NATO's ‘daddy' trick; 10 ASX stock picks; Heart risk for super fit
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In today's news, NATO's 'daddy strategy' conquers Donald Trump, Macquarie lists 10 ASX stock picks for a cold winter, and there's a heart condition that's a side effect of being super fit.
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News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Health Check: Paradigm makes scenic acquisitive detour, but it's no strategic shift
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals will spend up to $16.5 million on an oral drug asset, but stays focused on its phase III knee trial Percheron enters headline $450 million cancer drug acquisition Neurizon goes from solid to liquid with its motor neurone disease drug candidate Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals (ASX:PAR) is taking the acquisitive scenic route in its quest to develop an effective knee osteoarthritis treatment, but says it remains focused on its phase III knee trial. In a heavily back-ended deal, Paradigm will pay as much as $16.5 million to purchase Proteobioactives Pty Ltd. This company owns an early-stage oral candidate for minor to mild osteoarthritis (OA), called Pentacoxib. The proposed drug combines pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) – Paradigm's core asset – with a COX-2 inhibitor (Coxib). The idea is to improve drug 'bioavailability': a shortcoming of many oral drugs. The deal expands Paradigm's remit into the OA-related pain market, such as hand OA, mild knee OA and the veterinary market (dogs and horses). Proof of concept data shows meaningful pain reduction in patients with hand and knee OA. 'Strategic alignment' Paradigm touts Pentacoxib as an alternative to existing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are 'not known to improve structures of the arthritic joint'. Paradigm dubs the purchase as a 'strategic alignment' with its core program, which is about developing its repurposed PPS (Zilosul) for moderate to severe knee OA. The acquired asset moves the company down the OA 'severity spectrum' and maintains Paradigm's focus on a non-opioid alternative. Proteobioactives was founded by Professor Peter Ghosh, who pioneered PPS research. The deal gives Paradigm exclusive global rights to develop and commercialise the PPS-Coxib combo for pain and inflammation. The acquisition enables 'potential expansion into earlier-stage disease segments where large unmet needs remain.' Now to the financial nitty gritty: The deal involves an upfront $500,000 in cash and a $1 million milestone payment on completion of a phase II trial. Paradigm pays a further $5 million on 'successful completion' of a phase III trial. A further $5 million is paid on US Food & Drug Administration approval. There's more! Another $5 million is due on the sale of an FDA registered product, 'as evidenced by the submission of a sales invoice, proof of delivery, or other relevant documentation". Keep your receipts guys! The deal is modest bet for Paradigm relative to its long-awaited phase III knee OA. The study in underway across up to 15 Australian and 50 US sites. Percheron finds a new purpose Having scoured for a new asset following the failure of its flagship clinical program, Percheron Therapeutics (ASX:PER) has settled on a Singapore-based cancer drug candidate. This is by way of an exclusive license agreement with Hummingbird Bioscience, for a monoclonal antibody therapy with potential applications in several cancers. Percheron hopes to start a clinical trial of the candidate, dubbed HMBD-002, next year. Percheron will pay Hummingbird an upfront US$ 3 million ($4.6 million), with contingent milestone payments of up to US$287 million ($443 million), plus royalties to boot. Naturally, the big bucks are later in the piece. Taking in the VISTA HMBD-002 targets a bodily agent called VISTA, as in 'v-domain immunoglobulin suppressor of T-cell activation'. But we knew that already. A novel target, 'VISTA potentially represents a new mechanism to treat a diverse range of tumours.' HMBD-002 has passed a phase I trial in the US, which showed the agent to be 'pharmacologically active" and generally safe and well-tolerated. 'After the challenges of recent months, we are once again a mid-clinical stage drug development business,' says Percheron CEO Dr James Garner. The 'challenges' refer to two board spills – both unsuccessful – after the company's Duchenne muscular dystrophy trial proved an unmitigated flop. Percheron shares this morning rebounded as much as 30%, or one-third of a cent. Neurizon eyes easier drug delivery While Paradigm goes from liquid to solid, Neurizon Therapeutics (ASX:NUZ) is moving the other way with its drug candidate to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, a form of motor neurone disease). The liquid formulation of Neurizon's candidate NUZ-001 is designed to support patients with all stages of ALS, 'particularly those with swallowing difficulties such as bulbar onset'. The first manifestation of ALS, bulbar onset can lead to difficulties with speech (dysarthria), swallowing (dysphagia), and sometimes breathing. Neurizon will integrate the liquid form into its ongoing NUZ-001 program, starting with a human bioequivalence study in the first half of 2026. The company says the formulation resulted from direct feedback from patients and carers. 