Health Check: Prestigious publication supports Alterity’s ‘iron overload in brain’ thesis

The peer-reviewed publication Metallomics supports the mechanism of action of Alterity’s neurological drug candidate
Respiri says it will benefit from new US reimbursement rules
Osteopore enters deal to sell its orthopaedic products in Singapore

When it comes to diet, an iron deficiency is not desirable and supplement giants such as Blackmores are quick to the rescue.

But having too much of the trace metal in the wrong part of the brain is attributable to neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

This thesis is central to the work of Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:ATH) and its drug candidate ATH434 – and its mechanism of action has now been recognised by the peer-review publication Metallomics.

“Iron has long been implicated in neurodegeneration, but having the appropriate iron-targeting agent is critical to … treating disease,” says Alterity CEO Dr David Stamler.

“This ground-breaking publication demonstrates the novel way in which ATH434 targets the labile, or reactive, form of iron which can be so damaging to cells when in excess.”

ATH434 acts as an “iron chaperone”, redistributing excess reactive iron to reducing protein aggregation and oxidative stress in the brain.

Toxic iron overload is synonymous with the rare neurodegenerative Friedreich’s Ataxia and Parkinson’s disease, but Alterity is targeting multiple system atrophy (MSA).

In July Alterity released positive interim data from its 77-patient phase II trial for MSA, with further top-line data due next January.

Meanwhile, crowing about being mentioned in a publication might seem a bit naff – the prestigious Stockhead excepted – but such peer-reviewed endorsement is crucial in the biotech milieu.

Alterity shares were steady at 0.03 cents.

Respiri breathes easier on US reimbursement

Radiopharmacy companies are not the only ones buoyed by favourable changes to public US reimbursement rules (as we reported on Monday).

Respiratory diseases diagnostics house Respiri (ASX:RSH) says it will also benefit from the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) proposed changes to reimbursement criteria for remote patient monitoring (RPM) programs.

Respiri’s lead product is Wheezo, an app-based device to detect conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

As could be expected, Wheezo is part and parcel of the remote patient management revolution.

Buoyed by the expected changes, the US-focused company today released a prezzo, outlining a total addressable market of 50,000 patients within its current client base and a “sales pipeline” of 250,000 patients.

Respiri currently has 29 clients (service providers) across 2435 patient programs.

In a nutshell, reimbursement will be made available for a lower threshold of two days of patient data collected by Wheezo over a 30-day rolling period, compared with 16 days at present.

The amount of time clinical staff must interact with their patient falls to 11-20 minutes, from 20 minutes currently.

Reimbursement is then available for an additional 10 minutes of “interactive communication”, down from the current 20 minutes.

Respiri is specific about the financial impact, estimating the change will increase the number of reimbursable patients from the current 50-70% to up to 90%.

This should generate an additional US$108,000 a year of revenue for every 1000 remotely-monitored patients, with an expected doubling of monitoring services delivered.

At current reimbursement rates, this “might” increase Respiri’s per-patient monthly fees, from between US$70-90 to between US$140-180.

While the revised reimbursement rates are yet to be finalised, the company says they show that remote patient monitoring services “appear to be part of the reimbursement landscape for the foreseeable future”.

Reimbursement is determined not by the AMA, but the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

But given the AMA’s powerful endorsement, the CMS is expected to implement the changes next year with effect from January 2026.

Respiri shares have been on a tear, having doubled over the last month. This morning they firmed 2.5% to 8.1 cents.

Knee-fixer Osteopore inks Lion City sales deal

Regenerative medicine company Osteopore (ASX:OSX) has inked a deal to sell its off-the-shelf orthopeadic products in Singapore, its home geography.

Osteopore is a leader in 3D-printed, bioresorbable implants that mimic natural biological processes to stimulate natural bone healing.

The five-year exclusive deal – with a Swiss mob we will abbreviate as DKSH – comes after Singapore’s regulator approved Osteopore’s products in March.

The sales will focus on high tibial osteology, or HTO (knee reconstruction surgeries). About 10% of Singaporeans have knee osteoarthritis, with the number of HTO surgeries doubling to 100 between 2020 and 2021.

Earlier in the year, Osteopore signed an exclusive deal with the Indiana-based global device giant Zimmer Biomet, to distribute its craniofacial products in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

In the September quarter Osteopore reported its seventh consecutive quarter of revenue growth, up 46% year-on-year to $759,000.

The company has operating outflows of $738,000, with $1.44 million in the bank at the end of the quarter.

However, in September the company said it had signed a term sheet to raise issue redeemable convertible notes with a nominal value of $20 million.

While Osteopore is making commercial progress, its shares have lost 94% of their value year-to-date. The culprit was a March rights offer to raise $3 million, struck at a discount of – you guessed it – a whopping 94%.

Osteopore this morning shares were steady at 3.9 cents