Health Check: Flow of biotech quarterlies becomes a torrent | Stockhead
Keep calm and read on: the flood of quarterly reports contains mainly upbeat news. Pic: Getty ImagesCommercialised drug and device developers report steady progressCyclopharm shares soar 25% on rare. . .
Keep calm and read on: the flood of quarterly reports contains mainly upbeat news. Pic: Getty ImagesCommercialised drug and device developers report steady progressCyclopharm shares soar 25% on rare endorsement from the nuclear imaging bigwigsIs Botanix worth almost seven times more than its current valuation?Two days before cutoff date, the trickle of biotech June quarter reports has become a veritable torrent. In the words of the Titanic’s Captain: “that’s a heck of a lot of water”. He may have used a stronger expletive than that. Unlike the excessive and unplanned liquid intake that sealed the fate of White Star Line’s finest, the flow of quarterlies bodes more providently. So stay calm and read on. In the main, they’re a picture of drug developers making diligent but slow progress, whilst avoiding the icebergs that litter the path to commercialisation. Last year’s ASX hero stock, heart disease diagnosis playArtrya (ASX:AYA)reported revenue of $60,000 in the early days of its US commercial rollout. The company is selling its Salix coronary plaque detection tool to three foundation customers. The company expects to file a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval application for a follow-up device, Salix Coronary Flow, “imminently”. If the agency clears the device as expected, Artrya expects to be selling it by the end of calendar 2026. In the meantime, Artrya has a healthy bank balance of $74 million, which follows a recent capital raising. Artrya shares have soared 400% over the last 12 months. But wait, there’s moreRecent ASX entrantSaluda Medical (ASX:SLD)reported solid sales of its Evoke system, a novel neuromodulation device for easing chronic back pain. Saluda posted revenue for the quarter of US$27 million, 43% higher year on year, taking full-year revenue to US$90 million (up 28%). The company burnt US$28. 9 million during the quarter, leaving cash of US$116 million. Saluda listed in early December last year, having raised $230 million. However, the shares remain 83% shy of the $2. 65 a share listing price. Ouch!Biome Australia (ASX:BIO)is surfing the popularity of probiotics – products derived from live yeast and such that supposedly confer health benefits. The company’s full year revenue increased 30% year on year, to $23. 9 million. Biome pocketed quarterly receipts of $5. 9 million, with $708,000 of positive cash flow taking its cash balance to $3. 6m. The company claims its Biome Daily range is now the number one probiotic product sold via Australian pharmacies, as measured by both units and dollar value. A minnow to watch, tech providerInteliCare (ASX:ICR)posted $1. 8 million of cash receipts for the quarter. The company provides hardware and software based on predictive analytics, mainly to aged care providers. Intelicare also managed its first quarterly positive cash flow of $384,000. To date, the company has signed up large healthcare clients including Mecwa Limited, Hardi Aged Care and Warrigal Care Limited. “Our commercial momentum continues to build as we successfully deploy and execute with our existing customers while expanding our pipeline of new opportunities,” CEO Angus Cameron says. After a recent $2. 05 million placement, the company held June-end cash of $2. 73m. Meanwhile there are signs of life atAdherium (ASX:ADR), which has struggled to commercialise its Hailie sensor for asthma medication monitoring and compliance. The company has moved from direct sales to a remote patient monitoring (RPM) model with large industry players. The company reported remote patient monitoring (RPM) recurring subscription revenue of $479,000, 39% higher than the March quarter. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of record RPM revenue. During the quarter the company added 1684 device shipments and 1215 acitivations. This takes cumulative shipments to 5302, compared with the targeted 10,000 by the end of 2026. Adherium needs to plump up its balance sheet, though. After $3. 91 million of quarterly outflows, the company has skinny cash of $1. 38m. Technegas is great, say the nuclear medicine expertsUnusually, nuclear medicine agencies have endorsedCyclopharm’s (ASX:CYC)Technegas as the agent of choice for lung imaging in updated global guidelines. Such missives are normally brand neutral, because the experts don’t want to pay favourites. In their first update in 14 years, the guidelines cite Technegas as the “generally preferred [device] when available. ”The guidelines are the work of four leading nuclear medicine societies in the US, Europe and Australia/New Zealand. “This is not our marketing claim,” says Cyclopharm CEO James McBrayer. “It is the profession’s own clinical position, published by four international societies under their own names. “Every hospital committee our team sits in front of can now read it for themselves. ”After a decades-long delay, the FDA approved Technegas in mid 2023. The guidelines call for a move to three-dimensional scanning in the US, “ideally suited to the unique functional ventilation attributes of Technegas. ”While Technegas initially was developed and approved for detecting pulmonary embolisms, Cyclopharm expects the guidelines to support broader adoption. Technegas delivers a breast radiation dose around 70 times lower than a single CT pulmonary angiogram. Technegas involves the patient breathing a superheated radioactive, gas-like substance, which sounds unhealthy but leads to better lung imaging. The tool is currently used mainly to detected pulmonary embolisms – blood clots – but the FDA approval covers “visualisation of pulmonary ventilation”. This includes common conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma and long Covid. The company says clinicians have used Technegas for more than five million patient procedures globally. As for how Cyclopharm stacks up against the runaway lung imager4D Medical (ASX:4DX)? That’s one for another day. Is Botanix worth seven times more?Broker Canaccord reckonsBotanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:BOT)could be worth almost seven times its current value as the company shows a more “durable trajectory” with its commercialised drug Sofdra. Sofdra treats primary auxiliary hyperhidrosis, or excessive underarm sweating. Botanix yesterday reported a 25% June quarter boost in scripts written and a 46% boost in gross sales to $46. 7 million. The company also improved its lagging gross-to-net margin yield, whilst operating cash flows declined. “Sofdra is beginning to show a more durable trajectory, supported by a fulfillment platform that keeps patients on therapy via streamlined onboarding and refills,” Canaccord says. The firm adds the company wisely has focused on the 39 US territories that generate 90% of the scripts. It will be interesting to see the demand trends when the US summer kicks in in earnest. Canaccord values the stock at 14 cents, compared with last night’s close of 2. 1c. The company bears a $60 million market cap, with $36. 6m of cash and an undrawn $14. 6m debt facility.