With global oil prices continuing to hover near six year lows, the domestic oil and gas industry is scrambling to locate potential savings, particularly throughout the production process. Galenfeha, Inc., through its recently launched iWav chemical injection control system, is providing the industry with a more cost efficient, environmentally responsible solution to well site management.

“Shale producers have asked us to help them cut costs, and this latest addition to our product line helps meet these goals,” stated James Ketner, Chairman of Galenfeha.

The iWav is a state-of-the art supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system created specifically for use with chemical injection pumps. Using a system that the company has compared to the computer-controlled fuel injection systems of the automotive industry, iWav provides users with complete control of the chemical injection process through a collection of fully configurable applications. Available for use with a variety of communication mediums, the company’s proprietary system gives operators the ability to increase or decrease chemical injection rate, turn on or off pumps, and monitor tank levels in real time through SCADA. In this way, the company’s revolutionary platform opens the door for potentially massive savings and dramatically increased efficiency throughout fracking processes.

Fracking and horizontal drilling have been established as hot button issues in major markets around the globe. Despite the controversy, the economic benefits of lower energy costs and the environmental benefits of a lessened dependence on coal make fracking a favorable option for energy producers moving forward. In North America, the chemical injection market is rapidly approaching $1 billion annually, and technological advances such as the iWav should encourage continued growth in the future.

Through its commitment to providing new solutions to aid energy producers in increasing efficiency and reducing global pollution, Galenfeha is in a strong position to grow with the industry. With over 45,000 fracking wells drilled in the United States in 2012, according to Statista, it’s clear that the company’s growth potential within the domestic market is significant. Look for Galenfeha to make major waves in the industry moving forward through the continued expansion of its iWav control platform.

Take a closer look at the company by visiting www.galenfeha.com

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Sibling Group Holdings focuses on providing services and technology in the field of education. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Blended Schools Network (BSN), the company:

• provides high-quality virtual curriculum for the K-12 levels;
• hosts course authoring tools;
• offers professional development for educators; and
• maintains a learning management system (LMS).

Over the years, BSN has seen a growing demand for certain online courses that school districts previously struggled to offer because of low enrollment. This past year, BSN had more than 300,000 enrollments and, consequently, it expanded its product offerings to accommodate not only a traditional regional focus but also national and international interest as well. BSN’s content library has now grown from 192 to 212 courses and from 15,000 lessons and 12,000 videos.

Since its establishment, Sibling has often teamed up with various organizations to market and sell BSN’s content to a wider audience. In recent months, Sibling’s Blended Schools Network joined forces with LoudCloud to bring virtual, blended and competency-based learning solutions to more K-12 students. The groups have also worked together to install BSN’s content on LoudCloud’s learning management system.

LoudCloud is a behavioral, analytics-based teaching and learning environment designed to deliver customized paths in education and to offer innovations in collaborative, digital readers and task centricity. The core framework, rooted in re-imagined LMS technology, simplifies course and content authoring and uses proprietary algorithms to inform and guide course progress through recommendations.

BSN is working closely with LoudCloud to ensure that its customers can access its content on LoudCloud’s LMS platform and that students can benefit from this new technology. BSN’s school district clients are seeking the best combined educational solutions and often want easy access to high-quality content. The BSN-LoudCloud integration provides them with another great content source to enhance their performance in the present and in the future. The two groups have already begun reaching out to school districts across the country and are looking at ways to focus on the LoudCloud competency-based learning platform.

For more information, visit www.siblinggroup.com

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Gas flaring is one of the most challenging energy and environmental problems facing the world today. Each year, approximately 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas are flared around the world, effectively wasting about five percent of global gas production. The problem goes beyond wasted energy, however, as the flaring processes also contribute about 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent global greenhouse gas emissions. Well Power, Inc. (OTCQB: WPWR), through its licensing arrangement with ME Resource Corp., is closing in on a way to turn this waste into one of the world’s greatest energy and environmental success stories in the coming years.

