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Memphasys (ASX: MEM) has lobbed a reassuring update into a jittery geopolitical backdrop, telling investors its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) push is not only intact, but quietly gathering pace.

In a market where “unaffected by regional conflict” is doing a lot of heavy lifting, the reproductive biotech minnow has delivered a rare combination: operational continuity, fresh orders and a pipeline of near-term market entries. Not bad for a company still early in its commercial rollout.

At the centre of the story is Memphasys’ flagship Felix™ System, a sperm selection technology targeting the global IVF market. While still a niche player, the company is clearly intent on building a recurring revenue model - one cartridge at a time.

Qatar: the anchor tenant

The company’s update leans heavily on Qatar, where Hamad Medical Corporation continues to use Felix in routine assisted reproductive procedures. This is more than just a proof-of-concept site - it’s the closest thing Memphasys has to a “set-and-forget” revenue stream.

Ongoing cartridge consumption is the key metric here. Unlike one-off capital equipment sales, the consumables model is where margins - and investor attention - tend to build over time. Memphasys notes that usage remains consistent, reinforcing the idea that Felix is becoming embedded in clinical workflows rather than sitting on the shelf.

In biotech parlance, that’s the difference between adoption and experimentation.

New orders: UAE and Iraq join the party

Beyond Qatar, Memphasys has secured new commercial orders from the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. While described as “initial in nature”, these orders matter less for their size and more for what they signal: geographic diversification.

For a small-cap medtech, reliance on a single market can be a fatal flaw. Memphasys appears acutely aware of this, highlighting that demand is emerging across multiple jurisdictions rather than clustering in one hotspot.

This scattergun approach may lack the glamour of a blockbuster contract, but it builds resilience - particularly in a region not exactly known for its geopolitical stability.

Egypt and Turkey: the next dominoes

The more interesting forward-looking elements sit in Egypt and Turkey, both flagged as near-term growth markets.

Egypt, in particular, stands out. Management describes it as one of the largest and fastest-growing IVF markets in the MENA region, and early signs of interest - following conference exposure in Cairo - suggest fertile ground. Regulatory processes are progressing, with trial orders expected next quarter.

Turkey follows a similar script: regulatory approvals underway, first commercial orders pencilled in for the next quarter.

Seasoned ASX watchers will know that “expected next quarter” can be an elastic concept, especially when regulatory bodies are involved. Still, the fact that both markets are tracking without reported delays is a positive signal in itself.

Supply chain: no news is good news

Perhaps the most understated - but critical - part of the update is the supply chain commentary.

Memphasys says logistics remain fully operational, with no delivery delays and the ability to ship directly into all contracted markets.

That might sound mundane, but against a backdrop of regional instability, it’s a key risk mitigant. The company’s partnership with International Technical Legacy (ITL) appears to be doing the heavy lifting here, providing both distribution reach and flexibility.

In short, the pipes are working - and for now, nothing is clogging them.

Strategy: slow burn, not a land grab

What emerges from this update is a company deliberately playing the long game.

Rather than relying on distributor-led bulk sales, Memphasys is focusing on clinic-level engagement - effectively building demand from the ground up. It’s a slower path, but one that aligns with its recurring revenue ambitions.

Chair of the Commercialisation Committee Marjan Mikel summed it up neatly, pointing to a model designed to “build demand at the clinic level across multiple markets,” with diversification acting as a buffer against regional shocks.

It’s a pragmatic approach. In a fragmented healthcare landscape like MENA, a one-size-fits-all rollout rarely works.

The bigger picture

For all the positive momentum, investors should keep expectations grounded. Memphasys is still in the early innings of commercialisation, and while order flow is encouraging, scale remains the ultimate prize.

The real test will be whether these early footholds translate into meaningful, repeatable revenue growth over the next 12–24 months.

That said, this update does tick several important boxes: operational resilience, expanding market footprint, and early signs of recurring demand.

In a sector where many stories stall at the regulatory hurdle or fade after initial hype, Memphasys is - quietly - doing the blocking and tackling.

Not headline-grabbing stuff, perhaps. But in biotech, progress often looks exactly like this.

dorsaVi has taken another step in its pivot toward advanced semiconductor technology, beginning device-level testing of resistive random access memory (RRAM) chips as part of its roadmap to a 22-nanometre neuromorphic computing platform. The move places the small-cap ASX company squarely within one of the technology sector’s hottest themes: the growing strain on conventional memory architectures as artificial intelligence workloads explode.

The company recently received its initial RRAM test silicon and has commenced early-stage characterisation work at the 180 nm node. This phase focuses on evaluating device performance, material interfaces and how the technology behaves under manufacturing conditions.

