Health Check: Greenland and Canada can wait; Trump declares war on drug prices instead

President Trump says US drug prices could be slashed by up to 80% if they are referenced to those applicable in other countries. 

Trump's revamped drug proposal could mean radical savings for Medicare – but fewer therapies available. Pic via Getty

• The Prez reckons US drug prices could fall up to 80% by referencing them against other countries’ lower costs

• Vitura Health eyes 20% underlying earnings improvement this financial year

• Orthocell wins Hong Kong approval for Remplir

 

Donald Trump is having another crack at drastically reducing drug prices, a move that could advantage some patients but lead to others being denied life-saving treatments.

As with all Trumpian pronouncements, the proposed execution and the likely consequences are unclear at this juncture.

In his favourite conduit – Truth Social – Trump rekindled the “most favoured nation” concept, by which drug prices would be references to the cheapest countries.

“I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%,” he declared.

“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World.”

As CNN reports, his previous attempt in late 2020 was blocked by the federal courts and rescinded by Joe Biden when he came to power.

“It would have applied to Medicare payments for certain drugs administered in doctors’ offices,” CNN says.

“However, it is unclear what payments or drugs the new directive would apply to.”

The policy would provide welcome savings to the nation’s public Medicare system. It’s estimated the first iteration would have saved US$86 billion a year.

But if pharma companies aren’t being adequately compensated for the humungous cost of drug development, fewer therapies would become available.

Not surprisingly, big pharma will object and they have the lobbying power to make a big noise.

Meanwhile, the Prez intends to impose tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, but he is yet to outline what he has in mind.

Vitura’s strategy rethink hits the jack-pot

Medical cannabis intermediary Vitura Health (ASX:VIT) reports the first green sprouts from last year’s “strategy reset” and recent acquisitions.

With the local medical pot sector riven with oversupply, Vitura has a differentiated strategy of running telehealth, clinics and an online purchasing platform.

It sure beats growing the stuff.

After a wobbly period Vitura is reaping the benefits, as outlined in today’s comprehensive – albeit convoluted – financial update.

In short, Vitura forecasts that June quarter revenue will support an “annualised revenue rate” of more than $138 million, 11% higher than the previous year’s $124 million.

Management forecasts current-year earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) to improve 20%, compared with the previous year’s subdued $6.2 million.

Vitura’s revenue and ebitda have increased “successively” in the months of February, March and April.

“We’ve got the fundamentals of the business back on track and we’re looking forward to continuing that momentum into the near and mid-term future,” CEO Geoff Cockrill says.

The strategy manifesto targeted 10% growth in revenue for the 12 months to June 2025, as well as a 3% improvement in its ebitda margin and a 10% operating expenditure efficiency gain.

While the revenue run rate is on target, actual current-year revenue should fall “slightly short”.

Vitura owns the Canview marketplace, Doctors on Demand telehealth business, CDA Clinics (medical cannabis telehealth) and a medical cannabis online marketplace.

In February Vitura acquired the Queensland-based medicinal cannabis clinic chain Candor Medical for $5.9 million.

The update also reflects a full year’s contribution from the company’s 50% interest in the Releaf Group, acquired last November.

Vitura shares have lost about one-quarter of their value over the last 12 months, but this morning popped up about 4%.

Orthocell wins Hong Kong approval

Having won FDA approval in early April for its flagship nerve repair product Remplir, Orthocell (ASX:OCC) now has the go-ahead to sell in the “strategically important” Hong Kong market.

The company notes the go-ahead from the territory’s authorities was due in the December quarter – but came only one month after Orthocell lodged its application.

This swift turnaround was testament to Remplir’s product quality and supportive clinical data, the company said.

A collogen wrap, Remplir is used in nerve repair surgery to achieve a better result.

Not surprisingly, Orthocell will focus its attention on the capacious, US$1.6 billion-a-year US market, where it is “making significant progress towards imminent first sales”.

But Hong Kong is a tempting morsel, with the assent adding to approvals in Singapore and Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The company is eyeing European and UK approval within the next six months.

Outside Of the US, the company will use specialist distributors “with minimal additional internal resources required”.

Orthocell cites a US$3.5 billion a year global opportunity, with its approved jurisdictions accounting for US$1.8 billion.

Radiopharm ups it dosage in early cancer trial

Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD) has won approval to continue its phase I dose escalation trial for a variety of solid cancers, without any modifications.

An independent group that reviews of unblinded study data, the Data Safety and Monitoring Committee deemed the trial to be safe after probing data from the first four patients in the first cohort.

The study can advance to a second cohort, at double the dose.

The trial tests out the lutetium isotope-based 177Lu-RAD204, which targets cancers expressing the PD-L1 protein biomarker.

The trial started out with non-small cell lung cancer.

It is being expanded to other tumour types including small-cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, cutaneous melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and endometrial cancer.

The company is conducting the trial across four local clinical sites, with the second cohort due to be enrolled in mid 2025.

Avita Medical expands from burns, but still burns cash

Engorged by new product approvals, wound care house Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) is chalking up impressive revenue – but still is incurring heavy loses.

Avita on Friday said unaudited revenue for the March quarter leaped 65% year on year, to $US18.3 million ($28.6 million).

This was on the back of sales of its Recell spray-on-skin, invented by legendary Perth burns surgeon Professor Fiona Wood.

This revenue was supplemented by its more automated Recell Go kit, recently approved by the FDA.

Avita also benefits from leasing revenue from its Recell processing device, its Permeaderm wound dressing and its Cohealyx collage-based dermal matrix.

But commercialisation comes at a cost, with Avita reporting a net loss of US$13.8 million compared with a US$18.6 million deficit previously.

Avita ended March with cash and equivalents of US$25.8 million and can “continue its planned operations for at least the next 12 months”.

Avita says its product extensions have expanded its reach from its initial US$455 million-a-year addressable burns market to a US$3.5 billion burns and trauma sector.

But since inception the company has lost US$374 million, so it hasn’t been an easy journey.

Avita shares today lost 6%, taking the post-announcement retreat to around 20%.

At Stockhead, we tell it as it is. While Orthocell is a Stockhead advertiser, the company did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as Health Check: Greenland and Canada can wait; Trump declares war on drug prices instead