• American Fusion, developing commercially viable small scale fusion technology, has appointed John Gerdin as an independent director and strategic advisor, adding nearly three decades of international finance and capital-markets experience, and Niclas von Schantz as a strategic advisor focused on brand strategy, commercialization, go-to-market planning, and international market development.
• The appointments come as American Fusion advances engineering and testing of its Texatron(TM) Fusion Engine(TM) platform.
• Gerdin’s experience includes corporate finance, capital formation, strategic partnerships, and international investor engagement.
• Von Schantz brings more than 25 years of commercialization experience spanning more than 100 brands and 50 markets, including work with Caterpillar, Vattenfall and Uponor.

American Fusion(TM) (OTC: AMFN), a developer of next-generation fusion energy technologies, is strengthening its corporate and commercial capabilities with two senior appointments as the company advances development of its Texatron(TM) Fusion Engine(TM). On Aug. 10, the company appointed John Gerdin to its Board of Directors as an independent director and strategic advisor, followed two days later by the appointment of Niclas von Schantz as a strategic advisor for brand, commercialization and international market development.

The appointments address different parts of the company’s development agenda. 

Gerdin joins the board with nearly three decades of experience in international finance, financial structuring and cross-border advisory work across Europe, Asia and North America (https://ibn.fm/jiZzS).

His professional background includes work with emerging-growth companies, institutional investors, family offices and private-banking clients. His advisory experience has included capital formation and financial structuring for private companies, as well as evaluation of technology businesses at research and development stages.

That experience is particularly relevant to American Fusion(TM) as it seeks to develop the financing and corporate structure that could eventually support commercialization of Texatron(TM).

Gerdin has served as Head of International Business and Growth at Recon Group AI since 2023 and previously worked as a senior consultant to Kepler Aerospace from 2015 through 2025. He has also held portfolio-advisory roles with Zurich-based Belmont Equity, First Swiss and Strategic Capital Partners.

As an independent director, his responsibilities will extend beyond advisory work. American Fusion(TM) said its board determined that Gerdin meets its independence criteria, with his board role expected to cover corporate governance, corporate finance, capital formation and long-term business strategy.

His appointment also comes as American Fusion(TM) works toward its stated objective of progressing to the OTCQB Market and, over the longer term, potentially qualifying for a national or regional exchange listing. Any such move remains dependent on applicable listing requirements and market conditions.

“American Fusion represents one of the most compelling advanced-energy opportunities I have encountered during my career. The combination of breakthrough engineering, disciplined intellectual property development, strong corporate leadership, and an ambitious long-term commercialization strategy creates a unique platform for growth,” Gerdin stated. “I am honored to join the Board of Directors and serve as a Strategic Advisor, and I look forward to helping the company build relationships with investors and strategic partners throughout Europe, Asia, and North America as American Fusion continues executing its vision.”

Von Schantz brings more than 25 years of experience in brand strategy, commercialization, and market development, working with more than 100 brands across more than 50 markets. His experience spans industrial technology, energy, automotive, infrastructure, and other sectors where complex products must be translated into understandable commercial propositions (https://ibn.fm/z8W4N).

His previous assignments have included strategic work for Caterpillar, including CAT Zeppelin in Sweden, and approximately five years of rebranding and product-launch work with Vattenfall. He has also worked with Mazda Sweden, Uponor Infrastructure, Nilfisk and ACCO Brands.

Von Schantz’s executive experience includes serving as Brand Chief Officer of Götessons Design Group from 2020 to 2024, where he led brand and communications strategy for nine brands operating across more than 50 markets. He also co-founded GSIGN Gaming and served as Global Market Manager and Brand Strategist for listed Swedish food-technology company EatGood.

At American Fusion(TM), his mandate will center on brand architecture, market positioning, commercialization strategy, go-to-market planning and international market development. The company has specifically highlighted Europe as an area of focus. Unlike Gerdin, von Schantz will not serve on the board. His role is consulting-based and does not include corporate governance or oversight responsibilities.

“American Fusion is working on a technology with the potential to change how distributed power is delivered, and that kind of opportunity demands clarity. My work has always been about finding where the real commercial opportunity sits, building a position around it, and making something complex easy to understand and easy to choose,” von Schantz said. “I look forward to helping American Fusion define that position and take it to market internationally.”

The appointments come against the backdrop of American Fusion’s(TM) development of the Texatron(TM) Fusion Engine(TM), an aneutronic fusion platform being developed for modular, infrastructure-grade applications.

The company’s approach differs from the conventional magnetic-confinement model associated with tokamaks. Rather than relying on magnetic fields to confine an extremely hot deuterium-tritium plasma, the Texatron(TM) concept is designed around aneutronic fusion and direct energy conversion, in which the kinetic energy of charged fusion products can potentially be converted directly into electrical energy.

American Fusion(TM) says the system is being developed around two non-radioactive fuels and that radiation detection and diagnostic instrumentation are incorporated throughout its engineering and testing program. The company has reported no measurable radiation during its testing activities to date.

The potential applications identified by the company include distributed, behind-the-meter electricity for power-intensive facilities and infrastructure. Those markets could eventually include data centers, industrial operations, defense installations, mining operations, hospitals and water infrastructure.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AmericanFusionEnergy.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to AMFN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/AMFN

• Many mid-market manufacturers cannot access the capital needed to build, retool or expand their facilities.
• A few factors tend to separate reshoring projects that get financed from those that stall.
• Market Street Capital is built to help manufacturers solve the multi-instrument structuring problem.

U.S. manufacturing is in the middle of a reshoring wave. Companies are moving production back to the United States, driven by supply chain resilience needs, CHIPS Act-adjacent demand and a broader push to reduce reliance on China. According to the Reshoring Initiative’s 2024 Annual Report, more than 2 million manufacturing jobs have been announced in the United States since 2010 through reshoring and foreign direct investment, including approximately 244,900 announced in 2024. 

