Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Progressive Care Inc. (OTCQB: FEXD).

Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) is a special-purpose acquisition company formed to develop a global financial technology system. "FEXD's goal is to identify and engage in a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with a business – or more – that has developed or is developing technology that enables communities and companies to store and transfer money within developing countries and across international borders. To achieve this, the company, led by CEO and Founder Dr. Saiful Khandaker, plans to leverage its management team's experience in the fintech sector to identify high-growth targets primarily operating in South Asia with a high volume of customers and growing demand… FEXD hopes this team's significant operating and transaction experience, a broad network of contacts around the world, and relationships with companies will help it identify – and potentially close – a number of business combination targets. So far, these factors have led to the identification and entry into a definitive agreement with Mobitech International LLC (dba Afinoz), a limited liability company organized in the United Arab Emirates," a recent article reads. "Beyond identifying the potential targets, FEXD also aims to leverage emerging technologies to reduce costs and processing times, improve the money delivery process, and create real-time settlements."

To view the full article, visit https://ibn.fm/8XTiM

Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed for the purpose of effecting one or more business combinations with an intent to focus on the financial technology sector.

The company’s mission is to create and grow a global financial services ecosystem to address unmet mobile money needs in developing and industrialized countries and markets. FEXD plans to achieve this by acquiring and merging with financial technology pioneers that have the potential to help establish its global fintech ecosystem, and by continuing the development of proprietary technologies and applications to keep the company at the forefront of the cashless society market.

Digital money is replacing physical cash. Consumers can buy products and services from anywhere in the world and make payments across borders. Parents can send money to students studying in other countries. Migrant workers are sending money to families in developing nations. Rural villagers without banks can send and receive money using their smartphones. FEXD is developing mobile transaction platforms, applications and services that are helping to implement these changes.

The company plans to offer a diverse portfolio of products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Its growth strategy includes acquisition, innovation and market development.

FEXD is a Delaware corporation based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The company was launched in May 2021 by a management team led by Dr. Saiful Khandaker that has extensive experience in developing and managing financial service platforms and applications, primarily in the mobile money sector. FEXD is sponsored by Revofast LLC.

Acquisition Targets

In September 2022, FEXD announced definitive agreements for business combinations with Rana Financial Inc., a Georgia corporation, and Mobitech International LLC (dba Afinoz), a limited liability company organized in the United Arab Emirates. The agreements call for Rana and Afinoz to become wholly owned subsidiaries of FEXD, with the combined company expected to continue trading on the Nasdaq under existing ticker symbol ‘FEXD’. The mergers are expected to close in Q2 2023.

Rana Financial

Rana Financial is a licensed money transfer company founded in 2009. Rana provides fast and affordable online and mobile transfer of funds between the U.S. and Latin America. Rana has been providing money transfer services in the U.S. market for 13 years and has 30,000 active users. Rana’s money transfer business grew to 200,000 transactions in 2021. The merger agreement values Rana at an implied $78 million enterprise value.

Mobitech International LLC

Mobitech International LLC (dba Afinoz) is an artificial intelligence-enabled digital lending platform used by India’s leading banks, non-banking financial companies and fintech loan providers. Afinoz’s fintech platform supports enterprises making loans primarily to middle- and working-class borrowers via its website or through its mobile phone application. Afinoz’s platform makes loans available and affordable to millions of Indian workers and unbanked users by providing access at a low cost. Afinoz’s platform has more than 50 lending partners, and its database of registered users in India includes more than two million individuals. The merger agreement values Afinoz at an implied $120 million enterprise value.

Market Opportunity

According to analysis by global market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the worldwide financial technology market is valued at approximately $194 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to nearly $500 billion by 2028, representing a CAGR of 18.97% for the forecast period. According to the report, various financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled consumer adoption of, and investor interest in, fintech over the past several years.

Management Team

Dr. Saiful Khandaker is Founder, CEO and President of FEXD. He is Group CEO and founder of FAMA Holdings Inc., a global developer of fintech platforms, applications and services based in the U.S. with offices in the U.K., India, Bangladesh and Zambia. He is currently leading the development of the FAMACASH™ network, a global fintech ecosystem to provide fast, affordable mobile money services in underserved countries such as Bangladesh. Before founding FAMA, Dr. Khandaker spent more than two decades leading the development of software solutions for Fortune 100 companies and startups. He also helped numerous clients modernize their fintech services as Chief Technology Officer at Mi3. He holds a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership, a Master of Science in Technology Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems.

Jenny Junkeer is CFO at FEXD. She is a Chartered Accountant with over 17 years of experience. As CEO of Junkeer New Era Consulting, she leads a team specializing in helping companies launch and optimize business operations in fast-changing industries. She has extensive experience helping organizations scale operations to maximize value. She is an Adjunct Association Professor at Deakin University in Australia, a board member of the Global Health Initiative Foundation, and Director of Implementation at ConnectCV. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Honors) from Monash University.

FingerMotion Inc. (FEXD), closed Monday's trading session at $10.5699, up 0.283681%, on 6,523 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is 44.82M and the stock's 52-week low/high is $9.96/$11.00.

Recent News

• Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) - InvestorNewsBreaks - Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) Working to Identify High-Growth Targets, Leverage Emerging Technologies
• Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) is Leveraging Its Management Team's Extensive Fintech Experience to Identify Combination Targets, Expanding Services into Promising Markets
• Fintech Ecosystem Development Corp. (NASDAQ: FEXD) Committed to Helping Implement Cashless Society via Global Financial Services Ecosystem

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS).

D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS), a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, recently hosted two government officials at its Burnaby offices to highlight the company's innovation in quantum computing. British Columbia premier David Eby and Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation Minister Brenda Bailey were welcomed at the site, and the company also announced a new quantum-focused workforce training program during the pair's visit. The training program, executed in collaboration with B.C.-based Quantum Algorithms Institute ("QAI"), will expedite the development of a quantum-ready workforce. The visit was also designed to help others gain a deeper understanding of how quantum technology can be effectively used in dealing with today's societal and business challenges.

The two officials visited D-Wave on the heels of the announcement of the province's new StrongerBC: Future Ready Action Plan. The plan positions technology as a critical growth area and points to businesses as essential in the development of innovation that improves the way services are delivered.

"British Columbia and D-Wave have long been at the forefront of global quantum innovation and developing the highly skilled workforce that drives it," said D-Wave Quantum senior vice president Mark W. Johnson in the press release. "We are excited to host Premier Eby and Minister Bailey . . . to provide them a behind-the-scenes look at our technology, discuss real-world applications of quantum, and highlight our newest training program with the QAI to build a quantum-ready workforce."

To view the full press release, visit https://ibn.fm/4ZB8R

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) is a leader in quantum computing systems, software and services focused on delivering customer value via practical quantum applications for problems such as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, fault detection and financial modeling. As the only provider building both annealing and gate-model quantum computers, the company is unlocking commercial use cases in optimization today, while building the technologies that will enable new solutions tomorrow.

D-Wave is a pioneer in quantum computing, with a history of delivering the world’s first commercial quantum computer; the first real-time quantum cloud service; countless hardware and software product and research milestones; and the planned first cross-platform quantum solution which will deliver both annealing and gate-model quantum computers to customers via an integrated platform. Its current commercial product offerings include: Advantage™ (fifth generation quantum computer), Leap™ (quantum cloud service), Launch™ (quantum computing onboarding service) and Ocean™ (full suite of open-source programming tools).

D-Wave’s relentless pursuit of practical quantum computing has resulted in the technology being used today by some of the world’s most advanced enterprises – more than 25 of the Forbes Global 2000 use D-Wave.

D-Wave’s commercial customers include blue-chip industry leaders like Volkswagen, Accenture, BBVA, NEC Corporation, Save-On-Foods, DENSO and Lockheed Martin. The company boasts an extensive IP portfolio featuring more than 200 issued U.S. patents and over 100 peer-reviewed papers published in leading scientific journals.

Founded in 1999, D-Wave is the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers. With headquarters and the Quantum Engineering Center of Excellence based near Vancouver, Canada, D-Wave’s U.S. operations are based in Palo Alto, California.

Advantage™ Quantum Computer

With the Advantage™ Quantum Computer, D-Wave has incorporated two decades of experience and over 10 years of customer feedback to create the first and only quantum computer designed for business. The platform features a new processor architecture with over 5,000 qubits and 15-way qubit connectivity. This is 2.5x more connections and more than double the number of qubits than the company’s previous generation quantum computer.

D-Wave’s quantum computers, first located in its facilities in British Columbia, have been available to North American users through its Leap™ quantum cloud service since 2018. It has since introduced new Advantage systems in Julich, Germany, and most recently, Marina Del Rey, California, which marked the availability of the first Advantage quantum computer physically located in the United States.

That new deployment is part of the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) hosted at USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI), a unit of the University of Southern California’s prestigious Viterbi School of Engineering. Additionally, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and D-Wave announced that the U.S.-based system is available for use in Amazon 2racket, expanding the number to three different D-Wave quantum systems available to AWS users.

Leap Quantum Cloud Service

D-Wave’s customers interface with its systems through the Leap™ quantum cloud service. Leap delivers immediate, real-time access to the company’s Advantage quantum computer and quantum hybrid solver service, all with enterprise-class performance and scalability.

Leap allows developers proficient in Python to get started building and running quantum applications. Through a seamless and secure cloud-based connection, users can easily start solving complex problems of up to 1 million variables and 100,000 constraints.

Using Leap, D-Wave customers have developed quantum hybrid applications for use cases in manufacturing, logistics, financial services, life sciences, materials science, retail and transportation. By eliminating the need to wait hours, days or weeks to get good answers to a broad array of problems, D-Wave is helping businesses move forward.

D-Wave Launch

D-Wave Launch™ is the company’s onboarding platform aimed at helping businesses easily start their quantum journey. Through this program, D-Wave’s team of experts and partners aid enterprises in identifying best use cases for quantum and work with them to develop a proof of concept and production pilot.