Through the continued development of its prototype Micro Refinery Unit (MRU), Well Power is creating a better solution for processing unwanted natural gas. Using proprietary technologies, the MRU is designed to provide the oil and gas industry with a financially viable solution to undervalued natural gas deposits. The unit is flexible, scalable, modular and fully mobile, meaning that it has the potential to reach oil fields in areas where the transport of natural gas to market simply isn’t feasible. Instead, the MRU can transform these natural gas deposits into a variety of valued end products – including Engineered Fuels, electric power and heat – on-site, through cost-effective and environmentally friendly processes.

Currently, Well Power has exclusive licensing rights for the MRU in the state of Texas, with first right of refusal for the remaining states. That gives the company significant opportunity to grow when its prototype unit is completed and ready for market. With a current pipeline shortage in rural South Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale is one of the country’s biggest hotspots for gas flaring, according to a report by the San Antonio Express-News. Pipelines, the principle method of transporting natural gas to market, are a costly and time-intensive endeavor, which increases the potential demand for Well Power’s unique system.

“When they have to move into a booming area, [installing pipelines] takes a while,” stated James Mann, a Texas attorney that specializes in pipeline cases. “You have to find welders. You have to see if a construction company is available. The schedule is filled with things that the pipeline company may have no control over.”

In one example, flaring was used while waiting for a nearby processing plant and pipeline to be constructed. Before the infrastructure was completed in January 2014, a total of 245 million cubic feet of natural gas had been flared on the property, and this case is far from an isolated incident. Through the development of a mobile solution to the gas flaring crisis, Well Power is creating a better method of enduring delays in pipeline construction. As the company continues towards marketization of its proprietary system, look for Well Power to make a significant impact on the booming oil market of the Lone Star State in the years to come.

For more information, visit www.wellpowerinc.com

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Established provider of unified communications (UC) hardware, software and services, Cleartronic has been helping its government agency and business enterprise clients realize cost-effective, state-of-the-art solutions for years. These solutions are based on purpose-built, open-standard software architectures and feature a high degree of design and operating flexibility, as well as universal interoperability and scalability. Via the company’s two core subsidiaries, the 200 plus client, interoperable communications-focused VoiceInterop, and ReadyOp Communications, which is focused on exploiting the company’s recently enhanced strategic relationship with ReadyOp platform developer Collabria, Cleartronic has carved out a chunk of the global UC space.

According to analysis by leading market research firms like Transparency Market Research and Infonetics, the global UC market is projected to hit upwards (respectively) of around $62 billion to $88 billion within the next four years, growing at an over 15.7% CAGR from 2012 through 2018 on the strength of increasingly BYOD (bring your own device) workplaces and the ubiquity of video-capable mobile devices. The ability of advanced UC platforms – enabled by hardware like VoiceInterop’s easily affordable AudioMate 360 Series (AM360) of IP (internet protocol) radio gateways, which allow limitless audio endpoints from sources like analog walkie-talkies and two way radios, known as LMR (land mobile radio) repeaters – to be seamlessly meshed into a single digital unified talkgroup session, alongside control stations or remote control consoles, makes such UC platforms ideal for operating in geographically diverse or vast areas.

By converting analog audio to digital packets and sending them over the internet, using any connection format available from a standard cable ISP, to 2G through 4G wireless, or even satellite, all existing communication devices, be they radio handsets, telephones or desktop users with a headset mic, can be brought together in a real-time environment. VoiceInterop’s AM360 Series even supports Nextel and private iDEN systems for backhaul of data from sources like GPS sensors and external SCADA monitors. AM360 devices also provide active communication features like inbound or outbound group calls, as well as monitoring of inputs like broadcast and weather receivers, and the easily updateable AudioMate Communicator™ software console connects multiple AM360 gateways together with zero hassle. This solution means that any user within the network with clearance can pick up a phone or radio and immediately broadcast over PA systems at a given site or across a large campus, as well as speak to other users within a given protected talkgroup, or a trunked radio system.

