Check Up: These 4 ASX healthcare stocks come with Strong Buy recommendations

Morningstar picks four ASX healthcare stocks for Strong Buy recommendations
Which stocks are the best and worst performing ASX biotechs over the past month?

Four ASX healthcare stocks have been rated as a ‘Strong Buy’ by Morningstar’s consensus of brokers.

While there’s not much to go with in terms of research, seven brokers have unanimously recommended these four health stocks (according to Commsec).

Immutep (ASX:IMM)

Market cap: $255m

Current price: $0.29

Immutep is a biotechnology company working primarily in the field of cancer immunotherapy using the LAG3 immune control mechanism.

Its lead product candidate is eftilagimod alpha (efti or IMP321), a soluble LAG-3 fusion protein (LAG-3Ig), which is a first-in-class antigen presenting cell (APC) activator being explored in cancer.

A patent was recently granted in Japan relating to the combined therapeutic preparations which comprise its lead immunotherapy candidate LAG-3 fusion protein (LAG-3Ig) and an anti-PD-(L)1 antibody.

The company also recently announced it had been granted Fast Track designation by the US FDA for efti in combination with pembrolizumab in first line non-small cell lung cancer.

This marks the second Fast Track designation issued by the FDA for eftilagimod alpha, offering the potential for expedited development and review.

Apart from cancer, Immutep is also developing an agonist of LAG-3 (IMP761) for autoimmune diseases.

Monash IVF Group (ASX:MVF)

Market cap: $358.5m

Current price: $0.92

Monash has a 21% market share in the IVF market in Australia.

The company believes there is a compelling underlying demand drivers which continue to build for the business, including an increasing number of new patients accessing MVF’s domestic network.

Currently Monash has 13 permanent fertility clinics, eight satellite clinics, 17 ultrasound practices, and two specialised diagnostics laboratories and two day hospitals.

The company is on an acquisition trail that will see it bring 15 new fertility specialists into its network.

Telix Pharma (ASX:TLX)

Market cap: $2.17 billion

Current price: $6.93

Oncology company Telix is a complex business with multiple trials and diagnostics.

The company recently announced that the Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) had approved an investigational new drug (IND) application to commence a pivotal Phase III registration study of TLX591-CDx.

Known as Illuccix, TLX591-CDx is a radiopharmaceutical cold kit for the preparation of 68Ga-PSMA-11 injection, used for prostate cancer imaging using Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

Telix said the bridging study was required to provide data obtained in a Chinese population to establish that the diagnostic efficacy of TLX591-CDx is equivalent in Chinese and Western populations.

The company has also also released preliminary data from two separate studies of TLX250-CDx (89Zr-DFO-girentuximab) in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Avita Medical (ASX:AVH)

Market cap: $203.2m

Current price: $1.56

The gene therapy specialist focuses on its RECELL System for the treatment of acute burns.

The RECELL System is used to prepare a spray-on using a small amount of a patient’s own skin to treat severe burn.

A pivotal trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of Avita’s RECELL System in patients with soft-tissue injuries in August showed healing with RECELL were the same or just slightly better than control.

The company is now moving forward with its plan for a PMA (pre-market approval) submission with the FDA later this year.

Share prices today:

