Check Up: Healthcare is ripe for AI disruption, and Telix Pharma’s first $100m+ quarterly sales

• Artificial intelligence is set to disrupt the healthcare sector
• AI could also help in drugs discovery
• Telix delivers first quarterly revenue of $100 million

Moody’s Analytics’ chief economist, Mark Zandi, said the healthcare industry’s current top challenges are a severe shortage of labor and soaring labor costs.

Speaking at the recent HIMSS 2023 Global Health Conference and Exhibition, Zandi also believes that healthcare prices have “barely kept pace with overall inflation.”

“This combination of factors is going to be very challenging for the healthcare sector for the foreseeable future,” Zandi said, adding that an aging workforce is also a top contributor to the problem.

But he believes there is a way out of this situation, and that involves rising productivity in the sector through technology to get more value while spending less money.

“What can increase healthcare productivity? Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning,” Zandi said.

Zandi explained that AI and machine learning have been around for a long time, but only now do we have a lot more and better data to work with.

“AI is the way out of the box… and we need to get out of the box,” Zandi told attendees.

“Because at the end of the day, the nation’s economy-wide fiscal health relies on the healthcare sector. There is enormous opportunity here in helping to make productivity gains going forward.”

AI to help in drug discovery

Goldman agrees with that assessment and in its recently circulated Byte-ology report, the bank said the healthcare sector is ripe for disruption.

From a data standpoint, the healthcare industry produces and relies upon massive amounts of data from diverse sources, so that creates a rich environment for applying AI and machine learning.

”The need for these technologies is there given the inefficiencies in the healthcare system,” said Goldman.

It is estimated that it takes more than eight years and US$2 billion to develop a drug, and the likelihood of failure is quite high.

“AI, including generative AI, is among the technologies that have the potential to create safer, more efficacious drugs and to streamline personalised care,” said the GS report.

But according to Goldman, despite all previous innovation, we’re still just scratching the surface.

AI’s role only came into the spotlight during the Covid-19 pandemic response, when it helped companies develop Covid-19 mRNA vaccines and therapeutics at unprecedented speeds.

As for its future use in drug discovery, Goldman said AI can be utilised to identify novel targets, design drugs, as well as predict drug interactions to minimise the need for the costly traditional methodology of wet lab trial and error development.

“Uptake would greatly benefit from regulatory support, standardised benchmarks to evaluate performance, and public forums to improve collaboration and transparency,” said Goldman.

To the ASX….

Best and worst performing ASX biotechs over the past month

4D Medical (ASX:4DX)

4DX rose over 160% in the past month after announcing the first contract win in the US, with the University of Miami.

It was a milestone in the company’s commercialisation journey of its X-ray Velocimetry Lung Ventilation Analysis Software.

Furthermore, this milestone was completed with its clinical trial partners at the University of Miami, who have developed such an extensive understanding of the XV Technology.

The Australian Lung Foundation states that around 1 in 7 Australians over 40 have COPD, and around half of these don’t know that they have the condition. However, if diagnosed early enough (prior to the occurrence of structural changes in the lungs), COPD is a treatable condition.

Arovella Therapeutics (ASX:ALA)

ALA’s share price more than doubled during the month after saying that lead drug ALA-101 confers significant anti-tumour effect and survival benefit in aggressive leukemia model.

The company presented new data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting for CAR19-iNKT cells.

ALA says clinical data indicated that ALA-101 has the potential to be a novel ‘off-the-shelf’ cell therapy to treat CD19-expressing leukemias and lymphomas.

IDT Australia (ASX:IDT)

IDT has delivered another set of improved sales results in Q3 as it executes on its turnaround strategy.

Sales in the latest quarter jumped 26% to $2.1m vs Q2.

The company’s Specialty Orals Division is driving most of the increase due to growth in medicinal cannabis and the opening of the psychedelics market.

Telix Pharma (ASX:TLX)

Australia’s second largest biotech after CSL reported March quarter revenues of $100.1 million, driven by global sales of its prostate cancer imaging agent called Illuccix.

Demand for Illuccix in the US continues to increase on the back of strong clinical results with sales of $97.5 million (up from $76.8 million in the prior quarter).

Telix CEO Dr Christian Behrenbruch said: “In one year since the commercial launch of Illuccix and five years since listing on the ASX, Telix has delivered a significant milestone with its first $100 million revenue quarter.

“We are making a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of prostate cancer patients and delivering on our mission of global leadership in radiopharmaceuticals.

“Telix is able to fund the development of new imaging agents and novel therapeutics, evident in recent achievements and delivery of our second consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow,” Behrenbruch added.