But announcements are outpacing financing. Many mid-market manufacturers cannot access the capital needed to build, retool or expand their facilities. Closing that gap usually means stacking several financing tools together rather than relying on a single lender. This is where firms such as Market Street Capital play a role, helping manufacturers assemble the right mix of capital.

Reshoring projects strain conventional financing for a few reasons. New or retrofitted facilities are expensive. Specialized equipment adds cost, and revenue often lags well behind construction. Many of the companies riding this wave are mid-market suppliers, not the large primes capturing headline federal awards. For example, a 2023 CHIPS for America funding opportunity targets semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment supplier projects with capital investment below $300 million. Availability and terms of federal programs change; figures are as of August 2026. Even so, many smaller suppliers still struggle to access that funding directly.

Banks also tend to be cautious. They are wary of funding speculative capacity expansion without long-term contracts already secured. A higher-rate environment adds to the difficulty of sizing a single loan against an uncertain ramp-up period. As a result, sponsors typically need to blend senior debt, equipment financing, and working capital lines rather than lean on one facility.

Senior term debt funds the core capital expenditure of a project. It is sized against projected earnings once the facility is fully ramped up. Lenders often want a committed offtake or long-term supply agreement with an anchor customer before extending this kind of debt.

Equipment financing covers machinery such as CNC machines or cleanroom tooling. This type of financing enables a company to acquire equipment without paying the full cost upfront. Because the equipment itself secures the loan, it is often faster to close and cheaper than general corporate debt.

Asset-based lending, or ABL, is a revolving facility secured by receivables and inventory. ABL works well for asset-rich, working-capital-intensive businesses with uneven cash flow. That description fits a manufacturer that is ramping production but not yet billing at full scale. ABL is often the tool that lets a growing supplier take on a new customer contract without straining its cash position.

Mezzanine debt fills the space between senior lenders and sponsor equity. Mezzanine sits between senior debt and equity in the capital structure. It is priced higher than senior debt but lower than equity, and often includes warrants or other equity features. Public incentives add yet another layer. State and local programs, along with CHIPS Act supply chain grants, can help reduce the amount of private capital a project needs. These sources usually need to be locked in before senior lenders will close, so sequencing matters.

Coordinating all these pieces is not simple. An equipment lender, an ABL provider, a term lender and public incentives all need to work together. That means careful collateral segmentation, so each lender knows exactly what it holds a lien on.

A few factors tend to separate reshoring projects that get financed from those that stall. Signed or highly probable supply agreements with credible anchor customers matter most. Realistic ramp-up timelines, validated by independent technical review, also help. Collateral needs to be clearly segmented across equipment, receivables and real estate so multiple lenders can stack without conflict. Incentive funding should be locked in, or close to it, to reduce pressure on private capital.

This is the kind of multi-instrument structuring problem Market Street Capital is built to help manufacturers solve. Through its debt capital markets and specialty lending practice, the firm works on senior debt, asset-based lending and mezzanine structuring. These are the exact tools a reshoring manufacturer typically needs to combine.

Market Street also focuses on middle-market companies. That focus lines up well with who actually needs this kind of help: Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers benefiting from reshoring demand but too small to draw much attention from large banks or federal programs.

Market Street maintains a network of more than 8,000 investor, family office and bank contacts; network size does not indicate that any investor will participate in a given transaction. Sourcing equipment lenders, ABL providers and mezzanine capital at the same time requires that kind of reach. As an independent adviser, Market Street’s role centers on structuring facilities and negotiating terms across multiple lenders.

For manufacturers trying to turn reshoring demand into built capacity, the real constraint usually is not whether financing exists. It is whether that financing can be assembled quickly and coherently across several instruments. That coordination is the focus of Market Street’s debt capital markets advisory work. No financing outcome can be assured.

For more information about the company, visit www.MarketStreetCP.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Market Street are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MarketSt

Disclosures

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any such offer may be made only pursuant to definitive offering materials and applicable transaction documents.

Nothing in this article is tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own advisers.

Market data and third-party information are from sources believed to be reliable but have not been independently verified. No representation is made as to accuracy or completeness. Statements about financing structures are general in nature; no financing outcome can be assured.

Broker-dealer services are provided by Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.

• Earth Science Tech, an expanding health-based holding company, recently announced the acquisition of Meduvo LLC, a compounding pharmacy that currently operates from a 2,000-square-foot facility in La Verne, California
• The acquisition grows the company’s network to 34 jurisdictions in the United States and establishes a strategic West Coast operational hub
• In addition to Meduvo, ETST also operates other compounding pharmacies through its specialized subsidiaries RxCompoundStore.com LLC (“RxCS”) and Mister Meds LLC

Earth Science Tech (OTC: ETST), a strategic holding company in the healthcare, pharmacy, and telemedicine sector, recently acquired Meduvo LLC, a compounding pharmacy. Meduvo currently operates from a 2,000-square-foot facility in La Verne, California, where it compounds and dispenses non-sterile medications. The acquisition expands the company’s already wide network to 34 jurisdictions in the United States and establishes a strategic West Coast operational hub (https://ibn.fm/UyyO2).

The recent acquisition aligns with Earth Science Tech’s focus on scaling its business by expanding its geographic footprint, advancing its popular telehealth and pharmacy fulfillment platforms. This focus is part of the company’s strategy to integrate the patient experience, from telemedicine to pharmacy to fulfilment, into a unified system to serve patients more effectively while building a stronger and more profitable operation (https://ibn.fm/GJNhV).

“Looking ahead, our core focus remains on optimizing the operational frameworks of our holdings to support scalable, sustainable expansion,” said Giorgio R. Saumat, CEO and Chairman of the Board, in his 2026 annual letter to shareholders (https://ibn.fm/MpgTz). “I expect every company under the ETST umbrella to expand its geographic footprint this year, and we will pursue acquisitions and/or partnerships where they help us meet that goal.”

