Brain mapping research has taken off, with the publication of a Brain Atlas
Two ASX stocks focus on brain mapping research
We look at the best performing ASX stocks over the past month
Researchers are making rapid progress towards understanding the 170 billion cells in the brain that enable us to walk, talk, and think.
A new Brain Atlas published by the Allen Institute for Brain Science examines the location, structure and, in some cases, function of more than 3,000 types of brain cells in detail.
Experts believe the Atlas could open the path to understanding neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to depression.
“You can use this map to understand what actually happens in disease and what kinds of cells might be vulnerable or affected,” says Ed Lein, a senior investigator at the Allen Institute in Seattle, and one of hundreds of researchers who worked on the maps.
The completion of this inaugural project signals a remarkable leap forward in one of the last frontiers of medical science – the brain.
Detailing more than 21,000 genes at the cellular level, the Atlas provides scientists with a level of data previously not available.
The Atlas essentially provides scientists worldwide with an enormous database of information that an individual researcher could spend a lifetime trying to gather.
What did the Atlas find?
Since humans share more than 90% of their genes with mice, the Atlas offers profound opportunity for further understanding of human disorders and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia, autism and addiction.
‘This project is an unprecedented union of neuroscience and genomics,” said philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, who provided $100 million in seed money to launch this project in 2003.
“The comprehensive information provided by the Atlas will help lead scientists to new insights and propel the field of neuroscience forward dramatically,” he added.
The project has already led to several significant new findings about the brain.
First, it reveals that 80% of genes are turned on in the brain, much higher than the 60 to 70% scientists previously believed.
It also shows the location of genes associated with specific functions, which provides scientists with valuable information about brain activity in different regions.
“It’s an enormous mine of information. Suddenly you can go into a much more advanced level of analysis,” said Catherine Dulac, a Harvard professor of molecular and cellular biology.
The study also found that many of the discrete regions of the brain perform similar functions in all mammals.
“This is the next step in a tremendous progression in trying to understand the brain and how it functions,” said Arthur W. Toga, a professor of neurology at the UCLA School of Medicine.
“As a scientist, how can you ever find something that’s more interesting than the organ in our body which makes us who we are?” Toga said.
You can see the findings from the Atlas here.
Two ASX stocks focusing on brain analysis
On the ASX, two companies that focus on brain mapping research are Compumedics (ASX:CMP) and EMVision (ASX:EMV).
Compumedics is a medical device company focused on diagnostics technology (the magnetoencephalography, or MEG system) for the sleep, brain and ultrasonic blood flow monitoring applications.
MEG is a functional neuro-imaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain using very sensitive detectors.
Founded in 1987 by current executive chairman Dr. David Burton, the company owns US-based Neuroscan, and Germany-based DWL Elektronishe GmbH.
Over the years, Compumedics has also received numerous awards, including Australia’s Exporter of the Year, and has been recognised as a Top 100 Innovator by both German and Australian governments.
EMVision meanwhile is a medical device company focusing on several pipelines including neuro-imaging devices.
The company’s Electromagnetic imaging (EMI) is an emerging technology that transmits low energy electromagnetic waves from a ring of transceivers around the head, modified as they pass through abnormal tissue, providing unique signatures for brain pathology.
EMVision’s portable brain scanner meanwhile is an ultra light weight device embedded in standard road and air ambulances to deliver pre-hospital stroke diagnosis.
Best performing ASX biotechs over the past month
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ICR has been rising after executing a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bolton Clarke as a precursor to a Strategic Partnership Agreement.
Bolton Clarke is Australia’s largest independent not-for-profit aged care provider, supporting more than 130,000 people at home and in its 88 residential homes and 38 retirement villages.
ICR also executed a binding Reseller Agreement with JNC Technologies to deploy the InteliCare platform to JNC’s client Hardi Aged Care.
The contract value is expected to be $1.8 million in hardware implementation, and on full deployment will generate in excess of $0.5 million in annual recurring SaaS fees with an initial term of three years, representing InteliCare’s largest commercial deployment to date.
Market darling 4D Medical has been rising after a series of announcements.
The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE: PHG).
Philips is a leading global healthcare company, and the deal will establish a strategic collaboration to expand federal and commercial sales opportunities for 4DX’s XV Technology in North America.
4DX has also been surging after announcing that its XV LVAS scanning device has been included into the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The inclusion today means that from 1 January 2024, XV LVAS scans conducted in a US hospital outpatient facility for Medicare patients can be billed to CMS.
Meanwhile, 4DMedical has also signed a binding agreement to acquire US-based medical technology company, Imbio.
Imbio will be acquired for an upfront purchase price of US$25 million (approximately $38.5 million), plus a contingent earnout including one tranche of up to US$10 million in CY24, and two tranches of up to US$5 million each in CY25.
To fund the deal, 4DX successfully completed a capital raising of $35 million by way of a placement.
Clarity is one of the best stocks this month after it showed that the first prostate cancer patient ever to be dosed with two cycles of 8GBq of 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA has had a drop in PSA to undetectable levels.
The patients were subjects in the Clarity’s theranostic trial, SECuRE, evaluating 64Cu/67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA in patients with mCRPC (metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer).
PSA is a known marker of tumour burden, clinical response to treatment, and an indicator of the recurrence of disease for prostate cancer.
The company also announced the commencement of its registrational Phase III 64Cu-SAR-bisPSMA diagnostic trial in prostate cancer, CLARIFY, following the initiation of the first clinical site at the Urology Cancer Center / XCancer Omaha.
The aim of the CLARIFY study is to assess the diagnostic performance of 64Cu-SAR-bisPSMA to detect regional nodal metastasis in participants with high-risk prostate cancer prior to radical prostatectomy.
The study expects to recruit 383 participants at multiple clinical sites across the US and Australia.
RNA-therapies focused biotech PYC Therapeutics said its fourth drug candidate had disease-modifying potential in patients with end-stage renal failure due to PKD (polycystic kidney disease).
A study conducted by PYC in human three-dimensional models showed that its investigational drug candidate, PYC-003, could address PKD at the root cause.
Results showed a deduction in cyst size and frequency following treatment with PYC-003 in a human 3D model, which was generated using tissue collected directly from the kidneys of PKD patients.
These results complement data from animal models highlighting the ability of PYC-003 to reach the cells affected in PKD.
PKD is a life-changing disease affecting 1 in every 1,000 people, with an addressable market of >US$10 billion per annum. As such, it is an area of major commercial interest for the drug development industry.
Medical devices company Compumedics said it has received two new MEG orders totalling $9.3 million in China.
MEG is a neuro-imaging device for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain, using very sensitive detectors.
The orders today were made by Tsinghua and Tianjin Universities in China. These sales are via Compumedics’ long-term Chinese distributor for the company’s brain research technology.
The MEG systems will be shipped to both Tsinghua and Tianjin Universities in FY25, due to the lead times associated with production of the MEG systems.
One order is for two single-helmet MEG systems, and the other is for a dual-helmet MEG system. Both will be configured for hyperscanning (measurement of two subjects simultaneously to study their interaction).
Compumedics expects to receive deposits this week securing the two new orders, with funds tied to shipment and installation due later in FY24 and then through FY25.
The post Check Up: Introducing the Brain Atlas, the largest map of the human brain. And recent ASX biotech winners appeared first on Stockhead.
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