ferret's stock to watch: bionomics limited

Ferret's Stock to Watch: BIONOMICS LIMITED
08:30, Wednesday, 10 November 2004

A BIOTECH AMONG LOCALS ATTRACTING BIG DRUG GROUPS

Sydney - Wednesday - November 10: (RWE)
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OVERVIEW
********

The AusBiotech 2004 conference in Brisbane this week underlines
the potential of small local biotech companies that have germinating
research products needing capital and marketing.

The fascinating discovery from the conference is the realisation
that the big US drug companies are closely watching our small biotech
companies for potential new drugs.

The veteran of Australia's burgeoning biotech industry Mr Mel
Bridges predicts rising global collaboration.

"The world's big pharmaceutical companies will look increasingly
to Australian biotech companies to provide them with a future pipeline of
innovation, according to Mr Bridges.

How many local companies have been turned away from the doors of
venture capitalists only to go offshore.

Now the big US drug companies are very interested in biotech
companies "down under".

"At least five of the biggest pharmaceuticals do not have any
new blockbusters in the late stages of development and they are turning
to Australian companies to fill dwindling product pipelines," he told
the conference.

Companies like Bionomics Ltd should not be ignored by the market.

Bionomics and Genetic Technologies have formed a strategic
alliance to commercialise new genetic tests for epilepsy.

These new diagnostic tools will enable earlier diagnosis, more
precise treatment and better overall outcomes for those suffering from
inherited forms of epilepsy.

Under this strategic alliance, Bionomics now grants to GTG
worldwide testing and marketing rights, including exclusivity for
Australia and New Zealand, to new epilepsy tests developed by Bionomics.

GTG now grants to Bionomics a licence to the GTG non-coding
patents.

The first test to be launched under this program will identify
cases of severe myoclonic epilepsy in infants (SMEI) – a serious form of
epilepsy in children.

The tests will be performed by GTG and will also be made
available to the GENDIA network of international genetic testing
laboratories, which will bring these tests to more than 70 countries
around the world, including key markets in USA & Europe.

Bionomics and its academic collaborators will support GTG in the
development and marketing of these tests.

A key benefit of the SMEI test will be faster and more definitive
diagnosis of this serious condition, thereby helping to guide treatment
options.

Additional tests in relation to other causes of epilepsy will be
added to the program in due course.

The precise terms of the financial arrangements between GTG and
Bionomics are covered by confidentiality, but it can be disclosed that
both parties will benefit from the revenues generated from this new
alliance.

GTG will pay Bionomics a signing fee, royalties and future
milestone payments in relation to revenues received from this epilepsy
testing, world-wide, while Bionomics will also pay GTG for a license to
the GTG non-coding patents.

Bionomics' drug and diagnostic development is built on two
proprietary discovery platforms.

IonX, is used to identify genetic targets for potential
diagnostics and therapeutics for epilepsy and Angene is used to identify
angiogenesis based cancer drug prospects.

SHARE PRICE MOVEMENTS

Shares of Bionomics rose 2c to 31c yesterday. Rolling high for
the year has been 42.77c and low 19c.


Bionomics in its its 2003/2004 financial results, highlighted
continued progress in the company's epilepsy and cancer research
programs.

Bionomics' CEO and managing director, Dr Deborah Rathjen said,

"A key objective for Bionomics this past year was to accelerate our
epilepsy drug discovery and diagnostic programs.

"Together with our collaborative partners we are aiming to bring
a Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI) diagnostic test to market
in the current financial year.

"Our cancer program is also showing solid progress with data on
our proprietary angiogenesis drug target, BNO69, being recently presented
to several US scientific meetings and published in the eminent scientific
journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS)," Dr
Rathjen said.

Key Points – Operations

* Clinical study of patients with SMEI progressed well with
feedback from Bionomics' clinical collaborators indicating a strong need
for specific gene-based diagnostic tests for this serious condition.

* Development of a second, syndrome specific, animal model of
inherited human epilepsy, which displays the absence form of epilepsy.

