NA Proactive news snapshot: Western Magnesium, BioSig Technologies, WeedMD, KWESST, Killi, Humanigen UPDATE ...

Western Magnesium Corporation (CVE:WMG) (OTCMKTS:MLYF) is building out its first commercialized pilot plant in Canada to become a low-cost producer of eco-friendly magnesium metal by the first quarter of 2021. The firm told shareholders on Tuesday that its technical staff, led by senior vice president Paul Sauve, has started work on the design of the plant and is moving towards the installation of structural steel. Mechanical engineering drawings and models are in the final stages of review, and initial facility construction is beginning in order to prepare for equipment delivery, according to the firm. A number of suppliers and service providers have also been granted access to the site to start evaluations. BioSig Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:BSGM) said Tuesday that a merimepodib drug development program to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) run by subsidiary ViralClear Pharmaceuticals is expanding. In a statement, Biosig said the size of the ongoing randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of merimepodib in combination with remdesivir is being increased from 40 to 80 subjects. When the trial was first initiated, it was thought that COVID-19 patients with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) 8-point ordinal scores of 3 and 4 (ie hospitalized patients who require non-invasive ventilation and patients who require high flow oxygen devices and supplemental oxygen, respectively) would have similar outcomes in terms of their disease.  WeedMD Inc (CVE:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) is bringing sales of its medical cannabis products under one marketplace, which will reduce costs and re-direct funds to develop new offerimgs and patient services. The cannabis producer and distributor will complete its full patient migration to its Starseed Medicinal online marketplace by early October this year and expand its offerings alongside, it said. "Uniting our medical channel under one marketplace provides our patients with a promise of unparalleled access to more strains, a diverse selection of product formats including vapes and soon, Mary’s topical gels and creams,” said Moe Jiwan, chief customer officer at WeedMD. KWESST Micro Systems Inc (CVE:KWE) announced Tuesday the successful completion of the first phase of three deliverables under a contract to support a US military customer featuring the company's signature Tactical Awareness and Situational Control System. The Ottawa-based company said the first deliverable under a C$500,000 contract demonstrated the TASCS Integrated Fires Module (IFM) on mortars and the Augmented Weapon Sight (AWS), a system developed by AeroVironment Inc and KWESST to provide real-time situational awareness and targeting information. AWS streams full motion video from an overhead unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) manufactured by AeroVironment into the TASCS architecture for the purpose of target identification, accurate first-shot hits, and real-time battle damage assessment. The AWS system has been an ongoing collaboration between KWESST and AeroVironment. Killi Ltd (CVE:MYID) (OtC:MYIDF), a data and consumer privacy company, has launched a new browser extension that it says will pay users cash to block advertisements online. The extension, available for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave and Opera browsers, blocks the transaction of consumers' data and allows individuals to link their browsing data to their Killi account by signing in. The idea is to give users the choice of whether and how much data gets shared and, if they choose to sell their data, pay them fairly. The browser extension automatically deposits cash (not points or tokens) in users’ accounts every week.  Humanigen Inc (NASDAQ:HGEN) announced Tuesday that it completed a previously announced $72.8 million public offering of common stock meant to fund the development of its drug lenzilumab as a treatment for the coronavirus (COVID-19). The company offered 9.2 million shares, 1.2 million of which were part of an over-allotment option exercised by the underwriters. Humanigen plans to use the proceeds to advance the development of lenzilumab, a drug designed to treat what’s known as the cytokine storm, an overactive immune response to conditions such as COVID-19 that can cause inflammation, fatigue and, in severe cases, organ failure. Humanigen Inc (NASDAQ:HGEN) announced Tuesday that management will present a company overview and business update at the Oppenheimer Fall Healthcare Life Sciences & MedTech Summit at 10:50 am EDT on September 23. The conference is being held