From there, the team coordinates with customers to get their hybrid quantum applications up and running, providing ongoing Leap quantum cloud access to ensure the application is operating smoothly and delivering real business value.

Target Verticals

While the potential applications for quantum computing are effectively limitless, D-Wave has identified a number of industry verticals as key areas of focus for its quantum architecture, providing case studies for each. These include:

• Manufacturing – D-Wave worked with Volkswagen to identify a commercial optimization application, the binary paint shop problem, which was run on D-Wave’s hybrid solver service. The solver outperformed four purely classical methods on problem sizes at commercial scale (N=3,000). In a separate project, similar inputs were tested using a leading ion trap system, which failed to find any commercial solution.
• Life Sciences – Menten AI makes use of D-Wave quantum computing to assist in the design of novel therapeutic peptides—short strings of amino acids that can act as potent drugs. With the rise of COVID-19, D-Wave’s Advantage system made it possible to identify molecules that might be especially well-suited for binding and inhibiting the related spike protein, producing several promising peptide designs.
• Finance – Multiverse Computing, a leader in developing quantum solutions for the financial sector, leveraged D-Wave’s hybrid solver service in a collaboration with BBVA, one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Multiverse demonstrated management strategies that far exceeded the granularity of traditional returns in a fraction of the time, helping BBVA identify a low-risk portfolio for investment.

Market Opportunity

The quantum computing total addressable market is projected to grow between $450 billion and $850 billion over the next 15 to 30 years, with between $5 billion and $10 billion of anticipated TAM growth coming in the next three to five years, according to Boston Consulting Group. Driving factors behind this growth include rising investments in quantum computing tech by governments and an increasing number of commercial use-cases.

Forward-thinking organizations see quantum as an opportunity to move ahead of the competition. From finding efficiencies and reducing waste to decreasing time to solution and solving problems abandoned due to complexity, the business value is real. According to data from 451 Research, 40% of large enterprises are already experimenting with quantum computing.

D-Wave is strategically positioned – in an industry with significant barriers to entry – as evident by a decades-long track record serving a roster of blue-chip customers. The company is singularly focused on helping its customers achieve clear value by leveraging quantum computing in practical business applications. With a full stack of systems, software, developer tools and services, D-Wave is working to enable enterprises, governments, developers and researchers to access the power of quantum computing, thereby providing an intriguing opportunity for prospective investors.

D-Wave’s current investor base includes PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, BDC Capital, NEC Corporation, Aegis Group Partners and In-Q-Tel.

Leadership Team

Dr. Alan Baratz has served as the CEO of D-Wave since 2020. Previously, as Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Product Officer, he drove the development, delivery, and support of all of D-Wave’s products, technologies, and applications. Dr. Baratz has over 25 years of experience in product development and bringing new products to market at leading technology companies and software startups. As the first president of JavaSoft at Sun Microsystems, he oversaw the growth and adoption of the Java platform from its infancy to a robust platform supporting mission-critical applications in nearly 80 percent of Fortune 1000 companies. He has also held executive positions at Symphony, Avaya, Cisco, and IBM. Dr. Baratz holds a doctorate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

John Markovich is the company’s CFO. He brings to D-Wave over three decades of experience working with rapidly growing private and public technology companies across all stages of development. Mr. Markovich has directed the finance, accounting, tax, treasury, M&A, legal, operations, customer service, IR, HR, and IT functions for companies ranging from privately held pre-revenue startups to an NYSE-listed Fortune 500 multi-national company with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue. During his career, he has negotiated and closed over 150 debt, equity, M&A, and joint venture transactions exceeding $2.5 billion in value; over a dozen private placements; nearly a dozen M&A transactions; and several international joint ventures. Mr. Markovich holds a BS in Business from Miami University and an MBA from the Michigan State Graduate School of Business.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS), closed Monday's trading session at $1.02, up 110.7003%, on 46,978,925 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is and the stock's 52-week low/high is $11.00/$.

Recent News

• D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) - InvestorNewsBreaks - D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) Welcomes Government Officials, Announces Quantum Training Program with QAI
• InvestorNewsBreaks - D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) Reports on Q1 2023 Financial, Corporate Results
• InvestorNewsBreaks - D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) Schedules Release of Q1 2023 Results, Earnings Call

Jupiter Wellness Inc. (NASDAQ: JUPW)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Jupiter Wellness Inc. (NASDAQ: JUPW).

Photosensitivity is a condition where an individual's skin burns easily and becomes sensitive to sunlight or artificial UV light. It often causes sunburns or rashes, particularly where skin is exposed to the light. Phototoxicity is a common reaction to photosensitivity, causing a sunburn-like effect on an individual's skin shortly after sunlight exposure. A less common reaction, photoallergy, appears days after a person has been out in the sun.

Experts believe that some medications may cause increased sensitivity to the sun, noting that managing this with sunscreen alone may not be enough. Dr. Anthony Fernandez, a dermatologist, explains that combining certain drugs with both UVA and UVB light from the sun causes inflammatory and toxic reactions that are harmful for skin cells.

Both over-the-counter and prescription drugs can cause such reactions, including ibuprofen, antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, diabetes drugs such as glimepride and glyburide, and birth control pills. The skin can also react to medications, including acne medications such as isotretinoin, diuretics such as furosemide, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis, and tricyclic antidepressants such as nortriptyline, among many other medications. If you develop burns as a result of sun exposure, it may be wise to quickly use readily available topical products available from many firms such as Jupiter Wellness Inc. (NASDAQ: JUPW) to minimize the resulting skin damage while you seek professional help.

Jupiter Wellness Inc. (NASDAQ: JUPW) is a diversified company that supports health and wellness by researching and developing over-the-counter (OTC) products and intellectual property. The company has a robust and growing portfolio of granted and pending patents to protect its proprietary products.

Jupiter Wellness’s product pipeline, backed by clinical research to ensure efficacy, addresses a range of underserved conditions. The company’s revenue is generated through a combination of OTC and consumer product sales, contract research agreements, and licensing royalties.

Jupiter Wellness was formed in 2018 and is headquartered in Jupiter, Florida.

Products with Purpose

Jupiter Wellness’s product pipeline currently targets a variety of indications with underserved needs. These include:

• Hair Loss – Jupiter Wellness’s Minoxidil Booster is a topical treatment that’s been clinically shown to increase the enzymes needed for minoxidil to work by up to 7x over a two-week period. The product has been licensed to Taisho, a $2.6 billion revenue company and Japan’s leading seller of minoxidil products, which expects to launch it commercially in 2023. The product is licensed to India-based Cosmofix Technovation Pvt. Ltd. and Sanpellegrino Cosmetics, and additional licensing opportunities are being pursued.
• Psoriasis & Vitiligo – Photocil safely and effectively permits phototherapy treatments at home by blocking harmful radiation and permitting the passage of therapeutic UV radiation. The product has been licensed abroad and is currently being launched commercially in India by Eris Oaknet Healthcare and Cosmofix Technovation under the brand name PhotoFirst. The product is also available in the U.S., and the company is working to find new partners in dermatology for expanded distribution.
• Jellyfish Protection Sunscreen – NoStingz is a topical protection from jellyfish, sea lice, and UVA/UVB rays. It provides an effective barrier against the stinging mechanism of jellyfish cnidocytes, preventing the delivery of venom to the victim. NoStingz is currently available online through Amazon and Walmart, as well as in select stores.
• Eczema – JW-100 is a pre-revenue topical treatment for atopic dermatitis (eczema). In prior studies, JW-100 cleared or reduced eczema symptoms following 2 weeks of use. Results suggest that JW-100 may potentially prove superior to existing prescription drugs. It is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial.
• Burns – JW-300 is a pre-revenue topical treatment for first-degree burns and sun exposure. In prior studies, JW-300 was shown to significantly lower the incidence of burns in patients exposed to UV radiation. It is currently being evaluated for sale as an “after sun” consumer product.
• Cold Sores – JW-400 is a pre-revenue topical treatment of herpes labialis (cold sores). A phase 1, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigational study is currently being planned for JW-400.
• Sexual Wellness – JW-500 is a pre-revenue topical treatment for female libido loss. In clinical studies, the topical formulation improved nipple sensitivity and alleviated associated sexual problems. Jupiter Wellness plans to file for a pre-IND meeting with the U.S. FDA within the next 12 months and intends to seek Orphan Drug Designation.
• COVID-19-Induced Tinnitus – JW-600 is currently being evaluated in a triple-blind clinical study. Up to 15% of patients recovering from COVID-19 have experienced post-acute COVID-19-induced tinnitus

Management Team

Brian John is the CEO of Jupiter Wellness. For the past 20 years, he has been an investor and advisor to companies around the globe. He is the founder of a successful financial consulting firm specializing in helping emerging growth companies and has worked with hundreds of companies in dozens of countries over the last 25 years. Mr. John also serves on the board of directors of The Learning Center at the Els Center of Excellence – a school for children with autism in Jupiter, Florida.

Doug McKinnon is the CFO of Jupiter Wellness. His 35+ year professional career includes financial, advisory, and operational experience across a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including oil and gas, technology, cannabis, and communications. He has served in C-Level positions in both private and public sectors, including as chairman and CEO of an American-stock-exchange-traded company; as VP – Chief Administrative Officer of a $12-billion-market-cap Nasdaq-traded company; as CFO of several publicly-held U.S., Canadian and Australian companies; and as CEO/CFO of various other private enterprises.

Dr. Glynn Wilson is the Chief Scientific Officer of Jupiter Wellness. He brings to the company an extensive background of success in corporate management and product development with tenures in both multinational and start-up biotech organizations. He was formerly Head of Drug Delivery at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals; Research Area Head in Advanced Drug Delivery at Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals; and Founder, CEO, and Chairman of TapImmune Inc., which became Marker Therapeutics through a merger. At TapImmune, he licensed cancer vaccine technology platforms and established the clinical pipeline.

Jupiter Wellness Inc. (NASDAQ: JUPW), closed Monday's trading session at $2.05, up 3.0151%, on 73,251 volume with 375 trades. The average volume for the last 3 months is 57,207 and the stock's 52-week low/high is $1.04999995/$5.63000011.