* Bionomics has entered into a US National Institute of Health
funded research collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Medical
School to study Bionomics' proprietary animal models of epilepsy.

Establishment of collaborations with Walter and Eliza Hall
Institute and Southern Cross University to access compound libraries and
chemistry for epilepsy and anxiety drug discovery.

* Formation of a strategic alliance with PerkinElmer Inc. on ion
channel drug screening technologies for Bionomics' epilepsy and anxiety
drug discovery programs.

* Presentation of Bionomics' proprietary drug target, BNO69, to
several US scientific meetings and a subsequent collaboration on the drug
target with the Louisiana Gene Therapy Consortium.

* Acceptance of Bionomics’ nicotinic acetylcholine ion channel
receptor patent application in New Zealand.

Key Points – Finance

* Cash on hand at June 2004 of $8.703 million ($6.071 million at
June 2003).

* The operating loss of the company after income tax for the year
ended June 2004 was $3.575 million, a 21.3 per cent reduction on the
prior year of $4.541 million.

* Revenue of $1.983 million representing a 23.3 per cent increase
over the prior year aided by increased government R&D Start grants
($1.608 million for the year ended June 2003).

* Reduction in net operating and capital expenditure cash
outflows by 17.6 per cent to $3.111 million ($3.774 million for the year
ended June 2003).

* $5.744 million (net of costs) raised via placement and
shareholders entitlements issue.

Mr Lee Craker, Bionomics CFO said, "The company has continued to
ensure it is operating with a solid funding position.

During the year we were able to increase grant income and raise
additional capital which enabled the Company to appropriately resource
its research programs," Mr Craker added.

MD on Outlook

In commenting on the outlook for Bionomics, Dr Rathjen said,

"We are now well placed to fast track our epilepsy and anxiety drug
discovery programs whilst continuing to target early commercialisation of
epilepsy diagnostics.

"Bionomics is now pursuing a tightly focused growth," Dr Rathjen
declared.

The company has new data showing that gene-silencing molecules
developed by the company inhibit tumour growth in a breast cancer model.

The gene-silencing molecules target BNO69, one of Bionomics'
proprietary drug targets.

Bionomics' director of Cancer Research, Dr Gabriel Kremmidiotis
is presenting these results at two scientific symposia in the United
States.

Tumours that were treated with BNO69 gene-silencing molecules
showed a reduction in size of over 75 per cent compared to untreated
tumours, in experiments conducted over 34 days.

BACKGROUND
**********

Bionomics is a world leader in genomics, holding patent
applications at various stages of prosecution incorporating over 600
genes it has discovered and related utility in specific therapeutic and
diagnostic applications.

As the biotechnology era dawned in the early 1990s, key South
Australian scientific experts realised that public funding alone would
never deliver the surge of research activity needed to compete in this
dynamic new field.

They used their knowledge to create a new company, that would
capitalise on existing research and clinical data through a series of
public-private partnerships, and take the science forward into the new,
gene-based era of medical research and discovery.

In December 1999, when Bionomics Limited was listed on the
Australian Stock Exchange, it became the first publicly listed pure
genomics research company in Australia.

Its initial focus was the discovery of genes associated with
epilepsy and breast cancer.

This focus has now expanded to include angiogenesis.

The company has exclusive access to well-defined clinical
material and clinical insights which, combined with its platform
technologies, facilitate rapid gene discovery. Bionomics will exploit its
gene technologies to discover, develop and sell gene-based products in
the global marketplace.

It is a world leader in genomics, holding patent applications at
various stages of prosecution incorporating over 600 genes it has
discovered and related utility in specific therapeutic and diagnostic
applications.

The Company is leveraging that expertise and intellectual
property to generate both near term and longer-term revenues.

Bionomics aims to become a driving force in the industry as the
company discovers innovative treatments which improve the lives of
patients with epilepsy and other serious medical conditions.

ENDS

Copyright © 2004 RWE Australian Business News. All rights reserved.

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I don't hold BNO