in a virtual format. A live webcast of the presentation may be accessed at https://wsw.com/webcast/oppenheimer5/hgen/2688354. Archived replay will be available on the company website for 30 days following the event. International Montoro Resources Inc. (CVE:IMT)(FRA:O4T1) said it has mobilized an exploration team to site to conduct follow-up geological mapping and sampling on the Blackfly Vein at the gold project near Atikokan, Ontario. The campaign will target the northern extension of the mineralized structure identified by Terra-X Minerals Inc.'s 2010-2012 diamond drilling and subsequent recommendations made by Terra-X in 2012 to test chargeability anomalies. The targeted area, known as the Blackfly Main, exhibited significant gold mineralization along the NNE trending vein and shear zone which returned values upwards of 15 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 1.07 meters (m) in a diamond drill hole and 167 g/t gold in surface grab samples.  PUDO Inc (CSE:PDO) (OTCQB:PDPTF) saw its revenue grow by 17.3% in its fiscal 2Q 2021 thanks to new partner volumes and the sale of additional services, according to results released Tuesday. The company – North America’s only carrier-agnostic parcel pickup and drop off network – generated C$246,701 in sales for the period ended August 31, 2020, compared to the C$229,971 it put up in the same quarter a year ago. Toronto-based PUDO said that the success of its additional services and partner volumes offset the decrease in parcels left at its PUDOpoint locations, as more first-time deliveries were successful because recipients are spending more time at home due to the pandemic. Globex Mining Enterprises Inc (TSE:GMX) (OTCQX:GLBXF), the mineral property bank, has received a cash boost from Excellon Resources Inc (TSE: EXN), which made its second year option payment for the Bräunsdorf silver project in Germany, now known as the Silver City project. The option payment consists of C$100,000 in cash and Excellon stock worth C$325,000. Globex said it was now looking forward to the first series of Excellon's drill results from the Saxony project from both proof-of-concept holes and those exploring in areas of historical production. Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc (CVE:ZAIR) is poised to help New York in its bid to become carbon neutral by 2050 as the energy storage group revealed it is a winner of the US city's Department of Buildings 'Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge'. The Department of Buildings in New York City regulates more than a million buildings and construction sites across five boroughs and the group, one of four winners, will be supported for inclusion in the 2020 NYC Building Code. Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc (CVE:AQS) (OTCQB:AQSZF) announced Tuesday that it has expanded its partnership with UK-based Medicom Healthcare to include an additional formulation in its Evolve preservative-free dry eye product line. Aequus recently submitted an application for this new product with Health Canada for processing of a New Medical Device License. Vancouver-based Aequus said the new Evolve product added to the existing agreement is a unique preservative-free formulation. The product formulation combines Hyaluronate and Carbomer 980 for the treatment of patients with more intense dry eye symptoms. With the addition of this product to the Health Canada submission, Aequus said it plans to launch a full range of products designed to treat patients suffering from mild to more intensive forms of dry eye disease later in 2020. Victory Resources Corporation (CSE:VR) (OTCMKTS:VRCFF) said that it has acquired the Lac Simard Property in Quebec from Archie Capital Inc in a cash and stock deal. The Vancouver-headquartered mining firm said the deal included five million shares at a deemed price of $0.115 and $25,000 cash. The shares will be subject to a four-month hold, noted the company. Significantly, there are three important operating gold mines within 20 kilometers of the purchased property. Lac Simard is five kilometers south of Quebec’s Val-d'Or region and abuts the southern edge of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited's (TSE:AEM) (NYSE:AEM) Goldex claim block. The Goldex deposit had proven and probable mineral reserves of 1.1 million ounces of gold (21 million tonnes grading 1.6 grams per tonne gold) as of December 31, 2019.  