Monthly Newsletter – October 2022

Gemina Laboratories (In vitro diagnostics)

Gemina Labs (CSE: GLAB), an in vitro diagnostics venture, continues to make solid progress.  At the end of June, the Company closed a further $4.3m in new funding. Despite challenging market conditions, the Company raised money at $0.60, a premium over its previous $0.55 raise in October 2021.  At the start of September, Gemina announced the appointment of Brian Firth, an exceptionally experienced executive from the diagnostics industry. He was previously COO at Swiss Precision Diagnostics (the manufacturer of the ClearBlue family of reproductive health tests).  Gemina has a packed schedule to look forward to in the final 4 months of the year as it transitions from an R&D company to a fully-fledged growth stock, its comprehensive technology platform driving a succession of new product opportunities.

Anodyne Chemistries (Synthetic biotechnology and renewable chemicals)

Anodyne, synthetic biotechnology and renewable chemicals venture, is developing a reputation for rapid growth in climate technology. After receiving federal funding from SDTC over the summer, the company’s first molecular factory arrived, enabling them to scale production 100X and bring production capabilities in-house at their new facilities in Burnaby. In September the company entered into a collaborative research agreement with UBC Professor David Wilkinson OC, a global leader and innovator in the field of electrochemistry.

Wilkinson OC is a global leader and innovator in the field of electrochemistry. David and his laboratory will test and characterize reactor kinetics and refine operating procedures to help the company products with maximum efficiency and longevity.

Anodyne’s combination of bio-based, low-carbon synthesis is beginning to attract corporate attention as companies seek the best opportunities to decarbonize their supply chains. Q4 of 2022 will see Anodyne formalize a strategic set of relationships to advance the commercialization and scale-up of its platform.

3RC (Strategic metal processing)

3RC  has made excellent progress on multiple fronts.  Sean Crowe – a Canada Research Chair in geomicrobiology – has been appointed CSO, and with his help, 3RC is rapidly assembling the scientific data to validate its sustainable mineral processing technologies.  These technologies have applications across the mining sector, but the current lead application is the processing of nickel laterites (to meet the exponential rise in global demand for nickel). Lab experiments are now posting >75% recovery of nickel and 100% recovery of cobalt from laterite samples. The company is now moving into scale-up experiments as a precursor to field trials in early 2023. The new advisory board, which includes some of the leading hydrometallurgy experts in the country, has been established to support the R&D team that the Company assembled over the summer.

Patronus (Advanced Protective Materials)

Patronus is rapidly developing high-performance armour solutions in collaboration with BAE Systems (who transferred a family of patents related to liquid armour) and Qinetiq (UK) Ltd. Work is being undertaken at Patronus facilities and on the adjacent UBC Okanagan campus, which hosts a state-of-the-art ballistics range and blast simulation rig. The UBC Research is led by Prof Lukas Bichler, Associate Director of the School of Engineering. While the initial product development focus is on the body and vehicle armour for defence applications, preliminary work is underway to identify the most promising early revenue opportunities from various sporting and industrial applications.