Recent News

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CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO).

CISO Global (NASDAQ: CISO), an industry leader as a managed cybersecurity and compliance provider, today announced its CEO and founder, David Jemmett , has been recognized as a 2023 Phoenix Titan 100 recipient. Jemmett was also recognized with the award in 2022, making him a two-time consecutive winner.

The Titan 100 program recognizes Phoenix's Top 100 CEOs and C-level executives. They are the area's most accomplished business leaders in their industry using criteria that includes demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision, and passion. Collectively, the 2023 Phoenix Titan 100 and their companies employ over 43,000 individuals and generate upward of $11 billion dollars in annual revenues, representing technology, healthcare, construction/real estate, banking/finance, professional services, hospitality, human resources, and non-profit organizations, among others. Winners will be honored at an awards ceremony on September 24, 2023 , at Desert Diamond Arena.

CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO) is an industry leader in cybersecurity and compliance services. The company leverages an integrated approach to reduce noise and bridge common silos that often limit the effectiveness of cybersecurity programs. Pulling disparate technologies, teams, and vendors together, CISO helps its clients enjoy a simpler and more successful journey to cyber resilience. Since 2019, CISO Global has worked to rapidly expand by acquiring world-class cybersecurity and compliance businesses with top-tier talent who utilize the latest technology to create innovative protection solutions.

The CISO Global workforce is comprised of cybersecurity experts spanning not only global geographies, but also specialties, industries, regulatory frameworks and focus areas. Its team includes audit and compliance specialists, certified forensics experts, ethical hackers, IEEE® certified biometric professionals, security engineers, around-the-clock analysts, and more – all backed by the most respected credentials in the industry. On an ongoing basis, the company works to identify cyber talent that is culturally aligned and that offers operating leverage through both existing customer revenue and relationships.

CISO Global has invested in enterprise solutions and executive talent to integrate its different organizations into an ecosystem that works together to provide complete cybersecurity through cross-pollination of solutions that begin at the network level and extend through technologies, people, policy, and practices. This ecosystem is intended to foster additional growth opportunities and drive overall recurring revenue. Once engaged, the company strives to become trusted advisors for customers’ cybersecurity and compliance demands by providing tailored security solutions based upon their organizational needs.

While cyber resilience requires cycles of continuous improvement, it is a journey that few in the current business and security climate seem to understand. With its deep bench of seasoned experts, CISO Global works to simplify that journey for its growing customer base, straightening out the curves and speeding up the process to resilience along the way.

Cybersecurity is a Culture, Not a Product

Integrating compliance and security, including principles of security by design, CISO Global helps its clients create an organization-wide culture of cybersecurity. Its offerings include audit and compliance, security operations center services, security engineering, virtual Chief Information Security Officer services, incident response, certified forensics, technical assessments and cybersecurity training.

In contrast to the majority of cybersecurity firms that specialize in a specific technology or service, CISO Global seeks to differentiate itself by remaining technology agnostic, focusing on accumulating highly sought-after subject matter experts. CISO Global believes that bringing together a world-class team of technological experts with multi-faceted proficiency in the critical aspects of cybersecurity is key to providing technology agnostic solutions to its clients in a business ecosystem that suffers from a chronic lack of highly skilled professionals.

CISO Global’s goal is to create a culture of security and to help quantify, define and capture a return on investment from information technology and cybersecurity spending. Its end-to-end, holistic process covers every aspect of clients’ cybersecurity and compliance requirements in an effort to promote greater efficiency and strengthen awareness about the integral role of internal team members in the cybersecurity culture of an organization.

As a result of this strategy, CISO Global customers receive an efficient engagement from a single partner that covers a wide range of their needs – addressing challenges more thoroughly and resolving problems more rapidly when compared to working with a host of vendors.

Market Outlook

According to an analysis by the firm Research and Markets, the global managed security services market was valued at $22.45 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $77.01 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% through the forecast period.

An expected increase in cybercrime, cost effectiveness of provided solutions and stringent mandatory government regulations aimed at protecting corporate data will drive the global managed security services market for the foreseeable future.

In addition, the documented and growing use of mobile devices in the workplace and the rise in captured and stored digital data serve to fuel market growth. Moreover, growing awareness about the critical nature of data security, the growing importance of e-business and demand for customized services is expected to offer ample opportunities for expansion of the market during the forecast period.

Management Team

David Jemmett is CEO and founder of CISO Global. He has more than 35 years of executive management and technology experience with telecommunications, managed services, and cybersecurity consulting services. He previously held positions as CEO of GenResults, a leading provider of security consulting services and technology solutions, and as CTO and founder at ClearData Networks, a HIPAA-compliant HealthDATA cloud hosting platform.

Dave Bennett is COO at CISO Global. Since 2015, he has served on the President’s STEM Advisory Board of Grand Canyon University. Before joining CISO Global, he served as Chief Product Officer at Experian Health and as Senior Vice President, Product for Gainwell Technologies. He has also held positions as Vice President and Worldwide Head of Build, Healthcare and Life Sciences at DXC Technology, and as EVP, Product and Strategy at Orion Health.

Ashley Devoto is President and Chief Information Security Officer at CISO Global. Over the past 17 years, Devoto has worked with the cybersecurity elite to design, build, and operate world-class cybersecurity programs for large, diverse organizations in both government and commercial enterprises. Prior to joining CISO, Devoto served as CISO for Booz Allen Hamilton, as business information security officer (BISO) at Bank of America, and as a cyberspace operations officer in the United States Air Force.

Deb Smith is CFO at CISO Global. Prior to assuming that position, she was the company’s EVP, Finance and Accounting. She has also served as SVP, Global Accounting at International Cruise and Excursions Inc., and as Chief Accounting Officer for BeyondTrust, an information security software company. She has also held the positions of Corporate Controller at Aspect Software and Assistant Controller at JDA Software.

CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO), closed Monday's trading session at $2.05, up 3.0151%, on 73,251 volume with 375 trades. The average volume for the last 3 months is 57,207 and the stock's 52-week low/high is $1.04999995/$5.63000011.

Recent News

• CISO Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO) - CISO Global CEO David Jemmett Recognized as 2023 Phoenix Titan 100 Recipient
• CISO Global Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO) Earns Overweight Rating in Latest Cantor Fitzgerald Equity Research Report
• InvestorNewsBreaks - CISO Global Inc. (NASDAQ: CISO) Reports on $4M Registered Direct Offering

Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX).

The Montana legislature passed several measures in the final hours of this year's legislative session that, if Governor Greg Gianforte signs into law, will significantly impact the state's recreational marijuana market. A few new regulations, including one that is more lenient when it comes to edible THC testing and another that extends the moratorium on authorizing new operations until 2025, could benefit the industry. However, some, including a considerable increase in license renewal prices, may make it more difficult for businesses to operate.

The legislature also blocked measures that would significantly impact the industry during the session, such as SB 546 from Senator Keith Regier, which would have outlawed recreational marijuana dispensaries in the state entirely.

The Economic Affairs Committee prepared a list of proposed amendments to HB 701, the basic cannabis business framework measure approved in 2021. The current session's HB 128 by Representative Josh Kassmier implements several of those improvements. As more enabling regulatory changes are enacted and take effect, the state could see an uptick in the cultivation of marijuana as companies move to leverage the improved regulatory regime. Such an uptick in cultivation activity could create opportunities for entities such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) that specialize in manufacturing indoor cultivation equipment, including "microgardens."

Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) is in the business of selling and distributing self-contained, automated, indoor “micro-farms” called Grow Pods, along with related equipment and supplies. Additionally, the company designs and sells patented proprietary medical-grade plastic containers, known as the Medtainer®, that store and grind pharmaceuticals, herbs, teas and other solids or liquids.

ACTX is the leading distributor of Grow Pods. With a controlled environment, food and herbs can be grown without pesticides, harmful chemicals or risk of pathogen contamination, and with low energy consumption. Restaurants, grocery stores, non-profits, MSOs and entrepreneurs can use Grow Pods to ensure a fresh supply of ultra-clean produce year-round.

The company entered the Grow Pod business in October 2020 with its acquisition of all shares of Advanced Container Technologies Inc., a California corporation. As of February 28, 2022, ACTX is exploring the acquisition of the assets and the assumption of some or all of the liabilities of GP Solutions Inc., the developer and manufacturer of Grow Pods, for which ACTX is currently the sole U.S. distributor.

Because Grow Pods can be located almost anywhere, produce can be grown closer to the point of consumption and harvested at its peak, providing nutritious fruits and vegetables where needed. Indoor micro-farms, utilizing a practice known as vertical farming, have attracted the attention of governments and universities, which are now promoting vertical farming as a way to combat food insecurity and inequities.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stated that vertical farming “is no longer a futuristic concept.” The department is enthusiastic about vertical farming, particularly those utilizing repurposed shipping containers, such as Grow Pods. Arizona State University reports that vertical farming reduces water use by 90 percent compared to conventional farming but produces 10 times the crop yield.

Products

Grow Pods

One of the company’s main business units is focused on selling advanced, self-contained hydroponic containers called Grow Pods. These unique and innovative automated systems are essentially micro-farms that can be placed virtually anywhere and, with their controlled and specially filtered environment, allow cultivation of a wide variety of crops, 365 days a year. The Grow Pod controlled environment offers major advantages for the production of high-value crops. The ability to grow year-round and the ability to cultivate in a smaller footprint using less water and power are some of the primary advantages of the system. Grow Pods offer constant temperature, humidity and airflow control, as well as automated watering and lighting schedules for optimal growth and minimal labor requirements, regardless of crop.

Containers

ACTX meets the needs of the pharmaceutical and medical markets, including the cannabis and hemp industries, with patented packaging systems. The company designs, customizes, brands and sells proprietary medical grade plastic containers that can store pharmaceuticals, herbs, teas and other solids or liquids, with a special built-in feature that can grind solids and shred herbs. The company’s flagship container product is the patented Medtainer®, a child resistant, medical-grade herb container and grinder that is water-tight, air-tight and smell proof. Packaging in the cannabis industry is critical, with numerous stringent regulations about how cannabis products must be packaged and labeled. ACTX also offers custom-branded, compliant vacuum seal bags and other retail container solutions.

