Sign Up NowThis Month's Tiny Gems - June 2017

ABcann Global Corporation (TSX.V: ABCN)
Algae Dynamics Corp (ADYNF)
ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX)
India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE: IGC)
InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CSE: IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF)
Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE:ZNK) (OTCQB:KTNNF)
Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC)
Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE)
ORHub, Inc. (ORHB)
Patriot One Technologies, Inc. (TSX.V: PAT) (OTCQB: PTOTF)

 

 

 

ABcann Global Corporation (TSX.V: ABCN)

 

ABcann Global Corporation (TSX.V: ABCN) is a globally licensed, cost efficient producer of premium quality organic standardized medicinal cannabis. One of the earliest licensed Canadian medical marijuana producers under Canada's federally-controlled Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), ABcann has five years of operating experience in the burgeoning medical marijuana space. The company currently owns and operates a fully functioning 14,500 square foot facility in Napanee, Ontario. Additionally, ABcann owns 65 acres of real estate with proper zoning and existing infrastructure in place to support the construction of another production facility of up to one million square feet.

 

In a November 2016 report, market research firm Canaccord Genuity Group forecasted that the medical marijuana market in Canada could see sales in excess of $8 billion by 2024, creating a sizable opportunity for the country's licensed producers (LPs). The research firm also noted that the "rigorous process of becoming a licensed producer of cannabis in Canada imposes significant barriers to entry and there will be a shortfall of supply in a legalized market in the short-term." This market barrier serves as a strategic advantage for ABcann as it prepares for its highly-anticipated IPO, which is currently scheduled for April 2017.

 

Canaccord's synopsis of the Canadian cannabis industry is supported by recent market activity, as companies sporting one of the illustrious Canadian government licenses for medicinal production have recorded strong growth following IPO. Canopy Growth (OTC: TWMJ), one of the largest fully-licensed Canadian marijuana growers, saw share prices skyrocket by more than 700 percent in the months following its initial offering. Aphria Inc. (OTC: APHQF), another licensed grower, climbed by more than 900 percent following its IPO. Other companies that have recorded huge growth since going public include Aurora Cannabis (OTC: ACBFF), climbing nearly 900 percent, and SupremePharma (OTC: SPRWF), which soared more than 1,300 percent.

 

With these market trends in mind, ABcann's impending IPO is one that prospective investors in the marijuana sector will want to explore. Recalls from some of the biggest players in the Canadian cannabis industry have highlighted the considerable learning curve that LPs face in today's market, which makes ABcann's proven track record in the market all the more noteworthy. The company has built a reputation over the years for its best-in-class standardized approach to growing cannabis, including the thoughtful omission of pesticides and a computer monitored growing technique that allows ABcann to minimize the risks of variance in its yields and ensure the creation of consistently high-quality products.

 

This technique, which the company calls the ABcann Advantage, has helped it record a customer retention rate of 94.7 percent alongside 30 percent month-over-month customer growth. When combined with ABcann's current yield rate, which it has measured at roughly 100 percent greater than the industry average, the company has constructed a strong foundation upon which to build a sizable presence in the global cannabis industry. This global growth potential is illustrated by ABcann's partnership with Israel's Syqe Medical, producer of the world's first selective-dose pharmaceutical grade medicinal plant inhaler. After visiting the company's production facility, Perry Davidson, founder of Syqe Medical, noted that ABcann's production technologies put it "in a class with the best in the world" in its ability to produce standardized pharmaceutical grade cannabis.

 

ABcann's entry into the public sector is being guided by a seasoned management team, board of directors and advisory board that feature well over a century of combined industry experience. Ken Clement, the company' founder and executive chairman, has been the key component and driving force behind ABcann's development since its inception. His vision of standardized production and dosage sets ABcann apart in the medical cannabis sector. Clement is joined on the company's management team by CEO Aaron Keay. Keay brings more than a decade of capital markets experience to ABcann, having played a role in raising approximately $250 million for public and private market issuers.

 

Notably, ABcann also has access to the 'Father of Cannabis Research', Raphael Mechoulam, PhD, through its board of advisors. An organic chemist and professor of medicinal chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mechoulam was the first scientist to isolate both cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and he has received more than 25 prestigious academic awards, including the Rothschild Prize in Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences in 2012.

