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NA Proactive news snapshot: Pacific Empire Minerals, American Manganese, NexTech AR, Co-Diagnostics, Dyadic International UPDATE ...

Last updated: 17:05 14 May 2020 EDT, First published: 10:05 14 May 2020 EDT

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Pacific Empire Minerals Corp (CVE:PEMC) (OTCQB:PEMSF) announced Thursday it was raising C$260,000 in a non-brokered private placement to support exploration on its Woodstock property. The project generator is issuing 5.2 million units priced at C$0.05 to raise the proceeds, with each unit consisting of one share and one warrant exercisable at C$0.10 for a three-year period following the closing of the offering. Additional funds will go towards general working capital. 

American Manganese Inc (CVE:AMY)(OTCPINK: AMYZF) reports that during its annual general meeting on May 13, all resolutions proposed to shareholders were passed. The company elected six directors to its board: Larry Reaugh, Andris Kikauka, Edward Skoda, Norman Tribe, Kurt Lageschulte and Zarko Meseldzija. Shareholders approved the appointment of DeVisser Gray LLP, chartered professional accountants as auditors. Also, the company's stock option plan was approved. 

NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCQB:NEXCF) (CSE:NTAR), an emerging augmented reality company with a focus on ecommerce and virtual events, revealed first quarter revenue that more than doubled year-over-year in results released after the bell Thursday. The company posted revenue of C$2.5 million, 177% more than the C$901,111 it brought in during the first quarter of 2019. Gross profit surged 267% to C$1.3 million from C$367,017 over the same period.

Co-Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:CODX) announced Thursday it sees ongoing robust sales of its coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnostic test. The Salt Lake, Utah-based company said it closed its first quarter of 2020 on March 31 with $1.5 million in revenue thanks to demand for its Logix Smart COVID-19 test kits. Gross margins hit 71.5% on sales of the test. Co-Diagnostics also noted it raised $18 million in capital during the quarter as it plans to ramp up production of the test kits, which have shown 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity in several independent evaluations. It has manufactured more than six million COVID-19 tests to date and has ordered components for more than 20 million additional tests to fill existing and expected orders in the near future.

Dyadic International Inc (NASDAQ:DYAI) CEO Mark Emalfarb said he was “pleased” with the progress made by the biotechnology company during a busy first quarter that saw the company step up in the global fight against the coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic. The Jupiter, Florida-based company is working with a number of worldwide research partners to leverage its proprietary C1 technology to express an increasing number of potential coronavirus vaccines and antibody candidates. “Besides the tremendous potential benefit to society, these COVID-19 projects highlight the broad appeal of our C1 platform to potentially advance the process of vaccine and biopharma drug development in large and growing addressable markets,” Emalfarb said in a statement Thursday.

BioPorto A/S (CPH:BIOPOR) has noted that Innovation Fund Denmark has awarded DKK 3 million (US$402,179) to test if the drug Iloprost can improve survival rates in SARS-Co-V2 infected patients in need of respiratory treatment. The 12-month study will be conducted in a partnership between leading hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark and the Danish diagnostics company. The biomarker thrombomodulin, a marker of capillary damage, will be used to identify and enroll patients with severe capillary injury into the study. BioPorto has developed a thrombomodulin test.

TRACON Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TCON) announced Thursday its corporate partners will present positive data from a Phase 2 cancer trial of the drug envafolimab at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2020 Virtual Scientific Program. The trial enrolled 103 patients in China with high-mutation (MSI-H) colorectal (CRC) or gastric cancer (GC) or who had deficient Mismatch Repair (dMMR) in other solid tumors. dMMR prevents cells from repairing mistakes made during the division process.

Great Panther Mining Limited (TSE:GPR) (NYSEAMERICAN:GPL) said it has secured US$14 million in bought-deal financing to fund near-mine and regional exploration programs at its Tucano Gold Mine. The Vancouver-based gold and silver explorer offered 35 million common shares at a price of US$0.40 per share with Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc as co-lead underwriters. Great Panther has also granted the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 5.25 million shares for 30 days after the deal closes, which would provide an extra US$2.1 million in financing.

