Life Sciences coverage
Actinogen (ASX:ACW)
Actinogen Medical is developing a new Alzheimer's drug called Xanamem, which works by targeting excess cortisol. The scientific literature on the Cortisol Hypothesis is encouraging. A Phase 2 trial of Xanamem, entitled XanADu, likely completes in 2019.
AdAlta (ASX:1AD)
AdAlta develops antibody-like drugs called ‘i-bodies’ with the same target specificity and affinity as monoclonal antibodies, but about 90% smaller. AdAlta’s first clinical product from its platform will be indicated for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
AFT Pharmaceuticals (ASX:AFP)
AFT Pharmaceuticals is a profitable and founder-led pharmaceutical company that develops, licenses, distributes and sells a wide range of pharmaceutical products globally. Its product portfolio has >100 proprietary products that have applications in multiple therapeutic areas including pain relief, eye care, skin care and digestive health.
Alcidion (ASX:ALC)
Alcidion is an emerging player in health informatics. Medical error is now the third leading cause of death in the US. Alcidion, an emerging player in the US$100bn field of health informatics, has technology that can help reduce these deaths while making hospitals much more efficient.
Anatara (ASX:ANR)
Anatara’s first product, called Detach, is a treatment for production animals to reduce gastrointestinal disorders, thereby increasing meat yield. Detach, by not killing pathogens directly, represents one potential solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
AnteoTech (ASX:ADO)
AnteoTech is a surface design technology play. Initially focused on diagnostics, the company is currently working on coatings that can facilitate the use of silicon in lithium-ion batteries to markedly improve the efficiency of those batteries.
Atriva Therapeutics
Atriva Therapeutics is a privately-held host-cell targeting antiviral drug developer based in Munich, Germany. The company's lead candidate is zapnometinib, a small molecule, which has been studied in Phase 2 in patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19 and which will enter a Phase 2 clinical development program in in 2024 in severe influenza.
Azure Health Technology (ASX:AZT)
Azure Health Technology Limited, trading as VGI Health Technology (VTL), went public on the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) after an IPO that raised $2.5m at 20 cents per share. VTL is the result of a June 2020 merger between Azure Health Technology and an unlisted biopharmaceuticals company called Invictus BioPharma Ltd.
Bio-Gene Technology (ASX:BGT)
Bio-Gene Technology (ASX:BGT) is an ASX-listed AgTech company specialising in novel insecticides derived from nature. The company is developing two compounds, Flavocide™ and Qcide™. The former is synthetically produced while the latter is natural, but both are based on a class of chemistry called beta-triketones.
CannaSouth (NZX:CBD)
Cannasouth (NZX: CBD) is a Waikato-based company developing the next-generation of high-quality medicinal cannabis products. It operates through three segments – Cannasouth Bioscience for research and development, Cannasouth Cultivation, a cultivation facility to produce high-quality premium flower, and Eqalis Pharmaceuticals, conducting the manufacture of GMP medicinal cannabis ingredients and finished dosage form.
Covirix Medical (Unlisted)
COVIRIX Medical is an Australia-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, which is repositioning an existing antiviral agent, CVX-20733, as a COVID-19 therapeutic. CVX-20733 has a proven dual-action mechanism and an established safety profile to be delivered in an inhalable form, to prevent and treat the COVID-19 virus irrespective of the variant.
Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC)
Cyclopharm’s (ASX:CYC) core radiopharmaceutical product, Technegas, is used in functional lung ventilation imaging, particularly for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). CYC is already selling in 60 countries around the world, but US FDA approval would open up the vast US market.
Cynata (ASX:CYP)
Cynata is a regenerative medicine company. Its Cymerus technology can produce vast quantities of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from a single blood donation. Cymerus is now in Phase 1 in acute Graft vs Host Disease. Japan’s Fujifilm has optioned this indication.
Dimerix (ASX:DBX)
Dimerix is a drug discovery company that can identify important drug targets called G Protein-Coupled Receptors. Dimerix’s lead DMX-200 candidate, a combination of irbesartan and propagermanium, is in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
ECS Botanics (ASX:ECS)
ECS Botanics Holdings Ltd (ASX: ECS) is a fast-growing Australia-based provider of medicinal cannabis and hemp-based wellness products. With a focus on medicinal cannabis, it operates a specialised business model, with regenerative and organic medicinal cannabis cultivation/manufacturing facilities in Tasmania and Victoria. ECS has its own hemp food/wellness brand, and cultivation and white-label manufacturing medicinal cannabis products.