Todos Medical Ltd (OTCQB:TOMDF) announced Tuesday that it has rapidly expanded its agreement with a Wisconsin-based laboratory to supply it with the necessary COVID-19 testing equipment and supplies to ramp up tests to 12,000 a day. Moreover, Todos said the contract translates into a total value of $47.5 million in reagent sales by the company over the next seven months. Todos said it will be supplying automated extraction machines, liquid handlers and PCR machines. The company has also been granted a priority right to supply the lab with up to 100,000 COVID PCR tests per day in the event the laboratory sees significant additional testing demand. Lexaria Bioscience Corp (OTCQX:LXRP) (CSE:LXX), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, has received its ninth US patent. In a statement Tuesday, the company said the new patent provides patent claims that protect the use of its DehydraTECH technology together with cannabinoids, nicotine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or vitamins in mix-and-serve beverage formats. The patent is entitled "Food and Beverage Compositions Infused With Lipophilic Active Agents and Methods of Use Thereof” -- and signifies another addition to Lexaria's first patent family. Great Bear Resources Ltd (CVE:GBR) (OTCQX:GTBAF) (FRA:0G6A) says it is very optimistic about the potential for high recovery of gold from mining its flagship Dixie asset in Red Lake as it updated on metallurgical testing at the site. In the famous Red Lake mining district, previous deposits have been dominated by free gold, namely the metal is not bound to or within sulphide minerals, typically yield very high recoveries. Great Bear has so far recorded 7,465 occurrences of visible gold in its drill core, while over 80% of drill holes into the LP Fault, Dixie Limb and Hinge zones have occurred as free gold, it noted. Thoughtful Brands Inc (CSE:TBI) (OTCQB:PEMTF) (FRA:1WZ1), a natural health products and e-commerce technology company, revealed on Tuesday that it had signed a supply agreement with Sweet Earth Holdings Corp (CSE:SE) (FRA:1KZ1), making it the exclusive CBD dog treat provider for its direct-to-consumer brand Nature's Exclusive. Sweet Earth Holdings, a vertically integrated hemp company, cultivates high-quality CBD products in Applegate Valley, Oregon. The agreement enables the Sweet Earth-produced CBD canine products to channel Thoughtful Brands' newly formed subsidiary Ecommerce Tech LLC, which runs a powerful e-commerce software platform aimed at acquiring new customers and providing great customer service. Sweet Earth canine products that will be sold under the Nature's Exclusive brand include the popular Beef and Cheddar Potato CBD Dog Treats. HighGold Mining Inc (CVE:HIGH) (OTCQX:HGGOF) told investors it has restarted drilling at its Munro-Croesus and Golden Mile properties in the Timmins gold camp in Ontario. In March this year, the explorer suspended drilling at Timmins due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. At the time it said it had sunk 12 holes for 2,524 meters (m) of diamond drilling out of a planned 5,000m program. On Tuesday, HighGold said it had started a 3,500m drill program at the projects. Namaste Technologies Inc (CVE:N) (OTCMKTS:NXTTF) is entering the direct-to-consumer recreational cannabis market to sell products by licensed retailers via its online platform CannMart.com and its recently launched program VendorLink. The Toronto-based company announced Tuesday it is collaborating with cannabis firm High Tide Inc (CSE:HITI) (OTCQB:HITIF) that will see subsidiaries of both companies make recreational products available exclusively on CannMart.com for a one-year term, subject to renewals. Around 40 products earmarked for the recreational market will be made available to consumers in Saskatchewan, with weekly inventory changes and additional products to be made available, according to the firm. Marrone Bio Innovations Inc (NASDAQ:MBII) announced Tuesday that president and chief financial officer James Boyd is retiring. A national search process for a new CFO is underway, and Boyd will continue in both posts during the search process, the company said in a statement. “Jim has been a key member of the senior management team and a highly-regarded leader for the company over the last seven years,” said CEO Kevin Helash. Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc (CSE:AGN) (OTCQB:AGNPF) said on Tuesday that it has enrolled 75 patients for its multinational Phase 2b/3 human trial of its lead drug NP-120 (Ifenprodil) as a potential treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19) sufferers, which is 50% of its enrollment target. The Vancouver-based clinical-stage pharma company has been nimble — and unusual — in its hunt for a COVID-19 drug. It has taken a generic neurological drug that Sanofi developed in the 1970’s called Ifenprodil, which is approved for use in South Korea and Japan, and is attempting to repurpose it as a potential COVID-19 treatment. The company’s current study with a target of 150 patients will be completed by November 2020, with a planned