Even with the acquisition complete, Earth Science Tech is still targeting further expansion and operational optimization: the company plans to capture broader market share and unlock long-term, high-margin revenue by initiating upgrades at Meduvo’s La Verne facility. The upgrades will ensure the facility meets strict sterility requirements, with ETST’s management targeting full regulatory certification for sterile compounding by the end of 2028. 

Earth Science Tech operates other compounding pharmacies through its specialized subsidiaries, Miami-based RxCompoundStore.com LLC (“RxCS”) and Abilene, Texas-based Mister Meds LLC. RxCS provides sterile and non-sterile medications, while Mister Meds is licensed to handle hazardous drugs and compound sterile medication. 

The addition of Meduvo into this existing network of compounding pharmacies means that the company can dispense medication across Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ETST are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ETST

• American Fusion has added Texas Tech physicist Dr. Noah D’Amico as a Strategic Advisor.
• D’Amico’s work includes nuclear diagnostics, neutron detection, radiation measurement, vacuum systems and AI-assisted particle-track analysis.
• The company has also filed six additional U.S. patent applications, bringing its total U.S. applications to 82.
• American Fusion(TM) has begun testing its Texatron(TM) platform at Texas Tech University after completing initial laboratory preparations and verifying its remote ignition system.
• The next testing phase is expected to examine subsystems including plasma and magnetic-field control, ignition, fuel delivery and electronic components.

American Fusion(TM) (OTC: AMFN), a developer of next-generation fusion energy technologies, is expanding its scientific team and intellectual property portfolio as it moves its Texatron(TM) Fusion Engine(TM) program into a more active testing phase. The company recently appointed Dr. Noah D’Amico, a physicist and engineer at Texas Tech University, as a Strategic Advisor (https://ibn.fm/WSxwY). The appointment comes as American Fusion(TM) prepares additional Texatron(TM) evaluations at Texas Tech and seeks to strengthen the diagnostics and engineering capabilities surrounding the program.

D’Amico continues his work at Texas Tech and BlankSlate Innovation while advising American Fusion(TM). His technical background includes nuclear diagnostics, neutron detection, radiation measurements, vacuum-system design and AI-based analysis of CR-39 nuclear particle tracks. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Texas Tech in 2026. His dissertation focused on detection and materials advances for next-generation nuclear systems under the direction of Dr. Robert V. Duncan.

The company says D’Amico will support laboratory preparation, experimental planning, radiation diagnostics, instrumentation, data collection, measurement protocols and technical documentation associated with Texatron(TM) testing. That work is particularly important as the company transitions from engineering preparation toward the generation of experimental data.

American Fusion(TM) began its Texatron(TM) testing program at Texas Tech University in late July after completing initial laboratory preparations and verifying its remote ignition system. The company said its team also inspected the laboratory environment and evaluated the platform’s operational readiness. The testing program follows a regulatory step completed earlier in July. The Texas Department of State Health Services issued American Fusion(TM) a Certificate of Registration for Industrial Radiation Machines covering research and development activities involving registered Texatron(TM) systems at the company’s approved Texas Tech location. The registration is effective through February 2034.

The company had previously outlined plans to use specialized instrumentation to measure characteristics such as plasma temperature, plasma density, fusion reaction rates, neutron activity, voltage generation and power output.

On August 6, American Fusion(TM) announced six additional U.S. patent applications, bringing its total number of U.S. applications to 82. The new filings cover technologies including fusion confinement devices, rifled toroidal chambers, electronic pulse control and broader fusion-system architectures (https://ibn.fm/StpEN).

The patent strategy is intended to protect components of the Texatron(TM) platform rather than a single device configuration. The company says its applications address areas including reactor architecture, plasma confinement, electromagnetic systems, fuel delivery, reactor control and power management.

That approach reflects the potential importance of intellectual property in a fusion market where commercial systems may ultimately compete not only on physics but also on manufacturability, system architecture, control technologies, and energy-conversion methods.

American Fusion’s(TM) platform is being developed as an aneutronic fusion system. In conventional deuterium-tritium fusion concepts such as tokamaks, energy is largely carried by neutrons, requiring substantial attention to neutron shielding and materials degradation. Aneutronic approaches seek to produce a greater proportion of their useful energy through charged particles, potentially allowing direct conversion of particle energy into electricity rather than relying exclusively on a conventional thermal cycle. The engineering requirements, however, remain demanding, and the commercial relevance of American Fusion’s(TM) approach will depend on what its testing ultimately demonstrates.

The company is developing a 5MW pre-production Texatron(TM) system as part of this process. Earlier in 2026, American Fusion(TM) reported that fabrication partners in central Texas, had completed the structural frame for the unit, with the structure designed to accommodate wiring, controls, diagnostics, shielding and associated systems.

The company’s roadmap is also broader than a single 5MW prototype. Its Texas registration identifies multiple Texatron(TM) configurations, ranging from smaller research systems to models listed at 75MW, 100MW, 250MW, 500MW and 1GW. That scalability is central to American Fusion’s(TM) commercial thesis. Rather than positioning the technology solely as a laboratory experiment, the company is pursuing an infrastructure-grade platform that could eventually serve industrial facilities, data centers, defense applications and other customers requiring reliable power.

The next phase of testing is expected to examine subsystem performance, including control systems, ignition, fuel systems, plasma and magnetic-field control, electronic components and specialized diagnostic equipment. American Fusion(TM) says engineering and diagnostic information will be reviewed before technical updates are released.

