Firebrick Pharma Ltd (ASX:FRE) enjoyed a stellar run on Friday as the latest healthcare stock to join the local bourse.
The pharmaceutical company listed under ticker “FRE’ following a $7 million initial public offering (IPO), where investors could buy in at $0.20 a pop.
Traders were even more eager to join the party on Friday, sending Firebrick’s stock soaring 195% to 58.5 cents per share in early afternoon trade.
Firebrick made its ASX debut with an implied $33.8 million market capitalisation and roughly $11 million in cash reserves.
The newly minted stock is out to innovate the pharmaceutical space with its Nasodine® nasal spray, a treatment for the common cold that’s designed to kills viruses in the nose.
FRE by the numbers
Firebrick joins the ASX cashed up and ready to launch into the next phase of clinical work for its flagship nasal spray.
Euroz Hartleys beat the drum in the company’s pioneer bookbuild, raising the $7 million in capital as the IPO’s sole lead manager.
Now, more than 168.8 million FRE shares are on issue and the company has an indicative enterprise value of $22.8 million.
Thanks to the raise, Firebrick is preparing for more clinical trials that assess Nasodine®’s effect on the common cold, as well as studies that evaluate its impact on other viral diseases.
Targeting the common cold with an antiviral solution
Amid COVID-19 and the annual flu season, Firebrick is developing a solution for a different kind of viral infection: the common cold.
The company’s flagship nasal spray kills respiratory viruses and has already completed one Phase 3 clinical trial as a treatment for the common cold.
In 2022, the company plans to complete a second, confirmatory Phase 3 trial aimed at gaining regulatory approval.
Firebrick’s co-founders, Dr Peter Molloy and Dr Stephen Goodall, developed and patented Nasodine, which, if approved, will be a first-in-class nasal spray medicine that targets the viral cause of the common cold, where colds start – in the nose.
Early in his career, Molloy launched the Betadine® Sore Throat Gargle in Australia.
Subsequently, he teamed up with Goodall to start Firebrick Pharma in 2012 with the aim of creating a nasal spray based on the same active ingredient (povidone-iodine) and developing it as a treatment for the common cold.
“After nearly 10 years of development, including a series of human clinical trials, Nasodine is potentially one more Phase 3 trial away from approval for use as a treatment for the common cold,” FRE executive chairman Dr Molloy said.
Outside this common infection, Firebrick is also investigating the potential for Nasodine to be used in the management of more serious viral illnesses — even the one that’s currently making headlines.
“Beyond treatment of the common cold, we are also pursuing the potential for Nasodine for pandemic viral diseases, including COVID-19,” Firebrick director and chief operating officer Goodall said.
The Firebrick team
Executive chairman Dr Peter Molloy is a microbiologist and biochemist who built a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, initially at Faulding in Australia, where he managed the Betadine range.
Subsequently, at Pharmacia (Pfizer), he was managing director of Australia/NZ operations and later vice president for international strategic marketing.
During his career, he launched 23 new pharmaceutical products and executed 40 international licensing or distribution deals.
Subsequently, he joined the biotech sector and was CEO of antiviral drug developer Biota and more recently founding CEO of Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC).
He founded Firebrick Pharma and is co-inventor on the Firebrick patents.
Joining him is Firebrick director and chief operating officer Dr Stephen Goodall, a chemist and pharmaceutical scientist who was previously chief operating officer of oncology drug developer Viralytics Ltd.
Prior to Viralytics, he was the director of pharmaceutical development at Vapotronics and before that, director of development at AGEN Biomedical.
He has an extensive background in process development, production scale-up and GMP manufacturing for pharmaceuticals.
Like his fellow founder, Goodall is a co-inventor on Firebrick’s patents.