Epiminder keeps $65.1m cash runway as DETECT study advances

Cash runway extends into 2028 despite higher burn

Epiminder Limited (ASX:EPI) ended the September quarter with $65.1 million in cash, no borrowings and an estimated six quarters of funding at its current operating burn. That gives the epilepsy-monitoring developer room to keep financing its DETECT study and next-generation Minder device, which the company says are supported well into 2028.

The qualification matters. Net operating cash outflow reached $10.4 million in Q1 FY27, up from $8.3 million in the June quarter and $5.7 million in Q3 FY26. The Appendix 4C reports a slightly more precise operating outflow of $10.477 million, with a further $5,000 spent on property, plant and equipment and a $168,000 adverse foreign-exchange movement leaving $65.144 million in cash at quarter-end.

DETECT spending rises as enrolment advances

Research and development was the largest operating cash cost at $5.7 million, followed by $3.8 million in staff costs. The company said staff costs included bonuses relating to FY26 performance. Administration, corporate costs and marketing added $1.6 million, while $454,000 of interest received partly offset the outflow.

The spending arrives as the DETECT study moves through its US enrolment phase. Epiminder reached its 75th patient in September and had expanded its US site network to 21 centres, with a target of 210 patients by the first half of calendar 2027. The current filing does not provide a fresh enrolment figure or clinical result, making the next operating update particularly relevant to how quickly cash is being converted into study progress.

Cochlear receives $3.5 million for device development

One of the quarter’s more notable cash movements was a $3.528 million payment to Cochlear Ltd (ASX:COH), Epiminder’s largest shareholder, for research and development activities supporting the next-generation device. Epiminder said those activities are controlled by its own management. The payment formed most of the $3.634 million in related-party payments disclosed in the Appendix 4C, with the balance comprising director fees and other payments.

The use-of-funds disclosure shows $4.1 million spent during FY27 to date on research and development, alongside $1.5 million for the DETECT demonstration program and study. Since the prospectus, the company reports cumulative utilisation of $68.8 million against its stated uses of proceeds, while interest received has added about $2 million to resources.

Annual meeting to provide the next operational test

Epiminder is due to provide an operating update at its annual general meeting on 30 October. The key question is whether the higher quarterly burn reflects a temporary concentration of costs, including bonuses, or a more representative level as the DETECT study and next-generation device work accelerate. For now, the cash balance provides a meaningful buffer, but the six-quarter estimate is calculated from one quarter’s spending and is not a fixed forecast.