The company is also pursuing corporate-market development initiatives, including its Form 211 application. It says it has responded to what it believes is the final round of comments and is awaiting further action toward potential eligibility for quotation on the OTCQB Market, subject to OTC Markets requirements.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AmericanFusionEnergy.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to AMFN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/AMFN

• MS drug development is increasingly expanding beyond controlling inflammation toward approaches designed to protect the nervous system and address mechanisms underlying progressive disability.
• Remyelination and protection of existing myelin remain major unmet needs in MS, as no approved therapy has established the ability to restore previously damaged myelin.
• Quantum BioPharma’s Lucid-MS is a patented new chemical entity designed to inhibit demyelination and protect myelin without suppressing the immune system.
• The U.S. FDA has cleared Quantum BioPharma to proceed with its planned phase 2 clinical trial of Lucid-MS in people with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (“MS”) treatment has traditionally focused on controlling the immune activity that drives new inflammatory lesions and relapses. While this approach has transformed the management of relapsing MS, growing attention is being directed toward another fundamental challenge: protecting the nervous system from the damage that can accumulate over time and contribute to disability progression. 

Quantum BioPharma (NASDAQ: QNTM) (CSE: QNTM) is developing Lucid-MS, an oral, first-in-class new chemical entity designed to address demyelination through a fundamentally different therapeutic approach. Rather than primarily suppressing or depleting immune cells, Lucid-MS is being developed to protect myelin and inhibit processes that contribute to its degradation.

Beyond Inflammation: The Next Challenge in MS

The MS treatment landscape is evolving as researchers seek to address disease mechanisms that are not fully controlled by conventional anti-inflammatory therapies. New approaches include therapies designed to modulate specific immune pathways, as well as emerging strategies focused on neuroprotection, myelin preservation and repair.

BTK inhibitors are one example of the continued evolution of immune-directed treatment. These therapies are being investigated for their ability to influence B-cell and myeloid-cell signaling and potentially address inflammatory activity within the central nervous system. However, the broader direction of MS research extends beyond immune modulation alone.

The central challenge is that reducing new inflammatory activity does not necessarily restore tissue that has already been damaged. This has created growing interest in therapies that could directly protect myelin and nerve tissue and potentially address mechanisms contributing to progressive disability.

Myelin Protection and Repair Remain an Unmet Need

Myelin is the insulating material surrounding nerve fibers that allows electrical signals to travel efficiently through the nervous system. Damage to myelin is a defining feature of MS and can ultimately contribute to loss of neurological function.

Despite major advances in disease-modifying therapy, no approved MS therapy has yet established a clinically meaningful ability to restore previously damaged myelin. Research into remyelination and neuroprotection has therefore become an important area of drug development.

Results from experimental remyelination approaches have been mixed. The Cambridge CCMR-Two trial evaluating clemastine plus metformin produced findings consistent with a biological remyelination effect but did not demonstrate improvement in vision or disability over the study period. Other experimental approaches, including PIPE-307, have failed to demonstrate efficacy in clinical trials.

These challenges highlight the difficulty of translating promising biological mechanisms into clinically meaningful recovery — and the need for new approaches that can protect myelin before irreversible neural injury occurs.

Lucid-MS: A Different Approach

This is the scientific challenge Quantum BioPharma’s Lucid-MS program is designed to address. Lucid-MS is a patented new chemical entity being developed for multiple sclerosis. Preclinical studies reported by Quantum have demonstrated inhibition of myelin degradation, preservation of myelin and functional recovery in animal models of MS.

Importantly, Lucid-MS is being developed as a non-immunomodulatory approach. Rather than relying on broad immune suppression or immune-cell depletion, the program is intended to target a mechanism involved in myelin degradation. 

This distinction could be particularly important in progressive MS, where disability can continue to accumulate even when overt inflammatory activity is reduced. The potential significance of this approach is not that it replaces existing disease-modifying therapies, but that it could ultimately address a different component of MS biology, one more directly related to myelin integrity and neuroprotection.

Advancing from Phase 1 to Phase 2

Quantum BioPharma has now reached an important clinical-development milestone. Following completion of phase 1 clinical studies in healthy volunteers, the company submitted an Investigational New Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a planned phase 2 study of Lucid-MS. The phase 1 program provided clinical safety and pharmacokinetic information to support advancement into patient testing.

The FDA has subsequently cleared the Lucid-MS program to proceed with the planned phase 2 clinical trial. This regulatory milestone allows Quantum to advance Lucid-MS from early clinical development into a study designed to evaluate its safety, tolerability and potential efficacy in people with multiple sclerosis.

The phase 2 program represents an important transition for Lucid-MS. For the first time, the therapeutic hypothesis underlying myelin protection and inhibition of demyelination will be evaluated directly in people living with MS.

Measuring Myelin and Disease Biology

Quantum has also been building capabilities to support the clinical evaluation of myelin biology. In June 2025, the company announced that the first person with MS had been scanned in a joint study with Massachusetts General Hospital scientists involving a PET imaging technique designed to evaluate myelin integrity and demyelination.

The tracer, developed by Dr. Pedro Brugarolas and collaborators at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has been investigated for its ability to distinguish differences associated with myelin integrity. Such imaging approaches could ultimately provide researchers with additional tools for evaluating changes in myelin during clinical development. For programs focused on neuroprotection and myelin preservation, the ability to measure changes in the underlying biology of the disease could be particularly valuable alongside conventional clinical and MRI outcomes.

A New Opportunity in Progressive MS

The broader MS field is increasingly recognizing that controlling inflammation is only one part of addressing the disease. Existing disease-modifying therapies have substantially improved the ability to reduce relapses and inflammatory disease activity. However, disability progression can occur through mechanisms that are not completely explained by relapses or conventional inflammatory activity.

This creates an opportunity for therapies that target additional components of MS pathology. Quantum BioPharma’s Lucid-MS program is positioned around this opportunity: protecting myelin, inhibiting demyelination and potentially addressing a mechanism contributing to neurological deterioration without suppressing the immune system.

