The asx notice from Chemeq below was almost certainly filed in...

The asx notice from Chemeq below was almost certainly filed in response to an article in last Saturday's Financial Review which inter alia said the following....
Market Wrap
Small caps ..Martin Pretty
"Doubts about Chemeq"
Shares in Chemeq, the maker of safer antibiotics for animals, have been affected by concerns that it hasn't secured enough sales to justify the new factory it is building.
There is also an expectation that Chemeq will soon return to the market to raise new cash to pay for the new facilities".
The article then went on to indicate the positive side of how an FDA judge last week had ruled in favour of the ban on Bayer selling Baytril, which is a poultry antibiotic that has been partly blamed for a rise in drug resistant germs that infect people.Martin goes on to say that "Chemeq would be pleased that this issue has gained enough prominence that a coalition of consumer groups called keep antibiotics working has been formed."
As a matter of interest, this group have been around for several years, because I personally have been following them for over 2 years or more. http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/News/News.cfm

See below for details re Baytril

CHEMEQ LTD: FACT BEFORE RUMOUR

22 March 2004

Pharmaceutical company Chemeq Ltd (ASX: CMQ) today made a statement
following recent rumour.

In response, Chemeq merely wishes to emphatically reaffirm its recent
announcements:

"Chemeq has begun to roll out its prelaunch marketing programs in
preparation for the launch of CHEMEQ® polymeric antimicrobials beginning
in South Africa, then followed by New Zealand and other countries. We
anticipate getting (more) sales orders concurrently with the production
output from our manufacturing facility." (ASX 04.12.03)

Calculated market size for CHEMEQ® polymeric antimicrobials is AUD$9
billion/annum globally i.e. approximately 9,000 tonne/annum; calculated
output from the (first) manufacturing facility is only 20 tonne/annum
i.e. less than 0.25% of the total market. (ASX, frequently quoted
statistics in prior announcements)

".... Chemeq Ltd announced today that it had begun commissioning its
newly constructed manufacturing facility" (ASX 16.01.04); Cash held at
31.12.03 is $26.858 million. (ASX 11.02.04)

"Chemeq continues to be optimist of announcing successful completion of
commissioning in the near future, but at the same time wishes to avoid
excessive or uncertain announcements of intermediate progress." (ASX
27.02.04)

The Company is continuing to keep shareholders fully informed of fact -
and in the meantime, the Board of Chemeq Ltd cautions shareholders
against responding upon the basis of only rumour.


For more information:

Adam Deane
Company Secretary
Chemeq Ltd
(08) 9362 0100

Jane Cotter
Cotter Communications
(03) 9650 1955


www.chemeq.com.au
_____


==============================================
http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/News/news.cfm?News_ID=367
Judge Upholds Ban On Chicken Antibiotic
(Posted: 18-Mar-04)


The Washington Post | March 17, 2004 Wednesday | A Section; A02 | Marc Kaufman, Washington Post Staff Writer
An administrative law judge yesterday upheld the Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban an antibiotic used to treat chickens because it was making human antibiotics less effective.

The drug Baytril, manufactured by Bayer Corp., was ordered off the market in 2000 along with another poultry medication in an effort to limit the spread of antibiotic resistance that enables bacteria to become impervious to drugs they regularly encounter. The FDA targeted the two antibiotics because they are close relatives to a popular family of drugs used to treat human disease.

The drug remains on the market pending resolution of the case.

Administrative Law Judge Daniel J. Davidson accepted the FDA position that chickens treated with Baytril produce resistant bacteria that cause food poisoning that could not be treated by the related human antibiotics.

The decision was hailed by public health groups but was criticized by the trade group representing the makers of veterinary drugs and by Bayer, which plans to appeal.

"We don't feel that the scientific evidence that supports continued use of Baytril in poultry was fully considered," said company spokesman Bob Walker.

Baytril was once popular for treating respiratory problems in chickens, but its use in the United States has declined. The McDonald's fast-food chain has told suppliers to avoid antibiotics.

The FDA's ban of Baytril and SaraFlox, made by Abbott Laboratories, was based on an assessment to determine which animal antibiotics posed the greatest threat to drugs used in human medicine.

Abbott Laboratories agreed to remove its drug from the market, but Bayer argued that its product does not cause measurable antibiotic resistance or harm.

The Animal Health Institute, which represents makers of veterinary drugs, joined the appeal. "We think a compelling scientific case was made that the absence of Baytril to treat sick chickens carries real safety risks that outweighs the theoretical risks of the transmission of resistant bacteria," Vice President Ron Phillips said yesterday.

But the group Keep Antibiotics Working, which includes environmental, consumer and farming groups, applauded the decision.

Coalition member David Wallinga, with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, said the rate of drug resistance in food poisoning cases remains "disturbingly high