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Ceretas has cleared the third milestone of its government-backed development program, unlocking a final non-dilutive funding tranche of $692,578 and delivering functional prototypes of two components designed to make its therapeutic ultrasound platform easier and cheaper to operate.

For investors, the significance extends beyond the grant cheque. The work targets two decidedly practical issues in medical device development: how many people are needed to operate the system and how much the finished product costs to manufacture.

Ceretas is developing a portable, non-invasive therapeutic ultrasound platform aimed initially at Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. The technology uses low-intensity focused ultrasound directed through the skull, with potential applications spanning neuromodulation and opening of the blood-brain barrier.

The company completed the latest milestone on schedule under the CUREator+ Dementia & Cognitive Decline program. Fully functional prototypes of an internally developed image-guided neuronavigation system and a lift assist device have now been delivered and accepted by Brandon BioCatalyst.

$2.4 million grant provides non-dilutive development runway

Ceretas was awarded $2.4 million in July 2025 through the CUREator+ program, which is backed by the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund BioMedTech Incubator initiative.

Completion of the latest milestone triggers the final $692,578 tranche, expected in coming weeks.

That matters because the funding is non-dilutive. For an early-stage medical technology company, development programs can consume considerable capital well before product revenues emerge. Grant funding allows Ceretas to progress engineering work without issuing additional shares specifically to fund these activities.

It does not remove the broader funding question that accompanies clinical-stage companies, but it does mean a meaningful slice of device development has been externally funded rather than borne entirely by shareholders.

The broader CUREator-supported development program remains scheduled for completion by mid-2027.

Cutting the operator requirement from two to one

The most commercially relevant aspect of the engineering program may be Ceretas' move to develop its own image-guided neuronavigation software.

Neuronavigation allows clinicians to target specific regions of the brain accurately during treatment. Ceretas currently uses an off-the-shelf system, but its proprietary version is intended to reduce the number of operators required from two to one while improving usability and reducing cost of goods.

That is not merely an ergonomic tweak.

Medical technologies ultimately need to fit into real clinical workflows. A device requiring two trained operators can carry higher labour costs and create more logistical friction than one designed for a single operator. If Ceretas can achieve the intended workflow improvement while maintaining accuracy, it could make eventual deployment more practical.

The company has not yet quantified the expected reduction in manufacturing costs or operating expenses, so investors cannot put a dollar value on those improvements at this stage.

Chief executive and managing director Dr Rachel de las Heras said developing the company's own neuronavigation capability would allow Ceretas to customise the clinician experience and provide "an easy-to-use, efficient tool to plan treatment and perform ultrasound sonication accurately".

Lift assist device tackles another practical hurdle

The second prototype is a lift assist mechanism designed to help position the ultrasound probe accurately and steadily on a patient's head.

Ceretas developed the component with Melbourne-based medtech product development group Planet Innovation.

The concept sounds less glamorous than ultrasound interacting with the brain, but successful medical devices often depend as much on mechanical usability as scientific sophistication. Consistent positioning, ease of operation and repeatable treatment delivery can all become important considerations as a technology moves from research environments towards larger clinical studies and potentially routine care.

The rendering released by Ceretas shows the planned system incorporating the neuronavigation interface, lift assist assembly and ultrasound trolley into a single treatment setup. The design remains a prototype and is subject to change.

Clinical trials remain the bigger value test

The engineering milestone is useful progress, but investors should distinguish device optimisation from clinical validation.

Ceretas' technology stems from more than a decade of research at the University of Queensland and Queensland Brain Institute. A first-in-human Phase 1 study involving 12 Alzheimer's participants was completed in 2024, with the treatment reported as fast, safe and well tolerated and with encouraging early behavioural signals. Results were published in Brain Communications in December 2025.

Ceretas is now preparing to commence the Phase 2 CERE-CALM study in Alzheimer's patients experiencing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

Separately, Queensland Brain Institute researchers are conducting the Phase 2 AGIFUS trial using the same underlying technology in Alzheimer's-related agitation, with independent funding from Queensland Health.

Those clinical programs are likely to provide far more consequential evidence about the platform's therapeutic potential than an engineering milestone alone.