Such architectures are an ideal way for airports, police departments, fire and rescue, or university campuses to coordinate in real-time and they also represent an extremely cost-effective way to modernize even legacy systems into a virtual UC environment, with very little setup time. Because VoiceInterop has so much experience developing customized applications, as well as handling the systems integration end of things and acting as an OEM manufacturer of systems like their IP gateways, this CLRI subsidiary can help clients tailor customized UC solutions to fit both their exact needs and their budgets, something which is especially important for state and local government agencies. This ability to bridge the gap between radio talkgroups effortlessly, irrespective of device manufacturer, frequency, or location, is a godsend for critical infrastructure entities and government agencies who must often contend with emergency scenarios, the resolution of which is more ably facilitated by having such a real-time unified communications solution at the ready, allowing for top-down command and control coordination of all field personnel and resources.

ReadyOp Communications has really emerged as a major part of CLRI’s business in more recent months, with the subsidiary’s formation marking the expansion of the license agreement between Cleartronic and Collabria in February of this year, as well as the decided shift from Collabria handling the lion’s share of the platform’s sales and marketing in-house, to Cleartronic’s subsidiary taking the lead role in marketing ReadyOp. A major reason for the success of this highly secure communications platform, as well as the need for the expanded strategic relationship, is how attractive the solution is and how much interest it has been generating. The ReadyOp platform is now doing over 100k transmissions daily, recently smashed through the 40 million total radio communications barrier, and continues to see growing usage of features like alerts, email, text messaging and other types of voice communications sent using the platform. This platform even includes an easy to use file management system that lets users send and receive any type or size of file, using encrypted cloud storage through Amazon-hosted servers.

Incident and emergency response planning is a huge market for ReadyOp and winning features like the platform’s visual management dashboard, which lets managers easily coordinate vast sums of personnel and logistics, allowing them to locate people, assign relevant tasks and keep everyone in constant communication, has kept the clientele rolling in. The lack of software install required and the ability to use basically any web browser, including a smartphone version, combined with the ability to send voice or data, quickly delivering notification pushes in every format from SMS to phone calls, means that the same platform used to tie together such disparate devices as two-way field radios, telephones and laptop users, can also be accessed securely from anywhere in the world where an internet connection can be established.

ReadyOp is a comprehensive SaaS solution for planning and preparation tasks which allows users to create and store highly structured operational or event plans, as well as personnel rosters, including details like multiple points of contact information for each user, displayed in a manner in which those points of contact are connected to individual’s roles and planned tasks. The platform allows provides an easily updateable logistics database that is used to track assets, including the asset’s specific location and any associated contact personnel. And the whole setup can be organized via a customized visual display configured by the user, enabling multiple groups to be organized and then tied together at the last minute without complications into a nodal framework.

All of these capabilities also make ReadyOp the ideal platform for reaction, mitigation and recovery during incident and emergency response scenarios. The ability to start multiple conferencing sessions on the fly, bringing in personnel from all over the place, irrespective of their communications device or which agency they are from, and then organize them quickly into sub groups for better management, is the kind of capability that may mean the difference between saving or losing lives during a disaster. Being able to quickly and easily share key intel like photographs and videos, or simply spoken situation report updates, via a secure interface, is often the kind of crucial capability needed to create order from the chaos of a disaster incident. ReadyOp even allows for out-briefing and after action report tasks to be performed in a consistent manner, providing complete time stamping of task completion and communication sessions.

Learn more about Cleartronic by visiting www.cleartronicinc.com

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International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Unique Stem Cell Tech’s Immense Therapeutic Potential Continues To Be Demonstrated

International Stem Cell Corp., a developer of ethical stem cell therapies (as well as biomedical products) based on their pioneering of an entirely new class of stem cells, hpSCs, or human parthenogenetic stem cells, which offer significant advantages over existing stem cell technologies, continues to see the broad spectrum potential of their technology across the company’s entire therapeutic pipeline.

