in an ASX announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThe key now is to sustain that momentum \u2013 continuing to innovate, improve and work closely with our customers to create lasting value.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Neuren tackling rare paediatric neurological conditions<\/p>\n
Neuren Pharmaceuticals is focused on rare paediatric neurological conditions with its lead asset trofinetide invented 20 years ago at Auckland University in a program spearheaded by eminent chemist Prof Margaret Brimble.<\/p>\n
Marketed as Daybue in the US, in 2023 trofinetide became the only US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for rare paediatric neurological disorder Rett syndrome.<\/p>\n
Neuren out-licences the drug, to Nasdaq-listed Acadia Pharmaceuticals for North America and collects royalties and milestones.<\/p>\n
The FDA approved a powder formulation of the drug called Daybue Stix in December 2025.<\/p>\n
Neuren has earned more than $500m of cumulative revenue, consisting of royalties and milestone payments, since Acadia launched Daybue in the US three years ago.<\/p>\n
Recent European regulatory progress on trofinetide is set to add a second royalty geography.<\/p>\n
Neuren also has another second asset NNZ-2591, which the company believes could have greater commercial potential.<\/p>\n
NNZ-2591 is in various stages of clinical development for other rare paediatric neurological conditions including Phelan-McDermid, Angelman, Pitt Hopkins, Prader-Willi syndromes, all under FDA orphan drug designation.<\/p>\n
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Aroa riding on the sheep\u2019s back<\/p>\n
Founded in 2008 by veterinarian Dr Brian Ward, New Zealand-headquartered Aroa Biosurgery has grown from a start-up into a global soft tissue regeneration company.<\/p>\n
Ward\u2019s interest in regenerative medicine led him to investigate tissue alternatives after observing that New Zealand\u2019s pasture animals were largely free from disease, providing a unique source material for developing safe and effective regenerative products.<\/p>\n
Aroa\u2019s growing portfolio of soft tissue repair technologies is based on ovine forestomach matrix (OFM) \u2014 derived from sheep rumen sourced exclusively from New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The tissue is processed and sterilised to remove DNA and cells, leaving behind the extracellular matrix (ECM), a natural scaffold that supports the body\u2019s own healing process.<\/p>\n
Listed on the ASX in 2020, Aroa continues to be led by Ward as CEO and managing director.<\/p>\n
While Aroa\u2019s products are used internationally, the company\u2019s key focus remains US, where it is expanding through its direct sales force and partnership with Nasdaq-listed TELA Bio.<\/p>\n
Aroa delivered a strong FY26 result with revenue increased 23% on FY25 to NZ$103.9m, with the standout performer its flagship Myriad portfolio, which generated NZ$49.5m in revenue, up 54% YoY.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, its Symphony portfolio is positioned for potential growth after the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed maintaining its reimbursement framework for outpatient skin substitute products in CY27, including a single payment rate of US$127.14 per cm\u00b2.<\/p>\n
Aroa believes the evolving reimbursement environment is likely to favour products like Symphony supported by strong clinical evidence and responsible pricing, rather than business models reliant on higher reimbursement rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see substantial opportunity to grow from here,\u201d Ward told Stockhead.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur focus is on building on the strong momentum across the Myriad portfolio, scaling our US business and positioning Symphony to become a meaningful driver of medium term growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
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AFT building global specialty pharma portfolio<\/p>\n
AFT Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company dual-listed on both sides of the Tasman.<\/p>\n
Its best-known products include the ibuprofen-paracetamol combination Maxigesic and Hylo, Australia\u2019s biggest-selling lubricating eye drop.<\/p>\n
The company also sells Crystaderm anti-acne cream and Kiwisoothe for gut discomfort and constipation.<\/p>\n
AFT\u2019s development program also covers dermatology indications including keloid scars, strawberry birthmarks and port wine stains.<\/p>\n
Last week, it announced that the FDA had issued tentative approval for Scomara (rapamycin 0.5% cream) for the treatment of facial angiofibromas in tuberous sclerosis (FA in TSC).<\/p>\n
It also sees a significant opportunity in iron deficiency, which the World Health Organization (WHO) describes as one of the most common and widespread nutritional disorders globally.<\/p>\n
The FDA recently reviewed its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its injectable iron research and development project, allowing the company to proceed with its Phase III clinical trial.<\/p>\n
To be undertaken with Belgian development partner Hyloris Pharmaceuticals, the trial will enrol 1366 patients and is targeting an addressable market of ~US$7.41bn.<\/p>\n
AFT posted sales of NZ$254.7m in FY26, up 22% on pcp, with net profit after tax increasing 24% to NZ$14.1m.<\/p>\n
The company is targeting revenue of more than NZ$300m in FY27 after reporting double-digit growth across all its territories in FY26.<\/p>\n
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\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\u00a0<\/p>\n
This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.<\/p>\n
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Aroa Biosurgery is a Stockhead advertiser, the company did not sponsor this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealand is more than sheep, rugby and tourism. It’s also home to world-leading healthcare innovators. Pic: Getty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500],"class_list":["post-830578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}