Life Science Companies in the 2017 OTCQX Top 50

Two Australian companies focused on regenerative treatment and research that can help damaged skin and prevent the effects of Parkinson’s, earned a spot in the OTCQX 50 best companies of 2017.
For Living Cell Technologies (ASX: LCT,OTCQX:LVCLY) and Avita Medical (ASX: AVH,OTCQX:AVMXY) to make the list they had to be traded on OTCQX on Dec. 31, 2016, had a closing share price of 25 cents or greater on the same date. On Dec. 31 it had to have a greater closing share than it did in Dec. 2015.
Both companies also needed to have traded at equal or a greater than $500,000 dollar volume in 2016. It couldn’t be a penny stock and it had to be traded at least one day in 2015. Each company also had to be a member of the OTCQX Composite Index as of Dec. 31, 2016.
According to Kristie Harkins, Chief Marketing Officer OTC Markets Group, this is the first time both companies have been listed in the OTCQX Best 50.

Living Cell Technologies (OTCQX:LVCLY,ASX: LCT)

Living Cell Technologies focuses on researching and developing regenerative solutions, based on naturally occurring cells. The company’s actual research and development center is located in New Zealand.

One of Living Cell Technologies’ main products is NTCELL, a cell-based therapy which can help prevent the progression of Parkinson. The company is looking into the effect of NTCELL with Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, and other motor neuron diseases.
According to Living Cell, NTCELL has the ability to “regenerate damaged tissue and restore function in preclinical studies of other neurodegenerative diseases.”
In June of last year at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Living Cell presented the results of its phase I/IIa clinical study of NTCELL for Parkinson’s disease.
The progression of Parkinson’s is measured with a neurological rating scale called the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS). In their results, Living Cell saw an improvement for patients being treated with NTCELL.

This year, Living Cell received approval to begin treating six more patients. “If the trial is successful, the company plans to apply for provisional consent to treat paying patients in New Zealand in Q4 2017,” said a statement from Living Cell.
Living Cell Technologies and Avita Medical made the 36th and 42nd place on the list respectively. Over a one-year period, Living Cell Technologies’ share price has gone up 126.92 percent.

Avita Medical (OTCQX:AVMXY,ASX:AVH)

Avita Medical focuses on skin regeneration through their three main products: ReCell, ReGenerCell, and ReNovaCell. They are all medical devices working with skin cells to, respectively, regenerate wounds caused by burns, can trigger a healing effect with chronic wounds, and can work to treat aesthetic deficits such as scars, sun-damaged skin, wrinkles, and lesions.
One of their products is the Regenerative Epithelial Suspension also known as RES, this cell-based regenerative solution is applied to the skin directly in the form of a spray.
The procedure to produce RES takes around 30 minutes. This product is made from the patient’s own skin, which results in no danger for the user to get an “adverse immune response.
RES delivers “non-cultured disaggregated skin cells” which triggers a signaling across the surface of the wound, overcoming the limitations of the wound edge.
In a letter to shareholders last year, CEO Adam Kelliher said one of their key goals was to obtain FDA approval, for which they have already applied for, to enter the U.S. market. “We hope to receive [it] by the end of 2017.”
In an email to INN, CFO Timothy J. Rooney said: “The Avita team is energized by the internal momentum generated by our march towards US FDA approval and subsequent commercialization prospects. It is quite rewarding to us all to see that internal excitement transition to [an] external acknowledgment of our progress and growth via the recognition from the OTCQX exchange and Avita investors across the globe.”
The company recently closed its Cambridge office in order to begin their move to California. In the same letter to shareholders, it was detailed how the plan is for the Los Angeles office to operate as the hub for Avita Medical.
Avita Medical’s share price has gone up 21.38 percent over a one-year period.
 
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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.