What investors should watch next

The near-term catalyst is straightforward: receipt of the $692,578 final funding tranche.

Beyond that, attention shifts to completion of the next-generation device program by mid-2027 and progress towards Phase 2 clinical evaluation.

Ceretas has now demonstrated that it can deliver the engineering milestones attached to its government-backed funding program on schedule. The next challenge is converting those engineering advances into a system that is not only easier and cheaper to use, but also capable of producing persuasive clinical outcomes.

For a company attempting to bring therapeutic ultrasound into Alzheimer's treatment, the science remains the headline act. But reducing operator numbers, simplifying workflow and lowering device costs are the sort of less glamorous details that can determine whether promising technology ever makes it beyond the laboratory.

HeraMED has crossed an important commercial threshold in the United States, with Lee Health approving a full-scale deployment of the company’s digital maternity platform following a successful six-month pilot.

The distinction matters. Digital health companies can spend years accumulating pilots, trials and memorandums of understanding without converting them into material revenue. HeraMED now has a paid deployment with one of Southwest Florida’s major healthcare systems, moving the relationship from clinical validation into commercial execution.

Lee Health is a roughly US$3 billion non-profit healthcare system delivering more than 8,000 babies annually and managing around 2,000 active pregnancies at any given time. The first stage of the scale-up will cover another 200 pregnant women, under a Statement of Work worth US$317,200.

That contract includes 200 twelve-month HeraCARE licences, 200 maternity monitoring kits, implementation work, Epic electronic medical record integration, logistics, and device and application support.

On a simple basis, that works out at about US$1,586 per participating mother. Investors should be cautious about treating that figure as recurring software revenue, however, because the initial contract also contains hardware and implementation components. The more important development is that HeraCARE has been accepted under a recurring, 12-month-per-mother SaaS pricing structure.

Pilot metrics provide the commercial foundation

The deployment follows encouraging results from Lee Health’s pilot program.

HeraMED reported 92 per cent virtual adoption, a 100 per cent likelihood to recommend the program, a program Net Promoter Score of 60 and an NPS of 75 for its remote patient monitoring devices.

The model allowed prenatal care to be delivered through an 11-visit digital-first pathway, compared with approximately 15 in-person visits under the traditional approach, while maintaining the existing standard of care.

For health systems, that potential reduction in physical appointments is commercially relevant. Maternity care faces the same pressures affecting healthcare more broadly: clinician shortages, rising costs and increasing demand for services that can be delivered remotely without compromising patient oversight.

The next phase will combine the HeraCARE patient application and clinician dashboards with HeraBEAT at-home fetal heart rate monitors, connected blood pressure devices and four customised prenatal and postpartum care plans.

Epic integration could prove strategically important

One of the less glamorous but potentially more significant aspects of the Lee Health deployment is integration with Epic, the electronic medical record system already used by Lee Health clinicians.

Digital health products can struggle when they create additional workflows for doctors and nurses. Embedding HeraCARE into an existing clinical record system should reduce that friction and may strengthen HeraMED’s proposition when approaching other large US health systems.

Managing director and chief executive Anoushka Gungadin described the deployment as the point at which HeraMED moves from a successful first phase into "full-scale commercial deployment" with a major health system.

She also highlighted Epic integration as a key milestone because HeraCARE will sit inside the record clinicians already use, with the aim of reducing administrative workload while improving the patient experience.

Lee Health chief physician executive and vice president of Women’s Services Dr Cherrie Morris said the organisation was focused on delivering maternity care in ways that worked for patients, combining technology with traditional services while maintaining access to care and support.

Expansion mechanism creates room for recurring growth

The initial 200 mothers are only the starting cohort.

Once those licences have been activated, Lee Health can order additional patient bundles in increments of 20, 50, 100 or larger groups, with each expansion attracting additional fees.

That structure gives investors a clearer framework for assessing future commercial traction. Instead of relying purely on new hospital wins, HeraMED now has the possibility of growing revenue inside an existing health system as more clinics and care teams are onboarded.

The scale of Lee Health also provides meaningful headroom. The group handles more than 8,000 births each year, so the first 200-patient deployment represents only a modest proportion of the potential addressable population within the system.