 

With more than 65 acres of growth capacity, a healthy cash balance to fund upcoming construction efforts, steady sales growth, industry-leading yield rates and an established operations team in place, ABcann is well-positioned to compete in the rapidly-expanding Canadian medicinal cannabis industry. These factors, along with the company's ongoing global expansion into the European, Australian and Israeli markets, show why ABcann Medicinals' upcoming public offering fits the bill as "Canada's Next Medical Marijuana IPO."

 

 

 

Algae Dynamics Corp (ADYNF)

 

Algae Dynamics Corp (ADYNF) is focused on developing proprietary research and products involving botanical oils derived from cannabis and algae.

 

The original core of the company's product development strategy was the extraction of Omega-3 fatty acids from certain strains of algae with high concentrations of DHA to create various nutraceutical products. As a result of the many demonstrated health benefits of other botanical oils, most notably cannabis oil, Algae Dynamics developed a strategy aimed at developing products that combined the health benefits of algae and cannabis oils. Capitalizing on the burgeoning demand for cannabis oil and other smoke-free alternatives to marijuana consumption will help support ongoing initiatives to create and market research-driven product formulations.

 

Although the company is publicly traded in the U.S., business is conducted in Canada with no exposure to U.S. federal regulation involving cannabis. The Canadian cannabis oil extraction marketplace is projected to grow from C$1 million in 2015 to C$1.7 billion in 2020, which is more than a 1,000-fold increase. With the Government of Canada indicating a target date for full legalization on or before July 2018, numerous opportunities for sales in extracts and oils will open up very soon.

 

Using Colorado as a comparable example, a study performed by Mackie Research Capital found that 45% of dried marijuana users in the state would eventually convert to marijuana extracts and oils. This is because most consumers taking cannabis for medical purposes are increasingly looking for delivery systems that do not involve smoking marijuana. The market's attractiveness can be further realized when considering that the Canada's licensed producer marketplace is far less competitive with 45 current licensed producers for the whole country vs. 624 licensed cultivators in Colorado.

 

Collaborating with prominent Canadian universities is a core part of the Algae Dynamics' plan to bolster cannabis extraction expertise, develop premium products and add to its portfolio of intellectual property. Through its agreements with the University of Waterloo and the University of Western Ontario, the company is focusing primarily on the use of extracts from cannabis oil and algae oil in the context of cancer as well as the development of new pharmacotherapies for mental health.

 

Near-term goals include expanding research and development work with existing and new Canadian universities, securing supply/service agreements with licensed producers, and submitting an application to Health Canada to become a licensed producer of medical marijuana and ultimately have a license to sell products derived from cannabinoids. Algae Dynamics also owns a proprietary technology for the cultivation of low cost, highly pure algae biomass, which will be developed as a vertical integration strategy in the future to support the need to source algae oil for research-driven product formulations. The management team leading these initiatives has nearly a century of beneficial experience spanning from management and process experience to successful fund raising and commercialization.

 

As part of its key objective to be the #1 research Canadian cannabis oil research-driven product formulator, the company has also formed a strong team of scientific and strategic advisors that complement ongoing R&D relationships and initiatives. Individuals who support the company's initiatives include Dr. Jonathan Blay PhD, FRSB, FIBMS, Csci, CBiol, who performs research and product development on cannabis oil and its constituents in the context of colorectum, pancreas, breast and prostate cancers; and Dr. Steven Laviolette, BSc, PhD, who performs research and product development on cannabis oil and its constituents in the context of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and schizophrenia.

 

With such a strong foundation laid in the areas being pursued, Algae Dynamics is well positioned to execute on its carefully developed business plan to fast-track to revenue growth while having a longer-term strategy to build a sustainable enterprise-building opportunity in a rapidly expanding market.

 

 

 

ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX)

 

Founded in 1999, ChineseInvestors.com (CIIX) has become a leading financial information website for Chinese-speaking investors in the United States and China. Recognizing unprecedented opportunities in the U.S. cannabis industry, CIIX is also laying the groundwork to capitalize on growing demand for cannabidiol (CBD)-based nutrition and health products.

 

Through its primary website, www.ChineseInvestors.com, CIIX offers a variety of investor education products and services, including real-time market commentary, analysis and educational related services in Chinese language character sets; consultative services to smaller private companies considering becoming a public company; and advertising and public relations related support services.

