LIVING CELL IN TOP 20; IMPEDIMED, CATHRX JOIN TOP 40
January 23rd 2008 11:38
Biotech Daily
Monday January 21, 2008
Daily news on ASX-listed biotechnology companies
Monday January 21, 2008
Daily news on ASX-listed biotechnology companies
* ASX, BIOTECHS DOWN: NEUREN UP 21%, IMPEDIMED DOWN 15%
* LIVING CELL IN TOP 20; IMPEDIMED, CATHRX JOIN TOP 40
* PENTAGON FUNDS $US4m FOR NEUREN TRIAL
* GENETIC TECHNO HELPS NSW POLICE WITH THEIR INQUIRIES
* FERMISCAN BEGINS SINGAPORE BREAST CANCER DETECTION TRIAL
* SOUTH AFRICA APPROVES EASTLAND’S PHASE I MALARIA TRIAL
* PRANA QUOTES JOURNAL: METALS ‘MODULATE A-BETA LEVELS IN CSF’
* FDA APPROVES HATCHTECH’S PHASE II OVICIDE TRIAL
* PSIVIDA TO EARN $US5.2m FROM PSINUTRIA SALE
* ADVANCED OCULAR PLACEMENT RAISES $3.5m, ALCON PAYS $US1m
* PHYLOGICA, NEXIGEN SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT
* HALL PHOENIX INWOOD INCREASES TO 16.7% OF BONE MEDICAL
* IMUGENE INVESTORS TAKE UP ONE-THIRD OF RIGHTS ISSUE
* DR DAVID KING REPLACES MEDICAL THERAPIES’ PROF MICHAEL VITALE
* CIRCADIAN APPOINTS TINA MCMEKAN DIRECTOR
THE MARKET
The Australian stock market tumbled a further 2.9 percent on Monday January 21, 2008, with the All Ordinaries down 168.50 points to 5,630.9 points.
Eight of the Biotech Daily Top 40 stocks were up, 22 fell, six traded unchanged and four were untraded.
Neuren was best, up three cents or 21.43 percent to 17 cents on modest volumes, followed by Novogen up 12 cents or 10.71 percent to $1.24 and Clinuvel up 9.09 percent to 42 cents.
Debutante Impedimed led the falls, down 13 cents or 15.03 percent to 73.5 cents on small volumes followed by Phylogica and Portland down 12.5 percent to 14 cents and 10.5 cents respectively. Phosphagenics lost 10.26 percent to 17.5 cents; Apollo fell 8.11 percent and Psivida shed 7.32 percent.
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BIOTECH DAILY TOP 40 INDEX
Biotech Daily has made several significant changes to the Top 40, promoting Living Cell to the Top 20, with Cathrx and Impedimed joining the Second 20.
Living Cell’s 209 percent share price increase for the year to December 31 2007, follows its preliminary results for just two patients in its Russian type 1 diabetes xeno-transplant trial testing pig islets of Langerhans cells in humans. One patient has reduced insulin use and a second patient was insulin-free after one month’s dosing. The small scale Russian trial is continuing but a much larger trial is planned for New Zealand this year to validate the results. Biotech Daily had concerns with the Living Cell board, but the Navigroup capital raising included the appointment of the well-qualified Dr Robert Caspari to the board. Dr Caspari has extensive experience in large pharmaceutical companies. Living Cell has been promoted on the basis of its share price performance, its technology and early stage trial results
Cathrx has more than doubled its market capitalization to $113 million during 2007 and is hard to ignore on that basis alone. However, the company also has a board and management that are impressive as is their cardiac catheter technology. The company has received Conformitée Européenne (CE) mark approval for its diagnostic fixed curve catheter and has a pipeline of related products. Cathrx has been promoted on the basis of its size, performance and all round quality.
While Impedimed has been a listed company for just three months, it combines an impressive board including Mel Bridges (Alchemia, Peptech), Dr Cherrell Hirst (Peplin, QBF), Martin Kriewaldt (Allens Arthur Robinson, Suncorp-Metway), Michael Panaccio (Starfish Ventures) and Jim Hazel (Adelaide Bank) along with chief executive officer Greg Brown (Roche, Digene) and has an Australian-designed, US Food and Drug Administration-approved test for people at risk of secondary lymphoedema. Impedimed has been promoted on the basis of all-round quality.
Living Cell joins the Top20 at the expense of Mesoblast, which has had a rocky year, losing chief executive officer Michael Spooner, with residual uncertainty over management and awaiting firm results in its own area, despite some success by its US sister company Angioblast. Mesoblast moves to the Second 20.
To make room for the promotion of Impedimed and Cathrx, Metabolic will leave the Top 40 for the time being. Biotech Daily is aware that despite two drug failures in one year Metabolic, has strong management and is cashed-up. We look forward to the company returning with an innovative technology.
Similarly, Biodiem has a respected CEO in Andrew O’Brien, but the company has not performed as well as had been expected. While its live attenuating influenza vaccine has been of interest, the Russian trial of BDM-E for diabetic macular oedema did not meet its efficacy endpoints.
The revised list is on the final page of today’s edition.
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