Best and worst performing ASX biotechs over the past month

CODE	COMPANY	PRICE	1 WEEK RETURN %	1 MONTH RETURN %	1 YEAR RETURN %	MARKET CAP
PNV	Polynovo Limited	2.07	6%	59%	9%	$1,349,843,610
ONE	Oneview Healthcare	0.135	-10%	48%	-62%	$72,798,657
TLX	Telix Pharmaceutical	6.93	-2%	47%	4%	$2,191,755,580
IPD	Impedimed Limited	0.092	16%	46%	-52%	$164,053,402
EPN	Epsilon Healthcare	0.031	24%	41%	-75%	$8,901,529
ACW	Actinogen Medical	0.125	4%	40%	-11%	$242,445,665
VBS	Vectus Biosystems	0.925	20%	36%	-45%	$42,526,176
HXL	Hexima	0.02	3%	33%	-95%	$3,194,775
OIL	Optiscan Imaging	0.145	-3%	32%	-31%	$83,646,756
EYE	Nova EYE Medical Ltd	0.27	23%	29%	-36%	$39,383,401
MDR	Medadvisor Limited	0.18	13%	29%	-50%	$100,597,422
ACR	Acrux Limited	0.073	-9%	28%	-42%	$20,891,978
RHT	Resonance Health	0.071	18%	27%	-32%	$31,337,935
BNO	Bionomics Limited	0.065	10%	25%	-46%	$86,614,448
RAC	Race Oncology Ltd	2.37	0%	24%	-30%	$382,912,611
ADO	Anteotech Ltd	0.057	-7%	21%	-74%	$113,312,935
VHT	Volpara Health Tech	0.6575	7%	18%	-45%	$171,398,698
IMM	Immutep Ltd	0.29	4%	18%	-50%	$250,540,494
EXL	Elixinol Wellness	0.03	3%	15%	-68%	$9,487,967
NEU	Neuren Pharmaceut.	7.53	2%	15%	308%	$951,040,854
DOC	Doctor Care Anywhere	0.07	3%	15%	-90%	$14,769,307
ALC	Alcidion Group Ltd	0.145	7%	14%	-60%	$183,870,013
AMT	Allegra Orthopaedics	0.105	5%	13%	-50%	$10,968,216
1ST	1St Group Ltd	0.009	0%	13%	-44%	$11,593,564
ARX	Aroa Biosurgery	0.85	-4%	12%	-23%	$294,742,819
AHK	Ark Mines Limited	0.29	2%	12%	753%	$9,835,379
PAR	Paradigm Bio.	1.4	9%	11%	-32%	$405,437,807
IMU	Imugene Limited	0.195	11%	8%	-62%	$1,227,420,281
NTI	Neurotech Intl	0.094	-28%	8%	54%	$71,052,213
CU6	Clarity Pharma	0.69	15%	8%	-37%	$125,928,874
M7T	Mach7 Tech Limited	0.57	-7%	7%	-38%	$133,918,053
AGH	Althea Group	0.083	1%	6%	-70%	$27,246,606
PGC	Paragon Care Limited	0.35	1%	6%	21%	$223,157,616
BDX	Bcaldiagnostics	0.07	6%	6%	-55%	$9,526,630
4DX	4Dmedical Limited	0.615	-2%	6%	-54%	$182,584,939
TRU	Truscreen	0.042	11%	5%	-48%	$15,240,383
EZZ	EZZ Life Science	0.315	5%	5%	-35%	$3,955,600
SOM	SomnoMed Limited	1.54	-4%	5%	-40%	$128,690,735
NYR	Nyrada Inc.	0.135	-18%	4%	-47%	$21,061,175
MVF	Monash IVF Group Ltd	0.935	-2%	3%	-1%	$362,360,401
BOT	Botanix Pharma Ltd	0.064	2%	3%	7%	$69,458,816
CAJ	Capitol Health	0.325	8%	3%	-4%	$344,718,921
IDT	IDT Australia Ltd	0.099	0%	3%	-81%	$23,861,158
HGV	Hygrovest Limited	0.07	1%	3%	4%	$16,326,733
PYC	PYC Therapeutics	0.07	0%	3%	-48%	$235,388,532
OCC	Orthocell Limited	0.425	6%	2%	-21%	$82,825,290
OSL	Oncosil Medical	0.047	-6%	2%	-5%	$47,579,629
IIQ	Inoviq Ltd	0.54	-1%	2%	-48%	$49,690,099
PAA	Pharmaust Limited	0.076	3%	1%	-24%	$23,768,429
SDI	SDI Limited	0.825	1%	1%	-18%	$97,469,735
ALT	Analytica Limited	0.001	0%	0%	-50%	$4,613,801
TSN	The Sust Nutri Grp	0.14	0%	0%	-44%	$16,884,894
