Legacy Ventures International and Boxed Water Is Better, LLC have teamed up with luxury retailer Holt Renfrew to support its upcoming “Holiday Kick Off and Charity Shopping Event.”

Boxed Water will be given out at Holt Renfrew locations across Canada today, November 4, during the retail giant’s holiday kick off and national charity shopping night. From 5 p.m.-9 p.m., 10% of all sales will be donated to The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.

“We are very excited about the collaboration between Boxed Water and Holt Renfrew. The alignment with Canada’s largest retailer of luxury brands and our sustainable Boxed Water brand will keep shoppers hydrated while supporting a charitable cause and doing one small thing to protect our environment,” Evan Clifford, CEO of Legacy Ventures, stated in the news release.

Participating in broader community support endeavors will also raise brand awareness for the Boxed Water brand – which is part of Legacy Ventures’ RM Fresh Brands innovative brand portfolio that includes Aloe Gloe, Uncle Si’s Iced Tea and Chef 5-Minute Meals. Boxed Water is made mostly of paper to better utilize the earth’s renewable resources and minimize the use of plastics; by implementing more efficient shipping, Boxed Water also helps reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

For more information visit www.legacyventuresinc.com

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Stellar Biotechnologies (OTCQB: SBOTF) (TSX-V: KLH), a leading manufacturer of Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (“KLH”) protein for generation of antibody and cell-mediated immune responses against disease indications, has received approval for its common shares to begin trading on The NASDAQ Capital Market as of November 5, 2015, under the symbol “SBOT.”

“This is a significant milestone for Stellar and an important step in our corporate growth,” Frank Oakes, president, CEO and chairman, of Stellar stated in the news release. “We anticipate that the listing of our shares on NASDAQ will raise our visibility within the investment community and with institutional investors, and will offer our shareholders an opportunity for increased liquidity. This approval comes at an important time for Stellar, as evidenced by our recently announced plan to expand manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand for KLH protein in immunotherapy. We look forward to sharing our future achievements with investors, customers, and collaborators.”

In recognition of the achievement, Nasdaq has invited Stellar to ring the Nasdaq Closing Bell tomorrow afternoon, the first day of the company’s trade on the exchange. Oakes and members of Stellar’s management team will participate in the Nasdaq closing ceremony on Thursday, November 5, 2015, at 4 p.m. ET at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City. The event will be broadcast live via Nasdaq’s livestream portal at http://livestream.com/nasdaq/live.

For more information visit www.stellarbiotechnologies.com

Ever wonder why domesticated animals seem less fierce than their wild counterparts? Dr. Steve Tsengas, the president and CEO of OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO), says that because our beloved cats and dogs do not experience the harshness of nature with the threat of bigger predators, they remain about 30% smaller than their cousins. They basically stay young forever as immature teenagers; complete with total dependence on their parents and occasional outbursts.

With this in mind, OurPet’s commits to developing and marketing inventive products designed to “awaken a pet’s natural instincts” while nurturing a relationship between pet and owner. For dogs, the company created a line of toys that gives Fido the mental stimulation and physical exercise he needs for healthy growth. For instance, the Buster Food Cube is a plastic ball that owners can fill with delicious treats. The catch? The dog has to figure out how to release those treats by rolling it around and the owner can even increase the difficulty if needed. There’s also the Flappy® Ruffy®, a squeak toy with flaps that simulates the feeling of caught prey to the dog.

Cats have their own feral-awakening toys too. With the Catty Whack™, felines chase a feather wand that moves quickly and randomly while squeaking like a mouse. This toy impersonates prey in the wild. Cats also enjoy the Play-N-Squeak™ toy line which brings out their stalk and chase instinct through a toy that squeaks like a mouse when handled.

Not only does OurPet’s Company develop healthy pet toys, but it also produces feeding, storage, and waste management products that aim to improve pet and owner lifestyles. Even more toys and products are under way that should contribute to the company’s goal of enhancing natural predispositions in domesticated pets and should be announced in 2016.

OurPet’s shows no sign of slowing down and says they are “at the point to support continuous improvement in revenue growth and profitability” which can be seen in the company’s record third quarter revenue numbers.