With FDA clearance now received to begin the phase 2 clinical trial, Quantum is moving from preclinical and early clinical development toward testing this therapeutic hypothesis directly in patients. The outcome of the phase 2 study will be important in determining whether the promising preclinical findings associated with Lucid-MS can translate into meaningful biological and clinical effects in people with MS. For Quantum, this represents the next major step in developing a potentially differentiated approach to multiple sclerosis — one focused not solely on suppressing inflammation but on protecting the nervous system itself.

For more information, visit www.QuantumBioPharma.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to QNTM are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QNTM

• Attracting early-stage private financing can be difficult for FOAK technologies because they require large infrastructure investments without a track record, creating a “bankability gap.”
• A few factors tend to separate FOAK deals that get financed from ones that stall.
• This is the kind of multilayer structuring problem Market Street Capital is built to help sponsors navigate, not as an energy-specific lender but as an independent advisor and structurer.

Every energy technology that eventually becomes “bankable” has to survive an awkward middle stage first, the point where the tech has been proven in a lab or pilot but hasn’t yet run at commercial scale long enough for lenders to trust it. These first-of-a-kind (“FOAK”) projects are demonstration- and deployment-stage projects being brought to final investment decision for the first time, without the operating history conventional lenders rely on. These projects can’t be financed like conventional infrastructure. There’s no historical performance data, technology risk is higher and it’s harder for lenders to feel comfortable. The fix isn’t a single loan or investor, but a layered capital stack, with each layer priced for a different piece of the risk. Helping sponsors assemble and negotiate that stack is where firms such as Market Street Capital come in, working across debt, equity and structuring as sponsors pursue a financing that lenders will support.

Conventional project finance works because lenders can underwrite predictable cash flows against proven technology backed by strong offtake. However, attracting early-stage private financing can be difficult for FOAK technologies because they require large infrastructure investments without a track record, creating a “bankability gap.” Performance guarantees are thin, construction costs are harder to pin down and counterparties are often unproven. The natural response from senior lenders is to pull back or shrink their check size, which makes equity more expensive and pushes sponsors toward hybrid capital to bridge the gap.

Senior debt remains the cheapest capital available, sitting first in line and wanting long-dated, contracted cash flow. For FOAK deals, senior debt typically covers a smaller share of total cost than in conventional projects, and senior lenders often need support from programs such as the U.S. Department of Energy loan programs administered under Title 17 (program naming and structure as of August 2026), export credit agencies or completion guarantees before they’ll commit. 

Mezzanine debt can fill the gap between what senior lenders will underwrite and what sponsor equity can fund alone. Mezzanine sits between senior debt and equity, carries a higher coupon and is typically structured as subordinated debt with warrants or other equity features; it is flexible, but it requires careful intercreditor negotiation. 

Tax equity monetizes incentives such as the Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”) or Production Tax Credit (“PTC”) along with accelerated depreciation. For example, according to Norton Rose Fulbright, about 80% of solar tax equity deals use a “partnership flip” structure, which typically raises 35% of project value (plus or minus 5%), alongside two other common structures: inverted leases and sale-leasebacks. Since the Inflation Reduction Act, sponsors have a further option: Section 6418 of the IRA allows an eligible taxpayer to transfer some or all of an eligible tax credit directly to an unrelated buyer in exchange for cash, giving sponsors an alternative to the more complex legacy tax equity structures.

In addition, offtake-backed structures, or power purchase agreements (“PPAs”), tolling agreements and product offtake contracts, de-risk revenue. An offtake agreement is a contract between a power producer and a purchaser for the future output of a project, providing revenue certainty that is crucial for securing financing. PPAs can be physical, with actual delivery of power, or financial hedges where a creditworthy buyer provides guaranteed offtake in exchange for cost predictability, without taking physical delivery. Either structure can be used to anchor project financing. 

Sponsor/common equity and government co-investment sit at the bottom of the stack, absorbing first losses. Programs such as the DOE’s Energy Dominance Financing (Section 1706) program, which the DOE describes as guaranteeing loans to projects that add energy to the grid or enhance reliability (program guidance as revised May 2026), often function as much as a credibility signal to private lenders as a source of capital itself.

Layering five or more capital sources together means the real work isn’t just sourcing money. Rather, it’s sequencing it: Waterfall priority, covenant stacking and intercreditor agreements across senior debt, mezzanine, tax equity and offtake-linked capital all have to be negotiated so no single provider is left exposed to risk it didn’t sign up for.

A few factors tend to separate FOAK deals that get financed from ones that stall. Those factors can include creditworthy offtake counterparties, independent technical due diligence that validates performance claims, or completion and performance guarantees from sponsors or technology providers. Other factors could include risk allocated so no single capital source bears the technology risk alone and government co-investment that signals to private lenders the diligence has already been done.

This is the kind of multilayer structuring problem Market Street Capital is built to help sponsors navigate, not as an energy-specific lender but as an independent advisor and structurer. Through its Debt Capital Markets & Specialty Lending practice, the firm works on senior debt, unitranche and mezzanine structuring, and its private equity capital-raising capabilities extend that reach to the equity side of a deal. Market Street maintains a syndication network of more than 8,000 investor, family office, venture capital and bank contacts to date, which it uses to identify potential lenders and equity partners; network size does not indicate that any investor will participate in a given transaction. Its focus on designing facilities, negotiating intercreditor terms and preserving sponsor optionality maps directly onto the complexity of stacking senior debt, mezzanine and equity together.

FOAK financing is won or lost on structuring, not just capital availability. Sponsors typically need an adviser who can coordinate across five or more capital providers. That coordination role is the focus of Market Street’s middle-market advisory work.

For more information about the company, visit www.MarketStreetCP.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Market Street are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MarketSt

Disclosures

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any such offer may be made only pursuant to definitive offering materials and applicable transaction documents.

Nothing in this article is tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own advisers.

