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JULY BDI-40 UP 4.5%; ASX200 DOWN 4.0% - YEAR TO JULY 31: BDI-40 UP 74.2%; ASX DOWN 1.5%

5-YEAR BDI-40 UP 108%, ASX200 DOWN 9%

WHY I WASN'T HOLDING PHARMAXIS

CHEMGENEX, PHYLOGICA TRADING & TRANSPARENCY

2010: BDI-20 UP 34%, ASX200 DOWN 2.6%; MESOBLAST UP 518%, TISSUE THERAPIES UP 355%

COMMERCIALISATION AUSTRALIA WON’T DECLARE MORE INTERESTS, AGAIN

MARC SINATRA’S BIOGUIDE: BIONOMICS – ALMOST PERFECT

GBS VENTURES: BUILDING AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES

NON-BIG CAP BIOTECH PROFIT UP 42.5%, REVENUE UP 9.5%

Federal Election 2010 Editorial: Nepotism Our Best Hope

BIOGUIDE BRIEF: PHARMAXIS – ‘MISSED BY THAT MUCH’ OR DID IT?

ELI LILLY’S $773m FOR ACRUX’S AXIRON TESTOSTERONE TREATMENT

2009: BIOTECHS CLIMB FIVE TIMES FASTER THAN ASX200

EDITORIAL: ASX IN WONDERLAND III - CORPORATE REGULATION

EDITORIAL: BIOTECHS, THE LAW AND MATTERS OF PRINCIPLE

Editorial: A Once In An Economic Lifetime Opportunity

FRIENDS OF MERVYN & THE PERILS OF OWNER-DRIVERS

[ more ]

2011: BDI-40 UP 0.5%, ASX200 DOWN 14.5%; NEUREN UP 343%, PSIVIDA DOWN 84%

January 9th 2012 21:48

Biotech Daily

Monday January 2, 2012

Daily news on ASX-listed biotechnology companies

Subscribe to Biotech Daily at the link above or at www.biotechdaily.com.au

BIOTECH DAILY’S TOP 40 INDEX

The leading biotechnology companies ended the 12 months to December 31, 2011 up a collective half percent, which according to the end-of-year newspapers makes us the only Australian sector to close up. The S&P ASX200 fell 14.5 percent for the year.

Over the long term of 66 months since inception on June 30, 2006, the Biotech Daily Top 40 Index (BDI-40), which does not include the Big Caps of Cochlear, CSL and Resmed, was up 84.6 percent, compared to the ASX200 losing 20.0 percent.

The Big Caps fell a collective 18.9 percent for the year to December 31, 2011, with all three falling over the year – Cochlear down 21.4 percent, CSL down 16 percent and Resmed down 27.3 percent.

Twenty-three BDI-40 companies climbed in 2011, 13 fell and four were unchanged, with seven companies up more than 100 percent, 10 companies up by more than 50 percent and 11 companies down by 50 percent or more.

The biggest rises were in the Second 20, with Allied Health technically the best, up 550 percent from the very low base of $4 million to $26 million, following a major placement that shunned retail investors, with the share price up from three to four cents.

Neuren climbed 342.9 percent from $7 million to $31 million, followed by Antisense (283.3%), Genetic Technologies (269.2%), Avita (150%), Phosphagenics (140.4%), Bionomics (105%), Mesoblast (63.7%), Optiscan (60%) and Starpharma (58.4%).

Psivida fell the deepest, shedding 84.3 percent of its value to $26 million following a US Food and Drug Administration rejection of its Iluvien product, followed by Uscom down 75 percent on thin trading, Genera (64.3%), Cathrx (60%), Living Cell (57.9%), Patrys (56.5%), Pharmaxis (52.8%), Compumedics (51.6%), Bioniche (51%), Universal Biosensors (50.6%) and Reva (50%)

Outside the Top 40, the message was mixed with CBio losing 50 percent of its value from $30 million to $15 million, hitting a high of $107 million in August; GI Dynamics improved over the year, along with Calzada and Biotron. Solagran fell to $20 million - its lowest point since July 2009, when it lost most of its shares to the Opus Prime collapse and then regained them. It’s a long way from the $156 million of January 2008, but sales of the pine needle extract cure-all have not met expectations.