Parthenogenesis is a form of aesexual reproductive cell division where no fertilization occurs, meaning that no viable embryo is created or destroyed. Derived from unfertilized human eggs (oocytes) and differentiated using a proprietary, patented and chemically-defined process, ISCO’s hpSCs are completely ethical and yet also have superior immune matching (low cell transplant rejection rate) and histocompatability (tissue compatibility) properties compared to existing stem cell technologies. In addition, hpSCs are highly pluripotent, or differentiable into many different cell types, meaning they can be used to treat a broad range of diseases. These novel stem cells are also easily proliferated, meaning large quantities can be grown in the lab and the technology thusly represent an effective, practical solution for developing and executing cost-effective transplantation-based therapies, even for large populations of patients.

Indeed, the fact that ISCO’s hpSC technology allows for derivation of HLA (human leukocyte antigen, the major histocompatibility complex which restricts antigen presentation) homozygous hpSCs, even a relatively limited set of hpSC lines could be used to generate huge quantities of immune-matched cells that would correspond to vast swathes of the human population. This innovative technology captures all the best aspects of other extant stem cell technologies, like adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), but does not suffer from any of the ethical or logistical limitations. This means that ISCO is essentially the tip of the spear in a therapeutically realistic war against dreaded diseases like Parkinson’s, with real solutions in the offing for ischemic (acute) stroke, as well as metabolic liver diseases (using stem cell-derived liver cells – CytoHep), and the crippling impairment of corneal and retinal blindness (using human retinal epithelium and corneal cells – RPE cells and CytoCor respectively).

With FDA clearance for the company’s hpSC technology already under their belt, as well as a soon to begin Phase 1/2a clinical study in Parkinson’s using their human parthenogenetic neural stem cell technology (ISC-hpNSC), including the already completed production of a 2.6 billion cell stem cell bank that will cover all clinical trial requirements, ISCO is within striking distance of having a viable therapeutic solution to Parkinson’s disease. ISCO’s progress in developing a therapeutically realistic solution to this increasingly prevalent CNS disease no doubt appears as a beacon of hope on the horizon to the millions of people around the world whose lives have been shattered by this disease, which currently impacts the lives of as many as seven million people and takes a heavy toll on their families (not to mention national healthcare systems), due to a progressive loss of nerve cells in the victim’s brain that leads to severe motor and mental impairment.

According to one National Parkinson Foundation study, as many as 9.3 million people worldwide will be living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by 2030 and estimates for the U.S. alone show that as many as 60,000 new cases crop up each year. Market analysis from last year put the (note that these are typically only marginally effective) 2012 PD therapy market at around $3.56 billion globally ($1.15 billion U.S.) with only 2.18 million cases reported. Conservative estimates forecast that the diagnostics/therapy market will grow to $5.26 billion worldwide ($2.33 billion U.S.) within the next seven years alone, using extrapolated market size estimates on a target of only 2.89 million cases.

The profound utility of ISCO’s ISC-hpNSC technology doesn’t stop at PD either, the same ability of these cells to simultaneously differentiate into dopaminergic neurons, while also expressing brain-protecting neurotrophic factors (neurotrophins are key proteins which help neurons survive and thrive), makes them ideal for treating other CNS disorders and diseases. New results which show ISC-hpNSCs may not only reduce but even reverse the symptoms of neurological dysfunction could prove huge for people who have suffered from a stroke, especially considering that the 795,000 plus strokes which occur each year leave those who manage to survive with zero currently approved treatment options, aside from grueling and generally only partially effective physical rehab.

Peer-reviewed publications showing the superior immunological properties of hpNSCs compared to other neural stem cells is also an extremely promising advantage for ISCO and the company has plans to investigate this abundant potential in further detail via upcoming studies. A presentation of extant data on the potential of hpNSCs, including how they are actually attracted to the site of an injury by naturally-occurring molecular chemistry signals, reducing swelling and forming new brain tissue, is set to take place at an upcoming scientific conference and will be announced in the very near future. For ischemic stroke (which accounts for nearly 90% of all stroke cases), the $1.2 billion diagnosis and therapy market as of 2013 set to hit $1.9 billion in five years (6.3% CAGR), where the immediacy of therapeutic response time is directly proportional to recovery outcomes (success), the value of hpNSC therapy, which has been shown in pre-clinical work to reverse associated functional deficits even several weeks after the stroke, is substantial.

