Aussie biotech Alterity Therapeutics Ltd. released interim data of an open-label phase II trial for lead candidate ATH-434 for treating multiple system atrophy that showed 43% of participants improved, with 29% showing either stable or improved neurological symptoms.

AI-driven clinical trial design company Opyl Ltd. formed a partnership with L39 Capital Pty Ltd. to establish a $100 million biotech fund that will showcase the predictive power of Opyl’s Trialkey software in selecting successful biotech and pharmaceutical stocks. Melbourne, Australia-based Opyl leverages AI to elevate clinical trial design and forecast outcomes, empowering clinical researchers, biopharma companies and investors to enhance trial design, drug development and market delivery.

Kazia Therapeutics Ltd.'s stock shot up 248% on July 10 after the Sydney-based company reported that paxalisib showed a 3.8-month improvement in overall survival, a 33% improvement, for newly diagnosed unmethylated patients with glioblastoma (GBM) compared to the concurrent standard-of-care arm in the pivotal GBM-Agile phase II/III study.

Radiopharm Theranostics Ltd. announced a AU$70 million (US$46.69 million) institutional placement, and as part of that capital raise, radiopharma company Lantheus Holdings, Inc., has agreed to make an initial equity investment of AU$7.5 million.

Opthea Ltd. announced it plans to raise up to AU$227.3 million (US$150 million) to extend its cash runway through the data readout for its two phase III pivotal trials of sozinibercept (OPT-302) in wet age-related macular degeneration.

Fledgling biotech Ternarx Pty Ltd. has emerged from stealth mode and is the first of its kind in Australia to develop targeted protein degrader technology to destroy disease-causing proteins that cannot be targeted by conventional drugs. The Melbourne-based company will initially develop targeted protein degraders against currently undrugged transcription factors in cancers with significant unmet need, starting with neuroblastoma and prostate cancer.

Australian radiopharmaceutical company Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. announced its IPO on the Nasdaq to raise $200 million to advance its late-stage radiopharma candidates. Headquartered in Melbourne, Telix has operations in the U.S., Europe (Belgium and Switzerland) and Japan with an extensive pipeline of theranostic radiopharmaceutical candidates.

Life sciences venture capital company, Brandon Capital, announced the first close of its sixth fund for AU$270 million (US$180 million) during the 2024 Biotechnology Innovation Organization International Convention in San Diego. Fund VI will see Brandon Capital continue to seed new Australian and New Zealand life sciences startups, as well as advance its expansion into international markets, particularly in the U.K., Europe, and the U.S.

Australia is poised to play a leading role in the rise of the global radiopharmaceutical industry, as advanced therapies drive significant investment and rapid expansion, according to a new discussion paper from industry accelerator Mtpconnect.