Exopharm (ASX:EX1)
Exopharm is a Melbourne-based clinical-stage company developing exosome-based medicines. With its foundation LEAP technology, Exopharm arguably has the world’s best tools for manufacturing exosomes. The company has pivoted into drug delivery with new technologies for the creation of ‘engineered EVs’ (EEVs) that would allow exquisite targeting of therapeutic agents.
Hydrix (ASX:HYD)
Hydrix is a specialist design and engineering firm for technologically advanced products, with a particular focus on first-of-type medical device development and cardiovascular technologies. Alongside it, Hydrix Ventures invests selectively in high potential medical device clients where Hydrix provides services.
Imagion Biosystems (ASX:IBX)
Imagion Biosystems’ (ASX:IBX) revolutionary MagSense imaging technology is potentially orders of magnitude more effective than CT and MRI at detecting cancer. MagSense was granted Breakthrough Device status by the FDA in June 2019 and is currently being prepared for its first clinical study, potentially in Her2-positive breast cancer.
Immuron (ASX:IMC)
Immuron (NDQ: IMRN, ASX: IMC) is an Australian biotech company developing commercial assets that help transform the standard of care for gastrointestinal disorders. Through its proprietary technology platform, IMC creates pharmaceuticals to treat gut-mediated diseases through oral immunoglobulin-based therapies. IMC has 2 flagship commercial products – Travelan and Protectyn – and 3 clinical-stage assets – IMM-529, IMM-124E and CampETEC.
Invion (ASX:IVX)
Invion is developing a new Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), in which a light-sensitive drug is used to kill cancer cells. Invion’s PDT, called IVX-P02, has generated some interesting case studies and early clinical data, and the company is moving towards larger studies aimed at registration in Australia and New Zealand, possibly by 2021.
InvitroCue (ASX:IVQ)
Invitrocue is leveraging its expertise in 3D cell culture to grow ‘Patient-Derived Organoids’ against which a range of cancer therapies can be tested. With Onco-PDO, the way is open for low-cost personalised cancer medicine, where the market opportunity lies in the billions.
Kazia Therapeutics (ASX:KZA)
Kazia, a cancer drug developer, is in Phase 2 with GDC-0084, a PI3K inhibitor for the treatment of glioblastoma originally developed by Genentech. In addition to GDC-0084, Kazia has an ovarian cancer drug (developed internally) that completes Phase 1 in 2018.
MediBio (ASX:MEB)
Medibio Ltd (ASX: MEB) is a mental health technology company that analyses heart rate and heart rate variability patterns during sleep to diagnose mental illness. Based on about 20 years of scientific research, Medibio has developed novel, data-driven and scalable solutions to objectively screen for mental health disorders.
Medigrowth Australia
Medigrowth Australia Pty Ltd is a Melbourne-based company that distributes Medigrowth-branded medicinal cannabis oils, Australian grown dried flower, and third-party cannabis medicines via GP prescriptions to patients.
Memphasys (ASX:MEM)
Memphasys is an Australian biotechnology company, focused on cell separation technology. Its most advanced program, the separation of sperm cells for human IVF, is currently in commercial development and has the potential to improve in vitro fertilisation clinical outcomes.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU)
Neuren Pharmaceuticals is a Melbourne-based drug developer. The company’s lead compound is Trofinetide, for the treatment of two Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rett Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome. The company has generated favourable Phase 2 data in both these conditions.
Noxopharm (ASX:NOX)
Noxopharm (ASX: NOX) is a clinical stage, drug discovery and development company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. NOX currently has a focus on oncology with a pipeline of drugs.
Nyrada Inc. (ASX:NYR)
Nyrada is a preclinical stage, drug discovery, and development company specialising in novel small molecule drugs to treat cardiovascular, neurological, and inflammatory diseases. The Company has two main programs, in cholesterol lowering and brain injury, each targeting market sectors of significant size and considerable unmet clinical need.
OptiScan (ASX:OIL)
Optiscan is a world-leader in the field of live micro-imaging. With the support of Carl Zeiss Meditec of Germany, Optiscan is now nearing completion of its second-generation device specifically designed for neurosurgery.
OrthoCell (ASX:OCC)
Orthocell is a regenerative medicine company. Its foundation products - Ortho-ATI for tendon repair and Ortho-ACI for cartilage repair - have provided early commercial opportunities with large addressable markets. Recently the company’s CelGro collagen scaffold gained its CE Mark.
