The correction we had to have? Leading biotechs are feeling the pain. Pic via Getty Images
Health & Biotech
While few stocks or sectors have escaped the market correction – or almost correction as the local bourse has not yet quite fallen 10% – a number of hero life science plays have done it especially tough.
On Tuesday the do-no-wrong Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) led the rout with a 10.5% self-down and this morning had fallen a further 2% or so.
The stock is now about 23% off its February 20 record high of $286.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU) shares this week have lost around 8% and are trading at less than half of their May 2024 record level of $24.
This is despite solid sales of the company’s Rett syndrome drug in the US.
Shares in commercialised skin disorders house Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CUV) have declined around 10% over the last week and are trading at one-quarter of their peak value of $43 in mid 2021.
ResMed (ASX:RMD) shares today had slumped 7%, reversing a share recovery since its poorly received profit result last month.
In the advanced developer ranks, shares in kidney drug developer Dimerix (ASX:DXB) this month have lost one quarter of their value as the company pursues its pivotal phase III program.
Other stocks getting roughed up today include Resonance Health (ASX:RHT) and Imugene (ASX:IMU), both down around 9%.
Of course, these companies’ prospects are just as good as they were a week ago.
But some of them – notably Pro Medicus – looked fluffy valuation-wise, so maybe it’s the correction we had to have.
Apologies there to Paul Keating and Donald Trump.
We wouldn’t be so impudent as to imply these plays are ‘buy’ calls, but suddenly they are cheaper than they were.
The speculative ones will always be influenced by the market’s quixotic spirit, but that shouldn’t be so much the case with the profitable Pro Medicus, Neuren, Resmed and Clinuvel.
It’s Brain Health Week, so we duly report the suspected link between dementia and a raft of common health problems.
Dementia Australia cites the work of a study by The Lancet, which identified 14 “modifiable” risk factors including smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.
Other factors are hearing loss, depression and high cholesterol, so almost all of us should be worried.
“People with mild-severe hearing loss are two to five times as likely to develop dementia than those with normal hearing,” say Dementia Australia CEO Professor Tanya Buchanan.
But if the problems are addressed, the incidence of dementia could be reduced by 45%.
Dementia – which includes Alzheimer’s disease – is the second biggest cause of death in Australia and is expected to become the biggest killer in the next five years.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s have been hard nuts for drug developers to crack, but Actinogen Medical (ASX:ACW) is having a go with a phase 2b/3 Alzheimer’s disease trial across local and US sites.
The study will test the efficacy of its novel compound Xanamem.
The company has started recruiting up to 220 patients, with results from the first 100 expected in the December quarter (after six months’ treatment).
Final results for all 220 patients are expected in the first half of 2026.
Last August, the company trialled Xanamem for depression, which showed “significant clinical benefit”.
Xanamem works by inhibiting tissue production of cortisol, a suspected factor in Alzheimer’s.
Other Alzheimer’s drugs work (or don’t work) by inhibiting the formation of amyloid protein plaques.
Still on neurological disorders, Argent Biopharma (ASX:RGT) has entered an exclusive agreement with an individual to purchase its manufacturing facility in Malta and turn it into a contract manufacturer.
Formerly MGC Pharmaceuticals, Argent is developing cannabinoid-based treatments for difficult central nervous system disorders and immune-related conditions.
The deal means that Dr Shlomo Sadoun, head of SK Pharma has the exclusive rights to “facilitate a commercial transaction” for the facility.
Sadoun has also served as a corporate advisor to Argent.
If the deal completes Argent will pocket a minimum US$1 million.
The facility would still produce product for Argent on a contract basis outside of its core portfolio and also make material for other drug makers within the European Union.
One of the conditions is the arrangement should “must not negatively impact Argent BioPharma’s relationship with Maltese government authorities”.
Argent says the proposed agreement aligns with its remit of streamlining its global manufacturing operations and “unlocking new commercial opportunities through strategic partnerships and asset optimisation”.
The move follows Argent’s recent collaboration agreement with ECCPharm1, by which Argent’s proprietary drug candidates will be shifted to that company’s Euro digs.
Blinklab (ASX:BB1) has tested the first patient in its US trial of its digital tool to detect childhood autism earlier.
The initial 100-patient trial will take place at Primed Clinical Research in Ohio, the first of two sites.
Eventually, the company plans to recruit between 750 and 900 children for its main study.
The AI-powered, smartphone-based Blinklab tool is designed to provide parents and practitioners with a rapid and accurate tool to support the early detection of developmental conditions like autism.
As with most medical conditions, the earlier the diagnosis the better.
The company hopes the trial will underpin an FDA marketing submission, with approval expected in calendar 2026.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that all children are screened for autism at the ages of 18 and 24 months, along with all regular developmental surveillance.
Despite that, many kids still slip through the diagnosis net.
In other trial news, Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) has chosen Melbourne’s Doherty Clinical Trials for its first-in-human study of its drug candidate Sofra.
Sofra aims to treat autoimmune diseases such as lupus.
At Stockhead, we tell it is as it is. While Dimerix is a Stockhead client, the company did not sponsor this article.
Health & Biotech
Health & Biotech
Health & Biotech