Arizona Silver Exploration Inc (CVE:AZS) (OTCMKTS:AZASF) is testing the blue sky potential at its 100%-owned Philadelphia project in Arizona. The company said earlier this week that it will test below the old mine workings of a shaft on the Philadelphia property to determine if gold and silver mineralization continues beneath the 400-foot level where previous mining ceased. The explorer also picked up two additional claims east of recent drilling at Philadelphia to cover possible extensions of the gold and silver veins.

Royal Road Minerals Limited (CVE:RYR) announced Thursday that Vernon Arseneau has resigned as Chief Operating Officer and director. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company has also allocated 2 million employee stock options from its existing pool at a price of C$0.25 to local management teams in Colombia and Nicauraga. In total, the company has issued more than 14.6 million employee stock options, good for 6.4% of its issued share capital.

EnWave Corporation (CVE:ENW) (OTCPINK:NWVCF) has signed a technology evaluation and license option agreement with Blackhawk Growth Corp’s (CSE:BLR) (OTCMKTS:BLRZF) investee company NuWave Foods Inc which give it full access to EnWave’s food scientists for product development and to evaluate potential commercial use of its Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV) dehydration technology. During the term of the agreement, NuWave will rent a 10 kiloWatt REV machine from EnWave for intensive product development at its facility in Edmonton. NuWave has also been granted an exclusive option to license REV technology in Canada and the US for shelf-stable donut and fritter products.  If commercially viable products are developed under the agreement, NuWave will potentially purchase REV machinery to commence commercial production at its facility in Edmonton. EnWave’s REV machines are expected to arrive at NuWave’s Edmonton facility in "the coming weeks."

Mandalay Resources Corporation (TSE:MND) (OTCQB:MNDJF) posted a strong operating and financial performance in its first quarter, largely thanks to its Costerfield mine in Australia, where the firm saw improved grades and realized gold prices, leading to record revenue. Revenue from the Costerfield mine for the three months to March 31 came in at C$ $20.4 million, which was 96% up on the fourth quarter to end December. The production and grades increase was propelled by the high-grade Youle vein at the mine, which is expected to serve as a catalyst for substantial further improvement at Costerfield, Mandalay noted. The group also revealed it had successfully restructured its corporate debt by entering into a new syndicated credit facility with HSBC and Macquarie and retiring its remaining Gold Bonds, the last of which have now been exchanged.

VolitionRx Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:VNRX), an epigenetics company developing easy to use and cost-effective blood tests, announced Thursday that it will present three abstracts at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. The Austin, Texas-based firm said the first abstract presented will reveal initial data demonstrating the ability of Volition's sample-enrichment tool, Nu.Q Capture, to separate short and long nucleosomes in clinical colorectal cancer samples to enable the concentration of tumor-derived nucleosomal markers prior to analysis. The other two abstracts will provide new performance data for Volition's Nucleosomics Nu.Q technology in the early detection of lung cancer and blood cancer.

O3 Mining Inc (CVE:OIII), the Canada-focused mining asset consolidator, has bolstered the potential production plans for its flagship Alpha property in Quebec by striking an option to buy a processing mill 10 kilometers away. The firm has inked the option deal with QMX Gold Corporation (QMX) to acquire a 100% interest in the Aurbel mill for C$5 million at any time during a six-year term. It has already paid a deposit of C$250,000 and must contribute C$87,500 a year for maintenance costs to maintain the option.

Codebase Ventures Inc. (CSE:CODE) (OTCQB:BKLLF) noted that its investee company, World High Life Plc (AQSE:LIFE) (OTCQB:WRHLF) has said its subsidiary, Love Hemp Ltd, has advanced its new product development cycle to meet rising demand in the UK for cannabidiol (CBD) products. World High Life said Love Hemp has launched its Love Hemp Immune product six months ahead of schedule, while its global online retailer, CBDOilsUK, has expanded its portfolio with the launch of one of the most affordable collections of CBD capsules and oils available to-date in the UK. Love Hemp Immune has been developed to support the body’s natural immune system and contain vitamins and minerals.