'As ALS progresses, patients face increasing challenges with day-to-day activities, including something as fundamental as swallowing,' Neurizon chief Dr Michael Thurn says. Rainforest foraging leads to cancer drug hope The private, eternal IPO candidate Qbiotics has reported 'highly encouraging' results from a phase II study of its cancer therapy sourced from the Daintree rainforest. The trial targets soft tissue sarcoma, a rare cancer that generally forms as a painless lump (tumour) in any one of the soft tissues in the body. Qbiotics' candidate, tigilanol tiglate activates a certain protein to stimulate the immune system and destroy tumours. In stage one of the trial, ten evaluable patients achieved an objective response rate of 80%, 'based on the best observed response". In other words, eight out of ten evaluable patients saw either complete ablation or partial ablation (more than 30% reduction in volume) of treated tumours. Also, 22 of the 27 injected tumours across all patients showed complete or partial ablation (14 showing complete ablation). None of the 14 completely ablated tumours recurred at 6 months, "indicating tigilanol tiglate may provide durable responses". 'Given soft tissue sarcoma is a challenging cancer to treat, achieving this level of clinical activity is highly encouraging," Qbiotics chief Stephen Doyle says. Now moving to expanded stage two, the trial is being carried out at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Eureka! moment Qbiotics founder Dr Gordon and her forest ecologist husband Dr Paul Reddell stumbled on the therapeutic benefits of tigilanol tiglate while fossicking in rainforest in the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland. They observed that animals spat out the seed of the blushwood tree, pointing to a nontoxic deterrent preventing the critters from eating and thus destroying the seed.
AU Financial Review
5 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
NATO's ‘daddy' trick; 10 ASX stock picks; Heart risk for super fit
Want to get this in your inbox at lunchtime every weekday? Financial Review subscribers can sign up for The Brief newsletter here. Plus start your day with our Before the Bell newsletter and read a full wrap of the day's news in Market Wrap. In today's news, NATO's 'daddy strategy' conquers Donald Trump, Macquarie lists 10 ASX stock picks for a cold winter, and there's a heart condition that's a side effect of being super fit.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Health Check: UBS turns ultra-bullish on Aussie healthcare leaders
UBS reckons healthcare will fare better than any other ASX sector Bell Potter says Monash IVF has fertile recovery prospects Telix wins FDA usage expansion for prostate cancer imaging Financial giant UBS has declared that enough is enough with lagging healthcare valuations – and now believes it will be the best performer of any ASX sector. In bestowing 'pet sector' status, the firm says that healthcare stocks are the cheapest they have been in 10 years. This follows three years of remorseless earnings per share (EPS) downgrades. The firm opines healthcare now offers the best EPS growth of all ASX sectors, with an expected increment of almost 20% in the 2025-26 year. The S&P/ASX 200 healthcare index has fallen 5% over the past 12 months and is down 7% year to date. In contrast, the broader ASX200 index looks to be finishing the year around 9% higher. 'Investor sentiment towards the healthcare sector has broadly cooled over the last year, with some marked deterioration seen across many stocks,' UBS says. ' Cochlear (ASX:COH) in particular has seen investor apathy build over the last year, which represents a significant change of views versus .' The firm has upgraded Cochlear to a 'buy' for the first time since 2011. 'Challenging market conditions' Meanwhile, Bell Potter notes that 'challenging market conditions' have mostly persisted for small and mid-cap healthcare stocks. Of the 35 stocks the firm covers, only nine are trading at a premium to their December-end values. 'The macro factors driving this broader performance include the uncertainty arising from leadership changes at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and proposals to lower prescription drug price in the US,' the firm says. 