The relationship initially covers four pathways: low-risk prenatal care, hypertension in pregnancy, postpartum care and patient engagement. There is also scope to extend the platform into additional women’s health services.

Execution now becomes the key test

Commercial approval does not remove execution risk.

HeraMED must still finalise implementation planning, onboard clinics, complete Epic integration and demonstrate that patient enrolment can ramp smoothly across the Lee Health network. Investors will also want greater visibility over the revenue split between recurring software, hardware and implementation services as the deployment matures.

Nevertheless, the shift from pilot to paid deployment addresses one of the central questions surrounding early-stage digital health companies: whether positive clinical engagement can translate into repeatable commercial contracts.

HeraMED is now applying the Lee Health model to its broader US pipeline, including opportunities through channel partner Philips and potential participation in initiatives associated with the US$50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program.

For investors, the next markers will be operational rather than promotional: the pace at which the first 200 patients are onboarded, subsequent licence orders from Lee Health, progress with Epic integration and evidence that the same sales model can be replicated across other US healthcare systems.

Immutep has reset the development strategy for its lead immunotherapy eftilagimod alfa, or efti, concentrating future registration-directed work on two areas where management believes the clinical evidence and regulatory pathway are strongest.

The company now intends to focus on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in patients with negative PD-L1 expression, defined as a Combined Positive Score below 1, and on efti in the neoadjuvant treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.

The narrowing follows the early discontinuation of the TACTI-004 study, an outcome that put both the clinical program and efti's manufacturing profile under considerable scrutiny. The important development for investors is that Immutep's investigation has so far identified differences between material manufactured at different production scales, while not finding clinical or trial execution factors that explain the unexpected result.

That is not the same as having a definitive explanation. The root cause analysis remains underway, and management has promised a further update once it is complete.

Manufacturing scale emerges as a key question

The investigation has identified structural differences between efti produced at the 200-litre scale and material manufactured at the 2,000-litre scale used exclusively in TACTI-004.

Among the differences identified is a subtle variation in N-glycan structure. Immutep considers this potentially relevant because TACTI-004 produced a markedly different immune activation profile from earlier studies and an unexpected clinical outcome.

The company has now contracted a fresh manufacturing run at the 200-litre scale. That scale has history behind it: 10 GMP batches were previously manufactured at 200 litres and used across successful Phase I and Phase II trials including TACTI-mel, TACTI-002 and INSIGHT-003.

For biotech investors, the distinction matters. Manufacturing consistency is not merely a factory-floor issue for biologic drugs. Changes in product characteristics can potentially affect biological activity, which makes resolving the scale-related differences important before Immutep commits substantial capital to another registration-directed study.

Management says the available evidence does not point to a suboptimal protocol, major treatment-arm imbalance, safety finding, invalid randomisation pattern or broader trial-conduct issue as the explanation for TACTI-004. That leaves manufacturing and pharmacological questions firmly under the microscope.

Head and neck cancer and sarcoma move to centre stage

The head and neck program will target patients with CPS below 1, a group characterised by limited approved treatment options and high unmet medical need. Immutep cites clinical efficacy data, including mature overall survival results, as support for pursuing this population.

Efti has also received Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration in first-line head and neck cancer. Management describes previous FDA feedback as constructive, adding regulatory weight to the decision to prioritise this setting.

The second priority is neoadjuvant soft tissue sarcoma. Here, Immutep is leaning on positive Phase II data that achieved its primary endpoint, together with Orphan Drug Designation granted by the FDA in April 2026.

The shift is therefore less about spreading efti across multiple tumour types and more about concentrating resources where the clinical signal, regulatory support and potential route to market appear most compelling.

Next trials targeted for the second half of 2027

Preparations for the next studies have begun, with Immutep targeting a start in the second half of calendar 2027.

That timetable comes with several caveats. Final trial design, regulatory discussions, manufacturing timelines, partnering arrangements and available resources all remain dependencies. The company specifically flags additional funding and the outcome of partnering discussions among the risks that could affect development.

Licensing partner Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has been consulted and supports the proposed approach. Immutep is also holding preliminary discussions with other parties regarding the development pathway, although no further detail has been provided.