 

At the center of this initiative is the ChineseInvestors Method, a unique integration of a disciplined investing process, web-based tools, personalized instructions and support. Using this strategy, CIIX provides reliable market information to help investors make informed investment decisions and meet their individualized financial goals.

 

CIIX is also leveraging its financial expertise to enter into the burgeoning CBD industry, which within a few years has grown from a relatively invisible sector to a billowing market expected to reach $2.1 billion in consumer sales by 2020.

 

The increasing demand for CBD-based products is a catalyst for innovative business endeavors. To this accord, CIIX has established a three-year development plan to capitalize on the convergence of CBD and the nutrition and health products market in mainland China, where the benefits of CBD oil have not been widely recognized.

 

Under a wholesale agreement with a reputable CBD health brand, CIIX is launching the world's first online CBD health products store published in the Chinese language. The site, www.ChineseCBDoil.com, caters to a growing number of Chinese people awakening to the numerous health benefits of CBD oil for treatment of a variety of conditions such as anxiety, stress, poor sleep, Alzheimer's disease, and more. CIIX expects to launch this website at the end of January 2017, and plans to sell CBD-infused products via online and in-store.

 

In conjunction, CIIX's cannabis-focused "Yelp"-style mobile app is in development as a platform for Chinese people to review and discuss various cannabis products. The app will be the first marijuana social media mobile app designed for Chinese-speaking customers worldwide.

 

 

 

India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE: IGC)

 

India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE: IGC) is a first mover in developing a portfolio of products using cannabis-based "combination therapies" for the treatment of Alzheimer's, cachexia, pain and other conditions.

 

Through a definitive agreement with the University of South Florida, IGC is the exclusive licensee of the U.S. patent filing entitled "THC as a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Alzheimer's Disease." Known as America's most expensive disease with an estimated cost to the U.S. economy of $236 billion, Alzheimer's currently effects more than 5.3 million Americans and over the next 20 years the number of those afflicted with the disease is expected to double. By acquiring the exclusive right to this patent filing, IGC is protecting a potential cannabis-based blockbuster treatment.

 

The Company has also filed combination therapy formulations for the treatment of epilepsy and cachexia. About 50 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy and about 1.3 million in the U.S. experience cachexia associated with cancer, MS, Parkinson's, HIV/AIDS and other progressive illnesses. Cancer-induced anorexia/cachexia is responsible for 20% of all cancer deaths. IGC-502 indicated for seizures and IGC-504 indicated for cachexia are unique combination therapies that, if proven out by clinical trials, are expected to treat medical refractory epilepsy and eating disorders respectively, with lower side effects than conventional mono therapies.

 

Successful treatment of pain represents an enormous market opportunity as well with the national cost of health care due to pain ranging from $560 billion to $635 billion. In addition, the health care cost attributed to the abuse of prescription opioids, closely related to pain, is approximately $25 billion. IGC's patent filing (IGC-501) is a cannabis-based formulation addressing neuropathic and arthritic pain in joints and muscles using a variety of delivery techniques. The Company anticipates commencing clinical trials, and hopes that through its focus on combination therapy it can formulate and commercialize cannabinoid compounds as an alternative to long-term addictive opioid treatments.

 

IGC's strategy is exciting and unique in that it is aiming to become a leader in the phytocannabinoid-based combination therapy specialty pharmaceutical sector. This first mover advantage can potentially be formidable as it begins clinical trials and further builds its patent portfolio. "The development of combination therapies utilizing cannabis represents a large, unique opportunity in this emerging specialty-pharmaceutical sector. Securing FDA approval for combination therapy is believed to be significantly faster and less expensive than new drug applications. As a result, we believe that we can bring our cannabis-based pharmaceutical products to market in both an expeditious and cost-effective manner," stated Ram Mukunda, CEO.

 

IGC has recently exited its legacy businesses. An impressive and experienced team, led by Mr. Ram Mukunda, CEO, directs IGC.

 

Mr. Mukunda holds degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Maryland (UMD). He founded and served as Chairman and CEO of Startec Global Communications, an international telecommunications carrier focused on providing voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) services to emerging economies. Startec, the first pure play international long distance carrier, went public on NASDAQ. He has won a number of awards, including the 2013 University of Maryland International Alumnus of the year award. Mr. Mukunda serves as an Emeritus member on the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland, School of Engineering, and has served as Council Member at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Belfer Center of Science and International Affairs. Mr. Mukunda and Dr. Krishna are the originators of all the IGC patent filings.