BDI-40 v ASX200 Jun 30, 2006 To Dec 31, 2011

BDI-40 v ASX200 Jan 1, 2011 To Dec 31, 2011

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2011 – THE YEAR IN REVIEW

December 16th 2011 00:26

Thursday December 15, 2011

Daily news on ASX-listed biotechnology companies

To read all these articles in full, subscribe to Biotech Daily at the link above or at www.biotechdaily.com.au

BIOTECH DAILY

The past 12 months have seen great caution in the biotechnology sector with the stand-out performance Pharmaxis snatching marketing victory from the jaws of European defeat.

It was a nervous few months for Pharmaxis staff and investors following the May 25 rejection by the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and subsequent 74 percent share slide, but Australian Ethical, Orbis Investment Management, several senior biotech executives and this writer placed their faith in Dr Alan Robertson and were rewarded on October 24 with European approval and a 70 percent share price improvement. Not to mention a successful $80 million capital raising completed earlier this week.

Both Mesoblast and Starpharma received significant encouragement from the London M&G Group becoming substantial in their companies, but both are now in the waiting game for results and deals.

Starpharma also raised the not inconsiderable amount of $35 million in a heavily oversubscribed placement and share plan and Phosphagenics raised $27 million. Biota was awarded $224 million by the US Government and Neuren’s trial costs are covered primarily by US Army grants.

Which brings to the fore the major raisings of late last year and earlier this year by three offshore companies.

Bioniche ($30m) has had an Australian share liquidity problem and we have not yet seen advances in its bladder cancer treatment. Reva ($85m) faced a six month delay to scale-up manufacturing quantities of its cardiac stent and GI Dynamics ($80m) has repositioned its Endobarrier from weight loss to diabetes treatment.

You can’t say there isn’t money available. If a company has the right board, right management, right technology and right story, funds seem to be available.

There have been other promising companies that have struggled to survive and the turn-around in the fortunes of Neuren and Avita – both supported by Australian Ethical, amongst others – has been welcome. Not to mention Qiagen paying $365 million for Melbourne’s Cellestis.

There have been some setbacks at the top, with Cochlear’s recall of its Nucleus 5 implant hitting the share price from a high of $85 a share to a low of $45, while CSL has had repeated questioning about its processes from the FDA.

Other disappointments this year include Alchemia’s fondaparinux parade being rained on by Glaxosmithkline’s authorized generic, the failure of Psivida and Alimera’s FDA approval for Iluvien, non-significant data for CBio’s XToll, Bionomics anti-cancer drug BNC105 failed mesothelioma trial and Biota’s Inavir missing a prophylaxis trial endpoint.

* * *

Overall, for the year to November 30 the Biotech Daily Top 40 Index (BDI-40) was up 9.25 percent compared to the ASX200 falling 10.1 percent.

But in the five years to November 30, the BDI-40 was up 51.9 percent compared to the ASX200 falling 23.5 percent. Reasons to be cheerful.

The Biotech Daily CEO of the year award has to go to Dr Paul MacLeman for repairing Genetic Technologies from a low of 2.8 cents to a high of 35 cents. The company has been revitalized with licencing deals, new technology and a short AGM with no options for directors on the agenda.

The difficult choice came from a field including, but not limited to, Mesoblast’s Prof Silviu Itescu, Starpharma’s Dr Jackie Fairley, Cellestis’s Dr Tony Radford, QRX’s Dr John Holaday, Antisense’s Mark Diamond, Phosphagenics’ Dr Ezra Ogru and Harry Rosen, as well as Acrux’s Dr Richard Treagus.

Perhaps the most significant event of the year will turn out to be the appointment of Greg Combet as Innovation Minister.

While Senator Kim Carr grew to understand and support innovation in general and biotechnology in particular, he was unable to transform the sector with the infrastructure a pro-active Federal Government could. He was no John Brumby or Peter Beattie.

Mr Combet has much greater clout in Cabinet and although his Hunter Valley electorate is a coal mining area, there are many biotech companies nearby to assist his understanding of how beneficial sunrise industries are to the economy. He also has people close to him who strongly support innovation, and he in turn is close to the Prime Minister.

