The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (XSO) slipped 12.40 points, or 0.35%, to 3,572.50 yesterday, extending its decline over the past five sessions to 181.70 points, or 4.84%. While the broader small-cap benchmark remained under pressure, several individual names delivered noteworthy company updates. You can read about these and more throughout the day.
Lumos Diagnostics
Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd (ASX:LDX, OTC:LDXHF) announced a strategic collaboration with US-based AcuityMD to support the commercialisation of its flagship FebriDx® test in the United States. The partnership will leverage AcuityMD’s AI-driven platform to provide enhanced visibility into reimbursement performance under the established Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) Code #0442U, aiming to help Lumos optimise market access and uptake for FebriDx across the US healthcare system.
Orthocell
Orthocell Ltd (ASX:OCC, OTC:ORHHF) reported accelerating adoption of its Remplir™ nerve repair device among Australian urologists, with the product now used in around 100 prostate cancer surgeries in a promising new application. Remplir is increasingly being deployed during nerve-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) to help reduce post-surgical complications from peripheral nerve injury and support recovery of erectile function and urinary continence.
Orthocell believes this use case could expand its total addressable market in the US from about US$1.6 billion to approximately US$2 billion, based on an estimated 115,000 prostatectomies performed annually, most of them robotic. To position for a targeted US product launch in the medium term, the company is establishing a commercialisation advisory board and investing in further clinical research to strengthen the evidence base for this peripheral nerve repair indication.
Archer Materials
Archer Materials Ltd (ASX:AXE, OTC:ARRXF), a quantum technology company developing advanced semiconductor chips for quantum computing and medical diagnostics, also reported a key technical milestone. The company has demonstrated electrical gating within its quantum single electron transistor (SET) devices, improving the way its 12CQ chip reads quantum information and marking an important step toward single-qubit demonstration.
The work, conducted using Archer’s quantum carbon films designed to be compatible with standard chip-fabrication methods, reduces technical risk and supports future integration with conventional semiconductor processes.
Archer tested multiple devices across a range of temperatures to better understand their behaviour and quantum properties, generating insights considered important for scalable production. The next phase of work, now underway, aims to demonstrate spin-state readout in magnetic fields, with early qubit readout testing already started and initial results expected next month.