ASX Health Stocks: Imugene granted Japan patent, share price is now up 50% in a month

The ASX 200 health stocks index (XHJ) has lifted by 0.30% at the time of writing, compared to the broader ASX 200 index which fell by 0.17%.

Biotech high flyer Imugene (ASX:IMU) rose by 6.5% this morning, after receiving a patent grant in Japan for its HER-Vaxx immunotherapy, currently in development to treat HER2-positive gastric cancer.

The patent will protect the method of composition and method of use of Imugene’s HER-Vaxx immunotherapy up to the year 2036.

Approximately 75% of all gastric cancer diagnoses are in Asia.

Japan has the third highest incidence rate of gastric cancer worldwide, of which approximately one in five cases are considered HER2 positive, making the country a very large market for gastric cancer medications.

HER2 (or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) is a gene that can play a role in the development of cancer.

Meanwhile, the IMU share price is up more than 50% this month, and 850% in the past 12 months.

Imugene share price today:

Other ASX healthcare stocks with notable announcements

Bod Australia (ASX:BDA) +6%

The cannabis company has signed a deal with leading Australian medical research group, the Woolcock Institute, to undertake a phase IIB clinical trial for the development of a new CBD product.

The phase IIB clinical trial will test the efficacy of Bod’s CBD formulation on symptoms associated with insomnia.

Bod says it will develop the new product in line with Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requirements, as it will be made available to Australian consumers over the counter as a Schedule 3 medicine.

Emyria (ASX:EMD) unchanged

The company says the first batch of MDMA analogues have demonstrate excellent purity and stability at room temperature.

The purity checks were conducted with nuclear-magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and further confirmation was completed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Emyria has recently secured the rights to a University of Western Australia (UWA)’s library of more than 100 novel MDMA analogues, where the initial focus on drug discovery is on Parkinson’s disease.

3,4-Methyl enedioxy methamphetamine (or MDMA), also commonly known as ecstasy, is a psychoactive drug primarily used for recreational purposes.

Lumos Diagnostics (ASX:LDX) -12%

The medical diagnostics tech company fell hard today, after revealing the US FDA has de-prioritised its request for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for its CoviDx, a SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test device.