Global edtech Keypath to sell APAC arm; appoints sell-side adviser
Just 10 months later, Street Talk can reveal Sterling has brought in the bankers to help find a buyer for the $25 million-a-year Australia and Asia-Pacific arm of the business.
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The Advertiser
25 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Webjet ordered to pay $9m for dodgy advertising and booking confirmations
Webjet has been ordered to pay a $9 million fine after misleading people about the cost of flights. Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS By Farid Farid Updated July 29 2025 - 8:42am, first published 8:33am Travel giant Webjet has been slapped with a $9 million fine after admitting dozens of customers were slugged with hidden fees. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other in your area The Federal Court ordered the flight comparison site to pay $9 million on Monday for making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations. The fares were advertised on its website, in promotional emails and on social media posts. An investigation found customers were stung with hidden fees on top of advertised prices. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS) The Webjet fees represented 36 per cent of the ASX-listed firm's total revenue in the period from November 1, 2018 to November 13, 2023. "Seeking to lure in customers with prices that don't tell the whole story is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law," the commission's chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. "Retailers must ensure their advertised prices are accurate. They should clearly disclose additional fees and charges." The ACCC commenced its investigation after one consumer complained about an airfare advertised for $18, which ended up costing almost three times that amount after the compulsory fees were added. The Webjet fees comprised the "Webjet servicing fee" and "booking price guarantee" fee, which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking. They depended on whether the flights were domestic, to New Zealand and the Pacific or other international destinations. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said luring people with misleading prices was a serious breach of law. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS) While Webjet's website, app and most emails contained information about the additional fees, they were in the fine print near the bottom and not clearly communicated to customers. In its social media posts, Webjet didn't disclose the additional fees at all. The commission said Webjet admitted liability and it would also foot the bill for some of the ACCC's legal costs. The online travel agency said in a statement on Monday it had come to an agreement with the commission in February. "As previously disclosed to the ASX, the parties reached agreement over the proceedings in February 2025. The Federal Court's approval formally disposes of the proceeding," Webjet said. Australian Associated Press
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Dr Boreham's Crucible: Oncology-focused Qbiotics hopes to crawl through IPO ‘window of opportunity'
Like other IPO candidates – and the list is growing – private oncology drug developer Qbiotics has been closely watching the trajectory of Virgin Australia since the airlines June 24 ASX listing. The biggest float since fast food chain Guzman y Gomez spiced up things in June last year, Virgin's initial public offer (IPO) has been seen as a barometer of broader investor appetite for new offerings. With Virgin shares holding nicely at cruising altitude, is it time for the Brisbane-based Qbiotics to debut? Qbiotics chief Stephen Doyle says IPO timing has never been right in the past, but the company now is positioned to crawl through the window of opportunity when it opens. In March the company appointed Jeffries and Bell Potter as joint lead managers for the putative float, and it is getting its financial reporting into shape. 'We have done the due diligence and prospectus drafting … all the things you need to do for an IPO,' Doyle says. 'At the end of the day it's picking the right time with the right catalysts to create value for shareholders.' Tapping nature's pharmacy The company may have found such a catalyst, having last month reported encouraging results from its phase II soft tissue sarcoma (STS) trial. The study road tests Qbiotics tigilanol tiglate (EBC-46), which derived from the depths of the Daintree rainforest. The company says tigilanol tiglate has a 'multi-factorial mode of action', including activating the protein kinase C. This leads to the disruption of the tumour's blood supply, while also stimulating a local inflammatory response. Separate from this, tigilanol tiglate can directly kill cancer cells within the tumour, in a way that promotes the development of anti-tumour immunity. This is like how a vaccine works. Qbiotics has phase II programs for both soft tissue sarcoma and head and neck cancers (HNCs). It also has less advanced programs in venous leg ulcers and anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory applications. Dogged effort wins canine approval Qbiotics has an approved product, Stelfonta, to treat canine mast cell tumours. The current standard of care is surgery - but anaesthesia is dangerous for older dogs and brachycephalic breeds (short snouted ones such as bulldogs, boxers, pugs and shih tzus). Stelfonta is administered by injection directly into the tumour mass. The European Medicines Agency approved Stelfonta in January 2020, followed by the US Food and Drug Administration in November 2020 and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority in July 2021. Stelfonta is distributed by the French group Virbac, which is responsible for all sales and marketing, while Qbiotics provides the finished product at a suitable margin. Doyle says the veterinary drug showed Qbiotics could take a product all the way from discovery to commercialisation. 