A highly effective therapy for acute stroke that can be applied even weeks after the actual stroke would be a major game changer and could help propel ISCO to the top of the stem cell industry.

Dig deeper into this innovative stem cell therapy developer at www.internationalstemcell.com

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Fuel cell technologies have come a long ways over the last decade and are now rapidly increasing their market share across a variety of power applications, from onboard vehicle power plants using PEM (proton exchange membrane) designs, to large-scale, multi-megawatt utility power for grid-connected or independent use, using designs like DFCs (direct fuel cells) and high-temperature SOFCs (solid oxide fuel cells). The larger scale applications still have the most room to grow out of the overall fuel cell market and cutting-edge designs using versatile DFC and SOFC approaches are becoming increasingly attractive for building highly localized power plants that can take advantage of nearby fuel sources, as well as nearby power demand.

A recent report by global market research and consulting company MarketsandMarkets on the fuel cell technology industry’s outlook, estimates that the space will grow at an extremely healthy CAGR of 14.7% over the next four years alone, nearly doubling from roughly $2.61 billion last year, to over $5.20 billion by 2019. MarketsandMarkets also noted in their report that the stationary power generation segment was going to be a major source of growth for the overall market, due in large part to tight form factors making these solutions ideal for localized electrical generation, even in rough terrain, as well as a distinctly advantageous ability to run off various fuel types.

The market for stationary fuel cell power generation located in immediate proximity to corporate offices, as well as plants and manufacturing facilities, is expected to help drive the growing trend towards grid decentralization. Both as a means of increasing efficiency through reduction of transmission and distribution losses, and as a way of curbing grid failure downtime via the adoption of highly localized supply and consumption metrics. On-site power using smaller scale generation will likely become a dominant trend over the next decade as more and more entities, particularly in the thriving Asia-Pacific region, move to produce reliable, clean energy themselves, instead of relying on an overtaxed grid.

Of course, grid-connected fuel cell power plants will continue to also be a key feature of the market moving forward and the Asia-Pacific region is seen as being the largest value generator for such applications. Japan and South Korea are some of the biggest contenders here and the recent completion of the largest fuel cell power plant on earth, the 59 MW Gyeonggi Green Energy Park in Hwasung City, South Korea is a shining example of how far large-scale fuel cell power has come. The LNG-fuelled plant uses 21 FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL, $1.36/share) Direct Fuel Cell (DFC3000) units (2.8 MW each) and because the overall footprint is so small, it is seen as the perfect model to roll out fuel cell generation solutions across the largely hilly terrain that makes up so much of energy-intensive South Korea.

FCEL’s DFC plants use carbonate (potassium and lithium electrolyte) fuel cells and can generate clean power from even diesel fuel and coal gas, being capable of internally reforming hydrogen from the source fuel. FuelCell Energy is hard at work advancing SOFC technology as well, which has significant advantages like very high electrical efficiency and the ability to provide substantial, easily utilized waste heat for CHP (combined heat and power) applications.

One of the companies already deeply entrenched in the SOFC game is Dominovas Energy (OTCQB:DNRG, $0.05/share), whose Fuel Cell Division has developed the RUBICON™ Series of multi-megawatt SOFCs, which boast greater than 50% fuel-to-electricity efficiency and are extremely fuel-flexible, being able to generate electricity from almost any of the hydrocarbon fuels. From diesel, natural gas, LNG, propane, ethanol and methanol, to bio-derived fuels and pure hydrogen, RUBICON offers fuel-flexible, cost-effective and clean electricity generation with significantly reduced emissions. Moreover, the RUBICON series integrates a desulfurizer, reformer and a number of heat exchangers directly into its fuel processor, reforming hydrocarbon fuels with steam prior to reaching the plant’s SOFC anode. RUBICON thus avoids coking and sulfur poisoning issues, a capability which is further enhanced by active tuning of key parameters like the steam to carbon ratio, current density, and temperature.