Equipment and Supplies

ACTX markets and sells two principal products: Grow Pods, which are specially modified insulated shipping containers manufactured by GP Solutions Inc., in which plants, herbs and spices may be grown hydroponically in a controlled environment, and Medtainers®, which may be used to store pharmaceuticals, herbs, teas and other solids or liquids and can grind solids and shred herbs. The company also markets and sells various products related to Grow Pods and the Medtainer®, as well as providing private labeling and branding services for purchasers of Medtainers® and certain related products.

GP Solutions manufactures and sells other products, such as humidity controllers and LED lighting systems for vertical farming. The company’s specially designed lighting panels are programmed to emit the exact wavelength of light that each crop requires. The system has a daybreak-to-nightfall feature that gives plants the proper chromatic signals to grow rapidly and fruitfully. High efficiency LED light strips supply the crops with a red and blue light spectrum required for photosynthesis in the spectrum that plants need most.

Market Overview

The global vertical farming market is expected to reach $33.02 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research. The market is forecast to expand at a CAGR of 25.5 percent from 2022 to 2030, according to Grand View. Escalating production of biopharmaceutical products, including cannabis, is anticipated to drive the market. The building-based segment of the market is expected to register a significant CAGR of 27.8 percent over the projected period. In addition, the climate control segment is expected to see high growth.

The global cannabis packaging market is expected to reach $14.34 billion by 2028, according to analysis by Reports and Data. The analysis forecasts 1,700 percent growth in cannabis users by the end of 2026, with packaging likely observing a whopping 26.42 percent growth in the forecast period. There are significant barriers to entry in the cannabis packaging market, giving an advantage to companies already established in the sector. These barriers include developing a thorough knowledge of the myriad regulations that govern cannabis packaging (which differ in each state), and child-resistance requirements.

Management Team

Douglas P. Heldoorn is the Founder and Chairman of Advanced Container Technologies Inc. He also holds the positions of President, CEO and COO at the company. Mr. Heldoorn has served on the Board of Directors since its inception in 2013. He has also previously held the position of Executive General Manager at Nissan Motor Corp.

Jeffory A. Carlson is CFO and Treasurer of ACTX. Mr. Carlson has also served as the company’s Corporate Controller since 2014.

Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), closed Monday's trading session at $0.05, up 56.25%, on 916 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is and the stock's 52-week low/high is $0.032/$1.00.

Recent News

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Sharing Services Global Corporation (SHRG)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Sharing Services Global Corporation (SHRG).

Sharing Services Global Corporation (OTCQB: SHRG) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary The Happy Co., a leading producer and distributor of nootropic, functional beverage products with a focus on health and wellness, has released a new limited-time seasonal flavor for its popular energy drink PerX. The new flavor, Tropical Twist, is launching ahead of the summer season to expand exposure to new and existing consumers. The limited-time release follows a previous limited release of Frost and will be available alongside PerX's permanently available flavor, Berry Blast. "The launch of this new flavor comes at the perfect time," said John "JT" Thatch, CEO of SHRG. "PerX has already become a big favorite among our customers, and this new flavor is a fantastic way to give them something exciting for summer as well as being a great way for our brand partners to introduce new customers to this incredible product."

To view the full press release, visit https://ibn.fm/h6eLs

Sharing Services Global Corporation (SHRG), formerly Sharing Services Inc., is a diversified company dedicated to maximizing shareholder value, operating through two primary subsidiaries: Elepreneurs Holdings, a direct-selling company, and Elevacity Holdings, a products company. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, SHRG markets and distributes Elevate-branded health and wellness products through an independent sales force of distributors called Elepreneurs.

Proprietary Products

SHRG’s current exclusive Elevate product offerings are marketed under the Elevacity brand, so named to signify the company’s commitment to elevating lives.

The Elevate health and wellness product line consists of nutraceutical products that SHRG refers to as D.O.S.E., which stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins – all of which are key hormones proven to promote happiness and well-being.

Elevacity brand products are carefully formulated, chosen and designed to support a single objective: elevate the happiness and well-being of the consumer.

Global Network of Elepreneurs

Elevacity products are shared and sold by a growing international network of home-based entrepreneurs, called Elepreneurs, operated by Elepreneurs Holdings. This SHRG subsidiary provides basic and advanced programs for both new and experienced entrepreneurs who are focusing on their direct-sales careers.

SHRG’s high-performing independent sales force follows the company’s Blue Ocean selling strategy, an approach that encourages individuals to seek new markets, lead, and to “stop competing and start creating.” The Blue Ocean strategy is based on the book, “Blue Ocean Strategy,” written by Professor Renée Mauborgne, who notes that “the lesson here is that the best defense is offense, and the best offense… is to make a blue ocean shift and create your own blue ocean.”

Following this selling strategy, SHRG’s Elepreneurs are taught that, rather than competing directly in a competitive, direct-selling market, they should focus on making competitors irrelevant and succeeding in an uncontested marketplace.

In addition, SHRG’s Elepreneurs use the interactive, video-based VERB sales-marketing platform developed by Verb Technology Company Inc. The app utilizes proprietary interactive video data collection and analysis technology and provides next-generation customer relationship management, lead generation, and video marketing software applications.

Continued Momentum as Industry Leader

These selling strategies have resulted in sharp and consistent revenue gains. In the company’s 10-Q filed with the SEC for the three months ended Oct. 31, 2019, SHRG reported sales of $38.8 million for fiscal Q2 2019, an increase of 116% over sales of $17.9 million reported for the comparable quarter of 2018. Consolidated gross profit jumped by $16.2 million to $27.4 million for the same period compared to Q2 2018.

SHRG’s consolidated operating earnings were $3.9 million in the fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31, 2019, compared to $866,802 for the comparable period the prior year. Consolidated gross margin also grew 70.9% for the three months ended Oct. 31, 2019, compared to 62.2% the prior year.

These numbers are continuing a trend established over the past two years. In fiscal Q1 2019, SHRG achieved revenues of $35.4 million, more than double that of the comparable period in 2018. Even earlier, the company reported sales of $85.9 million for fiscal year ended April 30, 2019. This represents a nine-fold increase, or $77.5 million jump, over the company’s revenues of $8.4 million the prior year.

These numbers bring SHRG’s sales revenues since December 2017 — when the company’s Elevate product line was released — to an impressive cumulative total of $169 million.

Preparing for Success

SHRG is well prepared to continue and accommodate for this growth. The company recently expanded its corporate footprint by moving to a 10,000-square-foot facility in Plano, Texas, that offers ample room to expand as the company grows and 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.

In addition, the company has a seasoned, expert leadership team in place, led by John “JT” Thatch. Thatch was appointed president and CEO of SHRG in March 2018, bringing to the company his expertise obtained from successfully starting, owning and operating several businesses in various industries. His experience with corporate growth, acquisitions, financing and negotiation in fast-paced and flexible environments will significantly assist SHRG as the company aims to expand and increase revenues.

Contact
469.304.9400 x 201
Info@SHRGinc.com
http://www.SHRGinc.com

Sharing Services Global Corporation (SHRG), closed the day's trading session at $1.01, up 23.17%, on 276,351 volume with 217 trades. The average volume for the last 3 months is 279,074 and the stock's 52-week low/high is $0.27/$2.54.

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GeoSolar Technologies Inc.

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight GeoSolar Technologies Inc.

George Soros recently warned on the effects of global warming, stating that the potential melting of the Greenland ice sheet could threaten the future of survival

GeoSolar Technologies has looked to deliver on the technological advances needed to address climate change, through the development of its proprietary Smart Green(TM) Home system

The residential energy solution seeks to harness solar and geothermal energy in a bid to slash household emissions – whilst simultaneously reducing household utility bills

Billionaire investor, George Soros is well renowned for being outspoken about causes he is passionate for; most recently, his target has been centered around the environment. Earlier this year, Soros addressed the Munich Security Conference, during which he expounded on the dangers posed by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, an event which he stated, "pose[d] a threat to the survival of our civilization." Although Soros used the occasion to back the idea of using experimental geo technologies to shield the Arctic from melting, as well as an overhaul of international finance to address the challenge ahead, his speech laid out the stark necessity for new technologies to be developed to confront the increasingly fraught environmental challenges posed by global warming.

GeoSolar Technologies ("GST"), a Colorado-based climate technology company pioneering an approach into clean energy solutions for households, has centered its corporate mission around doing exactly that. The company has pioneered the creation of its proprietary Smart Green(TM) Home system technological solution, designed to address the residential energy use which drives as much as 20 percent of greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions in the United States (https://ibn.fm/pWdTU).

GeoSolar Technologies Inc. (“GST”) is a Colorado-based climate technology company and the creator of the Smart Green Home® system for newly built and existing residences and commercial buildings. The company is focused on revolutionizing the way we heat, cool and power homes with 100% natural energy sources. Its patent-pending integrated system harnesses energy from the earth and sun to power and purify homes and automobiles without the use of fossil fuels.

In a GST home, the sun’s energy is captured on the roof to generate all of the electricity required. Additionally, the consistent climate of the earth is used to keep the home at a perfect temperature year-round, and the company’s proprietary air purifying unit ensures that the air inside the home is safe and healthy.

GST’s home technology has been installed in multiple test homes in Colorado and achieved exceptional results, including some of the most impressive energy efficiency ratings (HERS) in the industry.

GeoSolar Technologies is currently accepting investment as part of a Regulation A+ offering. Everyone* can invest now for as little as $300. For more information, visit the company’s profile on Manhattan Street Capital and review its Offering Circular.

GeoSolar Technologies Inc. (“GST”) has been qualified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conduct a Regulation A+ capital raise. GST is already a publicly traded company who makes quarterly and annual filings with the SEC and is subject to quarterly PCAOB audits. This is the first time shares of GeoSolar Technologies are being made available for public purchase. Upon completion of this Regulation A+ offering, the company intends to seek a listing of its stock.