 

Dr. Ranga Krishna, Senior Advisor, is a Board Certified Neurologist with a sub specialty in Epilepsy surgery. He is the Director of Neurology at the New York Community Hospital affiliated with New York Presbyterian Weil Cornell Medical College and the Director of Stroke Service at the New York Community Hospital affiliated with New York Presbyterian Weil Cornell Medical College. He is the Medical Director and Chairman of Total Neuro Care, P.C. He is CEO of International Pharma Trials, Inc., which assists U.S. pharmaceutical companies perform Phase II clinical trials. Dr. Krishna is a member of several organizations, including the American Academy of Neurology and the Medical Society of the State of New York. He is also a member of the Medical Arbitration panel for the New York State Workers' Compensation Board and a Founding Member of the New York State Pain Society. Dr. Krishna was trained at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center (1991-1994) and New York University (1994-1996). Dr. Krishna and Mr. Mukunda are the originators of all the IGC patent filings.

 

 

 

InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CSE: IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF)

 

InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CSE: IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF) is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of novel therapeutics leveraging the pharmacological benefits of cannabinoids. Utilizing its proprietary bioinformatics assessment tool, InMed aims to identify bioactive compounds found within the cannabis plant that have the potential to offer optimized therapeutic benefit while demonstrating limited adverse effects. This assessment tool, in combination with the company's cannabinoid biosynthesis technology and drug development pipeline, serves as InMed's fundamental value driver.

 

Bioinformatics is a proprietary, computer-based program designed to assist in the identification of novel cannabinoids using comprehensive algorithms to integrate data from numerous bioinformatics databases, as well as a database on the structure of currently approved pharmaceutical products and an extensive database on over 90 individual cannabinoid drugs found in cannabis. This extensive collection of data is derived from both public and propriety-based sources. Leveraging this tool, the company aims to create associations between approved pharmaceuticals and cannabinoids with similar structures in order to identify active cannabinoids that have the potential to treat specific diseases. Per InMed's website, this type of bioinformatics assessment represents "significant promise for future drug discovery, as it integrates many data sets and builds holistic models to approach a specific disease."

 

After discovering these promising active cannabinoids, InMed moves to test and confirm their activity in biological systems through in vitro and in vivo experimentation. It is at this stage of development that the company's proprietary biosynthesis process of cannabinoid manufacturing will be most promising. InMed is currently developing a robust, high-yield biosynthesis process for manufacturing all 90+ naturally-occurring cannabinoids. By modifying the agriculture-based formula for harvesting cannabinoids, InMed aims to combine the inherent safety and known efficacy of the natural drug structure with the convenience, control and quality of 21st Century laboratory-based manufacturing processes.

 

The company's pipeline currently includes two drug candidates in preclinical development, including INM-750 for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) and INM-085 for the treatment of glaucoma. Referred to by the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of America as "The Worst Disease You've Never Heard Of," EB is a rare genetic connective tissue disorder that affects roughly one out of every 20,000 births in the United States. The condition currently has no approved treatment or cure. Through the development of INM-750, InMed is attempting to address this significant unmet medical need. The drug candidate replaces missing keratins in the skin with specially selected cannabinoids in an effort to modulate the painful manifestations of EB.

 

INM-085, InMed's second development candidate, is formulated to reduce the elevated intra-ocular pressure that is often associated with glaucoma. Additionally, the cannabinoids utilized in INM-085 are expected to provide neuroprotection for the retinal ganglion cells and other optic nerve tissues following topical administration. Although it is still in preclinical development, INM-085 targets a sizable market. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness with no approved cure. The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 3 million Americans currently have glaucoma, and more than 120,000 have been blinded by the disease.

 

InMed is focused on progressing toward validation of its drug candidate selection, using data to secure its patents and developing key disruptive technologies. In 2016, the company was successful in completing financings of $1.9 million. In January 2017, InMed completed a non-brokered private placement of common shares generating aggregate gross proceeds of C$1.5 million, strongly positioning the company to attract the new investment required to fund its aggressive growth strategies in 2017.

 

The company's management team has well over a century of combined experience in the biopharmaceutical space. Company CEO Eric Adams has more than 25 years of experience in company and capital formation, global market development, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and corporate governance. During his time as CEO of enGene Inc., he led the gene therapy startup to a position at the head of the industry.

