Opthea Ltd. plans to raise AU$80 million (US$51.2 million) via a AU$10 million private placement and a AU$70 million entitlement offer to continue its pivotal phase III trials in wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) for lead candidate OPT-302.

SK Bioscience Co. Ltd.  and Vaxxas Pty. Ltd. have entered into a joint development agreement that could revolutionize vaccines by developing a vaccine-delivery device combination product using Vaxxas’ high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) coupled with SK Bioscience’s typhoid vaccine, Skytyphoid.

Imagion Biosystems Ltd. signed a flurry of deals recently to expand its pioneering molecular magnetic resonance imaging platform Magsense beyond Australia and into additional indications to detect cancer earlier.

Adalta Ltd. is gearing up to begin phase II trials of its lead i-body candidate, AD-214, in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but it is hoping to find a pharma partner to fund the trials.

The HIV journey is a roller coaster of highs and lows for the patients living with HIV and their families and loved ones but also for the community of researchers and clinicians who pour their hearts and souls into the work they do, said speakers at the International AIDS Society (IAS) 2023 conference in Brisbane, Australia.

Haemalogix Ltd.’s monoclonal antibody Kappamab met all primary endpoints in a phase IIb trial that combined the MAb with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in kappa-type multiple myeloma patients who had relapsed or become refractory to other treatments.

Microba Life Sciences Ltd. has started dosing patients in a phase I trial of its gut microbiome-derived therapeutic, MAP-315, for ulcerative colitis, the major form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Enveric Biosciences Inc. is gearing up to begin clinical trials in generalized anxiety disorder with lead candidate, EB-373, a psilocin prodrug. Trials are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023.