While still at an exploratory stage, the testing represents the first step in a staged pathway aimed at scaling the technology down to a more advanced 22 nm node - a process expected to unlock greater memory density, faster access speeds and lower power consumption.

The “memory wall” becomes an industry problem

The strategic rationale behind the work lies in a growing bottleneck facing AI infrastructure.

As machine learning workloads expand, modern processors increasingly spend more time waiting for data than performing calculations. Industry observers often refer to this limitation as the “memory wall” - where computing power advances faster than the systems that feed it with data.

Conventional computing architectures rely on constant transfers between processors and external memory. These data movements consume energy and introduce latency, creating efficiency constraints that grow more pronounced as workloads scale.

Some estimates suggest that moving data between processors and memory can account for as much as 70–90 per cent of the energy consumed by certain AI systems.

The result is rising demand for new architectures capable of bringing computation closer to the data itself. In-memory computing and neuromorphic systems, where memory elements also participate in processing tasks, are emerging as potential solutions.

For investors, the theme is already visible in the share price performance of major global memory manufacturers. Companies such as SanDisk, SK Hynix and Micron have seen substantial market capitalisation growth over the past year as demand for AI-related memory infrastructure surges.

What RRAM could enable

dorsaVi’s approach centres on RRAM, an emerging non-volatile memory technology capable of storing data while also enabling computation within memory arrays.

Unlike traditional architectures where memory and processing are separate, RRAM can potentially allow both functions to occur within the same structure. In neuromorphic designs, arrays of memory cells can act as artificial synapses, enabling efficient machine learning operations.

The company’s roadmap envisions RRAM acting as the foundation for a new class of ultra-efficient AI hardware aimed at “ultra-edge” environments such as robotics, drones and autonomous systems.

These devices often operate under strict constraints: limited power supply, restricted cooling capacity and the need for real-time decision making without reliance on cloud connectivity.

According to the company’s technology plan, the transition from a 40 nm node to a 22 nm process could deliver improvements including lower write voltages, faster write speeds and more efficient compute-in-memory operation.

Targets include write voltages below 2.0 volts, improved reliability at high temperatures and compute-in-memory array efficiency exceeding 20 tera operations per second per watt.

Such performance gains would be particularly relevant for battery-powered systems or embedded AI applications where energy efficiency is paramount.

Neuromorphic ambitions

The RRAM development program is closely linked to dorsaVi’s broader neuromorphic computing strategy.

Neuromorphic hardware attempts to mimic the structure of biological neural systems, using dense networks of artificial synapses and neurons to perform tasks such as pattern recognition and sensory processing more efficiently than traditional processors.

In this framework, RRAM can serve as the non-volatile memory fabric that stores neural network weights while also enabling analog-style computation.

This architecture potentially allows ultra-edge devices to process sensor inputs and run AI models locally rather than sending data back to remote servers.

For applications such as autonomous robotics, wearable medical systems or industrial monitoring, the ability to make decisions instantly and locally could provide meaningful advantages.

Still early days

Despite the technological promise, investors should recognise that the program remains in its early stages.

The current phase involves device characterisation and optimisation following receipt of the first RRAM test wafer, with insights from this work expected to inform further development and scaling.

Commercial deployment - if it occurs - would require additional validation, manufacturing development and integration into larger computing architectures.

Nevertheless, the company argues the initiative aligns with structural trends shaping the semiconductor industry.

Chief executive Mathew Regan said accelerating AI infrastructure is putting increasing pressure on power efficiency and memory utilisation across computing systems.

“The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is placing increasing pressure on power efficiency and memory utilisation across the computing stack,” Regan said.

While much current investment remains focused on large data-centre hardware, Regan believes the next phase of AI growth will increasingly occur in distributed devices operating at the edge.

“Our RRAM-based in-memory and neuromorphic computing platform is being developed to reduce data movement and enable ultra-low-power, low-latency intelligence where efficiency is critical.”

The investor takeaway

For dorsaVi, the RRAM program represents an attempt to reposition the company within a rapidly evolving semiconductor landscape.

The shift toward AI-enabled edge devices, combined with tightening memory supply chains, could create opportunities for alternative memory technologies capable of delivering higher performance per watt.

Whether the company can translate early-stage development into commercially viable silicon remains to be seen.

But in a world increasingly constrained by the memory demands of artificial intelligence, even small players exploring new architectures may find themselves operating in a sector where technological breakthroughs carry outsized potential.

EVE Health Group has secured $904,000 from sophisticated and professional investors, giving the small-cap life sciences group extra fuel to push ahead with its pharmaceutical reformulation strategy. The placement was struck at 2 cents a share, with subscribers also receiving two free-attaching unlisted options for every new share, exercisable at 4 cents and expiring in two years. Red Leaf Securities acted as lead manager and bookrunner.