The Decarbonization Movement

Soaring and unstable energy/fuel costs continue to highlight the importance of rethinking the traditional approach to powering homes, from top to bottom. While most everyone is well aware of the remarkable, multi-trillion-dollar opportunity the electric vehicle transformation offers to investors (in addition to the benefits to the climate problem), few recognize that the all-electric home market is as large as electric vehicles and equally important to reducing carbon emissions.

U.S. energy expenditures clocked in at $3,891 per person in 2018, leading to estimated spending of $1.3 trillion on energy that year alone. Despite this, fewer than 3% of U.S. homes are currently powered by solar. This number is poised to increase exponentially as both new and existing residences transition to zero carbon models.

GST estimates that if all the homes in America were powered by its technology, carbon pollution could be reduced by an estimated 1.9 trillion pounds per year, greatly reducing the negative impacts on our climate.

GeoSolarPlus®

The GeoSolarPlus (“GSP”) system combines solar power, geothermal ground-sourced energy and other clean energy technologies into one fully integrated system.
Key benefits of the GSP system include:

• Making a real planet-changing difference in reducing air pollution
• Eliminating or significantly reducing homeowners’ future utility bills
• Enjoying lifetime energy independence and protection from price escalation and energy shortages
• Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from operation of home and daily life
• Increasing home value
• An integrated design for seamless operation of renewable energy systems
• Maintaining a significantly healthier living environment
• Leveraging existing renewable energy tax credits and electrification incentives
• Creating stable jobs capable of supporting families in the decarbonized future

Click here to learn more about how GeoSolarPlus works.

Management Team

The GST leadership and management team includes some of the world’s most experienced and respected leaders in the fields of decarbonization and sustainable homes.

Stone Douglass is the Chairman and CEO of GST. He is a seasoned, 30-year public company executive and former Chairman and CEO of the Piper Aircraft Company.

Brent Mosbarger is the company’s Co-Founder and leads its commercial operations. He is a highly respected solar engineer whose experience includes roles with Chevron Energy’s green operations and serving as project manager and executive for a $400 million solar/geothermal innovation project.

Peter Romenesko is a Senior Strategic Advisor with GST. He brings to the company considerable experience as an engineer and large-scale project manager for Johnson Controls and Siemens.

Dr. Norbert Klebl is the company’s Co-Founder and Development Director. Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in the field of zero-carbon innovation, he is a former McKinsey partner of 16 years with an MBA from Columbia.

Dar-Lon Chang is GST’s Director of New Product Development. Prior to joining GST, he had a 16-year career with ExxonMobil Energy Research. He received his PhD in engineering from the University of Illinois.

* Must be over 18, certain states are not currently available and will be added soon.

Recent News

• GeoSolar Technologies Inc. - GeoSolar Technologies Inc. & George Soros Share One Thing in Common – A Desire to Halt Global Warming
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NextPlat Corp. (NASDAQ: NXPL) (NASDAQ: NXPLW)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight NextPlat Corp. (NASDAQ: NXPL) (NASDAQ: NXPLW).

NextPlat (NASDAQ: NXPL, NXPLW) is a next-generation e-commerce platform created with vision and purpose to capitalize on high-growth sectors and global markets. "The company collaborates with businesses – large and small – to simplify and accelerate online commerce and uniquely enables customers and partners to optimize their e-commerce reach, presence and revenue. NextPlat recently launched a new e-commerce development program to provide American businesses with easy access to the massive Chinese consumer market," a recent article reads. "NextPlat provides cutting-edge technology in an advanced e-commerce ecosystem. The company is actively expanding its global network of online storefronts serving thousands of customers, enterprises and governments. The company also has developed a next-generation platform built for Web3 that enables the creation and sale of digital assets, as well as optimizing e-commerce transactions and business building activities. The company's current initiatives include an E-Commerce Development Program; Progressive Care Inc., a personalized health care services and technology company; NextPlat NFT Platform; and Global Telesat Communications and Orbital SatCom Corp."

To view the full article, visit https://ibn.fm/vc5om

NextPlat Corp. (NASDAQ: NXPL) (NASDAQ: NXPLW), a next generation e-commerce platform, was created with vision and purpose to capitalize on high growth sectors and global markets. The company collaborates with businesses – large and small – to simplify and accelerate online commerce and uniquely enables customers and partners to optimize their e-commerce reach, presence and revenue. NextPlat recently launched a new e-commerce development program to provide American businesses with easy access to the massive Chinese consumer market.

Current Initiatives

NextPlat provides cutting edge technology in an advanced e-commerce ecosystem. The company is actively expanding its global network of online storefronts serving thousands of consumers, enterprises and governments. The company also has developed a next generation platform built for Web3 that enables the creation and sale of digital assets, as well as optimizing e-commerce transactions and business building activities. The company’s current initiatives include:

• E-Commerce Development Program – In April 2023, NextPlat announced it had entered into a merchant sourcing agreement with Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited (“Alibaba”) and its Tmall Global e-commerce platform whereby the two companies will collaborate to increase the sale of products produced and sold by American companies to the multi-trillion-dollar Chinese consumer market. Alibaba’s Tmall Global e-commerce platform will provide NextPlat customers a turn-key solution through which products can be sold to the Chinese consumer market. The launch of the Florida E-Commerce Development Program is the first in a series of new NextPlat programs designed to assist U.S. businesses in expanding their online sales capabilities to reach new international customers in the Chinese market. NextPlat intends to rapidly expand this unique e-commerce development opportunity to businesses throughout the United States and all of North America, as well as Central and South America. The new development program features NextPlat’s turnkey global e-commerce solution for customers and leverages NextPlat’s relationships with key partners, including Tmall Global, China’s largest cross-border B2C online marketplace.
• Progressive Care Inc. – In August 2022, NextPlat completed a strategic $7 million investment in Progressive Care Inc. (OTCQB: RXMD), a personalized health care services and technology company. In a news release announcing the investment, NextPlat CEO Charles M. Fernandez noted that the company is “committed to harnessing the power of digital technologies to capitalize on the ongoing digital transformation of Progressive Care and the entire health care industry.” NextPlat intends to accelerate Progressive Care’s digital health care transformation with the launch of a new e-commerce platform for health care products later this year.
• NextPlat NFT Platform – Building on its existing e-commerce initiatives, NextPlat is working to bridge the gap between tangible and digital e-commerce marketplaces by incorporating burgeoning Web3 technologies. The company intends to launch a fully integrated NFT platform in the coming months that will enable brands to create, manage and authenticate digital assets while serving as a new source of revenue for NextPlat. Through this model, the company will receive a portion of the revenue generated from branded NFT drops, as well as subsequent secondary market transactions.
• Global Telesat Communications and Orbital SatCom Corp. – Targeting both domestic and international markets, NextPlat’s subsidiaries leverage partnerships with major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, eBay and Walmart to serve a growing base that includes more than 50,000 corporate, governmental and individual customers. In total, the brands market more than 10,000 individual products, with a focus on satellite-based connectivity solutions. In addition to exploring accretive M&A opportunities, NextPlat aims to diversify its range of products and broaden its geographic footprint moving forward in an effort to better capitalize on the tremendous growth potential in the United States, Europe and Asia.

“Our goal for 2023 and beyond is to leverage our improved operational capabilities and enhanced leadership team as we expand our offerings in communications and connectivity into the high-growth health care market where we intend to launch an array of innovative new offerings,” Fernandez said in a March 2023 news release detailing the company’s record top-line performance. “Although there remain supply chain headwinds and the challenge of global inflation, we are confident that we have the right combination of market-tested expertise, technology and partnerships that will enable us to bring the power of e-commerce to more customers, brands and industries in the United States and abroad.”

Market Opportunity

The rapid growth of e-commerce over the last decade is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. According to data published by Forbes, roughly 20.8% of all retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2023, accounting for total sales of $6.31 trillion worldwide. It total, e-commerce sales are expected to grow by 10.4% YoY in 2023, accounting for a whopping 24% of all retail purchases by 2026.

For NextPlat, existing partnerships in the industry could be key to capitalizing on this growth. The Forbes report indicates that Amazon accounts for roughly 38.7% of e-commerce sales, while sites like Walmart, eBay and Alibaba round out the list of most visited e-commerce websites. Alibaba is especially interesting due to NextPlat’s recent strategic merchant sourcing agreement with Tmall Global. The Chinese market is “mammoth,” as a recent Alizila report noted. The country’s annual online retail sales of physical goods have nearly doubled in the last five years, reaching approximately 13.8 trillion yuan in 2022, which is nearly $2 trillion USD.

The health care portion of the e-commerce market is generating particularly bullish forecasts, bolstered by the continued adoption of the 340B Drug Pricing Program in the U.S., which requires most drug manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to covered entities at significantly reduced prices. Industry reports suggest that the global health care e-commerce market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16.8% from 2022 to 2030, climbing to a value of more than $1.37 trillion by the end of the forecast period.

Management Team

Charles M. Fernandez, CEO, Executive Chairman and Director of NextPlat, has over three decades of experience in identifying profitable start-up and dislocation opportunities, building significant value and executing exit strategies as an entrepreneur and global investor. Successful across multiple sectors, Fortune Magazine actually labeled Fernandez ‘a restructuring whiz’. As President of Fairholme Capital Management, which he joined in 2008, Mr. Fernandez co-managed all three Fairholme funds and brought in a $2 billion gain for shareholders. Throughout his impressive career, he has participated in more than 100 significant mergers, acquisitions and product development projects across multiple industries. Mr. Fernandez was the founder, Chairman and CEO of eApeiron Solutions LLC, a brand protection and e-commerce company in partnership with Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Eastman Kodak (NYSE: KODK), which was successfully sold to Smartrac, a unit of Avery Dennison Corp. (NYSE: AVY).