 

Joining Adams on the InMed management team are Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Sazzan Hossain; Senior Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Alexandra D.J. Mancini; SVP, Corporate Strategy & Investor Relations Chris Bogart; and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Charpentier, as well as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ado Muhammed, MD, DPM, MFPM.

 

Muhammed, in particular, has an extensive history in the pharmaceutical industry, having previously served as an executive of GW Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines. During his time as Associate Medical Director of that company, Muhammed played an instrumental role in the development and FDA approval of one of the first cannabis drugs. This GW Pharmaceuticals development program coincided with a sharp rise in share price from less than $9 in 2013 to more than $129 today, with the company's current market value totaling more than $2.9 billion.

 

 

 

Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE:ZNK) (OTCQB:KTNNF)

 

Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE:ZNK) (OTCQB: KTNNF) is a mineral exploration and development company focused on discovering large-scale sedimentary-exhalative ("SEDEX") zinc deposits. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company is ideally positioned near its primary target, the Sully Property, located 18 miles east of the world-class Sullivan Mine.

 

Of the 22 raw materials tracked by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, zinc was the best-performing base metal in 2016. Based on a widening global supply deficit, outlook for the commodity remains strong. As the most closely tied base metal to the Chinese economy, zinc demand and prices are expected to rise well into the year 2020, putting increased pressure on zinc supply.

 

For 2017, Goldman Sachs has predicted a 360,000 ton shortage of zinc, along with a subsequent rise in zinc prices to $2,500 per metric ton in the first half of the year. Zinc continues to make history in the metals exchange, driving significant interest in the market amid supply constraints in concentrates and refined metal drive prices.

 

Ready to claim its share of the market, Kootenay Zinc is focused on its Sully Property. It comprises 1,375 hectares and overlies rocks of similar age and origin as those which host the legendary Sullivan deposit. The Sullivan mine was discovered in 1892, and is known to be one of the world's largest SEDEX deposits. Over its 100-year lifetime, Sullivan produced approximately 150 million tonnes of ore, including approximately 300 million ounces of silver, 8 million tonnes of zinc and 8 million tonnes of lead.

 

Notably, geophysical data suggests that Kootenay Zinc's Sully project and Sullivan share many geological features:

 

 

The squeeze in zinc supplies particularly affects China, which is both the world's largest zinc consumer and its largest producer, with 4.9 million tons of output in 2015. Chinese manufacturers are now being forced to import zinc for use in cars, household appliances, paints, rubber products and smartphones.

 

Zinc's rally shows no sign of slowing down in the near future, and companies that currently occupy stake in a zinc deposit find themselves in an enviable position over miners rushing to find new reserves. With its Sully Project, Kootenay Zinc could be on track to capture its share of the market, guided by a management team of mining directors and executives that currently lead some of the world's best mining companies and have been involved in world-class discoveries which sold for billions of dollars. The company's technical team includes industry experts that have worked on mega-mining projects, including the Sullivan and Voisey Bay projects.

 

 

 

Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC)

 

Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC) is a leading offline-to-online (O2O) integrated platform operator committed to providing high-quality social marketing and promotion platforms to end-users and merchants interested in promoting their business via social media.

 

The company's proprietary Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) system is at the foundation of its multi-channel social commerce platform, and was developed to foster enhanced consumer/merchant interaction. By integrating social media, entertainment and business intelligence, Moxian's system is especially suitable for SMB, integrated entertainment, commerce, shopping and customer loyalty rewards providers.

 

Through its big data analytics system, Moxian has a clear picture of its targeted customers, their demands and payment data. End-user data generated from the platform helps Moxian's merchant clients achieve optimal marketing strategies.

 

Leveraging these assets, Moxian has two primary core products: Moxian User App and Moxian Business App.

 

The structure of Moxian User APP is for consumers to collect loyalty points from issuing merchants. Virtual currency (MO-Coin and MO-Points) is earned playing games and can be redeemed globally with any merchant in Moxian eco-system. This model drives registered consumers to Moxian and its merchant clients while providing merchants the opportunity to advertise, run marketing campaigns, and learn about their customers through Moxian's platform. The app also provides consumers a set of social networking features to set up a personalized multimedia profile and participate in traditional social media functions such as friend search, interest groups, topics and content sharing.