Market data and third-party information are from sources believed to be reliable but have not been independently verified. No representation is made as to accuracy or completeness. Statements about financing structures are general in nature; no financing outcome can be assured.

Broker-dealer services are provided by Pickwick Capital Partners, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.

• SS Innovations, developer of innovative surgical robotic technologies, reported record second-quarter revenue of $13.9 million, up 39.4% year over year.
• First-half revenue reached $25.0 million, a 65.6% increase from the same period in 2025.
• The company’s SSi Mantra installations rose 30.4% to 30 systems during the quarter.
• The installed base reached 224 SSi Mantra systems across 12 countries, with 12,272 cumulative surgeries performed.
• U.S. and European regulatory milestones could become important catalysts, with the company targeting FDA clearance by the first quarter of 2027 and EU CE marking by the end of 2026.
• The company’s telesurgery achievements are extending the clinical profile of SSi Mantra, while system installations remain the primary commercial growth driver.

SS Innovations International (NASDAQ: SSII), a developer of innovative surgical robotic technologies, delivered another quarter of rapid top-line growth as demand for its SSi Mantra surgical robotic system continued to expand. The company reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $13.9 million, an increase of 39.4% from $10.0 million a year earlier. Gross profit increased 20.0% to $7.1 million, although gross margin declined to 50.9% from 59.1% in the year-earlier quarter (https://ibn.fm/8BHJn).

The stronger comparison comes over the first six months of the year. Revenue reached $25.0 million, up 65.6% from $15.1 million in the first half of 2025. Gross profit increased 77.5% to $12.4 million, while first-half gross margin improved to 49.6% from 46.3%.

Additionally, SS Innovations installed 30 SSi Mantra systems during the second quarter, compared with 23 in the same period last year. For the first half, installations reached 56, versus 38 in the first half of 2025, representing growth of 47.4%. That brought the cumulative installed base to 224 systems across 12 countries as of June 30. The systems had been used in 12,272 surgeries, including 175 telesurgeries, 637 cardiac procedures, and 222 pediatric procedures.

The SSi Mantra is a modular system with three to five robotic arms, an ergonomic surgeon console, a 3D 4K display and instruments designed for procedures ranging from urology and gynecology to cardiac and pediatric surgery. That breadth matters because robotic surgery is not a single-procedure market. A system capable of supporting multiple specialties can potentially increase utilization at hospitals while creating additional demand for instruments and related services.

SS Innovations has also been using clinical training and telesurgery to expand the system’s capabilities and visibility. In April, the company hosted the Global Multi-Specialty Robotic Surgery Conference in New Delhi, which it said attracted more than 1,600 in-person attendees and 1,800 virtual participants from 19 countries.

In May, surgeons completed a telesurgery between Australia and India using SSi Mantra. In June, the company announced a robotic-assisted cardiac procedure conducted between Guyana and India across approximately 12,500 miles of fiber-network distance.

Then, after the quarter ended, SS Innovations reported another milestone. On July 29, surgeons led by Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sudhir Srivastava performed a robotic sleeve gastrectomy between Colombia and India across more than 13,600 miles of network distance. These procedures are notable from a technology-development standpoint, particularly because cardiac telesurgery remains an emerging application. 

SS Innovations has emphasized affordability and accessibility as part of its strategy, but the SSi Mantra is not simply being positioned as a lower-cost substitute for established robotic systems. Its modular architecture, multi-specialty applications, cardiac capabilities and telesurgery functionality represent areas in which SSII is seeking to establish its own technological identity.

The company has received outside recognition as well. In June, SS Innovations won the Outstanding Company category at the 2026 Surgical Robotics Industry Awards, competing against nine other finalists. The company also graduated the first class from its specialized robotic cardiac surgery training program during the quarter.

Regulatory expansion remains another potentially important part of the investment thesis. SS Innovations said it expects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to complete its review of the SSi Mantra 510(k) premarket notification by the end of the first quarter of 2027. It is also pursuing European Union CE marking, which management believes could be obtained by the end of 2026.

Successful regulatory expansion would give SSII access to two of the world’s most important medical-device markets and provide a potential pathway for increasing the geographic diversity of future system sales.

Financially, the company entered the second half of 2026 with $13.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash, and no long-term debt. That balance sheet position provides an important backdrop as SS Innovations continues investing in commercialization, regulatory activities, manufacturing and international expansion.

With 56 systems installed during the first half, 224 systems already operating across 12 countries and revenue growth well ahead of the prior year, the company has established measurable commercial momentum. The potential U.S. and European regulatory milestones could determine how far that momentum can extend beyond its established Indian market.

“We remain enthusiastic about our ability to lead our foundational market of India, which is immense and growing, while expanding our global footprint in underserved countries and aiming for entry into the United States and European Union,” said Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of SS Innovations. “Our SSI Mantra has been engineered for precision, built to perform, and created to democratize access to advanced surgical robotic care—all underpinning our confidence in the future.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SSInnovations.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SSII are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SSII

• Earth Science Tech seeks to implement a unified strategy aimed at maximizing shareholder value, resolving structural hurdles, and elevating corporate governance 
• The company will hold a virtual annual meeting on August 31, 2026, during which shareholders will vote on key initiatives that will position ETST for an uplisting to a higher-tier exchange, eliminate the structural barriers that hinder the infusion of institutional capital, and prevent stock dilution
• These initiatives are informed by extensive dialogue between shareholders and management leading to a consensus that the company’s current market valuation simply does not accurately reflect its financial success or future potential

The recent annual financial results posted by Earth Science Tech (OTC: ETST) reflect significant success and growth, which the diversified holding company attributes to an overarching focus on optimizing internal operations. The company, for instance, logged consecutive year-over-year increases in revenue and gross profit in the two years to March 31, 2026 (https://ibn.fm/GQzTa), and has maintained positive cash flow, establishing a strong operational and financial foundation. 