'It was also a derisking strategy,' he says. 'The canine is a good surrogate for the human setting and that has been the case. 'We have some good safety and efficacy data in well over 20,000 dogs'. Stelfonta recently won a label expansion in the UK, for use in resectable mast tumours (not just inoperable ones). The story to date Qbiotics was co-founded by research scientist Dr Victoria Gordon and husband and forest ecologist Dr Paul Reddell. Both founders were employed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, but in 2000 Dr Gordon busted out to form Ecobiotics. The duo then formed Qbiotics in 2010. -Ecobiotics merged with Qbiotics in 2017. The pair stumbled on tigilanol tiglate when 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 non-toxic deterrent preventing the critters from eating and thus destroying the seed. Qbiotics isolated tigilanol tiglate and tests for anti-cancer activity in animals proved safe and effective. Doyle was appointed in early September 2024 after Dr Gordon stepped down, but she remains on the board. At the time, Mark Fladrich and David Phillips were appointed, while Andrew Denver and Prof Bruce Robinson stepped down. The company's chair, Dr Susan Foden died suddenly in early November and Mr Fladrich assumed the chair role. The board previously included former ASX and Cochlear chair Rick Holliday-Smith, Cochlear chief financial officer Neville Mitchell and erstwhile Macquarie Bank CEO Nicholas Moore. Taking the low road and the high road A Scottish pharmacist, Doyle has a long history with big pharma companies in medical and commercial roles. Since peregrinating to Australia at the end of 1999 on a working holiday visa, Doyle has held roles with Janssen, Novartis, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim. He had lengthy stints in Paris, Singapore and Shanghai, before being poached by the smaller Aslan Pharmaceuticals (based in the Lion City). 'I liked the idea of roll up your sleeves and multi-tasking, whereas with big pharma you tend to get pigeon-holed,' he said. Doyle joined Qbiotics partly because he liked the idea of returning to Australia, notably Brisbane, but also because of the buzz of developing a drug. 'The risk of biotech is quite exciting,' he says. 'It's not for everyone. If you want a nice stable job ... get a job at Pfizer.' Soft tissue sarcoma Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is a rare cancer that generally forms as a painless tumour in any bodily soft tissue. The company says there were 128,000 new cases of STS globally in 2023, with the incidence growing at about half a per cent per year. The US Food and Drug Administration has granted tigilanol tiglate orphan drug status for this indication. Conducted at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, stage one of the phase IIa trial covered 10 evaluable patients with advanced STS. The study achieved an objective response rate of 80% in injected tumours, with eight patients having a complete ablation or partial ablation (reduction of 30% or more). Of the injected tumours, 22 out of 27 (81%) showed complete or partial ablation (14 complete). 'None of the 14 completely ablated tumours recurred at six months, indicating tigilanol tiglate may provide durable responses,' the company says. The trial moves to an expanded second stage, with another 40 patients targeted. Doyle says there around 80 to 120 STS sub types, but the company intends to narrow its work to the most common varieties. Head and neck cancers (HNC) Qbiotics currently is recruiting in Australia and UK for the HNC phase II trial. As with the STS trial, it is single-arm and open label. An earlier 19-patient phase I/II trial met safety and tolerability goals. Head and neck cancers are a portfolio of cancers afflicting the mouth, nose, throat, voice box, sinuses, and salivary glands. Doyle says HNCs are challenging in at least two ways. For a start, they occur close to vital organs and vessels. Secondly, patients tend to be from lower socio-economic areas. For instance, mouth cancer is quite prevalent in India and may result from chewing betel nut. Smoking and chewing tobacco and alcohol are key risk factors with mouth and voice box cancers. Oro-pharyngeal cancers are linked to the human papillomavirus. The company hopes to release top-line data later his year. Here, there and everywhere … Doyle says tigilanol tiglate is an 'interesting molecule' because it has multiple modes of action. This includes some evidence of an abscopal effect, over and above the drug's direct effect on the tumour. The abscopal effect is when localised cancer therapies lead to the shrinkage or even disappearance of tumours elsewhere in the body. Not surprisingly, the immune system is thought to transmit the tumour kill signals. In an 'off study' observation the abscopal effect was seen in a melanoma patient, in an earlier phase I 'all comers' study. (The company carried out two melanoma studies, one of them a dose-escalation effort in combo with Keytruda and the other a monotherapy). The company is carrying out exploratory work on the abscopal effect in the STS and HNC programs and hopes to present data at an upcoming congress of learned peers. In the background, the company is also undertaking a dose escalation and safety study for venous leg ulcers, which remain stubbornly hard to treat. A semi-synthetic variant, this one would be a drug rather than a device, which would be rare in wound healing. Finances and performance Qbiotics' unlisted status hasn't prevented the company from raising large wads of money: $194 million since inception, plus $60 million of tax incentives and government grants. In early 2021, the company raised a hefty $85 million, with investment firm TDM Growth Partners accounting for $50 million (existing holders took up the rest). At the end of December 2024, the company had cash of $39 million. 