 

Moxian Business App is similar in that it is also based on loyalty points, but is geared toward the merchant. This app provides merchants the tool kits to covert customers into members and fans, issue loyalty points and redeem rewards, and respond to customer inquiries via instant messaging. Users can also conduct targeted marketing campaigns to members of Moxian community in the form of ads and games, list products online, as well as process orders. Moxian Business also provides business reports and analytical insights for merchants.

 

Led by a management team with more than a century of combined experience, Moxian's technologies supplement the company's broader corporate mission to create and lead a personalized social network platform best suited for modern users and businesses.

 

 

 

 

Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE)

 

Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) is a global technology company delivering a range of electronic payment solutions that enable merchants of all sizes to process transactions through various integrated platforms. Ranked as one of South Florida Business Journal's Top 25 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies, Net Element bases its products around a set of innovations that enables it to compete in select, competitive market segments.

 

Florida-based Net Element owns and operates a global mobile payments and transactional processing provider TOT Group, Inc., parent company to: Unified Payments, which was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the #1 Fastest Growing Company in America in 2012; Aptito, a next generation cloud-based point-of-sale ("POS") payments platform; Restoactive, a seamless digital add-ons for legacy POS systems; Digital Provider, a leading provider of SMS messaging and mobile billing solutions; and Payonline, a fully integrated processor agnostic electronic commerce platform.

 

Revenues are primarily driven by transaction fees, and the company continues to see increased acceptance and adoption of mobile and online payments. In 2015 alone, the company processed 51.2 million bankcard transactions in North America. The same year, Net Element processed 90 million transactions in CIS and the Russian Federation in 2015, as well as 19.5 million mobile transactions in emerging markets.

 

Net Element's domestic strategy is to grow transactional revenue through the innovation of SME productivity services such as its signature POS solution, Aptito. The broader North America market strategy is to expand distribution while exploring new products, services, and value-added offerings.

 

Internationally, Net Element's strategy is to leverage its omni-channel platform to deliver flexible offerings to emerging markets with diverse banking, regulatory and demographic conditions. With a growing physical presence in Central Asia, Net Element has a portfolio of international clients that includes Nokia, Samsonite, Papa Johns, Microsoft, Norton by Symantec, Alawar Entertainment and many others.

 

Laying the groundwork for sustained growth, Net Element continues to focus on improvement and investments in its core technology and new product offerings. The company allocates its resources, along with the extensive experience of its management team, to foster growth in payment processing and the worldwide mobile payment industry, which is forecast to surpass $1 trillion in 2019.

 

 

 

ORHub, Inc. (ORHB)

 

ORHub, Inc. (ORHB) is a cloud-based software platform designed to transform the business of surgery into a value-based model. The platform empowers care providers at every stage of the surgical process to collaborate, organize, deliver, measure, and reimburse in one intuitive, easy-to-use program. This significantly decreases cost and improves outcomes by eliminating inefficiencies, duplications of effort, and errors and omissions that result from siloed processes in outdated software and poor handoffs from one part of the care process to another.

 

The need for ORHub is clear. Health care costs are out of control at more than 17% of US GDP, which equates to over $3 trillion per year. With costs rising every year due to an aging population and increasingly expensive treatments, providers are under severe pressure to become more efficient and reduce costs. This is happening because payors are aggressively reducing reimbursements and finally moving away from fee-for-service and toward a performance-based reimbursement system referred to as value-based health care.

 

Accurately measuring the cost of treating a condition and relating that cost to the patient's outcome is at the heart of value-based health care. Institutions that have adopted this model have reaped savings of 20-40% on their overall cost of care. Unfortunately, today's siloed IT systems are fundamentally at odds with this process. Legacy health care solutions come from a fee-for-service world and have reinforced the problem and produced a system with erratic quality and unsustainable costs. Most health care applications today are incremental improvements on these existing systems or are simple digital implementations of antiquated pen-and-paper processes.

 

Providers wanting to practice value-based health care need value-based software. ORHub creates a value-based solution that will revolutionize surgical care delivery by tracking the cost of treating a condition from diagnosis to discharge, and tracking outcomes that resulted from that treatment.

