Health Check: Probiotics supplier has gut feeling about surging growth

Probiotics maker Biome seeks to almost quadruple its revenues as it evolves from microcap to significant entrant in the lucrative sector.

Pic via Getty Images

• Biome Australia believes it can almost quadruple its probiotics revenue over next three years 

• Anteris faces delay to proposed Nasdaq listing and IPO

• Artrya asks FDA to approve its AI-based heart plaque detection algo

• Stalemate: Pacific Smiles board rejects counter takeover proposal

Health Check is renowned biotech journo Tim Boreham’s daily wrap covering morning movers and shakers of note in the ASX Healthcare sector, Monday through Thursday.

Probiotics supplier Biome Australia (ASX:BIO) has outlined ambitious plans to bolster its sales to a cumulative $75-85 million in the next three years, compared with a cumulative $22.5 million in the last three years.

Put another way, Biome is seeking to almost quadruple its revenues in its quest to evolve from microcap to a significant entrant in this booming supplement sector.

Probiotics are micro-organisms that are claimed to benefit the gut when ingested. Usually derived from dairy sources, they aren’t a normal part of the gut biome.

The jury is out on how effective they are, but at baseline level they are nice bacteria that won’t kill you. Biome’s flagship Activated Probiotics range covers anything from acne and eczema to irritable bowel syndrome and cholesterol.

The revenue targets are outlined in Biome’s Vision 27 manifesto, unveiled this morning. The strategy also includes increasing Biome’s 5,000 distribution outlets – including Priceline and Terry White pharmacies – to 8,000 by the end of 2027.

Biome generated revenue of $13 million in the year to June 30, up 80%. The company was also cash flow positive and made a net loss of $1.67 million, a 45% improvement.

Of the sales, $895,000 derived from offshore. The company sells in UK and Ireland and is using Canada, France and the Benelux countries as a springboard for further expansion.

Interestingly, Biome says 330 million prescriptions are dispensed in Australia annually, “each of which is an opportunity for an activated probiotic product to be recommended at the discretion of a qualified health professional.”

While Biome faces stiff competition from the nutraceutical gorillas Blackmores and Suisse, it has the ASX to itself as a probiotic pure-play although Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP) provides gut-health testing services.

Biome shares have spurted almost four-fold in the last year and 72% over the last six months, for a market cap of $173 million.

So management’s quest to escape microcap penury looks to be working.

The shares this morning climbed 4% to 72 cents.

Anteris Nasdaq IPO faces “not unexpected” delay

Heart valve innovator Anteris Technologies (ASX:AVR) says its plans to re-domicile in the US, list on the Nasdaq and raise US$75 to US$100 million remains intact despite postponing Friday’s scheduled EGM to approve the arrangement.

Management says while the “company continues to progress towards the US IPO”, the “change in timing is not unexpected when undertaking a complex cross-border transaction and capital raising”.

The delays do not reflect “any negative sentiment or impediments to the proposed scheme of the US IPO”.

Still, many investors will dwell on the recent experience of Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX), which planned a monster Nasdaq listing and a US$200 million IPO. But the proposed pricing was overly discounted and instead Telix raised $600 million here via convertible notes.

Anteris is developing a transcatheter heart valve to treat aortic stenosis, a key cause of heart failure.

The first to use a single piece of bio-engineered tissue, the valve mimics the performance of the original equipment.

The company says it is close to knocking on the doors of the US Food & Drug Administration to start a pivotal phase III trial.

Given the US-centric nature of Anteris’s work it makes sense to seek a listing there. But beware! In most cases, the migration of ASX biotechs to the Nasdaq has not resulted in the expected overnight valuation uplift.

Anteris shares this morning were down 0.24% to $12.46 a share.

Artrya submits its FDA paperwork

Still on matters of the heart, Artrya (ASX:AYA) has submitted an FDA application for approval of its AI-based Salix Coronary Anatomy product to detect coronary artery disease.

Specifically, the device detects the build-up of invisible plaque that is a key cause of heart disease.

The application followed feedback and guidance from the agency at two so-called Q-Submission meetings.

The company says over the last 10 months it has worked with US hospital groups and healthcare systems final testing and validation on the Artrya system, “which will allow the company to reduce the sales cycle post FDA approval.”

Salix Coronary Anatomy already is approved in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the UK. Here, it is being used by The Cardiac Centre NSW and Cardia CT Centre NSW across four south coast clinics

Artyra shares were steady at 26 cents.

Pacific frowns as latest offer for dental group is rejected

The protracted $300 million-ish takeover fight for dental chain Pacific Smiles (ASX:PSQ) is looking like the Middle East and the Ukraine: a quagmire.

The Pacific Smiles board this morning rejected a takeover entreaty from an associate company of Genesis Capital, Beam Dental, lobbed on September 17 offering $1.90 in cash, scrip or a mix of both.

The bid was subject to 90% minimum acceptance. With  shareholders MA Financial (13.4%) and Dr Alison Hughes (9.94%) saying they will reject the offer, it is doomed unless the bidder removes the minimum acceptance condition.

The Pacific Smiles board says the offer – unchanged from late July – does not reflect the stronger performance outlined in the full-year results.

On August 8 shareholders voted down a board-endorsed $2.05 a share cash scheme of arrangement proposed by a Crescent Capital entity.

We say ‘plural’ shareholders but the vote would have got up if 19.9% holder Beam Dental had not opposed it.

Reflecting the impasse, Pacific Smiles shares this morning were steady at $1.84 cents.

Originally published as Health Check: Probiotics supplier has gut feeling about surging growth