VLS	Vita Life Sciences..	1.6	6%	0%	-18%	$82,691,875
SCU	Stemcell United Ltd	0.013167	0%	0%	0%	$14,915,372
MEB	Medibio Limited	0.0015	0%	0%	-81%	$4,980,891
ICS	ICSGlobal Limited	0.575313	0%	0%	0%	$6,054,605
CDX	Cardiex Limited	0.3	3%	0%	-57%	$37,326,885
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.01	11%	0%	-41%	$16,540,824
AC8	Auscann Grp Hlgs Ltd	0.04	0%	0%	-60%	$17,621,884
BWX	BWX Limited	0.63	0%	0%	-86%	$125,992,126
TD1	Tali Digital Limited	0.003	0%	0%	-89%	$3,081,576
DXB	Dimerix Ltd	0.16	-9%	0%	-37%	$49,735,418
OVN	Oventus Medical Ltd	0.02	0%	0%	-80%	$4,834,531
BPH	BPH Energy Ltd	0.017	-6%	0%	-70%	$13,809,035
1AD	Adalta Limited	0.048	-2%	0%	-45%	$15,080,868
SHG	Singular Health	0.11	5%	0%	-52%	$8,161,134
AT1	Atomo Diagnostics	0.059	-2%	0%	-78%	$33,682,568
PBP	Probiotec Limited	2.18	2%	-1%	1%	$177,285,025
NXS	Next Science Limited	0.75	-1%	-1%	-42%	$156,796,798
PSQ	Pacific Smiles Grp	1.46	7%	-2%	-50%	$232,989,629
CTE	Cryosite Limited	0.66	2%	-2%	83%	$32,214,312
S66	Star Combo	0.175	0%	-3%	-35%	$23,639,522
CBL	Control Bionics	0.17	6%	-3%	-63%	$8,807,909
BXN	Bioxyne Ltd	0.025	-4%	-4%	-17%	$16,628,635
UBI	Universal Biosensors	0.25	-7%	-4%	-66%	$52,961,109
NC6	Nanollose Limited	0.065	3%	-4%	-35%	$9,677,614
ATX	Amplia Therapeutics	0.1	0%	-5%	-52%	$19,400,554
OSX	Osteopore Limited	0.195	-11%	-5%	-17%	$23,453,648
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.019	0%	-5%	-51%	$40,111,495
MVP	Medical Developments	1.595	-3%	-5%	-68%	$137,225,228
IHL	Incannex Healthcare	0.26	-4%	-5%	-45%	$396,134,888
AN1	Anagenics Limited	0.033	-13%	-6%	-49%	$7,293,703
ILA	Island Pharma	0.16	3%	-6%	-49%	$6,919,412
CMP	Compumedics Limited	0.23	2%	-6%	-40%	$40,747,478
PCK	Painchek Ltd	0.03	3%	-6%	-39%	$38,892,161
ANP	Antisense Therapeut.	0.08	-7%	-6%	-67%	$57,516,282
CPH	Creso Pharma Ltd	0.029	-9%	-6%	-78%	$51,937,758
MXC	Mgc Pharmaceuticals	0.014	0%	-7%	-71%	$39,909,062
CYC	Cyclopharm Limited	1.32	-4%	-7%	-31%	$125,622,665
LCT	Living Cell Tech.	0.013	-7%	-7%	70%	$16,709,728
RSH	Respiri Limited	0.037	-8%	-8%	-36%	$29,645,745
RHY	Rhythm Biosciences	1.14	-1%	-9%	-32%	$256,820,092
CAN	Cann Group Ltd	0.2325	1%	-9%	-21%	$80,390,796
NSB	Neuroscientific	0.081	-5%	-9%	-76%	$11,621,203
ADR	Adherium Ltd	0.005	0%	-9%	-64%	$23,875,978
MDC	Medlab Clinical Ltd	10.01	-5%	-9%	-56%	$23,520,071
CYP	Cynata Therapeutics	0.285	-11%	-10%	-53%	$42,982,978
CHM	Chimeric Therapeutic	0.079	-7%	-10%	-73%	$24,804,152
ZLD	Zelira Therapeutics	1.165	-8%	-10%	-82%	$11,492,539
IMC	Immuron Limited	0.077	-5%	-10%	-41%	$17,540,473
PIQ	Proteomics Int Lab	0.9	1%	-11%	-5%	$105,494,554
MEM	Memphasys Ltd	0.016	-16%	-11%	-72%	$15,363,188
VTI	Vision Tech Inc	0.24	-2%	-11%	-76%	$5,412,329
PTX	Prescient Ltd	0.16	-3%	-11%	-47%	$115,134,647
AHC	Austco Healthcare	0.11	-4%	-12%	-24%	$31,879,908