For more information on OurPet’s Company, visit www.ourpets.com

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A profound shift in American beer culture is underway, and traditional powerhouse brewers like Anheuser Busch (NYSE: BUD) and Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) are rapidly losing market share to upstart companies with an eye for the details. In 2014, the total domestic beer market was up just 0.5 percent, according to the Brewers Association, but the craft beer category continued its meteoric rise, accounting for double-digit (11 percent) volume share of the marketplace for the first time ever.

This surge is being led by established names in the craft brewing space – including Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) and D.G. Yuengling and Son, Inc. – but it is also creating an opportunity for smaller brewers to rapidly increase their presence in one of the country’s most intriguing markets. Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Inc. (OTC PINK: HOPS) is one company that’s capitalizing on the current market conditions.

In the second quarter of 2015, HOPS realized a 60 percent year-over-year increase in total revenue, recording $478,572 for the period. Similarly, the company’s net profit increased by 32 percent for the quarter thanks to an extremely strong 77 percent gross margin.

In addition to its solid financial performance, HOPS has made waves in the craft brewing industry through its award-winning beers. In July, the company announced that it had claimed three medals in the 2015 U.S. Open Beer Championship, which featured breweries from 13 countries offering nearly 4,000 beers and ciders. The company’s Blonde Ale won the gold medal in the Blonde/Golden Ale category and its Porter brew won the bronze medal in the Robust Porter category. Additionally, HOPS received a silver medal for its Cinful Plum Cider as a result of its unique combination of creativity and imagination.

With a high quality product and strong financial growth, HOPS is in a favorable position to benefit from the recent performance of the craft brewing industry. In August, the company announced intentions to begin gauging market demand for an initial public offering as well as a potential uplisting to the OTCQB exchange. For prospective shareholders, this opportunity could foreshadow a chance for HOPS to continue building on its recent progress while promoting strong returns in the months to come.

For more information, visit www.appalachianmountainbrewery.com

With the rapid rise in recent years of online language learning platforms such as Babbel, which has over 25 million app downloads to date, or freemium model-based social network language learning platform Busuu, which now boasts over 50 million users, the English language edtech market has effectively evolved beyond the grasp of all but a handful of truly savvy companies. As of earlier this year, over 60 million people were signed up to use the free, gamified Duolingo platform, which lets anyone via browser or smartphone app study languages, taking advantage of the platform’s adaptive language teaching technology.

However, Duolingo, which has taken in nearly $40 million in VC to date and even started shoveling out crowdsourced translation services to the likes of Buzzfeed and CNN as early as 2013, still doesn’t really have a revenue model to speak of. Looking at the underlying nature of the market today, it is easy to understand how Livemocha, despite over 16 million users and $19 million in funding, ended its startup run in an $8.5 million buyout by Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST) last year. LinkedIn’s (NYSE: LNKD) $1.5 billion acquisition of renowned online education company Lynda.com last year – which is widely known in tech circles for its comprehensive, highly-valuable courses from industry experts, as well as its affordable prices – speaks volumes about where we are at in the evolution of the edtech market.

Furthermore, consider the following data point from June of this year by founder of the EdTech Europe conference, Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet, that edtech currently still represents less than five percent of the $4 trillion global education market. There is massive growth potential here and one of the biggest targets moving forward will be Latin America, where over 600 million people speak just two languages. Populations are largely resident in 20 or so major metropolitan centers throughout Latin America and in key markets such as Brazil, the nearly ubiquitous penetration of both broadband and smartphone coverage spells big success for companies that can deliver meaningful, truly useful digital content, as well as the ancillary services needed to learn English.

In stark contrast to now prevalent academic MOOC (massive open online course) programs, up-and-comer Udemy (which recently did a $65 million raise, led by private equity/VC firm, Stripes Group) is focused specifically on offering experts from any field the ability to create courses and offer them to the public, either for free, or for a tuition fee. This is sort of like Uberizing the Lynda.com model. According to head of business development for Udemy in Latin America, Brazil’s connectivity penetration leads the way as an example of where the regional edtech market is headed, and because the government allows for one fifth of the higher education curriculum to be delivered online in a partially unregulated space, the potential 25 million consumer market (core market of 7 million paying students) in Brazil has some of the highest margins available anywhere.

For an established edtech provider like Lingo Media (OTCQB: LMDCF) (TSX-V: LM) though, it’s about far more than simply generating the sort of healthy revenues evinced by its recent Q2 financial reportage, which showed 776 percent year-over-year revenue growth in digital learning, overtaking print-based revenue for the first time in the company’s history. Lingo Media is clearly driven by a strong, underlying mission to fundamentally change the way the entire world learns English.