ETST’s management is nonetheless building on this foundation to expand the company’s focus toward the capital market and is keen on securing shareholder buy-in to implement a unified strategy aimed at resolving structural hurdles and elevating corporate governance. Specifically, the company is looking to position itself for an uplisting and is intent on eliminating the structural barriers that hinder the infusion of institutional capital.

The execution of this unified strategy hinges on four key initiatives that emerged from extensive dialogue with retail shareholders and institutional investors. (These initiatives will be on the voting agenda at an upcoming annual meeting.) The first initiative seeks to eliminate the existing dual-class voting structure, which dissuades institutional investors from buying into the company. Shareholders can authorize, by way of a vote, the Board’s independent Special Committee to negotiate the cash-only purchase and retirement of the CEO’s Series B Preferred Stock, which holds super-voting power.

Shareholders will also vote on an advisory recommendation to pursue a reverse stock split that will be implemented only if deemed necessary by the Board. The second initiative is aimed at enabling Earth Science Tech to achieve the minimum bid price required to uplist to a higher-tier exchange, such as Nasdaq, NYSE American, or OTCQX. Shareholders can also vote to stop the issuance of stock options, equity bonuses, or other stock-based incentives as executive compensation in favor of cash-centric remuneration. This third initiative is geared toward protecting equity by preventing dilution. The last initiative relates to standard governance matters.

“Our primary directive is to maximize value for our shareholders,” commented Giorgio R. Saumat, CEO and Chairman of the Board. “Over the last few years, we put our heads down to drive operational excellence. That hard work has resulted in consistent positive cash flow and allowed us to actively buy back our own stock, fortifying our balance sheet. However, having listened closely to the feedback from our investors and institutional partners, we agree that our current market valuation simply does not accurately reflect our financial success or future potential.”

Accordingly, the company’s proxy statement, filed with the SEC (https://ibn.fm/lf6ds), represents the company’s efforts to address shareholders’ concerns, protect their equity, and prepare for institutional growth. ETST invites all shareholders to participate in the vote, which is scheduled to be held during its virtual annual meeting on August 31, 2026. “We invite all shareholders to participate in this vote and join us in unlocking our true market value,” concluded Mr. Saumat.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ETST are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ETST 

• Regentis has passed 50% enrollment in the pivotal Phase III SAGE study of GelrinC, with recruitment completion targeted for the third quarter of 2026 and a PMA process expected to begin by the end of 2027.
• FDA approved a single-arm protocol using a historical microfracture control data package the company owns, and Regentis reports that the first 40 patients closely match that control group.
• In Europe, where GelrinC already holds CE Mark approval, surgeon training began in the third quarter of 2026 at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan, supported by an expanded clinical site network and a newly approved manufacturing process that raises yield approximately 400%.

For development-stage medical technology companies, regulatory approval and commercial revenue often sit years apart. A trial needs to be finished, a submission must clear review, manufacturing has to scale, surgeons must be trained and distribution has to be built. Companies able to run those workstreams in parallel rather than in sequence compress the distance between clinical validation and market adoption. Regentis Biomaterials (NYSE American: RGNT) is attempting exactly that, advancing its GelrinC(R) cartilage repair platform along a U.S. clinical track and a European commercial track and scaling of manufacturing at the same time.

The U.S. Program Approaches Its Defining Milestone

GelrinC is a cell-free, off-the-shelf hydrogel implant for focal articular cartilage defects in the knee. Rather than harvesting cells from the patient, expanding them in a laboratory and implanting them during a second surgery, GelrinC arrives ready to use and is implanted in a procedure lasting roughly 10 minutes. The hydrogel forms a temporary programmed matrix inside the defect, then erodes on a synchronized schedule as surrounding cells aggregate and form new tissue inward.

The pivotal SAGE study is enrolling 80 patients under an FDA-approved IDE protocol running across the U.S., Europe and Israel. More than half of the targeted 80 patients have been recruited and treated, with the study incorporating 24-month follow-up. The company reports no serious adverse events observed to date. Regentis is targeting completion of recruitment in the third quarter of 2026, with a premarket approval submission expected to begin at the end of 2027.

Completing enrollment would move the program out of patient recruitment and into data generation, the phase that produces the package a PMA filing rests on.

A Protocol Designed to Reduce Trial Risk

The study design merits attention on its own. FDA permitted a single-arm protocol using a historical microfracture control data package owned by Regentis and drawn from the TiGenix NV1 program, rather than requiring a concurrent randomized control arm. That design reduces the cost and variability associated with recruiting and managing a concurrent control cohort.

It also provides an early read on comparability. According to the company, the first 40 patients closely match the historical control group in baseline characteristics, an important consideration validating the comparability of the two populations.

The clinical foundation beneath that design came from a 56-patient Phase II study followed for up to five years in Northern Europe and Israel. Primary endpoints were met at 24 months, with approximately 100% greater KOOS pain and function improvement compared to microfracture and a mean MOCART imaging score of 88.8 out of 100, providing additional objective and quantitative evidence of quantity and quality of cartilage repair.

Europe Shifts from Approval to Adoption

Europe sits further along because GelrinC has already secured CE Mark approval. The focus there can therefore shift from obtaining initial authorization toward commercialization, surgeon adoption and distribution.

Hands-on surgeon training begins in the third quarter of 2026 at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan, with additional sessions planned for other major European markets. Those sessions anchor a growing network of European Centers of Excellence intended to function as clinical hubs were experienced orthopedic surgeons train and support other physicians. The clinical site network behind that effort has expanded beyond Northern and Central Europe into Italy and Eastern Europe, adding sites in Pavia, Hamburg, Ljubljana, Timisoara and Belgrade.

On the commercial side, Regentis has been exploring regional distributors to map country priorities and working with European toll manufacturers on commercial sourcing.

