget.

All of the company’s loans are processed through IEG Holdings’ corporate offices in Las Vegas. The company is currently licensed or has certificates of authority to originate loans in 20 states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

IEG Holdings also plans to further strengthen its position on the consumer lending market by exploring multiple applications for blockchain technology to its business model. Initial plans to release a gold-backed cryptocurrency for loan origination and repayments have been shelved for the time being. However, the company will maintain an interest in cryptocurrency and consider relevant opportunities in the future, including via the launch of a new currency by Singapore-incorporated Investment Evolution Coin Ltd. (“IEC”), a company managed by IEG Holdings CEO Paul Mathieson. IEG Holdings shareholders are currently being provided with the opportunity to receive the same number of IEC shares as the number of IEG Holdings shares that they hold. The offer will be valid until 5 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2018. IEC plans to launch its cryptocurrency in May 2018, with the initial goal of facilitating payment of remittances to the Philippines by nationals who work overseas in Singapore, Australia and the U.S.

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