Invion aims to silence dreaded smoker’s cough

THERE are many tough tasks in life but stopping smoking is one of the really difficult ones.

Is the end to smoker’s cough near?

THERE are many tough tasks in life but stopping smoking is one of the really difficult ones.

So if Invion’s treatment for the dreaded smoker’s cough turns out to be effective, it could be an important tool to get more smokers to finally kick the habit.

Led by former Chemgenex boss Dr Greg Collier and in the US by prolific drug developer Dr Mitchell Glass, Invion has just got the tick of approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to continue developing an inhaled form of the drug INV 102 (nadolol).

An oral version of the drug is further down the development pathway and has shown some very promising results in a phase two randomised and placebo controlled clinical trial for asthma.

Now 150 smokers who have chronic cough and have failed to give up smoking multiple times are now in a phase two trial to test various biomarkers and whether the smokers can finally give up.

“It is important to have multiple readouts in every clinical trial, the last thing you want is a binary outcome,’’ said Dr Collier.

The hope is that INV 102 — which was initially developed as a beta blocker to treat migraine and angina — not only helps smokers give up but also acts to improve the overall condition of the lungs.

If it does all of that, the promise for the drug in treating smoker’s cough, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis could be very large indeed.

Developing an inhaled version in conjunction with 3M will also be vital in maximising the potential market for the drug.

Dr Collier makes no bones about the fact that the end game for Invion is to have the final stage of its drug development performed by a large pharmaceutical group.

“We are patiently de-risking our drugs and there are several companies watching what we are doing closely,’’ he said.

Dr Collier said finding a partner for Invion’s lupus drug is a top priority with deals around INV 102 and a different asthma treatment, INV 104, down the track.

The speculative buy call is maintained.

MINING might not be the flavour of the month but within that broad spectrum lie some pockets of great interest.

Tin is one, with the prospect of lower production out of Indonesia and greater usage in solar panels, lithium ion batteries and to replace lead in solder attracting smart money.

Junior explorer Stellar Resources is highly leveraged to any improvement in the tin price with its high grade Heemskirk tin project in Tasmania showing potential to start production in a higher tin price environment by late 2017 or early 2018.

While that will require more drilling and metallurgical testing as the pre-feasibility study is optimised, the presence of some large and supportive European investors on the share register mean this junior company has a better than even chance of making the jump to production.

Experienced chief executive Peter Blight said metallurgical tests were continuing to show improved recoveries as the grind size was changed and there was a good chance that further drilling will lead to an improved mining plan, longer mine life and a larger resource.

“This post-boom environment is actually a much better base to build a business on because drilling costs are lower,’’ said Mr Blight. “Drilling is the biggest cost we have before getting into production.’’

A speculative buy, given that Stellar’s project could coincide with firmer tin prices.