Supply Built Ahead of Demand

Manufacturing is the piece that can stall a launch. In July, the European Notified Body approved the company’s next-generation solvent-free process for GelrinC, which Regentis says increases production yield by approximately 400%, or roughly fivefold, from the same manufacturing volume while lowering cost and improving occupational and environmental safety.

The timing may be as important as the magnitude of the improvement. Regentis can enter European commercialization using the higher-yield process.

Two Timelines, One Objective

The significance of the company’s current position lies in convergence rather than in any single announcement. In the United States, Regentis is progressing towards the enrollment milestone that opens the path toward a PMA filing. In Europe, approval is behind it and the remaining work is training, connecting with distributors and supply. Both tracks point at the same outcome: turning years of clinical development into a cartilage repair product that can be manufactured, sold and used on a scale.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to RGNT are available in the company’s newsroom at ibn.fm/RGNT

This content was disseminated on behalf of Regentis Biomaterials Ltd. (NASDAQ: RGNT) as part of a paid marketing engagement with IBN.Ai

RGNT: IBN will receive $30,000 per quarter for a total of 180 days from RGNT for coverage via IBN

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the IBN website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.BioMedWire.com/Disclaimer

Disseminated on behalf of Powermax Minerals Inc. (CSE: PMAX) (OTCQB: PWMXF) and may include paid advertising. 

• Powermax Minerals is advancing four rare earth exploration projects across Canada and the U.S. as governments seek to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
• The company has begun its 2026 field program at the Cameron REE Project in British Columbia, focusing on refining targets identified through earlier geochemical and radiometric work.
• Atikokan in Ontario has produced district-scale REE anomalies, while the Pinard project is entering a Phase 1 exploration program designed to generate and rank targets.
• The Ogden Bear Lodge project gives Powermax exposure to a U.S. rare earth district that has attracted federal support and financing interest.
• The Powermax portfolio provides investors with exposure to the exploration stage of a critical-minerals market facing projected demand growth and a supply chain heavily concentrated in China.

Powermax Minerals (CSE: PMAX) (OTCQB: PWMXF), a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on rare earth projects, is continuing exploration across its North American rare earth element portfolio as demand for critical minerals becomes increasingly linked to energy security and efforts to diversify supply chains.

The company most recently commenced its 2026 exploration program at the Cameron Rare Earth Element Project near Revelstoke, British Columbia. The field program is a follow up on anomalous results from previous stream sediment, soil and rock sampling and refine targets for potential trenching and drilling.

The Cameron exploration program combines geological mapping, prospecting, selective rock sampling, infill soil sampling, additional stream sediment work and ground radiometric surveys. Powermax plans to integrate those datasets into a target-ranking model that can guide subsequent exploration. Previous work at Cameron identified elevated light rare earth oxide, heavy rare earth oxide and total rare earth oxide values. The property also contains mapped pegmatites and historical thorium-uranium occurrences. Powermax cautions that the project remains at an early exploration stage and that geochemical or radiometric anomalies do not establish the presence of economically recoverable mineralization.

The Cameron work is part of a broader strategy. Powermax is building exposure across four projects located in established mining regions, with the objective of reducing reliance on any single exploration target.

The company’s Atikokan REE Project in northwestern Ontario covers 9,416 hectares across three claim blocks. The property sits along the White Otter–Dashwa corridor, where Powermax has identified REE-enriched granitic and pegmatitic systems.

Airborne magnetic and gamma-ray surveys, geological mapping and geochemical sampling conducted in 2025 produced Total Rare Earth Element values ranging from 254 parts per million to 1,947 ppm across Blocks B and C. An integrated interpretation identified a structural and geochemical corridor that the company is now using for surface validation and target ranking.

The Pinard Rare Earths Project provides another Ontario opportunity. Located approximately 70 kilometers north-northeast of Kapuskasing, the property comprises 255 contiguous claims covering 5,178 hectares. Pinard is situated within the Pinard Intrusive Rock Complex, an alkaline to peralkaline igneous system containing syenitic and granitic phases. Such geological environments can be associated with REE mineralization.

Powermax has outlined a Phase 1 program combining historical information with geological mapping, geochemical sampling, radiometric surveys and airborne geophysics. The immediate objective is to identify and prioritize targets for follow-up work.

In the United States, the company holds a 100% interest in the Ogden Bear Lodge Project in Crook County, Wyoming. The 184-hectare property consists of 22 lode claims and is prospective for neodymium-praseodymium oxide mineralization. The project’s location is particularly relevant to investors watching the development of domestic U.S. rare earth supply. Ogden Bear Lodge shares a border with Rare Element Resources’ Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project, which has received $24.2 million in support from the U.S. Department of Energy and a non-binding letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for up to $553 million in debt financing.

The backdrop for Powermax’s exploration strategy is a rare earth market undergoing structural change. McKinsey estimates global REE demand could rise from about 59,000 tonnes in 2022 to 176,000 tonnes by 2035, driven in part by electric vehicles and wind power (https://ibn.fm/1hLaV). 

At the same time, the supply chain remains highly concentrated. China accounts for roughly 60% of global rare earth mining and about 90% of processing capacity, according to reporting by the BBC. That concentration has pushed governments in North America to support domestic exploration, processing and supply-chain development. The U.S. has been using federal programs to support critical-mineral projects, while Canada’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund is intended to facilitate investment in infrastructure required by the sector. For Powermax, the policy environment creates a favorable backdrop. With rare earth demand expected to grow and governments seeking alternatives to concentrated overseas supply chains, Powermax is positioning its portfolio within a market where strategic importance is rising. 

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PowermaxMinerals.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to PWMXF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/PWMXF

Exploration Target Cautionary Statement

The exploration targets discussed are conceptual, and there is currently not enough data to confirm a mineral resource. Further exploration may not yield successful results.