Healthcare shares split between US progress and cash-raising pain

Cash raising drove the biggest share-price moves this week. Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) fell 28.57% after announcing a $1.5 million placement and a proposed $1 million share purchase plan. Pacific Edge (NZX:PEB) rose 25.53% after Medicare confirmed payment for its Cxbladder Triage tests. Mayne Pharma (ASX:MYX) gained 21.26% after agreeing to sell its international business for $55.5 million.

Investors paid for clearer US sales

Pacific Edge’s Medicare decision gives doctors and hospitals a clearer way to claim payment for two bladder cancer tests. The policy starts on 20 December 2026 and covers patients with an intermediate risk of blood in the urine. The company estimates about 1.14 million US testing opportunities each year. The share price also moved above its 0.225 reopening level, showing that early buying continued rather than quickly disappearing. Revenue will still depend on doctors ordering the tests.

Mayne Pharma’s sale removes its international manufacturing arm from the business. Evaris Pharma will take over the Salisbury site and contract manufacturing work. Mayne will keep its US women’s health, skin care and distribution businesses. Investors appeared to value the simpler US focus, although the deal still needs Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval. Completion is expected in the third quarter of financial year 2027.

ResMed (ASX:RMD) delivered stronger core results, but its shares fell 2.14%. Sleep and breathing revenue rose 8% to US$1.26 billion. Net income increased 20% to US$418 million. The result included a gain from selling MatrixCare, so investors may have looked past that one-off benefit. The share price remained above its 33.11 reopening level, even after the weekly fall. ResMed also spent US$855 million buying back shares and repaid US$250 million of debt.

New trials met old cash concerns

Neurizon Therapeutics (ASX:NUZ) dropped 25.58% after raising A$4.3 million at 6.8 cents a share and seeking another A$2 million from shareholders. The company also plans to redeem its remaining convertible notes. That removes the risk of those notes turning into shares soon, but the new equity still reduces each existing shareholder’s percentage ownership. The stock also fell below its 0.07 reopening level, suggesting the financing news worried investors more than the removal of the notes helped them.

Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD) fell 20.00% despite agreeing with the US Food and Drug Administration on a single Phase 3 trial for RAD101. A Phase 3 trial is a large test used to support an application for approval. The study will include about 280 patients and may start dosing in the first half of 2027. Investors still face a long wait before results, and the company has not yet selected its contract research organisation.

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) also moved lower, although it plans to begin first-in-human testing of its HER2 radiopharmaceutical in December 2026 if ethics approval arrives. Percheron Therapeutics (ASX:PER) gained 16.67% after US regulators allowed a small investigator-led blood cancer trial to proceed. The study may enrol up to 20 people, but no results or start date have been provided.

Commercial progress still needs proof

AVITA Medical (ASX:AVH) raised its 2026 revenue forecast to US$92 million, US$94 million after third-quarter revenue rose 53% to US$26.1 million. Cash use fell to US$0.6 million, and the company expects to reach cash break-even in the fourth quarter. However, it remains loss-making and drew another US$10 million of debt. CMS has also set new national payment values and billing codes for RECELL from January 2027, which could make hospital billing easier.

Proteomics International (ASX:PIQ) fell 18.33% while seeking A$5 million at 10 cents a share. The money would support the Healius rollout, clinical evidence and US preparation. The stock also moved below its 0.115 reopening level. That fall suggests investors were concerned about the discounted offer and the fact that it is not underwritten. INOVIQ (ASX:IIQ) secured a 12-to-18-month validation agreement with Sonic Healthcare USA, but Sonic has not promised a licence. The share price fell after reopening, reflecting the long wait before any US sales decision.

Epiminder (ASX:EPI) gained no ground for the week, despite Medicare setting a US$31,265 payment for its brain-monitoring implant from 1 January 2027. Orthocell (ASX:OCC) rose 4.55% after Marine Biomedical won US clearance for PearlBone. Neither company has yet provided a sales forecast. BTC Health (ASX:BTC) extended its PEARS distribution rights into India, but sales must wait for Indian import approval.

Nexsen (ASX:NXN) gained 3.13% after receiving ISO 13485 certification for its StrepSure diagnostic. That certificate confirms the company has a recognised quality system. It is not approval to sell the test in the US or Australia. Cynata Therapeutics (ASX:CYP) completed a $912,962 entitlement offer and lined up another $550,000 placement, which still needs shareholder approval. The extra shares and options will add to the company’s existing share count.