 

In an industry where major IT rollouts traditionally cost millions of dollars and take an average of eighteen months, pilot installations of ORHub have been completed in less than a month. By avoiding integration with legacy systems completely through a radically comprehensive and collaborative approach, providers see results right away. This approach produces real-time metrics in a uniform manner at any institution, which makes it ideal for large providers looking to make improvements across the board at multiple facilities.

 

ORHub started as a pilot program developed in cooperation with a major Southern California hospital. It has since expanded operations into a second facility at the number two non-profit hospital system in the US. Three additional pilot programs are scheduled prior to a national launch.

 

The company is also a showcase member of the startup program at Microsoft, which has been a key partner by providing financial assistance, strategy, introductions to influencers and mentors, and access to its sales organization who see ORHub as an exciting partner to expand the utilization of Microsoft Surface devices and Azure Cloud. Microsoft is funding a major case study in partnership with Intel about the impact of ORHub on participating institutions to be concluded sometime in Q2 2017.

 

ORHub's leadership team is helmed by Colt Melby, who was appointed CEO in 2016 and has been crucial to developing and executing the company's business strategy. Mr. Melby's extensive business experience includes the NASDAQ uplisting of Smith and Wesson (now American Outdoor Brands), CUI Global Inc., and Quest Resource Holdings Corp. His wealth of information and relationships have been vital in helping the company go from concept to production in institutional medicine in less than a year.

 

Delivering surgical care to a single patient is a complex process that may take half a dozen companies and more than a dozen departments cooperating inside and outside the care facility. ORHub simplifies and streamlines this process by enabling vendors, providers, and surgeons to collaborate on providing care.

 

 

 

Patriot One Technologies, Inc. (TSX.V: PAT) (OTCQB: PTOTF)

 

Patriot One Technologies, Inc. (TSX.V: PAT) (OTCQB: PTOTF) is leveraging seven years of development to create powerful technologies that mitigate security risks by detecting concealed weapons via novel radar technology.

 

Developed through a NATO-funded project at McMaster University, Patriot One's disruptive NForce CMR1000 (PATSCAN) technology is the first cost-effective solution available for active shooter prevention, the need for which is evidenced by an increasing number of active shooter events in the United States and worldwide.

 

A recent study that surveyed data going back as far as 1966 demonstrates that there have been significantly more mass shootings in the U.S. than any other country for decades. Statistics for the 46-year period shows that even though America only holds 5% of the world's population, it took count of 31% of all public mass shootings. According to the FBI, there were an astounding 160 incidents from 2000 to 2013 that resulted in 486 people killed and 557 wounded. In years 2014 and 2015, there were nearly six times as many incidents compared to 2000 and 2001. The disturbing trend shows that there will be increasingly more incidents if better preventative measures aren't taken.

 

Patriot One's patent-pending solution to this alarming progression enables stand-off detection, even on moving targets, with a "cognitive" ability to learn and identify new threats once deployed. The product is not intended to threaten the constitutional rights of legal gun carriers, and it is also void of privacy and health concerns of traditional detection technologies, which require subject compliance, present false positives, and are often slow, inefficient and costly.

 

In contrast, Patriot One's technology is small in size and can be "covertly" placed in a doorway or hallway to prevent planned attacks in public places like schools, concerts, stadiums, banks, airports, offices, hospitals, shopping centers and other facilities for which there are concerns. With this method of deployment, there is no subject compliance requirement. In addition, because an image of the target is not generated, there are also no privacy concerns. Detection is real-time and entirely computer-based, which means there is no need for human operators to alert security. This eliminates the safety concerns of a would-be operator, reduces the expense of a human operator, and enables overall accuracy of 93%.

 

The technology is designed to identify if someone is carrying a gun, knife, suicide vest, etc., by analyzing metal content and relating it to a database of known weapon signatures. Patriot One believes the widespread use of this detection technology could act as an effective deterrent, thereby diminishing the epidemic phenomena of active shooters across the nation and around the world.

 

The company is guided by a team of experts in the areas of high-frequency electromagnetics, counter-terrorism, conflict resolution, government/corporate interface, sensor development, proactive security and business development. Senior Management has partnered with, among other affiliates, Ridge Global, which was founded by recently appointed advisory board member Tom Ridge, the first head of the Department of Homeland Security, first U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, and 43rd governor of Pennsylvania.

 

Along with its partners, Patriot One is addressing global concerns of active shooting events and other violent terrorist attacks. The key is to short-circuit the event through effective prevention technologies and security protocols.