Starpharma's (ASX:SPL) DEP lutetium effective in cancer: Aus shares 0.2% up at midday

Starpharma’s (ASX:SPL) DEP lutetium effective in cancer: Aus shares 0.2% up at midday

The Australian share market opened higher this morning and is now trading 0.2 per cent higher at noon. The A2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M) is leading the top 200 gains at midday, up nearly 7 per cent, with Mayne Pharma Group (ASX:MYX) coming in last.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 13 points higher at 5,955. On the futures market the SPI is 2 points down.

Broker moves

Ord Minnett has rated Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) as a Buy. The broker assesses the business is benefiting from structural change in the domestic aviation market as well as the competitive landscape in charter. In addition, the business is being set up to move to the next level, with a combination of more services for existing customers as well as the addition of new customers. Shares in Alliance Aviation Services (ASX:AQZ) are trading 2 per cent lower at $2.96.

Company news

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) has reported that its DEP lutetium candidate is effective in human prostate cancer models. Conducted at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Advanced Imaging the company’s first DEP radiotherapy candidate showed highly statistically significant anticancer activity, tumour regression and 100% survival. Starpharma CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley, says Radiotherapeutics are a rapidly growing and increasingly important area of cancer therapy. The radiopharmaceuticals area is a rapidly developing area of cancer treatment and diagnosis, and this area has recently generated several high-value deals and sales in this category are estimated to grow to $12–15 billion by 2030 Shares in Starpharma (ASX:SPL) are trading 6.6 per cent higher at $1.13.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Consumer Staples, adding 1.7 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Financials, shedding 0.8 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is The A2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M), rising 6.9 per cent to $18.95, followed by shares in Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CUV) and Carsales.com (ASX:CAR).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Mayne Pharma Group (ASX:MYX), dropping almost 4.6 per cent to $0.37, followed by shares in Adbri (ASX:ABC) and Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,724 an ounce.
The iron ore price rose 1.4 per cent to US$104.85.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.9 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.71 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network