In addition, the company is driven by the opening up of new markets, and providing best-in-class, innovative online, as well as print-based solutions. The recently announced securing by Lingo Media of a multi-million dollar software development contract with the Colombian Ministry of Labour’s National Training Service, SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje), to provide a variety of digital resources and content that will be incorporated into SENA’s LMS (learning management system), is a solid indicator of how the company is currently making huge strides in Latin America.

Secured via a partnership between Lingo Media’s wholly-owned ELL Technologies subsidiary and Colombian ESL edtech digital platform developer, eDistribution, this multi-million dollar software development deal puts Lingo Media at the forefront of what is an ongoing campaign by Colombia’s government to leverage the nation’s substantial human capital via language learning. English is mandated in all schools by official Colombian policy under the PFDCLE (Foreign Languages Competencies Development Programme), with the goal of making the entire country bilingual, following CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) proficiency standards.

Given that eDistribution is a specialist in the field of developing enhanced digital resources for second language classroom practices, and that ELL Technologies’ product suite spans the gamut from contextual-based training to comprehensive, SCORM-compliant achievement testing – putting together a winning package of digital resources, lessons, and learning objects for SENA should be a snap for the pair. The highly customizable and fluid framework that will be provided to educators, which will allow unprecedented ease of access to tools enabling dynamic coursework and in-class session development, no doubt will come to serve as a living advertisement for other regional markets.

Columbia’s SENA is laser-focused on digital content and this sweetheart deal is a major feather in Lingo Media’s cap. A deal which will serve to further open up the Latin American market, giving the company an ever more stable footing, amid the Permian Sea-like development of what continues to be one of the hottest markets in edtech today.

All around the world today, some two billion people or more are trying to learn the English language. In China, kids start learning English as early as grade three, and its teaching is mandated by law. China has become the largest English-speaking country on earth as a result of this practice and Lingo Media’s print based roots are firmly established in this key global market, with a wide range of popular educational text books and learning tools available through the company’s publishing unit, Lingo Learning.

Learn more, visit Lingo Media online at: www.lingomedia.com

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In recent months, Dominovas Energy Corporation (OTCQB: DNRG) has made considerable progress toward expanding its presence in the promising power generation markets of sub-Saharan Africa. Just last week, the company announced a landmark capital commitment of $1.2 billion in project financing with Graecrest Energy Solutions, effectively validating its business model and demonstrating the feasibility of installing power infrastructure in global and emerging markets. Earlier today, Dominovas Energy took another step toward the commercialization of its innovative RUBICON™ solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology when it announced the completion of a concept design study for the efficient manufacturing of the system.

“Building a mega-watt class SOFC system required a fresh and sustainable approach to address and overcome the engineering challenges for the overall system development,” Dr. Shamiul Islam, executive vice president of fuel cell operations with Dominovas Energy, stated in a news release. “This proprietary study serves as a viable and venerable cornerstone upon which the manufacturing and commercialization process can proceed.”

The concept study – which was completed in concert with AVL List GmbH (AVL), the world’s largest independent developer of powertrain systems – confirmed the specific design details needed to create a groundbreaking precision-engineered system capable of supplying clean, reliable, commercially-viable and sustainable energy to millions of sub-Saharan Africans. With the completion of this study, Dominovas Energy is prepared to enter the next level of detailed design, engineering and manufacturing of its multi-megawatt systems in order to capitalize on its favorable strategic position in the region.

“The results of this study offer a roadmap and confirm the technical feasibility of the ‘commercialization’ of the multi-MW modular RUBICON™ power generation technology,” Dr. Martin Hauth, project manager of fuel cell systems with AVL, stated. “We are very excited to enter into the next phase of system commercialization for deployment with Dominovas Energy.”

In addition to its rapidly expanding presence in sub-Saharan Africa, Dominovas Energy has also recently made strides toward establishing a foothold in the Middle East, as announced in a recent press release, and the Company is moving aggressively to fortify its relationship and standing in the region. This growing global presence stems from rising concerns about climate change, energy security and air pollution, which have driven a persistent demand for environmentally-friendly fuel cell technology in recent years.

