I believe Australia is home to a good number of fledgling biotech companies with exceptional growth potential. Although they may not be as widely known as $58 billion biotech-giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), in time they could well become household names.
Whilst there is a lot of work to be done before that happens, I believe these three biotech shares are worth getting better acquainted with today. Here's why I like them:
The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price has climbed higher by around 7% so far this year. Investors appear to be impressed with the potential of its BNC210 anxiety drug. Last year the company's Phase II trials revealed that the drug outperformed the current standard of care whilst exhibiting no signs of sedation, memory impairment, addiction, or loss of motor co-ordination. With the anxiety disorders market projected to be worth US$18.2 billion in sales per year by 2020, I think Bionomics has enormous potential.
The Cynata Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: CYP) share price has fallen sharply this year despite the stem cell and regenerative medicine company recently announcing that Japan-based Fujifilm had bought a 10% stake in the company. Fujifilm was clearly impressed with the company's ability to produce an unlimited number of stem cells at a low cost through its Cymerus technology. As part of the arrangement Fujifilm has the option to an exclusive worldwide license to market and sell Cynata's therapeutic MSC product CYP-001 for the treatment of graft-versus-host-disease.
The Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT) share price has rocketed a massive 39% this year thanks to the positive results from the company's Phase 1/2A clinical trial of its novel therapy OPT-302. As well as the positive results, the developer of novel biologic therapies for the treatment of eye diseases raised $42 million at a significant premium. This puts the company in a great position to expand the clinical development of the potentially lucrative therapy. Whilst there is still a long way to go, Opthea is certainly one to keep a close eye on in my opinion.