Oventus Medical (ASX: OVN)
Oventus Medical has developed the O2Vent range or oral appliances for treating sleep apnea. The ability of the newest O2Vent designs to interface with CPAP and EPAP provides a way to provide personalised treatment to get the best outcome for the individual patient in more than 80% of cases.
PainChek (ASX:PCK)
Painchek is commercialising the PainChek app, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based mobile app which uses facial expressions to map and quantify pain. The first market in which this app is being commercialised is in pain assessments for patients who suffer from dementia and therefore cannot explain pain explicitly.
Patrys (ASX:PAB)
Patrys’ Deoxymab 3E10 antibody, developed at Yale, prevents cancer cells from self-repairing their DNA when it breaks. Patrys has now upgraded this antibody for human use and has generated encouraging in vivo data across a range of cancers.
Phosphagenics (ASX:POH)
Phosphagenics is a Melbourne-based drug reformulation company whose TPM technology, based on phosphorylated Vitamin E, has shown promise as a transdermal drug delivery tool and as an agent for improving the stability and solubility of drugs.
Phylogica (ASX:PYC)
Phylogica is a peptide drug developer whose Phylomer platform allows it to identify cell-penetrating peptides that can hit hitherto ‘undruggable’ intracellular targets. The company has collaborated with the likes of AstraZeneca, Roche, Pfizer and J&J on drug discovery projects.
Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX)
Prescient Therapeutics is a Melbourne-based drug developer focused on cancer, with several platforms and products in its portfolio. Prescient Therapeutics' lead compound is a small molecule called PTX-100, which is potentially a significant future treatment for T-Cell Lymphoma. The company also has two cell therapy platform technologies: OmniCAR, which allows next-generation CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy) products to be developed, and CellPryme, which allows enhances adoptive cell therapy performance.
Race Oncology (ASX:RAC)
Race Oncology Limited (ASX:RAC) is an Australian pharmaceutical company focused on the development of its key drug, Zantrene, which is currently being studied for pre-clinical and clinical efficacy in several cancer indications.
Resapp (ASX:RAP)
ResApp Health is developing a smartphone-based diagnostic for respiratory disease that can detectm through the measurement of coughs and breathing sounds, a range of respiratory disorders including pneumonia, asthma, and COPD. The sensitivities and specificities are very high.
Resonance Health (ASX:RHT)
Resonance Health develops new MRI diagnostics. Its first MRI test was FerriScan for iron overload disorders. Its HepaFat-Scan, another MRI test, was FDA approved in 2013 and can reasonably be expected to play a role in managing Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
Rhythm Biosciences (ASX: RHY)
Rhythm Biosciences (ASX: RHY) is a medical diagnostics technology company based in Melbourne. Currently it is developing ColoSTAT, a simple blood-based test for the efficient detection of colorectal cancer at all stages, including the early stages.
Roquefort Therapeutics (LSE:ROQ)
Roquefort Therapeutics plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:ROQ). It is a drug developer focused on the therapeutic potential of a protein called Midkine, which may be useful as a target in the treatment of severe inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, and cancer, among other disease conditions.
Skin Elements (ASX:SKN)
Skin Elements’s goal with natural antimicrobials has been to create organic products that surpass their chemical alternatives, both in effectiveness and in shelf life. $30m and 15 years later, SKN is ready to compete globally and possibly become the next Blackmores or the next BWX.
Suda Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SUD)
Suda Pharmaceuticals is a drug delivery company focused on oral spray formulations of existing drugs. Suda’s formulations are often much faster-acting. Suda has its first licensing deal with a top-20 global pharma, as well as other commercial partnerships.
Tali Digital (ASX:TD1)
Tali Digital’s Tali Train product is an app-based cognitive training programme for children with attention problems while a second product called Tali Detect provides a diagnostic solution. Tali Detect and Tali Train are basically games played on tablet devices by the child being assessed or trained. When a child uses the app five days a week for five weeks, the result can be a noticeable reduction in attention deficits.
TruScreen (NZX:TRU)
TruScreen Group Ltd (NZX: TRU) provides an opto-electrical technology-based real-time, low cost and portable system for the detection of cancer or pre-cancerous cells in cervical tissues. TRU’s disruptive technology is non-invasive for women and provides objective and fast screening, thus providing an efficient alternative to the conventional Pap smear test that requires collection of tissue samples from the cervix. We believe TRU is well-positioned to benefit from the rapid commercial roll-out of its devices in the low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), with a primary focus on China.