Dominovas Energy has eagerly embraced the opportunity to support and deploy its proprietary SOFC technology to address this demand. Look for the company to continue to capitalize on its strategic partnerships in both sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East in the months to come, as it positions itself to achieve sustainable financial growth. For prospective shareholders, the recently announced completion of the concept design study for its RUBICON™ technology could foreshadow an opportunity for Dominovas Energy to achieve strong returns in the future.

For more information, visit www.dominovasenergy.com

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California-based International Stem Cell Corporation this morning announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cyto Therapeutics, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia to conduct phase I/IIa clinical trials of ISCO’s proprietary human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (hPNSCs) for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease.

The LOI follows a recent meeting with Australian Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA), and precedes a full agreement expected to be signed after TGA and the HREC approve the clinical protocol for the trials.

“We had a productive meeting with TGA where we discussed the clinical protocol and potentially came to an agreement on all remaining items. We look forward to receiving TGA approval for clinical trials in November and enrolling patients soon thereafter,” Russell A. Kern, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of ISCO, stated in the news release.

ISCO’s Parkinson’s disease program uses hPNSCs, a novel therapeutic cellular product derived from the company’s proprietary human pluripotent stem cells. hPNSC are self-renewing multipotent cells that are precursors for the major cells of the central nervous system. The cells’ ability to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and express neurotrophic factors to protect the nigrostriatal system creates a potential new opportunity for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Additionally, hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com).

For more information visit www.internationalstemcell.com

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. In 2013, an estimated 15.7 million individuals aged 18 or over – roughly 6.7 percent of all U.S. adults – had at least one major depressive episode. For these individuals, finding relief can be difficult. The American Academy of Family Physicians reports that up to two-thirds of all patients diagnosed with major unipolar depression will not respond to the first medication prescribed. If the second form of treatment also fails to produce a significant clinical improvement, the patient’s depression may be considered resistant to treatment. At this point, individuals have traditionally had extremely limited options for conquering this debilitating condition.

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: VSTA), through the development of AV-101, is addressing this underserved indication. Earlier today, the company announced that it has taken a major step toward the eventual commercialization of its innovative drug candidate by dosing the first patient in its ongoing phase IIa study of AV-101 for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). The study, which is being funded by the NIMH, is expected to enroll between 24 and 28 adult patients in order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a single oral dose of AV-101 administered once daily for two weeks.

“We are pleased to have achieved this important milestone, notably advancing our AV-101 clinical development program, and we look forward to working closely with the esteemed leadership team at the NIMH,” Shawn Singh, chief executive officer of VistaGen, stated in a news release. “We believe that AV-101’s differentiated mechanism of action, oral availability, strong preclinical efficacy and excellent clinical safety profile support AV-101 as a potentially transformative treatment for millions of patients with MDD who are inadequately served by standard antidepressant therapies.”

In previous clinical testing, AV-101 has exhibited a host of sustained anti-depressant effects that exceed the effectiveness of currently available medications in the multi-billion dollar global antidepressant market – including serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). While SSRIs and SNRIs must be taken for several weeks before patients experience significant therapeutic benefits, AV-101 has demonstrated robust and rapid antidepressant effects similar to the benefits of ketamine without the high potential for abuse and psychosis-like behavioral side effects.

With its phase IIa study now underway, VistaGen expects top-line data in the first half of 2017. For prospective shareholders, the company’s progress toward the commercialization of its groundbreaking drug candidate makes it an intriguing investment opportunity in the coming months. Look for VistaGen to continue to benefit from its collaboration with the NIMH as it progresses toward a potentially transformative advancement in the treatment of MDD.

For more information on the company, visit www.vistagen.com

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OurPet’s Company created quite the stir this morning when the company reported a triple-digit increase in quarterly net income on an impressive hike in revenues. While the company primarily attributes the growth to stronger domestic and international sales partnerships, one can’t ignore innovation as a considerable catalyst.

In recent years, the nation’s overall $73 billion pet products industry has enjoyed robust growth driven by increasing e-commerce purchases and an uptick in dog and cat ownership. The market is currently dominated by PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) (nearly 39%), which tallied full-year 2014 revenues of $1.9 billion, and Petco (roughly 19%), which is looking raise about $800 million in an IPO in the relatively near future, according to Bloomberg Business. The two leaders are also reportedly in discussion for a merger, but there’s plenty of room for an innovative player like OurPet’s.