Helix BioPharma Corp (TSX:HBP) (OCTMKTS:HBPCF) announced Thursday that topline data from a recent L-DOS47 dose escalation study in combination with pemetrexed and carboplatin in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer will be published at the ASCO 2020 annual conference. “We are very optimistic with L-DOS47’s demonstrated excellent safety profile and encouraging efficacy data,” said CEO Dr Heman Chao in a statement. Helix said the Phase 1 dose escalation study involved 14 patients with recurrent or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer enrolled across six dosing cohorts, and that no dose limiting toxicities were observed.

The Flowr Corporation (CVE:FLWR) (OTCMKTS:FLWPF) said it has entered an equity line and profit sharing agreement with Terrace Global Inc. (TSX.V:TRCE), a Canadian firm focused on advancing international cannabis assets, to develop finished cannabis products for the European medicinal market under the Holigen brand. Terrace Global has agreed to fund the operations and certain capital expenditures at Flowr’s outdoor facility in Aljustrel, Portugal in exchange for common shares and warrants in Flowr, to be issued in certain intervals during 2020, and the sharing of net proceeds from the sale of any medical cannabis products produced from the facility. The parties expect Terrace Global to fund at least $3 million under this partnership.

Marrone Bio Innovations Inc (NASDAQ:MBII) said Thursday it has received first approval for its biofungicide product REGALIA MAXX for use on indoor and outdoor cannabis and hemp in Canada. The biofungicide improves yield and harvest quality by stimulating the plant’s ability to fight disease, the crop and plant protection group said. "Obtaining the first approval for use on field hemp and cannabis is an exciting achievement for Marrone Bio and will benefit Canadian growers,” said Kevin Hammill, chief commercial officer of Marrone Bio Innovations in a statement. "Cannabis and hemp farmers will now have a new effective tool that will help manage difficult diseases, such as Botrytis and powdery mildew, that can significantly impact their yield and bottom line."

Mota Ventures Corp (CSE:MOTA) (OTCMKTS:PEMTF) told shareholders Wednesday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire German psychedelic medicine company Verrian Ontario Ltd in a proposed deal worth C$21.1 million. Verrian owns and operates an EU-GMP, ISO 14001 compliant 110,000 square foot facility in Radebuel, Germany that was a former pharmaceutical manufacturing centre. The company develops products related to addition reduction. Verrian’s focus is to treat patients suffering from addition through the microdosing of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound produced by more than 200 species of mushrooms.

Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) has released a new Target Selector molecular assay research-use-only (RUO) kit for clients to use in their own laboratories. The company, which designs molecular technologies to provide physicians with clinically actionable information to improve the outcomes of patients diagnosed with cancer, said the kit will help to detect BRAF mutations, among the most frequently evaluated biomarkers across many solid tumor cancers, including lung cancer and melanoma. The Target Selector kits are a patented liquid biopsy technology that detects and isolates cancer biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).

NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCQB: NEXCF) (CSE: NTAR) (FSE: N29) has once again expanded the footprint of its InfernoAR virtual events platform by integrating CISCo Webex, BlueJeans, Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and GoToMeetings. The augmented reality (AR) specialist said the integrations, which follow the incorporation of Microsoft Teams and Skype earlier this week, will broaden the utility of the platform, extend its capabilities and help end-users become “even more productive”. Users can now launch any of these platforms from within the platform with the added features of InfernoAR including end-to-end encryption, keyword searchable, and closed captioning in 64 languages.

Pressure BioSciences Inc (OTCQB:PBIO), which is merging with Cannaworx Inc and SkinScience Labs Inc to become Availa Bio, announced Thursday that the combined company plans to dive into the hand sanitizer market in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The founders of Cannaworx, a privately-held cannabis products company, have secured US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) registration and a National Drug Code (NDC) number for the newly-developed sanitizer.  Availa will initially roll out 250ml and 500ml sizes, with 125ml, 1 liter and 1 gallon sizes to be available by the fall.

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ:CPST), responding to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has updated its Business Continuity Plan designed to keep employees safe and to support the company’s financial goals in the June quarter. Under the plan, Capstone’s leadership team volunteered to take a 25% temporary salary cut, as well as the fISCal 2020 Executive Bonus in equity in lieu of cash, if earned. Additionally, 28 other top managers have volunteered to take a similar 15% reduction in salary.  The maker of clean-energy microturbines announced that those voluntary employee salary cuts will be extended from June 30 to September 28. Capstone said it continues to have a limited production capability for new microturbine products, but had recently pre-built approximately 5.9 megawatts (MW) of microturbine finished goods during March for shipment during this period of suspended production. The company said it shipped 18 microturbines for approximately 1.2 MW during April.