Chief executive Marc Voigt said the company believes there remains "a scientifically and clinically justified path" for efti, pointing to evidence across multiple tumour types, immune activation data and encouraging results in sarcoma and CPS-negative head and neck cancer.

At the same time, Voigt acknowledged the significance of TACTI-004 and said the company intends to apply the lessons from its ongoing investigation "rigorously".

Investors now have a clearer set of milestones

The strategic reset gives investors a more concentrated list of issues to watch: completion of the root cause analysis, results from the new 200-litre manufacturing run, regulatory agreement on future trial design, funding and partnering progress, and whether the targeted 2027 clinical timetable remains achievable.

Meanwhile, Immutep's broader LAG-3 portfolio has not been shelved. Development of IMP761, its agonist anti-LAG-3 antibody targeting autoimmune disease, is continuing according to previously disclosed plans.

The immediate investment narrative, however, is squarely back on efti. The program has not returned to business as usual after TACTI-004. Instead, Immutep is taking a more selective route, with manufacturing comparability and regulatory alignment now just as important as the clinical data itself.

Adisyn has strengthened its intellectual property position in semiconductor graphene technology after the United States Patent and Trademark Office allowed a third US patent application, this time covering the deposition of graphene directly onto non-metallic surfaces.

The application, titled Method for Coating a Non-Metallic Surface with Graphene, extends the company's protection beyond the metallic surfaces covered by its earlier US patent allowances. The significance is that modern semiconductor interconnects contain both conductive metals and surrounding non-metallic dielectric materials, so Adisyn is progressively building protection across both sides of a critical interface.

The allowed claims cover a process using a graphene molecular precursor capable of forming a covalent bond directly with a non-metallic surface. Importantly for semiconductor manufacturing, the process maintains the underlying surface below 400°C, supporting Adisyn's broader strategy of developing low-temperature graphene deposition processes suitable for semiconductor environments.

Covering both sides of the interconnect

The commercial logic behind the patent becomes clearer when looking at how semiconductor interconnects are constructed.

Copper wiring carries electrical signals through a chip, while a barrier layer is used to prevent copper atoms migrating into the surrounding dielectric material. That dielectric material provides electrical insulation and is predominantly non-metallic.

Traditional barrier layers can use compounds such as tantalum nitride. Adisyn's technology is aimed at using graphene as an alternative barrier material.

The newly allowed claims protect the deposition of graphene onto the non-metallic dielectric surface, complementing earlier intellectual property covering graphene deposition onto metallic surfaces and resulting metal-based interconnect products.

This effectively gives Adisyn protection from two directions: graphene interacting with the conductive metal and graphene interacting with the surrounding dielectric.

That does not guarantee commercial adoption, of course, but from an intellectual property perspective it gives the company broader coverage around the architecture it ultimately hopes semiconductor manufacturers will use.

The battle against the semiconductor 'barrier tax'

The technical opportunity is driven by an increasingly awkward problem for advanced chipmakers.

As semiconductor architectures shrink below 5 nanometres, the available space for interconnect wiring becomes extremely constrained. Yet the barrier and dielectric materials surrounding those wires cannot simply disappear because they perform essential containment and insulation functions.

The result is what Adisyn describes as the "barrier tax" - a growing proportion of extremely valuable chip real estate being consumed by materials that protect the wiring rather than conduct electricity.

Graphene's potential attraction is its extreme thinness. Adisyn has previously demonstrated its ability to deposit graphene at approximately 1 nanometre thickness.

If graphene-based barriers can ultimately perform the required diffusion-barrier function at significantly reduced thickness, chip designers could potentially free up more space within increasingly cramped interconnect structures.

The latest claims specifically

KTEK Aerosystems has added another unmanned-aircraft program to its order book, securing a US$172,500 contract with Israel-based Vestal Technology to advance the structural design and manufacture two prototype airframes for Vestal's SCOOPER 25 electric UAV.

The dollar value is modest, but the more interesting investor angle is the scope of the work. KTEK is not simply manufacturing parts to an existing drawing. It will handle structural design development, engineering, tooling, structural analysis and prototype production, giving the company involvement across several stages of the aircraft development process.