When OurPet’s jumped into the pet specialty business nearly 20 years ago, there was an obvious lack in product innovation and new product development. It’s within this void that the company initially focused its sights and has continued to excel. In the last five years, OurPet’s used this focus as an anchor during its transition from a small to a medium-sized company. Today, OurPet’s has an intellectual property portfolio featuring more than 160 individual patents.

The overarching ongoing capitalization strategy is to execute the aggressive development of innovative products to successfully push through adverse market conditions to achieve increases in revenue, margins and net income.

By maintaining an active new product development program built on these patents, and a proven history of churning out and bringing to market evolutionary and revolutionary products, OurPet’s enjoys global sales via specialty retailers, food, drug and mass chains, and e-commerce and international channels. A look at the company’s third-quarter results demonstrates the efficiency of this model.

OurPet’s this morning reported record third-quarter revenue of $5.99 million, an increase of 7% from $5.60 million in revenues for the comparable three months of 2014. Net income for the third quarter increased 428% to $410,450, or $0.02 diluted earnings per share, compared to $77,751, or $0.00, for the year prior.

For comparison, in March, PetSmart reported a 6.0% increase in fourth quarter 2015 sales and an increase of 8.7% increase non-GAAP net income over the prior year.

Commenting on its impressive quarterly performance and innovation behind the growth, Dr. Steven Tsengas, OurPet’s president and CEO, stated, “We are pleased with our results for the third quarter in which we achieved record net revenue, gross margins improving to 34%, and net income from operations of almost 11% of sales. We continue to see strong sales growth in the Pet Specialty channel driven by our cat toys and bowls/feeder lines. E-commerce sales rebounded and grew 7% while the Food, Drug, Mass channel slightly decreased; however, we anticipate improved sales as the conversion to the Pet Zone brand is completed by year end… With the recent and anticipated introduction of a significant number of new innovative products in all our product categories, we are experiencing robust sales activity. Our Catty Whack™, winner of the SuperZoo ‘Best New Cat Product’ award, is beginning to ship and is receiving strong consumer reaction. We expect to release more information on other major, trend-setting products over the next six months.”

In its news release this morning, OurPet’s alluded confidence in its ability to maintain growth momentum moving forward. The company continues to dig its heels into the innovation-thirsty pet industry to capture its fair share of the market and deliver new products poised to take the industry by storm.

For more information visit www.ourpets.com

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Today’s English language learners have access to more sophisticated tools and technology than ever before, but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to be learned from the eager students of the past. In a recent news report, Nageen Mustafa, a Syrian refugee with surprisingly strong English skills, recounted how she learned English by watching the popular soap opera Days of our Lives, and her story is far from an isolated incident. In fact, it’s possible that Hollywood, along with its most famous characters, has done more to teach English in the developing world than any educational outreach program ever created.

The draw of films and television series is easy to understand. Instead of looking at repetitive, sometimes boring learning programs and flashcards, films such as Taxi Driver and Top Gun combine education with first-class entertainment that makes learning a new language more fun. Industry research has confirmed this hypothesis, with bimodal input – which includes both sound and video – consistently increasing comprehension and vocabulary in English language learners more effectively than less engaging techniques. Lingo Media Corporation (OTCQB: LMDCF) (TSX-V: LM), through subsidiary ELL Technologies, is putting this research to good use with its groundbreaking Speak2Me learning platform.

With Speak2Me, Lingo Media leverages its large library of digital content to create customized curriculums that suit the specific needs of its customers. The company has already secured contracts for this technology with a collection of diverse organizations – including municipal governments in Colombia, the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, the Peruvian Navy and the National Training Service (SENA) in Colombia.

“Learning English in an easy to use digital format is essential, especially for the military, government, corporate and academic industries,” Gali Bar-Ziv, president and chief executive officer of ELL Technologies, stated in a news release. “Through our large digital learning library, we are able to quickly and seamlessly build custom digital solutions based on the client’s needs.”

Building on the success of old VHS cassettes and subtitled movies, Lingo Media is continuing to progress toward its goal of changing the way the world learns English. As it expands its foothold in the pivotal Latin American learning markets, the company is in a formidable position to establish a sizable and sustainable presence in the evolving market for English language learning solutions in developing markets around the globe.

For more information, visit www.lingomedia.com

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