Amrad mystified by shareholder splurge

Melbourne biotech Amrad Corp says it is mystified by a sudden flurry of investor interest that drove its share price up 50 per cent last week and sparked a formal query from the Australian Stock Exchange.

Amrad managing director Sandra Webb attended a San Francisco biotechnology investor conference around the time a wave of buying caused the price spike, but speculation the two events were linked was discounted by company sources.

They claimed Amrad has regularly attended similar conferences in the US and Europe without causing large price swings in its shares. Unconfirmed reports suggest the bulk of the recent buying splurge was locally based.

In its response to the ASX query, Amrad said it was not aware of any information which could explain the price surge.

Amrad's share price has taken a battering since it touched a high of nearly $2 when it was first listed.

At its annual general meeting last October, the company acknowledged its R&D efforts were too broadly spread and it has been streamlining its efforts in three areas: infectious diseases, neurological conditions and allergies/inflammation.

Even so, Amrad still has five projects in pre-clinical or clinical development with another 20 in the discovery phase.

One project involving Enfilermin, a compound which may be useful in improving clinical pregnancy rates, has shown promise in Phase I clinical trials and is licensed to European pharma giant Serono.

Other compounds focused on treating chronic severe pain (AM336) and stroke (AM36) plus cardiovascular disease (AM 132 and AM133) are making progress toward clinical trials.