Company Information: Avecho; Bioxyne / BLS; Rich Biosciences; iX Biopharma

Avecho Biotechnology made a loss of A$2.17 million in the half year to June 30 after reporting a 30% drop in revenue to $312,187.

The company, which is in the middle of a phase III clinical trial for its simple CBD capsule, attributed the drop in sales of its skincare ingredient Vital ET to the fall.

The interim loss was 2.2% higher than the H1 FY23 result.

The amount of money spent on operating activities during the six months increased by 57% from the previous period to $628,000.

Research and development expenses rose 75% to $2m while administrative and commercial expenses fell 33% to $1.15m.

Avecho had $4.8m of cash available at the end of June, up from $5.5m at the end of December.

The company said the trial led to Insomnia is now fully operational at its five facilities in Melbourne, Sydney, Central Coast, Brisbane and Perth.

Bioxyne/Breathe Life Sciences

The manufacturing of gummies at its Brisbane plant is the likely reason for the sharp rise in Bioxyne’s share price and higher than normal trading, the company told the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

More than 27 million shares were sold in Bioxyne on Friday, exceeding the usual volumes, when the company’s share price hit $ 0.017, from $ 0.011.

It prompted questions from the ASX which asked Bioxyne if the market was aware of any unknown factors that could explain the sudden spike.

The company said the trading price was likely to be a result of its announcement on 21 August where it revealed the successful supply of “Australia’s first pharmaceuticals manufactured under a GMP licence”.

Shares in Bioxyne were down 8% in Monday morning trading.

Rich in Bioscience

New Zealand firm Rua Bioscience has launched its first product on the Australian market using genes developed across the Tasman.

Rua’s CEO, Paul Naske, described the launch of the dried flower, Rua Rau Hiwa, as the most important step in “fulfilling our business model that focuses on two points of the value chain : genetics and international distribution”.

“We are proud to provide Rua’s cannabis genetics, sourced from the New Zealand heritage market, to thousands of patients across Australia,” he said. “We continue to prioritize R&D and gene discovery.”

Naske says the legalization of medical cannabis has allowed the expertise of illegal growers to thrive in legal settings.

“For more than 50 years, growing cannabis in New Zealand has been about back-door expertise developed illegally. Now, we have an opportunity for this expertise to thrive, supported by the our scientists and our heritage growers who deeply understand how the genetics of the cannabis plant can create effective medical solutions,” he said.

“This is a competitive advantage that we have around the world, with Australia being the first of many countries to adopt our genes.”

Rua, which has agreements with four Australian suppliers, will now focus on introducing New Zealand genetics to the German market next year.

iX Biopharma

Medical cannabis sales rose 8% for iX Biopharma in Fy24 but that didn’t stop the company from reporting serious losses.

The firm, which is listed on the Singapore stock exchange (SGX), saw its deficit slip to S$10.8 million (A$12.2m) in the 12 months to June, up 12% from a year earlier.

Total revenue increased slightly, up 1% to $5.95m, of which $5.26m was generated by sales of its CBD and THC wafers.

Nutrition revenue fell 32% to $508,000.