Rodney Barreto is Chairman and CEO of the Barreto Group and Director of Nextplat. Mr. Barreto’s business career spans over 35 years, including his role at the Barreto Group and, earlier, as the founding partner of Floridian Partners LLC, a corporate and public affairs consulting firm recognized by policy makers as one of the top in its industry in Florida. He chaired the Super Bowl Host Committee in 2007, 2010 and 2020, helping to raise more than $100 million for the success of Miami Super Bowls. As a philanthropist and conservationist, Mr. Barreto is also a three-time appointee to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where he has served for over 10 years including holding the title of Chairman eight times. He has twice chaired the Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors, was Chairman of the 1999 Breeder’s Cup Championship held in South Florida and was the Chairman of the 1999 Sister Cities International Convention in Miami. Currently, Mr. Barreto is the Membership Chairman of the Florida Council of 100, and a member of the Boards of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, the Baptist Health South Florida Giving Society, the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, and a member of Miami Dade County Schools Superintendent Carvalho’s Business Advisory Council. Prior to his career in public affairs and real estate, Mr. Barreto was a City of Miami police officer and is a member of the Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council.

NextPlat Corp. (NXPL), closed Monday's trading session at $2.37, off by 1.6598%, on 18,442 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is and the stock's 52-week low/high is $1.2115/$4.26.

Recent News

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BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV).

BiondVax (NASDAQ: BVXV) is a biotechnology company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative immunotherapeutic products primarily for the treatment of infectious and autoimmune diseases. The company aims to complement its core focus, nanosized antibody ("NanoAb") pipeline development, with a comprehensive CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization) offering. "With significant experience including developing its previous flu vaccine candidate, BiondVax intends to share its expertise, human resources and facilities with pharma companies to develop and manufacture their drug candidates for preclinical use as well as clinical testing," a recent article reads. "BiondVax's CDMO services cover aseptic fill and finish, upstream and downstream process development, as well as analytical model development, among others. In addition, the company also offers comprehensive CDMO services geared toward supporting pilot, clinical and process development stages, alternative protein food tech, pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The offering is intended to generate additional revenues for BiondVax and is made possible by the company's growing assets ranging from GMP-ready production clean rooms to a 250mL Ambr(R) Fermentor and 2L and 5L fermentors for upstream process optimization. The company also offers Water for Injection (‘WFI'), 30L and 300L fermentors for upstream GMP production in addition to analytic tools, media and buffer preparation."

To view the full article, visit https://ibn.fm/rCSZk

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and other illnesses.

In collaboration with the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPG) and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), both in Germany, BiondVax is developing a pipeline of innovative nanosized antibody (NanoAb) therapies addressing diseases underserved by current treatments and with large and growing markets, such as COVID-19, asthma and psoriasis.

NanoAbs, also known as VHH-antibodies or Nanobodies, are alpaca-derived nanosized antibodies that exhibit multiple significant competitive advantages over existing antibody therapies, including stability at high temperatures, superior binding affinity, more effective and convenient routes of administration and efficient production. BiondVax is uniquely positioned to advance nanosized antibody innovation from R&D through commercialization.

The company’s highly experienced and successful pharmaceutical industry leadership team includes former senior executives from Novartis, GSK and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Since its founding, BiondVax has executed eight clinical trials, including a seven-country, 12,400-participant Phase 3 trial of a prior influenza vaccine candidate, and it built, owns and operates a 20,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art GMP biologics manufacturing facility housing its laboratories, production facilities and offices.

Lead Candidate: Inhaled COVID-19 NanoAb

In December 2021, BiondVax signed definitive agreements with the Max Planck Society – parent organization of the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences– and the UMG to enter a strategic collaboration for the development and commercialization of innovative COVID-19 NanoAbs.

The company is planning a rapid development path that leverages its expertise and capabilities in biological drug development and manufacturing. BiondVax anticipates preclinical proof-of-concept results for an inhaled COVID-19 NanoAb by the end of 2022, with initial Phase 1/2a human clinical trial results expected in 2023.

The intended inhaled mechanism of delivery of BiondVax’s COVID-19 NanoAb formulation may serve as a significant differentiator when compared to approved monoclonal antibodies, which are injected. Inhaled delivery has shown to be cheaper, more convenient and likely safer for patients and providers.

NanoAb Pipeline: Psoriasis, Asthma and More

The COVID-19 NanoAb development agreement is part of a broader five-year research collaboration agreement signed in March 2022 covering discovery, development and commercialization of NanoAbs for several other disease indications with large market medical needs, including asthma, psoriasis, macular degeneration and psoriatic arthritis.

BiondVax has an exclusive worldwide license for development and commercialization of COVID-19 NanoAbs and exclusive options for similar worldwide licenses for NanoAbs for the above mentioned additional large market disorders currently underserved by approved therapeutic antibodies.

Academic research teams from MPG and UMG have verified strong affinity by the new NanoAbs to their biological target molecules and high thermostability. They have also demonstrated strong neutralization by several NanoAb candidates of their respective target molecules. Neutralization studies of the other NanoAbs are expected to begin later in 2022.

Based on the promising results, BiondVax will focus development efforts beginning with the following NanoAbs:

• NanoAbs targeting IL-17 as drug candidates for the potential treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
• NanoAbs targeting IL-13 and NanoAbs targeting TSLP as drug candidates for the potential treatment of asthma

These are conditions for which the antibody target is validated by existing treatments and the mechanism of action is well understood. Both represent large medical needs and growing markets. BiondVax anticipates preclinical proof-of-concept for at least one of these NanoAbs in 2023. This is in addition to the aforementioned human clinical Phase 1/2a for the inhaled COVID-19 NanoAb therapy, which is also anticipated in 2023.

Market Opportunity

COVID-19 treatment, target of the company’s lead NanoAb therapy candidate, had an estimated market size of $22 billion in 2021.

Future BiondVax drug candidates will target conditions with large markets growing at attractive CAGRs.

The global asthma treatment market was valued at $18.08 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $26.01 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period, according to Fortune Business Insights. The research firm predicts that the global psoriasis treatment market will grow from $26.37 billion in 2022 to $47.24 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.7% over the forecast period.

Management Team

Amir Reichman is BiondVax’s CEO. He previously was Head of Global Vaccines Engineering Core Technologies at GSK Vaccines in Belgium. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at Novartis Vaccines’ Global Vaccines Supply Chain Management organization. He was the first employee of NeuroDerm Ltd., a company focused on transdermal drug delivery, and served as Chief Engineer and Senior Scientist until his departure in 2009. He earned a M.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering from Ben-Gurion University and an MBA in Finance and Health Care Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Tamar Ben-Yedidia, Ph.D., is Chief Science Officer at BiondVax. She has more than 30 years of experience in immunology, with specific expertise in the development of vaccines. She began her career with Biotechnology General Ltd., working on development of a recombinant Hepatitis-B vaccine. She later joined the Weizmann Institute of Science, working on the design of a peptide-based vaccine against several pathogens. She is widely published, with numerous refereed articles and invited reviews in various scientific journals. She received her Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute.

Elad Mark is COO at BiondVax. He has over 15 years of biotechnology industry experience encompassing diverse project stages including feasibility studies, conceptual and detailed design, commissioning, qualification and process validation. Prior to joining BiondVax, he led Novartis’s $800 million investment in a biologics facility in Singapore. With Biopharmax and Antero, both global pharmaceutical engineering companies, he successfully led projects in Israel, China and Singapore. He holds a BSc. in Engineering from the Afeka Tel Aviv Academic College of Engineering and an MBA from the Open University of Israel.

Uri Ben-Or is CFO at BiondVax. He has served as CFO with public life science companies traded on the TASE, OTC and Nasdaq. Ben-Or provides his services to BiondVax through CFO Direct, a company he founded and for which he serves as CEO. He served as the VP of Finance of Glycominds, a leading biotechnology company, and as CFO of a spin-off from Telrad Networks. He also served as a Corporate Controller at Menorah Capital Markets and as an Auditor at PWC. He holds a B.A. in Business from the College of Administration, an MBA from Bar-Ilan University, and is a CPA.

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV), closed Monday's trading session at $1.85, off by 1.0695%, on 4,962 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is and the stock's 52-week low/high is $1.70/$13.80.

Recent News

• BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV) - BioMedNewsBreaks - BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV) Looking to Complement Core Focus with CDMO Offering
• African Researchers Collaborate to Gather Data on Infectious Illnesses
• InvestorNewsBreaks - BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV) Releases Q1 2023 Financial Results, Business Update

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF).

China currently commands approximately 90% of rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets, along with 85% of the world's rare earth oxides

This dominance has seen Beijing demonstrate a willingness to leverage it in pursuit of political objectives

Countries have resorted to looking elsewhere for the supply of rare earths, and Ucore is building to satisfy that demand in North America

Its recent announcement of a $75 million investment in CapEx over the next four years reflects the company's understanding of the North American REE market and the value that the investment will create for its shareholders

Ucore Rare Metals (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF), a company with a vision and plan to become a leading advanced technology company, providing best-in-class metal separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction industry, is doubling down on its North American operations, in light of a gradual but important shift away from Beijing's influence over the global rare earth industry.

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) is a critical metals (“CM”) separation technology company executing an ESG-centered plan toward establishing a comprehensive North American critical metals supply chain. The company has developed a transformative commercial-ready technology, RapidSX™, for separating and purifying critical metals. Ucore intends to deploy this technology in pursuit of a CM supply chain independent of China for Western original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), most notably in the automotive and renewable energy industries.

Ucore’s vision is to become a leading advanced technology company providing best-in-class metal separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction industry. Its initial focus is on processing heavy and light rare earth elements (“REEs”), disrupting a supply chain that is dominated by China.

China currently controls about 80% of the world’s access to REE mining projects and over 90% of the world’s REE processing capabilities, and it produces about 95% of the goods containing REE components.

Ucore is working to scale Western supply needs by establishing REE separation and rare earth oxide (“REO”) production capabilities in cooperation with strategic upstream supply and downstream offtake partnerships. The company, along with its industry partners, aims to unlock access to Western REEs for current consumer, energy, manufacturing and military sectors.

