Two more Australian biotechs to list on ASX

Two Australian biotech companies lodged IPO prospectuses with ASIC this week, both looking to list in the next couple of months.

Melbourne-based tissue engineering group Kryocor is planning a AUD$5.5 million float on the ASX. Kryocor launched its prospectus with ASIC yesterday, and plans to offer 27.5 million shares at an issue price of $0.20, with one-for-one attaching options exercisable on or before September 30, 2006. The offer has not been underwritten by lead and sponsoring broker Tolhurst Noall.

The company, which has been spun out of devices manufacturer Bio Nova, is commercialising collagen-based implantable medical devices. Its first product is replacement blood vessel Flonova, which is fully developed and TGA-registered. The company plans to out-license the device to medical devices companies internationally in order to create a revenue stream for the company.

Capital raised in the IPO will be used to expand R&D capabilities and develop new applications including a 'living' coronary artery bypass graft and prototypes for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) for knee reconstruction, as well as for commercialisation and business development activities.

The company expects to be able to commence clinical trials for its coronary artery bypass graft as well as animal studies for its ACL replacement in 2006. The offer opens on March 2, and closes on March 31, with an expected listing date of April 14, 2005.

Perth-based Phylogica also lodged its prospectus to raise $5 million, through the placement of shares at $0.20 in a non-underwritten IPO led by Azure Capital.

The functional proteomics company, which has developed from collaborations between the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research in WA and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, is planning to use the capital raised to support the discovery and development of lead candidates identified using its proprietary 'Phylomer' drug discovery platform in asthma, stroke and diabetes, which utilises novel libraries of large naturally-occurring protein fragments and large peptides that can be screened using a modified yeast reverse two-hybrid system.

The company's strategy, at least in the near term, is to license out, or co-develop drug candidates with a pharmaceutical or biotech partner for clinical development. Its asthma project is the most advanced with several vaccine candidates against asthma and allergy causing house dust mites in pre-clinical animal studies, and it also received a BIF grant late last year to support preclinical studies of its stroke candidates.

Late last year, listed biotech investment fund Biotech Capital (ASX:BTC) invested $2 million into the company. Biotech Capital's other investments to date include Alchemia, Biocomm, Clinical Cell Culture, Continence Control Systems, Pacific Knowledge Systems, Proteome Systems, Starpharma, Stem Cell Sciences and XRT.

Phylogica's offer opens on March 3 and closes on March 18, with an anticipated listing date of March 30, 2005.