The engagement with biotechnology by Victoria’s new Minister for Innovation Louise Asher and her Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips has been very welcome, especially Ms Asher’s acknowledgment of the role of the previous Government. The first investment of $55 million has been relatively small, compared to say a Synchrotron, but these are tough times and we should be grateful not to have faced cuts.

The Biotech Daily award for industry campaigning goes to Walter and Eliza Hall Institute director Prof Doug Hilton for steering the Discoveries Need Dollars campaign to avoid savage Federal Budget cuts to the National Health and Medical Research Council, the core research that leads to the biotechnologies the sector attempts to commercialize.

We also salute all those who donned lab coats to take to the streets of Australia’s cities to let the Federal Government know the campaign had both in vitro and in vivo support.

Biotech Daily’s last formal edition for 2011 will be published tomorrow and we return on January 23, 2011. Any major breaking news over the summer holiday period will be reported as a news flash with details in the January 23 catch-up edition. A market cap update will be published on January 3, 2012.

The subscription price will have a slight increase in line with the Consumer Price Index of 3.5 percent to a base rate of $820 in the New Year.

We wish all our readers a very relaxing Summer holiday break, Merry Christmas, a sunny Summer Solstice and a better biotech New Year in 2012.

David Langsam
Editor

To read all these articles in full, subscribe to Biotech Daily at the link above or at www.biotechdaily.com.au

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NOVEMBER BDI-40 DOWN 10%; MACQUARIE REPORT HITS MESOBLAST 17%

December 1st 2011 23:35

Biotech Daily

Thursday December 1, 2011

Daily news on ASX-listed biotechnology companies

Subscribe to Biotech Daily at the link above or at www.biotechdaily.com.au

November BDI-40 Down 10%, ASX200 Down 4%
Macquarie Report Hits Mesoblast 17%, BDI-40 6%
Antisense Up 180%, Psivida Down 68%

BIOTECH DAILY’S TOP 40 INDEX

Most of the Biotech Daily Top 20 Index (BDI-20) companies fell in the month of November, but it might have been a different story if we used tonight’s data rather than last night’s end of the month reference point – but that’s statistics for you.

The exceptions were Alchemia and Bionomics, both recovering from earlier falls, Starpharma with a new major investor and Nanosonics looked good by not falling.

The Biotech Daily Top 40 Index (BDI-40) fell 9.7 percent in November with the S&P ASX200 down 4.1 percent for the month. While the ASX began to close the chasm over 12 months, the BDI-40 (which does not include the Big Caps of Cochlear, CSL and Resmed) remained well ahead of the benchmark index for the year to November 30, 2011, up 9.25 percent compared to the ASX200 falling 10.1 percent (see chart below).

A total of 29 companies fell in November with nine up and two unchanged.

Antisense was the clear winner, up 180 percent to a market capitalization of $28 million, as the day-traders ramped the expectation of impending trial results for its growth hormone receptor-targeting drug ATL1103 by the end of this year. Bionomics was up 23.1 percent to $176 million, followed by Anteo (21.3%), Alchemia (18.5%), Optiscan (10%), Compumedics (7.7%), Reva (3.4%) and Nanosonics (0.8%).

Mesoblast’s 16.8 percent or $386 million fall – at the hands of an incorrect but widely disseminated Macquarie Bank report - wiped 6.2 percent from the BDI-40. The biggest percentage fall was Psivida’s 68.2 percent drop to $27 million, triggered by an FDA refusal for its Iluvien drug delivery device. From a low base, Uscom lost 37.5 percent to $5 million and Tissue Therapies’ not-quite-a-licence wounded the company 30 percent to $70 million, followed by Patrys (28.6%), Benitec (26.3%), Genera (20.0%), Living Cell (18.2%), Mesoblast (16.8%), Acrux (16.3%) and Genetic Technologies (15.9%).

CSL climbed 8.1 percent to $16,377 million pushing the three Big Caps up a collective 3.6 percent, despite Cochlear and Resmed both falling more than five percent in November, but for the year, the Big Caps were down 18.0 percent.

BDI-40 v ASX200 Jun 30, 2006 To Nov 30, 2011