'Consequently, institutional investors have largely adopted a wait-and-see approach.' However, Bell Potter expects new drug approvals and earnings growth 'to lead to a wave of new capital flowing into the sector'. Oh baby! That's an interesting call Bell Potter's three favourite healthcare stocks include the troubled Monash IVF Group (ASX:MVF), if only because the share price reaction to the company's embryo-woes looks excessive. In the broker's half-year run-down of best buys across all sectors, the firm's other two healthcare picks are Telix – that name again – and Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU). Monash IVF's two reported embryo transfer errors resulted in the June 12 resignation of CEO Michael Knaap. Prominent silk Fiona McLeod is carrying out an independent probe into the snafus. Meanwhile, Monash IVF shares have halved since January. Bell Potter says Monash IVF trades on a multiple of six times. This compares with 12.5 times for nearest rival Virtus Health in 2022, when it was taken over by BGH Capital and delisted. 'The depressed share price may also invite a bid for the company adding corporate appeal to a deep value investment thesis.' The firm reckons Monash IVF is worth $1.15 a share, more than twice its current valuation. On safe ground With Telix, Bell Potter says revenues from its lead prostate imaging product Illucix should continue to grow as it wins US market share. The FDA recently approved another prostate imaging agent, Gozellix, and should green light the kidney cancer imaging product Zircaix in the September quarter. Neuren is making hay from US sales of its Rett syndrome therapy Daybue, via partner Acadia. But the firm believes the bigger value driver is Neuren's separate compound NNZ-2591. This is for the rare 'orphan' diseases Phelan-McDermid, Angelman, Pitt Hopkins and Prader-Willi syndromes. NNZ-2591 is thought to be more effective and less toxic than Daybue – and the market could be bigger. Neuren reported positive phase II trial results for Phelan-McDermid and expects to kick off a phase III study within months. With $340 million of cash, Neuren has oodles of dosh to fund the 160-patient trial. In fact, the company is undertaking a share buyback to soak up stock at discounted levels. Bell Potter also rates Mesoblast Mesoblast (ASX:MSB), Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6), Immutep (ASX:IMM) and EBR Systems (ASX:EBR) as speculative buys. Telix in FDA win Back to Telix – yet again – the FDA has approved a label extension for Illucix. This will enable doctors to patients for radioligand (targeted radiation) therapy earlier in the piece, before they progress to chemotherapy. Telix estimates clinical use of Illuccix will increase by at least 20,000 scans annually. The label expansion piggybacks the FDA's recent approval of an expanded indication for Novartis's Pluvicto radioligand therapy. The firm says Telix's imaging has become a standard of care in prostate cancer detection and management. The FDA also recently approved Telix's Gozellix, another prostate cancer imaging agent. Cleo pops down to the (bio) bank The US National Cancer Institute has granted ovarian cancer diagnostics developer Cleo Diagnostics (ASX:COV) access to a US cache of blood samples. Collected from 155,000 cancer patients over the last decade, the repository is called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer (PLCO) biobank. Cleo says PLCO is a a gold-standard resource, having derived from one of the 'largest and most influential US longitudinal cancer studies'. Cleo will use the data to strengthen its FDA marketing submission for a pre-surgical test and expects to complete the supporting trials by the end of the year. Earlier, Cleo entered a compact with University College London to access a capacious ovarian cancer biobank. 'Together, these biobanks form a comprehensive, internationally representative ... population that Cleo will use to enhance its clinical evidence and substantially derisk key regulatory milestones,' Cleo CEO Richard Allman says. Cleo's two trials pertain to pre-surgical identification and screening of an asymptomatic population. Earlier studies showed Cleo's tool confirmed or ruled out tumours 95% of the time, thus outperforming standard-of-care assays. Capital raising corner At the smaller end of the sector, companies are raising enough to keep the lights on – and perhaps a little more. The maker of asthma adherence devices that wrap around 'puffers', Adherium (ASX:ADR) plans to raise $4 million at half a cent apiece. This is by way of an insto and retail offer, partly underwritten and struck at half a cent. Investors also get one option for every share issued, as well as a 'piggyback' bonus option. An existing holder Phillip Thematic Fund has its hands up for $800,000, while Phillip Asset Management and Trudell Medical are good for $1 million of underwriting. Heart device play Cardiex (ASX:CDX) has raised about $4.1 million in a rights offer, having gathered $2.4 million in a placement. Both were done at four cents a share. TALi Digital (ASX:TD1) is seeking $1.48 million in a right issue, having mustered $800,000 in a private placement. Both were struck at one-tenth of a cent per share. Tali is developing tools that test kids for conditions including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This month Tali acquired You Can Do It! Education, 'a social-emotional learning program aimed at improving the social, emotional, and academic outcomes of young people.'
