There have been some big moves in the healthcare sector on Thursday.
For example, the two ASX healthcare shares listed below are up at least 16% in morning trade thanks to big news in the United States.
Here's what you need to know about them:
Cyclopharm Ltd (ASX: CYC)
The Cyclopharm share price is up 18% to $1.80. Investors have been buying the ASX healthcare share this morning after it announced an interim agreement to supply the Veterans Health Administration (VA) with the pharmaceutical and consumable components of Technegas.
Technegas is the company's core radiopharmaceutical product, used in functional lung ventilation imaging.
This could be a very big deal for Cyclopharm given that the VA is the largest integrated US Government health care system in the United States.
According to the release, the interim agreement immediately provides the 120 Veterans Affairs hospitals, which have nuclear medicine departments, access to an agreed contract for these products.
Cyclopharm's CEO, James McBrayer, commented:
Securing this Interim Agreement is critical for streamlining the United States Federal Government procurement process. This agreement bypasses the need for Cyclopharm to negotiate separate contracts with each of the 20 Regional Procurement Offices within the VA or potentially follow a reseller pathway that would delay the deployment of Technegas, distance us from our customers and impact margins beyond the legislated discounts required for federal contracts.
Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd (ASX: LDX)
The Lumos Diagnostics share price is up 16% to 4.3 cents.
This has been driven by news that the point-of-care diagnostic technology provider has been awarded ~US$3 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
These funds are to support the planned Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waiver clinical study and regulatory submission for Lumos' FebriDx bacterial/non-bacterial test.
FebriDx can aid clinicians with appropriate antibiotic use decisions and will hopefully improve antibiotic stewardship.
The ASX healthcare share's CEO and managing director, Doug Ward, commented,
Since early clinical practice, doctors have relied primarily on clinical observation to determine whether patients require antibiotics for acute respiratory conditions. FebriDx is a powerful diagnostic which can provide a quick and clear clinical evaluation, and in doing so, can reduce over-prescription of antibiotics.
Special mention goes to fellow ASX healthcare share Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB), which is rising over 9% today. However, with no news out of the company, it remains unclear why investors are scrambling to buy its shares today.
