NA Proactive news snapshot: Co-Diagnostics, Lingo Media, Salazar Resources, Cardiol Therapeutics, Calyxt Inc …

Co-Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:CODX), a molecular diagnostics company, said Thursday that both domestic and international demand has surged for its novel coronavirus detection kits in recent weeks, leading to increased product shipments, following the Food and Drug Administration’s change in policy on February 29, and an ever-larger number of patients testing positive for the disease worldwide. The new test is already prompting admiration on Wall Street and investors responded well, sending shares nearly 26.8% higher to $15.21 in New York. The kit is advancing towards emergency use clearance for use as an in vitro diagnostic by the FDA as well as by the CDSCO in India. Lingo Media Corporation (CVE:LM) (OTCMKTS:LMDCF) said that its subsidiary ELL Technologies Ltd, an edtech company changing the way the world learns languages through innovative online technologies, inked an agreement to sell its interactive language learning solutions to Accent Plus SA. In addition, ELL Technologies will be a keynote presenter in a multi-city seminar series across Ecuador from March 9-11, titled "From Utopia to Reality," showcasing current education trends and learning strategies. ELL Technologies provides online training and assessment for English language learning and is tapping the large market in Ecuador.  Salazar Resources Limited (CVE:SRL) and its partner Adventus Mining Corporation (CVE:ADZN) (OTCMKTS:ADVZF) have secured the key surface rights to allow development of the El Domo copper, gold, zinc deposit at the Curipamba project in Ecuador.  They have signed multiple agreements with private individuals over the rights, which cover the resource and proposed open pit and underground mines, as envisaged in last year's preliminary economic assessment (PEA).  Cardiol Therapeutics Inc (TSE:CRDL) (OTCMKTS:CRTPF), which is developing medicines for heart disease, marked a major step forward on Thursday - with the green light from Health Canada to carry out a  Phase 1 study on its pure cannabidiol formulation, which is THC free. The firm, which is developing innovative therapies for heart diseases, including acute myocarditis, plans to start the study in the second quarter of this year. The Phase 1 study will measure the blood levels of drug following single and multiple doses of the extra strength 100mg/mL in up to up to 55 healthy subjects. It will also measure standard safety parameters at escalating doses to help select the optimal dosing levels for a planned international Phase 2 study for acute myocarditis - a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. Calyxt Inc (NASDAQ:CLXT) reported record fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results, noting it has a funding runway into mid-2021 as it ended the year with cash and cash equivalents totaled $58.6 million. Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, Blome said to meet the expected demand for the company’s HO soybean oil, it has nearly tripled its contracted soybean acreage compared to the 2019 planting. The company expects to have a 25% market share of all HO soybean acres planted in the US in 2020. Calyxt also hopes to achieve revenue growth of 90% to 110% year-over-year in 2020. Endeavour Mining Corporation (TSE:EDV) (OTCMKTS:EDVMF) has appointed experienced accountant Alison Baker as an independent non-exec director to boost the gold producer's auditing and corporate reporting skills. Baker has extensive emerging markets experience in energy and mining and led the UK and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) oil & gas practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers and before that, the UK energy, utilities and mining assurance practice at Ernst & Young. "She brings with her key expertise in auditing and corporate reporting that will further strengthen the board’s skills as Endeavour continues its commitment to best practice governance and reporting standards," said Michael Beckett, Endeavour's chairman. NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCMKTS:NEXCF) (CSE:NTAR) has opened early access signup for its 3D augmented reality capture app, ARitize360. The company is offering free early access to 100 brands and business, allowing them to create 3D interactive versions of products — whether it’s an outdoor jacket, a vacuum cleaner, a rack of ribs or anything else —  using just a smartphone.  The Valens Company (CVE:VLNS) (OTCMKTS:VLNCF) launched a new line of cannabis-infused beverages heading to Canadian shelves. The new products, part of a white label agreement between Valens and A1 Cannabis Company, include a CBD-infused iced tea and a THC-forward citrus water. The launch “demonstrates Valens' leadership and excellence in the development and manufacturing of Cannabis 2.0 products”, as the company continues to successfully commercialize cannabis-infused beverages within the Canadian market, it said in a statement. Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC), a provider of liquid biopsy tests, said that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with several institutional investors to raise $6.6 million in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market. The San Diego-based company said that it had struck a securities purchase agreement with several institutional investors for the issuance and sale of 16 million shares at $0.41 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $6.6 million, in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules. The company said the $6.6 million registered direct offering, along with $9.2 million in proceeds from its registered direct offering announced on March 2, and its current cash position will be sufficient to fund operations through December 31, 2020. Matinas BioPharma Holdings Inc (NYSEAMERICAN:MTNB) has initiated a head-to-head pharmaceutical study of its omega-3 drug candidate MAT9001 against a drug called Vascepa, in a battle to treat elevated triglycerides. The study, known as ENHANCE-IT, will measure how effectively the drugs reduce triglyceride levels and other important lipid markers, in addition to gathering data on bioavailability and omega-3 fatty acids in the blood. MAT9001 and Vascepa will each be administered twice daily to the roughly 100 enrolled patients over two 28-day treatment periods. NetCents Technology Inc (CSE:NC) (OTCMKTS:NTTCF), the cryptocurrency payments firm, said it did not file its audited annual financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related certifications for its fiscal year to end October last year, which were due on February 28, as required, due to delay in the process of appointing new auditors. It has received a Management Cease Trade Order to permit the continued trading of its shares by people other than insiders and employees. The firm said it was working 'diligently' with its auditors and expects to have the audit of the issuer statements completed and filed no later than April 15 this year. NetCents confirmed that it also aims to satisfy the provisions of National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults and issue bi-weekly default status reports for so long as it remains in default of the financial statement filing requirement. The company is not subject to any insolvency proceedings nor is there in other material information concerning its affairs that has not been generally disclosed, it said. Medexus Pharmaceuticals Inc (CVE:MDP) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing the company's proposal to issue 134,290 bonus share purchase warrants to MidCap Financial Trust in connection with a credit and security agreement of up to US$20mln with a term of 40 months. The warrants will be exercisable into one common share of the company at an exercise price of $4 per share and will expire concurrently with the maturity of the credit agreement.