HCT	Holista CollTech Ltd	0.029	-6%	-12%	-50%	$8,085,202
IBX	Imagion Biosys Ltd	0.029	-3%	-12%	-59%	$32,518,237
ZNO	Zoono Group Ltd	0.11	-24%	-14%	-75%	$19,196,401
NOX	Noxopharm Limited	0.155	-14%	-14%	-70%	$42,374,503
RGS	Regeneus Ltd	0.042	2%	-14%	-42%	$12,563,913
DVL	Dorsavi Ltd	0.012	-20%	-14%	-39%	$5,655,081
IRX	Inhalerx Limited	0.059	-16%	-14%	-46%	$11,423,284
TRP	Tissue Repair	0.265	-2%	-15%	0%	$12,396,794
BIT	Biotron Limited	0.038	-11%	-15%	-27%	$27,375,376
OPT	Opthea Limited	0.995	0%	-15%	-20%	$464,884,608
ATH	Alterity Therap Ltd	0.011	-15%	-15%	-62%	$28,997,021
PXS	Pharmaxis Ltd	0.065	2%	-17%	-48%	$39,785,165
RCE	Recce Pharmaceutical	0.63	-13%	-18%	-35%	$115,751,552
CGS	Cogstate Ltd	1.755	0%	-19%	-25%	$313,917,346
IVX	Invion Ltd	0.0105	0%	-19%	-60%	$64,200,921
MX1	Micro-X Limited	0.13	-7%	-21%	-57%	$63,131,967
RNO	Rhinomed Ltd	0.12	-11%	-23%	-58%	$34,286,363
ALA	Arovella Therapeutic	0.027	-10%	-23%	-36%	$18,783,823
GLH	Global Health Ltd	0.25	0%	-23%	-31%	$14,190,305
LDX	Lumos Diagnostics	0.046	-13%	-23%	-94%	$10,495,322
GSS	Genetic Signatures	0.66	-6%	-25%	-52%	$90,345,777
GTG	Genetic Technologies	0.003	0%	-25%	-54%	$27,701,895
ICR	Intelicare Holdings	0.029	-3%	-28%	-69%	$3,493,523
RAD	Radiopharm	0.1225	2%	-30%	0%	$21,363,239
RAD	Radiopharm	0.1225	2%	-30%	0%	$21,363,239
KZA	Kazia Therapeutics	0.125	-19%	-32%	-92%	$20,400,227
JTL	Jayex Technology Ltd	0.005	-17%	-38%	-77%	$1,246,143
LBT	LBT Innovations	0.051	-16%	-39%	-51%	$18,067,142

Polynovo (ASX:PNV) had its NovoSorb BTM registration approved in the EU and Australian markets which includes full thickness burns.

The company also launched the product in Canada at the Canadian Burn Conference on 21-23 October.

Separately, PolyNovo also reported the treatment of two patients in Hong Kong using NovoSorb BTM.

Hong Kong is evidence of the company’s stated intention to lift the priority of pursuing India, China, Japan and other nearby jurisdictions.

ImpediMed (ASX:IPD) has reached a milestone of 500,000 patient tests performed with the SOZO Digital Health Platform.

With over 1,100 devices in use globally, including over 500 in the US core business, the pace of patient testing continues to accelerate with 100,000 patient tests performed in just the past six months.

Epsilon Healthcare (ASX:EPN) announced that Steven Xu has resigned as a director effective 1 November. Josh Cui has now been appointed non-exec chairman, and Mr Alan Beasley, non-exec deputy chairman.

InteliCare (ASX:ICR) dropped after revealing that sales in the quarter was softer than the previous quarter.

With an increased sales and business development presence on the east coast, the sales pipeline for ICR continues to build up with new opportunities being developed.

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