By 2025, Ucore expects to commercially separate U.S.-friendly sources of REEs and supply OEMs with REOs required to produce rare earth permanent magnets (“REPMs”) – the essential component of electric motors and generators required to support the world’s transition to electrification and sustainable energy sources.

The company intends to contribute to this initiative through the near-term development of a heavy and light rare-earth processing facility in Louisiana and subsequent development of Strategic Metals Complexes (SMCs) in Alaska and Canada, as well as through the longer-term development of its 100%-owned Heavy Rare Earth Element (HREE) mineral resource property at Bokan Mountain on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska.

Ucore is headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Projects & Technology

RapidSX™ Demonstration Plant

The Kingston, Ontario, RapidSX™ Demonstration Plant commissioning process is underway. Once commissioned, the plant is designed to demonstrate the commercial capabilities of the RapidSX technology platform.

The RapidSX demo plant will show:

• The techno-economic advantages of the RapidSX technology platform
• The processing of tens of tons of heavy and light mixed rare earth element concentrates in a simulated production environment
• The platform’s ability to operate for thousands of semi-continuous run-time hours
• Production of high-purity NdPr, praseodymium, neodymium, terbium and dysprosium rare earth elements for early OEM product qualification trials

The demo plant is located within Ucore’s 5,000-square-foot RapidSX Commercialization and Demonstration Facility and is run by its laboratory partner, Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc. (“KPM”).

RapidSX™ Technology

Innovation Metals Corp., acquired by the company in 2020, developed the RapidSX separation technology platform with early-stage assistance from the United States Department of Defense, later resulting in the production of commercial-grade, separated rare earth elements at pilot scale.

RapidSX combines the time-proven chemistry of conventional solvent extraction (SX) with a new column-based platform that significantly reduces time to completion and plant footprint, as well as potentially lowering capital and operating costs. SX is the international REE industry’s standard commercial separation technology and is currently used by all REE producers worldwide for bulk commercial separation of both heavy and light REEs.

Utilizing similar chemistry to conventional SX, RapidSX is not a “new” technology, but it represents a significant improvement on the well-established, well-understood, proven conventional SX separation technology preferred by REE producers.

Strategic Metals Complex

Ucore, engineering partner Mech-Chem Associates Inc. and KPM are developing the full-scale engineering for the company’s first Strategic Metals Complex (SMC). The SMC is a planned REE separation and rare earth oxide production plant slated to commence construction in Louisiana in 2023. It is scheduled to initially process 2,000 tons of total rare earth oxides by the end of 2024, increasing to 5,000 tons in 2026.

The company has three initial U.S.-friendly feedstock agreements in place for the Louisiana complex, along with multiple developing offtake agreements. It received a C$16 million+ incentive package offer from Louisiana Economic Development to support construction of the SMC.

Bokan-Dotson Ridge REE Deposit

Ucore has invested over C$35 million to establish and validate the Bokan-Dotson Ridge resource in preparation for mine design and permitting. Initial drilling is complete, and a Preliminary Economic Assessment has been issued. Next steps for the project include a feasibility study, detailed mine design and permit acquisition. The project can be “near shovel ready” for construction in less than 30 months after receipt of the next stage of development funding.

Market Opportunity

According to a report by Grand View Research, the global rare earth elements market was valued at $2.8 billion in 2018 and is forecast to reach a value of $5.6 billion by 2025, achieving a CAGR of 10.4% during the period. Market growth is driven by increasing demand for these elements in the manufacturing of magnets and catalysts for the automotive industry. Rising demand for electric vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions is expected to propel the use of permanent magnets in the production of EV batteries.

China is the major producer and consumer of REEs. To maintain self-sufficiency and to meet future demand, China has been raising the export tariffs on rare earth elements shipped to various countries, including the U.S., Japan, India, Brazil and the European Union. This led to the current supply-demand gap in these countries, as they rely on imports from China.

China reduced the exports of REEs by 72% in the second half of 2010 to preserve its reserves of these elements and continues to export REEs at reduced levels, thereby affecting industries such as automotive, oil and gas, and electronics, which require an ample amount of rare earth elements.

Management Team

Pat Ryan, P.Eng., is Chairman and CEO of Ucore Rare Metals. He began as a director with the company when he developed a heightened interest in critical metals. Before joining Ucore, he founded and led a multimillion-dollar automotive OEM design and lean manufacturing company. His understanding of complex supply chains across international markets has led to a prime positioning as the global auto industry transitions to vehicle electrification. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Dalhousie University.

Peter Manuel is Vice President and CFO of Ucore. Prior to joining the company, he practiced as a Chartered Accountant for more than 17 years, providing consulting services to companies in a range of industries, with a focus on the financial services and resource sectors. He spent 10 years in England and Ireland providing assurance, strategic planning, corporate finance and other consulting services to a portfolio of both public and private entities. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Dalhousie University.

Michael Schrider, MEng, P.E., is Vice President and COO of Ucore. He is a multidisciplinary engineer who has been involved in manufacturing, engineering and managing complex structural and mechanical systems projects since 1989. He was the Founder, President and Chief Engineer of Schrider & Associates and Alton Bay Design, both engineering services firms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of New Orleans and a master’s degree in mining, geological and geophysical engineering from the University of Arizona.

Mark MacDonald is Vice President of Investor Relations at Ucore. He has over 25 years of experience implementing award winning business development and marketing programs at regional and national levels. As Vice President of Sales, he was responsible for Mediapro Communication’s growth as AT&T Canada’s leading B2B sales partner. He subsequently became Atlantic Regional Vice President of AT&T Canada Corp. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University.

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (UURAF), closed Monday's trading session at $0.75, off by 2.012%, on 16,215 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is 16,215 and the stock's 52-week low/high is $0.40/$1.15.

Recent News

• Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) Targets Beijing Influence Over Global Rare Earth Industry; Doubles Down on its North American Investment
• MiningNewsBreaks - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) Unlocking Resources for Downstream Customers
• Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) Bets Big on the Rare Oxide Market; Grants Stock Options and Announces $75 Million Investment into Flagship REE Separation and Purification Facility

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX).

Lexaria recently reported that dosing of the targeted 36 volunteers in its human clinical oral nicotine study, NIC-H22-1, had been completed

The company hopes to demonstrate that its DehydraTECH(TM)-processed nicotine absorbs more quickly and more efficiently into the human bloodstream than leading oral nicotine brands

Through previous animal testing, Lexaria showed that DehydraTECH-nicotine was up to 10x to 20x faster in delivering comparable levels of nicotine and delivered up to 6-fold higher levels of nicotine into blood plasma than concentration-matched controls

If the findings from the human study replicate a similarly improved performance, Lexaria believes this could facilitate a more satisfying oral nicotine experience than any leading brands sold around the world today

Success could result in an important commercial relationship developing in 2023, according to CEO Chris Bunka

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, recently announced that the dosing of the targeted 36 subjects in its human clinical oral nicotine study NIC-H22-1 had been completed. In the meantime, the company has already commenced sample and data analysis and expects to report the findings as soon as possible (https://cnw.fm/u4AHx).

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) is a global innovator in drug delivery platforms. The company’s patented technology, DehydraTECH™, improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) enter the bloodstream by promoting healthier oral ingestion methods and increasing the effectiveness of fat-soluble active molecules. DehydraTECH promotes fast-acting, less expensive and more effective oral drug delivery and has been thoroughly evaluated through in vivo, in vitro and human clinical testing.

DehydraTECH is covered by 21 issued and more than 50 pending patents in over 40 countries around the world. Lexaria’s first patent was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October 2016 (US 9,474,725 B1), providing 20 years of patent protection expiring June 2034. Multiple patents have been awarded since then and are expected in the future.

Lexaria has a collaborative research agreement with the National Research Council (NRC), the Canadian government’s premier research and technology organization. The company has filed for patent protection for specific delivery of nicotine, vitamins, NSAIDs, testosterone, estrogen, cannabinoids, terpenes, PDE5 inhibitors (with brand names like Viagra), tobacco and more.

Lexaria began developing DehydraTECH in 2014 and has since continued to strengthen and broaden the technology. The company has no plans to create or sell Lexaria-branded products containing controlled substances. Instead, Lexaria licenses its technology to other companies around the world to offer consumers the best possible performance across an array of ingestible product formats.

The company’s technology is best thought of as an additional layer that providers of consumer supplements, prescription and non-prescription drugs, nicotine and CBD products can utilize to improve the effectiveness of their own existing or planned new offerings. Lexaria has licensed DehydraTECH to multiple companies, including a world-leading tobacco producer for the research and development of smokeless, oral-based nicotine products, and for use in industries that produce cannabinoid beverages, edibles and oral products.

DehydraTECH is suitable for use with a wide range of product formats including pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, consumer packaged goods and over-the-counter capsules, pills, tablets and oral suspensions.

DehydraTECH Technology

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH is designed specifically for formulating and delivering lipophilic (fat-soluble) drugs and active ingredients. DehydraTECH increases their effectiveness and improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients enter the bloodstream. The major benefits to a subject ingesting a DehydraTECH-enabled drug or consumer product can be summarized by the following:

• Speeds up delivery – the effects of the product are felt by the subject in just minutes.
• Increases bioavailability – the technology is much more effective at delivering a drug or product into the bloodstream.
• Increases brain absorption – animal testing suggests significant improvement in the quantity of drug delivered across the blood-brain barrier.
• Improves drug potency – more of the ingested product is made available to the body, so lower doses are required to achieve the desired effect.
• Reduces drug administration cost – lower doses mean lower overall drug costs.
• Masks unwanted taste – the technology eliminates or reduces the need for sweeteners.

Lexaria has demonstrated in animal studies a propensity for DehydraTECH technology to elevate the quantity of drug delivered across the blood-brain barrier by as much as 1,900 percent, initiating additional new patent applications and opening possibilities for improved drug delivery.

Since 2016, DehydraTECH has repeatedly demonstrated, with cannabinoids and nicotine, the ability to increase bio-absorption by up to five to 10 times, reduce time of onset from one to two hours to just minutes, and mask unwanted tastes. The technology is to be further evaluated for additional orally administered bioactive molecules, including antivirals, cannabinoids, vitamins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and nicotine.