'We have enough money to deliver on our outlined programs, including part two of the STS trial and a venous leg ulcer study,' Doyle says. In the December half year, the company generated $1.16 million from Stelfonta sales, which 'continued to be lower than expected'. With its level of disclosure, Qbiotics' annual report looks more like the work of a listed company. With no listed mechanism – or not yet anyway – buyers and sellers can trade separately via Dr Boreham's diagnosis Doyle says Qbiotics' strategy has been to generate data in multiple tumours, including melanoma, to broaden the company's commercial appeal. 'For us it is about creating proof of concept and evidence in multiple solid tumour types, to make us attractive for partnering. 'Our sweet spot is phase II or IIb, but we need to find a big partner … with the necessary infrastructure and resources to run multiple registration studies targeting multiple solid tumour types.' He says Qbiotics is not yet at the point of having to hone its indications of interest. 'We are small nimble and get to wear multiple hats, but ultimately we are limited by resources.' In its 25th year, Qbiotics offers enough goings-on to maintain the interest of the company's circa 2,600 shareholders ahead of the listing. For the record, Grandview Research values the STS market at US$1.26 billion in 2023 and reckons the HNC sector will be worth US$5.2 billion by 2030. The vet market is estimated at US$100 million. That's decent enough, but a morsel compared to the human oncology opportunities. At a glance Qbiotics is a public unlisted company Chief executive officer: Stephen Doyle Shares on issue: 489,026,611 Financials (half year to December 31, 2024): revenue $1.16 million (up 6%), government grants $3.89 million (-4%), loss of $9.3 million (previously an $8.5 million loss), cash on hand $39.2 million (down 15%). Board: Mark Fladrich (chair), Doyle, Dr Victoria Gordon (co-founder), Dr Paul Reddell (co-founder), David Phillips, Sergio Duchini Major shareholders: TDM Growth Partners 11%, founders and staff 13%, remaining top 20 24%, remaining shareholders 52%
The Australian
10 hours ago
- The Australian
ASX banks, telcos lead market higher after Trump's EU deal
Australia's sharemarket snapped a brief two day losing streak on Monday after US President Donald Trump announced his latest trade deal and the major banks bounced back from their recent falls. The benchmark ASX 200 index closed up 30.8 points or 0.36 per cent at 8697.7 after hitting an intraday high of 8704.9, while the broader All Ordinaries finished in the green up 29.20 points or 0.33 per cent to 8,963.50. The Australian dollar slipped from a nine-month high on Friday buying 65.51 US cents at the time of writing. On an overall positive day, eight of the 11 sectors finished in the green, led by the telecommunications sector, the big four banks and healthcare stocks. The ASX had a good day after Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the EU. Picture: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Shares in Telstra gained 0.81 per cent to $4.95, REA Group jumped 1.34 per cent to $236.09 and CAR group added 1.72 per cent to $37.89. Market heavyweight CBA gained 1.17 per cent to $174.90 offsetting half the falls in recent days, while NAB gained 0.67 per cent to $37.76, Westpac added 0.54 per cent to $33.21 and ANZ group closed 0.30 per cent higher at $30.31. Healthcare darling CSL gained 1 per cent to $270.59, Sigma Healthcare added 1.41 per cent to $2.88 and ResMed finished 0.97 per cent higher to $41.70. The markets jumped after US President Donald Trump announced a deal with the EU to end four months of negotiations between the two economic powerhouses. Following the discussions, the EU will face a 15 per cent tariff from the US, which is down from the 25 per cent the President announced in April. European Commission chief Ursula von de Leyen described it as 'a big deal, a huge deal, bringing: stability and predictability' to the two trading partners. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said global markets around the world jumped on these trade deals. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump announced the deal on Sunday. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP) 'In terms of the trade deals with Japan and Europe, the tariff rate that will be implemented came in lower than initially threatened and the market is looking very positively on it,' Mr Sycamore said. Uranium shares were one of the rare misses during Monday's trading, dragged down by news out of Boss Energy which flagged challenges out of its Honeymoon uranium project. Boss Energy shares plummeted 43.97 per cent to $1.90, Deep Yellow fell 8.34 per cent to $1.65 and Paladin Energy dropped 4.43 per cent to $6.91. 'That is the uranium sector in a nutshell,' he said. 'It is one where you have to be prepared for extraordinary volatility. 'This was a disappointing performance day and a disappointing report by Boss Energy.' In company news, Helloworld Travel shares soared 14.14 per cent to $1.69 after the business upgraded its guidance to somewhere between $58-$62m. Stealth Group's shares also soared 11.02 per cent to $0.70 after announcing a 50 per cent jump in pre-orders on the back of the soon to be released iPhone 17. Bubs Australia shares jumped 2.94 per cent to $0.18 after the infant formula maker announced Joe Cootes as its new chief executive, effective immediately. Read related topics: ASXDonald Trump