The company has also partnered with well-established global vehicle component manufacturer and electric, powertrain, thermal and safety solutions provider, Delphi Automotive PLC’s (NYSE:DLPH, $ 77.88/share) subsidiary, Delphi Automotive Systems, to jointly develop new innovations in SOFC. Adapting and incorporating Delphi’s own SOFC stack technology, while providing Delphi with the opportunity to further flesh out their fuel cell technology for stationary power applications, is a huge advantage for Dominovas Energy, which also grants them access to the sprawling international markets already opened up by Delphi’s existing footprint.

To learn more about the company, visit www.dominovasenergy.com

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Any car owner knows the costs of car maintenance and repair can quickly add up to several hundred dollars of parts and labor. According to CarMD’s 2014 State Index, the average cost for check engine light-related repairs in the U.S. in 2013 was $392.49, up nearly 7% from 2012. As the cost of auto parts continues to rise, however, so does sales potential for Car Monkeys Group, a seller of used, high-quality, low-mileage automotive parts.

In its five years of operations, the New Jersey-based company has used its proprietary technology and access to hundreds of thousands of parts to become a premiere online used parts distributor in the United States. Car Monkeys’ growing customer base is comprised of consumers, retailers, auto repair facilities, and truck and car fleet owners looking for more affordable automotive parts for all vehicle makes and models.

As an online retailer, Car Monkeys avoids the steep costs and space requirements needed for substantial inventory. Instead, the company utilizes its proprietary software specifically designed to search, cross reference and price used auto parts.

The proprietary search algorithms perform a complex analysis to search through the results and identify auto parts that are competitively priced as well as of verifiable quality. The system then displays to the consumer a vast and detailed online catalog of used high-quality, low-mileage automotive parts offered at wholesale from a trusted network of automotive recyclers nationwide.

All parts ordered through CarMonkeys.com ship from one of the company’s numerous distributors and auto dismantling centers straight to the customer or to their mechanic. In the past, mechanics were rightfully reluctant to install used or even new parts supplied by the customer from external discount sources due to the fact that if the part fails, or the customer is dissatisfied for any reason whatsoever, the mechanic has to resolve the issue at his or her own expense, or risk losing the customer by refusing to do so. By dealing with Car Monkeys and its five-year unlimited mileage warranty, however, selected shops are able to expand their customer base with no risk to themselves.

In addition to its large network, zero shipping costs, warranty and generous return policy, Car Monkeys’ high-quality catalog of used automotive parts further contribute to the increasing popularity of its brand in the broader $22 billion North American automotive recycling industry.

For more information, visit www.carmonkeys.com

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View Systems is a leading security technology products company with “state-of-the-art” technological solutions for modern security problems. Targeting the challenging business opportunities in the opening decades of the 21st century and beyond, View Systems has solutions for law enforcement facilities such as correctional institutions as well as other government agencies, schools, courthouses, event and sports venues, the military and commercial businesses.

The senior management team is comprised of successful businessmen with decades of business and professional experience in the security industry. The approach used by View Systems utilizes the expertise of this team to provide innovative solutions to security problems with reliable “cutting edge” products in conjunction with client-oriented security consulting services.

The company’s flagship product, ViewScan, is an advanced walk-through Concealed Weapons Detection System (CWD) that greatly simplifies the process of discriminating suspicious items from harmless ones. The highly sensitive, completely passive sensor technology powering the system accurately detects the location and number of threat objects such as knives, guns and razor blades while ignoring personal artifacts like coins, keys and belt buckles. A portable version of this system has only a fifteen minute setup time using only a screwdriver and it easily fits inside a golf size case.

Experts say the security industry has been the fastest-growing sector of the global economy during the past decade. Today, it is conservatively estimated to be a $100 billion-a-year industry and growing. As the business environment continues to get more complex, especially in foreign markets, View Systems is strategically positioned to capitalize on unsurpassed opportunity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Take a closer look by visiting www.nanoviricides.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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