That fits squarely with KTEK's strategy of winning customers early in a platform's development, with the possibility of remaining involved through prototyping, qualification and potentially serial production.

For now, though, investors should keep the distinction between possibility and contracted revenue firmly in view.

From design desk to prototype airframe

The contract covers the structural work required to take Vestal's SCOOPER 25 from preliminary design toward prototype-manufacturing maturity.

KTEK will complete the structural design required for prototype manufacture, produce the associated tooling, undertake static structural analysis and manufacture two composite prototype airframe structures.

The SCOOPER 25 is designed for a maximum take-off mass of up to 25 kilograms and is based on Vestal's patented SCOOP wing architecture. Vestal says the design is intended to generate high lift at low speeds, support extreme short take-off and landing operations and provide extended endurance with relatively low acoustic and thermal signatures.

Those characteristics are aimed at defence, special operations, intelligence and surveillance, mapping and infrastructure-monitoring markets.

The first prototype airframe is targeted for completion within five months of project commencement, with the second expected about one month later. Those timelines remain dependent on customer inputs, finalisation of the aircraft configuration and supplier availability.

Contract value is small, but the scope matters

At US$172,500, the initial contract is not the sort of deal that transforms a company's financial position overnight.

Its strategic relevance instead comes from demonstrating KTEK's full-turnkey design-to-build proposition.

Rather than competing only as a component manufacturer, KTEK is positioning itself further upstream in aerospace development programs, where engineering expertise, tooling capability and structural design can help establish a supplier relationship before a platform enters production.

Managing director Dekel Keisar described the contract as a strong example of that model, saying KTEK was combining "structural engineering, composite design, tooling and manufacturing capabilities" to help move the SCOOPER 25 from preliminary design into physical prototypes.

That broader capability potentially gives KTEK more ways to generate revenue from a program than a pure manufacturing relationship would.

Revenue from the Vestal contract is expected to be recognised progressively as engineering, tooling and prototype milestones are completed, rather than appearing as a single lump sum.

The real prize would be follow-on production

The key issue for investors is what happens after the two prototypes are delivered.

KTEK's business model is based partly on entering customer programs during development and then potentially following those programs into qualification, serial manufacture and spares.

Vestal therefore represents a new customer with potential strategic value beyond the first contract.

Keisar said the agreement provides KTEK with "an opportunity to remain involved as the platform progresses", while stressing that the immediate priority is successfully delivering the two contracted prototype structures.

That qualification matters.

There is currently no commitment for serial production, no contracted follow-on manufacturing volume and no guarantee that the SCOOPER 25 will progress to larger commercial orders. Any additional work would depend on successful prototype development, Vestal's future requirements and a separate commercial agreement.

In other words, investors should treat the US$172,500 as the contracted opportunity and any production upside as optionality rather than forecast revenue.

Another test of the Cordless Factory model

The program also provides another practical test of KTEK's "Cordless Factory" operating model.

The company keeps engineering design, structural analysis, program management and quality assurance in-house while using a network of certified international manufacturing partners. The aim is to scale production without carrying the capital burden of a traditional large aerospace manufacturing footprint.

Prototype programs such as SCOOPER 25 suit that model because they require substantial engineering and project-management capability before manufacturing volumes become large.

If customers subsequently move into serial production, KTEK's challenge is to show that its partner-based manufacturing structure can scale efficiently while maintaining aerospace quality standards and delivery discipline.

Delivery now becomes the key milestone

The immediate catalysts are operational rather than promotional.

KTEK and Vestal will finalise the aircraft configuration and design-load basis before progressing engineering, tooling and prototype manufacture. Delivery of the first prototype within the targeted five-month period would provide evidence that KTEK can execute the complete design-to-build process on schedule.

From an investor perspective, the contract is best viewed as a small but strategically relevant customer win.

The initial revenue contribution is limited, but the program broadens KTEK's customer base and puts its engineering-led aerospace model to work on another UAV platform. The more consequential development would be successful prototype delivery followed by a move into larger-volume manufacturing.

Until then, the value of the Vestal relationship lies less in the size of the first cheque and more in whether KTEK can turn prototype work into a longer production relationship.