Newport Biosciences LLC Chief Executive Thomas Kinder isn’t new to the dietary supplement space; he previously launched brands that target migraines and micronutrient deficiencies in post-bariatric surgery patients. His newest venture, ActionArmor LLC, plans to address concussions in girls playing sports by reducing brain inflammation.
“Do you know girls have more risks for concussions than boys?” said Kinder, referencing a study by the Cleveland Clinic. “One of the reasons girls have more concussions than boys is because their neck muscles are much less developed.”
The ActionArmor supplement targets girls ages 5 to 18 who play sports, starting with volleyball, soccer, cheerleading and lacrosse.
Supplements, unlike new drugs, don’t require Food and Drug Administration approval, but individual ingredients used in them do.
Key ingredients in ActionArmor include omega-3 and DHA, which carry anti-inflammatory benefits, and Lutein, which promotes eye health, improving visual reaction time and response to spatial change.
The fruit-punch flavored chewables cost $34.99 per 60-count pack and are taken twice a day. Kinder said the product is designed to be used before, during and after brain trauma.
“The risk [of concussion] is real, and you can prepare the brain for trauma using heavy doses of omega-3 and DHA,” he said.
The Newport Beach-based company was set up in October and is in prelaunch mode. It’s marketing its product through individual clubs and will start shipping this year.
Kinder and George Vrabeck, president of NewportBiosciences, provided initial funding of $700,000. The company is raising $1 million through individual investors to support commercialization and manufacturing scale-up.
Kinder, who said the company has low operational costs, indicated the round is less about the money than the network, including access to sports clubs. It’s raised $550,000. “We are looking at 15 different networks taking one or more $50,000 positions.”
— Sherry Hsieh
Pricespider, an Irvine-based software service provider for brand manufacturers that’s recently been active locally, is now looking toward the Midwest for its next expansion effort.
The 3-year-old company announced in December plans to open an office in Kansas City, where it will hire nearly 20 employees.
“We saw an opportunity to be closer to many of the global manufacturers we serve today,” Chief Executive Anthony Ferry said in a statement.
The outpost comes a few months after Pricespider opened new, larger offices in the Irvine Spectrum, where it employs nearly 80 but is making room for about 100.
Ferry said in local news reports that the “up-and-coming tech startup scene in Kansas City in many ways mirrors the tech startup scene of decades past in Orange County.”
The company launched in 2014. It provides software subscriptions steeped in data reports, including where customers’ products are sold and for how much, and whether resellers adhere to minimum-advertised-price thresholds.
Pricespider is approaching 500 brands under management, including Samsung, Sony, LG, Canon, Maytag, Bosch, Activision, Bayer, Canon, LG, Nikon and Samsung.
It projects revenue hit $17 million last year, up from $12 million in 2016. This year’s sales are projected to be at least $26 million, officials said a few months ago.
— Mark Mueller
Detox Distribution
Santa Ana-based BioCorRx Inc. (OTCMKTS: BICX), which offers an alcohol and opioid addiction rehabilitation program called Start Fresh, will distribute its products in Nevada through exclusive distributor CereCare LLC. CereCare is also the nonexclusive distributor of the program in every other state except for Arizona, and in Mexico and Canada.
CereCare will pay BioCorRx a one-time distribution fee of $100,000 by year-end. Upon full payment, BioCorRx will issue one million restricted shares of company common stock.
BioCorRx currently trades at 11 cents per share for a $27 million market cap. Its recovery program is comprised of one-on-one counseling and an implant that delivers naltrexone to help reduce cravings for alcohol and opioids.
— Sherry Hsieh
Loan Milestone
SuperMoney LLC, a financial service-comparison website based in Santa Ana, announced its personal loan offer engine has processed more than $250 million in requests since officially launching in April.
As a financial services aggregator, SuperMoney provides a platform for consumers to compare loans, insurance and other products from banks and other financial service companies. The company, which also started an auto loan offer engine last summer, plans to expand into new verticals this year.
The company says it uses a “performance-based advertising model,” only making money by offering useful recommendations to its advertisers and users.
— Peter J. Brennan