Market Outlook

Lexaria’s ongoing research and development efforts are mainly focused on development of product candidates across several key segments:

• Oral Cannabinoids – a market estimated to be worth $18.4 billion in 2021 and expected to reach $46.2 billion by 2025.
• Antivirals – an estimated $52.1 billion market in 2021 that’s expected to grow to $66.7 billion by 2025.
• Oral Mucosal Nicotine – smokeless tobacco products, a $13.6 billion market in 2018, is forecast to grow at 7.2 percent annually through 2025.
• Human Hormones – estrogen and testosterone replacement therapies represented a $21.9 billion market in 2019, with a forecast CAGR of 7.7 percent through 2027.
• Ibuprofen and Naproxen – NSAID sales totaled $15.6 billion globally in 2019 and are projected to reach $24.4 billion by 2027.
• Vitamin D3 – the global market size was $1.1 billion in 2021, growing at 7 percent per year and expected to reach $1.7 billion in 2026.

Management Team

Chris Bunka is Chairman and CEO of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. He is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in several private and public companies since the late 1980s. He has extensive experience in the capital markets, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate finance. He is named as an inventor on multiple patent innovations.

John Docherty, M.Sc., is the President of Lexaria. He is a pharmacologist and toxicologist, and a specialist in the development of drug delivery technologies. He is the former president and COO of Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: HBP). He is named as an inventor on multiple issued and pending patents.

Greg Downey is Lexaria’s CFO. He has more than 35 years of diverse financial experience in the mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, and construction industries, and in the public sector. He served for eight years as CFO for several public companies and has provided business advisory and financial accounting services to many large organizations.

Gregg Smith is a strategic advisor to Lexaria. He is a founder and private investor with Evolution VC Partners. He is a member of the Sand Hill Angels and held previous investment banking roles with Cowen and Company and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Dr. Philip Ainslie serves as a scientific and medical advisor to Lexaria. He is co-director for the Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, Canada. He is also Research Chair in Cerebrovascular Physiology and Professor at the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Development at the University of British Columbia.

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (LEXX), closed Monday's trading session at $0.6894, off by 8.2513%, on 350,223 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is 343,053 and the stock's 52-week low/high is $0.65/$3.60.

Recent News

• Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) - Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) Completes Dosing in Human Oral Nicotine Study, Hopes to Facilitate More Satisfying Experience with DehydraTECH(TM)-Processed Oral Nicotine
• Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) Announces Pivotal Milestones Concerning DehydraTECH(TM) Technology, Including IND Application Plans
• InvestorNewsBreaks - Lexaria Bioscience Corp.'s (NASDAQ: LEXX) Study Demonstrates Significant Enhancement in Oral Estradiol Delivery

Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN)

The QualityStocks Daily Newsletter would like to spotlight Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN).

Cepton (NASDAQ: CPTN) is commercializing lidar systems for autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems ("ADAS") as well as developing solutions for a range of other industries. "Commercialization of lidar for ADAS faces two primary obstacles: perception capabilities and sensor embeddability into modern vehicle designs. Lidar pioneer Cepton's Ultra-Slim Vista(R) Plus lidar overcomes both barriers while setting new industry standards. Billed by CPTN as the ‘world's smallest' adaptive long-range lidar, the Vista-X90 Plus is 62% slimmer than its predecessor – the Vista(R)-X90 – with a 58% footprint reduction. Besides offering an extremely streamlined solution for windshield integration, the Vista-X90 Plus can be seamlessly embedded into the roof, headlamps and vehicle fascia," a recent article reads. "CPTN also announced the release of Komodo – the company's proprietary lidar point cloud processor ASIC. Along with Iguana (CPTN's signal processing ASIC), the company's expanded chipset will be integrated into several lidar models covering front-end signal processing and back-end point cloud processing. Cepton's dedicated ASICs improve performance while reducing lidar unit costs, helping achieve the price points necessary for mass-market lidar adoption. Other benefits include increased speed, better sensor performance, higher digital signal processing, and noise reduction."

To view the full article, visit https://ibn.fm/mgM1e

Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN) is a provider of state-of-the-art, intelligent, lidar-based solutions serving a range of markets, including automotive (ADAS/AV), smart cities, smart spaces and smart industrial applications. General Motors (NYSE:GM) has granted a series production award for Cepton’s lidar, the biggest such award to date in the automotive space. Cepton’s is the lidar component of GM’s Ultra Cruise autonomous driving platform. By leveraging its patented Micro Motion Technology (MMT®) lidar platform, the company develops reliable, scalable and cost-effective solutions that deliver long-range, high-resolution 3D perception for smart applications.

Cepton was established in 2016 by co-founders Dr. Jun Pei and Dr. Mark McCord. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and serves a fast-growing customer base through an international presence spanning North America, Germany, Japan, India and China.

Micro Motion Technology (MMT®)

Cepton was built from the ground up to meet key lidar industry challenges for mass market adoption. This company’s portfolio of proprietary technology is uniquely aimed at facilitating this industry growth through a combination of performance, reliability, affordability and design integration.

Key among its innovations is MMT®, a mirrorless, frictionless, rotation-free 3D imaging platform designed specifically for lidars. Its benefits for OEMs and system integrators include:

• Reliability – The durable design uses common, easily attainable materials.
• Versatility – The platform is capable of achieving near- to ultra-long range with a wide field of view.
• Efficiency – MMT® features a compact form factor, low power usage and inexpensive components.
• Scalability – Its simple design means that scale-up to high manufacturing volumes is easily attainable.

Because of their compact form factor, Cepton lidars are embeddable and ideally suited for advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) integration, whether behind windshield, in headlamp or in fascia.

Agreement with KOITO

KOITO Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the world’s premier Tier 1 auto lighting supplier, originally started an evaluation of Cepton’s MMT® based lidars in 2018. In 2020, KOITO made an investment in Cepton aimed at accelerating the company’s development and enabling KOITO’s industrialization of high-performance and high reliability lidar sensors for ADAS and autonomous vehicle (AV) applications.

Through this collaboration, Cepton was able to secure the largest ADAS lidar series production award[1] with General Motors as a sole source in the automotive space. The award covers GM vehicles for the initial period of 2023-2027.

On August 5, 2021, the two companies deepened their relationship when KOITO committed to invest a further $50 million in Cepton’s business through its participation in a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) offering of shares of common stock of Growth Capital Acquisition Corp. in connection with Cepton’s recent merger.

Collaboration with GM

On July 13, 2021, Cepton announced that it had secured an ADAS lidar series production award from a leading, Detroit-based global automotive OEM – the biggest lidar production award by any OEM to any lidar company. It was later clarified that the OEM was General Motors, and Cepton’s lidar is part of GM’s ADAS Ultra Cruise system.

GM is “expected to deploy Cepton lidars in its next generation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) across multiple vehicle classes and models – not just luxury cars.” As such, the agreement marks the potential for “an industry-first, mass-market adoption of lidar technology for automotive ADAS, with an anticipated deployment in consumer vehicles starting in 2023.”

On July 28, 2021, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) distributed an article on Medium noting, “Ford has been engaged with Cepton almost since their inception in 2016, both for R&D collaboration and small-scale deployments. Cepton LiDAR are deployed in some of [Ford’s] smart city projects. Based on Ford’s guidance, Cepton delivered a custom version of their LiDAR to enable R&D on advanced ADAS features.”

Market Outlook

Driven by increasing development and adoption in automobile safety applications, environmental mapping and 3D-modeling, the global lidar market is forecast to experience considerable growth over the coming years. A research report published by MarketsAndMarkets suggests that the sector will grow to an estimated $3.4 billion by 2026, achieving a CAGR of 21.6% over the next five years.

The report further highlights increasing investments in lidar startups by automotive giants as a driver of growth opportunities in the sector, particularly in North America.

In 2020, ground-based lidar accounted for the lion’s share of the overall lidar market, and this trend is expected to continue as the automotive sector continues to rapidly advance adoption across the full spectrum of vehicle classes. One factor not to be underestimated is the high barrier of entry and the exceptionally long time required for automotive OEMs to vet and award a production win to a lidar company. It is a commonly held view that the over 50 lidar companies will inevitably coalesce into a handful serving all OEMs.

Cepton, having a head start through its established partnership with leading global OEM GM, is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this market growth in the years to come.

Management Team

Cepton’s founder-led team is made up of lidar industry pioneers with decades of collective experience across advanced lidar and imaging technologies.

Jun Pei, Ph.D., is the company’s CEO and Co-Founder. He is a technology specialist with a focus in optics and electronics. Prior to founding Cepton, Dr. Pei founded AEP Technology, a firm focused on developing advanced 3D optical instruments. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Mark McCord, Ph.D., is Cepton’s CTO and Co-Founder. Prior to founding Cepton, he led advanced development at KLA-Tencor. Dr. McCord also formerly served as an associate professor at Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering.

Winston Fu, Ph.D., is the company’s CFO. Dr. Fu is the founder of Silicon Valley venture capital firm LDV Partners. Prior to joining Cepton, he served as CFO and Chairman of Active-Semi before its acquisition. Dr. Fu has also helped to build many technology companies as an entrepreneur and/or board member. He received his Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University, as well as an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

[1] Largest known ADAS lidar series production award based on number of vehicle models awarded

Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN), closed Monday's trading session at $0.3546, off by 4.933%, on 448,538 volume. The average volume for the last 3 months is 427,649 and the stock's 52-week low/high is $0.3197/$2.76.

Recent News

• Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN) - TinyGemsBreaks - Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN) Overcoming Primary Barriers to Commercialization of Lidar for ADAS
• Cepton, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: CPTN) Confidence Rises as Lidar Becomes Critical Element in Road Safety Toolbox Amid Record High Pedestrian Fatalities
• InvestorNewsBreaks - Cepton Inc. (NASDAQ: CPTN) to Participate at 20th Annual Craig-Hallum Institutional Investor Conference