data readout before the end of the fourth quarter this year. Ximen Mining Corp (CVE:XIM) (OTCQB:XXMMF) revealed it had started exploration drilling and trenching aiming at two targets at its Providence project near Greenwood in British Columbia. An excavator is being used at the first target - a historic mine adit -  where Ximen previously found 3.87 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 100 g/t silver from vein material sampled from the waste dumps. The second target is an area which hosts a showing of massive sulphide vein or skarn mineralization where a previous grab sample assayed 0.23% copper and 3.4 g/t silver. There is also a historic shaft on this zone. AIM ImmunoTech Inc (NYSEAMERICAN:AIM) announced positive results Tuesday from a pancreatic cancer Early Access Program (EAP) evaluating its drug Ampligen in the Netherlands. Professor Casper van Eijck and his team at Erasmus University Medical Center found a statistically significant positive survival benefit when using Ampligen in patients with locally advanced/metastatic pancreatic cancer after systemic chemotherapy.  Phunware, Inc. (NASDAQ:PHUN) has announced the release of its new mobile application software, Healthy Spaces to help individuals and businesses track and monitor personal health information while gathering together more safely through tech-enabled pre-screening, health and safety protocols. The fully-integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile group, that provides products, solutions, data and services for brands worldwide, said Healthy Spaces is available for download on Google Play for Android and on the Apple App Store for iOS as well. Healthy Spaces allows users to build their own health profiles, which includes tracking, recording and evaluating key medical activities, habits and symptoms. Mobile application users can then create, manage and join groups across their professional and social networks for easy monitoring and check-ins. XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. (CSE:XPHY) (OTCMKTS:XPHYF) (FRA:4XT), a next-generation bioscience company, has provided an update on its oral disintegrating film (ODF) drug delivery programs. The group noted that its wholly-owned German subsidiary, Vektor Pharma TF GmbH is currently advancing two sublingual ODF development programs for the delivery of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Nabis Holdings Inc. (CSE:NAB) (OTCMKTS:NABIF) (FRA:A2PL) has announced the following changes to its board of directors: Mark Krytiuk has resigned from the board; Emmanuel Paul has been appointed chairman of the board; and James Tworek has been re-appointed to the board. As a results, Nabis said its board of directors is comprised of Shay Shnet, Tworek and Paul. Tworek and Paul comprise a special committee of independent directors with a broad mandate, including to take a more active role in the management of the company, and to continue the Strategic Alternatives Review Process previously announced by the Company. As part of the Strategic Alternatives Review Process, the special committee remains focused on securing additional capital to meet the company's liquidity needs, including continuing engagement with the company's debtholders. The Strategic Alternative Process remains ongoing and there can be no assurance as to what, if any alternatives might be pursued by the company. Essex Minerals Inc (CVE:ESX) said Tuesday it has closed its non-brokered private placement, raising C$2.75 million in gross proceeds to fund its mineral projects and exploration expenses. The company issued 5 million common shares at C$0.55 each. All of the securities are subject to a hold period, which will expire January 22, 2021. Q BioMed Inc. (OTCQB:QBIO), a commercial-stage biotech company, has said its CEO Denis Corin has discussed the initial commercial uptake of Strontium89, its FDA approved drug for the non-opioid treatment of metastatic cancer in the bone in an interview with SmallCapVoice.com, Inc. Corin also added context and his insights into the other company news regarding the GMP production contract has been initiated for MAN-19, a clinical-grade therapeutic intended to treat complications caused by coronavirus (COVID-19). The Phase 1 clinical trial is slated to begin patient enrollment in February 2021. Corin said: “We believe we have created a highly valuable pipeline of assets we hope to advance towards the patient populations we intend to treat. We have spent the last five years building our pipeline and we expect that work to start to pay off now as we hit the revenue and clinical milestones we anticipate in the next quarter or two.” The full interview can be heard at: https://www.smallcapvoice.com/9-21-20-smallcapvoice-interview-q-biomed-qbio/.