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A man in front of the TMX sign.
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Helix BioPharma Corp. (HBP-T), which is developing drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of cancer, says it has an agreement in principle with the National Research Council of Canada to collaborate on various immuno-oncology initiatives.
"The agreement spells out a framework that would enable Helix to finalize a master agreement with NRC to develop new therapeutics for cancer immunotherapies and allows for discussion on a potential license of an antibody previously obtained from NRC under a material transfer agreement," the company said in a release.
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NewCastle Gold Ltd. (NCA-X) says its CEO David Adamson is leaving "to pursue other interests."In the interim, it said executive chairman Richard Warke will assume the CEO duties.
In a release, Mr. Warke thanked Mr. Adamson for his service to the company over the last year.
"David has put the company on a solid footing to enable the ongoing exploration of the Castle Mountain gold project and we wish him the best in his future endeavours," he said.
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Electrovaya Inc. (EFL-T) says it has a loan agreement with a "top three Canadian chartered bank" for a credit facility. It didn't name the bank.
"This facility will support Electrovaya's growing business and working capital needs for its recently announced customer agreements," the company said in a release.
"We are very pleased to have this working capital facility as it provides the necessary funds to ramp up our production and meet the demands of our growing customer base," said CEO Dr. Sankar Das Gupta.
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VBI Vaccines Inc. (VBIV-Q, VBV-T) says it has applied its clinical-stage eVLP Platform to the development of a vaccine candidate to prevent Zika virus.
"The alarming rise of Zika, and the sharp increase in neurological disorders seen in affected areas, intensifies the need to develop a safe and effective vaccine capable of preventing Zika infection," stated CEO Jeff Baxter in a release. "We are using our eVLP Platform, and the expertise gained in the development of our cytomegalovirus vaccine candidate, now in Phase I clinical trials, as we advance this important program. Between this Zika program and our Phase I cytomegalovirus candidate, VBI's pipeline now targets two of the most significant causes of serious birth defects."
Testing has begun in animal models to help validate "the immunogenicity and protective potential of this approach," says the company's chief scientific officer David Anderson.
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Crius Energy Trust (KWH.UN-T) says it has entered a partnership with a newly formed private company, Viridian International Management LLC, to expand its network marketing sales channel.
Crius will hold a 10 per cent ownership interest in Viridian International and have exclusive rights as the electricity, natural gas and solar energy provider for Viridian International for the next five years. Crius said it will continue to directly own and service all existing and future electricity and natural gas customer relationships.
The asset purchase agreement includes payments to Crius Energy totaling $10-million (U.S.) over five years, "which may be abated if specified sales targets are achieved," the company said in a release, as well as $2-million in cash and a $4-million promissory note due in 12 months.