Pure Gold Mining Inc (CVE:PGM) (LON:PUR) said it continues to advance construction at its Red Lake gold mine in Ontario with detailed engineering for the processing plant now 95% complete, as it posted first-quarter results to end-March. Post-period end, the group noted that it received a further US$19.6 million under its facility with Sprott Lending, adding that it currently holds C$78.7 million in cash. "Significant earthworks, road and utilities infrastructure upgrades, and equipment installation is currently underway on surface at the site," Pure Gold told investors in the results statement. "Underground development is proceeding ahead of schedule. As part of the test mining program, pre-production underground ramp development was initiated on December 12, 2019 and is progressing at an accelerated pace," it added.

Bragg Gaming Group Inc. (OTCMKTS:BKDC) (TSX:BRAG) said it will now be holding its earnings call for Thursday May 14, 2020, at 4.30pm EST rather than at 8.30am EST as previously indicated due to unforeseen circumstances. To join the call, please use the following dial-in information: US/Canada: +1 270 215 9892; US/Canada (toll-free): +1 866 997 6681; UK: 0 800 917 4860; Passcode: 9792139.

Ascent Industries Corp. (CSE:ASNT) (CNSX:ASNT.CN) (OTCMKTS:PGTMF) announced that on May 11, 2020, the company filed all outstanding financial statements which include (i) the audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, (ii) the interim financial statements for March 31, 2019, June 30, 2019, and September 30, 2019, (iii) the audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, and (iv) all corresponding management dISCussion & analysis and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications for the above noted periods. As a result, on May 12, 2020, the company received a revocation order from the executive director of the British Columbia Securities Commission, informing the company that all required records had been filed and that the Management Cease Trade Order had been revoked. The company also said it will be hosting its annual general meeting of shareholders on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 10:00 am (Pacific Daylight Time). The AGM will be conducted by remote access and a link to meeting materials will be provided to beneficial shareholders shortly.

Information Services Corporation (CVE:ISV) has confirmed that its annual and special shareholders meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Regina, Saskatchewan. As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, ISC had postponed the meeting which was originally scheduled for May 13, 2020. Due to ongoing concerns related to the spread of COVID-19, and in order to mitigate potential risks to the health and safety of its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders, ISC is encouraging shareholders and others not to attend the meeting in person. Instead, shareholders should vote their shares prior to the meeting as per the voting instructions in the Management Information Circular, and listen to the meeting online by way of a live audio webcast and audio conference call that will be available on ISC’s website at https://company.isc.ca/investor-relations/events/default.aspx. Shareholders will be able to ask questions of management through the conference call at the end of the meeting. Details with respect to the webcast and conference call will be included in the Management Information Circular and on its website.

Thor Explorations Ltd (CVE:THX) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing the company's proposal to issue 34.75 million shares at a deemed price of 20 cents per share to settle outstanding debt for C$6.95 million (US$5 million) with one creditor. The group added the TSX Venture Exchange has also accepted for filing the company's proposal to issue 33,329,480 bonus shares at a deemed price of 20 cents per share to Africa Finance Corp. in consideration of a US$54 million senior secured credit facility, as well as documentation with respect to the non-brokered private placement, announced on April 15, 2020, with Africa Finance Corp. which will see the issue to it 28,215,750 shares at a purchase price of 20 cents each.

Progressive Planet Solutions Inc (CVE:PLAN) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to its non-brokered private placement, announced on April 23, 2020, which will see the issue of 6,784,000 shares at a purchase price of 3 cents each, together with warrants to purchase 3,392,000 shares at an exercise price of 5 cents each for a one-year period, including an acceleration clause, with 11 placees.

Lithoquest Diamonds Ltd (CVE:LDI) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to its non-brokered private placement, announced on February 20, 2020, which will see the issue of 8,333,334 shares at a purchase price of 3 cents each with 18 placees, for which a finders fee of $1,997 is payable to Mackie Research Capital Corp.

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