For investors, the structure matters almost as much as the headline amount. The company will issue 45.2 million new shares under the placement, and, subject to shareholder approval, 90.4 million attaching options. There is also a proposed 5 million options package for the lead manager and potential director participation of up to 500,000 shares, also requiring approval. That means the immediate cash injection is under $1 million, but the option package creates the prospect of further capital if exercised, while also increasing potential dilution down the track.

The strategy - improve old drugs rather than invent new ones

EVE is not trying to discover a brand-new molecule from scratch. Instead, it is pursuing reformulated versions of established pharmaceutical compounds using its own delivery and solubilisation technologies. The commercial pitch is straightforward enough: take medicines with known safety profiles, improve how they are delivered, aim for better bioavailability, faster onset and easier patient use, then wrap that in fresh intellectual property.

That is a very different risk profile from classic biotech drug discovery. Reformulation still carries regulatory, technical and commercial hurdles, but it can reduce some of the early scientific uncertainty because the active ingredients are already well known. EVE’s focus is on medicines approaching patent expiry, where a better delivery format could create a differentiated product attractive to larger pharmaceutical partners with established manufacturing, regulatory and distribution muscle.

Big market ambition, small company balance sheet

Management says the therapeutic markets currently being targeted exceed US$30 billion a year. That sounds suitably ambitious, although investors should remember that an addressable market is not the same thing as a reachable market. Small companies often cite very large end markets, but the real question is whether they can carve out a niche product with enough clinical utility and commercial appeal to interest a licensing partner.

Even so, EVE’s chosen targets are not obscure. The company is working in sexual health and cardiovascular treatments, both large categories where improved delivery and patient convenience can make a genuine difference. Its broader portfolio also includes Dyspro, a cannabinoid-based pastille for dysmenorrhoea and endometriosis, and Libbo, an oral dissolving film for erectile dysfunction. Those programs suggest EVE is trying to build a pipeline around consumer-friendly, differentiated delivery formats rather than compete head-on with big pharma on conventional terms.

Where the money goes

The new funds are earmarked for three main jobs: advancing reformulated drug candidates, progressing the underlying delivery and solubilisation technologies, and supporting intellectual property and regulatory work. That last item is especially important. In reformulation plays, value often hinges on whether the company can secure defensible IP around the formulation, delivery mechanism or use case. Without that, the commercial moat can look rather skinny.

Chief operating officer Ben Rohr said the raising strengthens EVE’s ability to advance its reformulation strategy across several large global pharmaceutical markets, with the company focused on improving the delivery and usability of established medicines approaching patent expiry. He added that the funding would also support IP protection and further development while EVE continues to explore licensing and partnership opportunities with established pharmaceutical companies.

What investors should watch next

The capital raising buys EVE time, but it does not remove the need for tangible progress. For investors, the next milestones are likely to centre on formulation development, IP advancement, regulatory planning and, crucially, any validation from external parties. A partnership, licensing deal or credible development collaboration would carry far more weight than broad statements about market size.

There is also the capital question. A raise of $904,000 is useful, but it is not war chest territory. Unless option exercises bring in additional funds, EVE may need to return to market if development timelines stretch or if it decides to accelerate multiple programs at once. That is not unusual for an emerging life sciences company, but it is part of the equation.

For now, EVE has given investors a clearer view of what it wants to be: not a moonshot biotech, but a reformulation specialist trying to improve established medicines and monetise them through partnerships. It is a sensible strategy on paper and potentially capital-efficient by sector standards. The challenge, as ever, is proving that the science, the IP and the commercial model can line up neatly enough to turn a promising concept into something bigger than a well-crafted pitch.

Immutep has suffered a significant setback in its lead oncology program after the Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommended discontinuation of the TACTI-004 Phase III study in first-line non-small cell lung cancer following a planned interim futility analysis. The committee reviewed available safety and efficacy data and concluded the study should be stopped for futility, prompting the company to halt enrolment and begin an orderly wind-down process, including patient follow-up and site close-out.

For investors, the outcome is important because TACTI-004 was one of the company’s highest-profile late-stage studies. The trial was testing eftilagimod alfa, or efti, in combination with Merck’s KEYTRUDA and chemotherapy in first-line advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. It was designed as a large global study with approximately 756 patients across more than 150 clinical sites in over 25 countries, with dual primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall survival.

Why the result matters for the investment case

A futility-based discontinuation at the Phase III stage is a major blow because it undermines a key value driver that had the potential to support both clinical validation and commercial positioning for efti in a large cancer market. Late-stage studies are typically central to biotech valuation because they can serve as the bridge between promising mid-stage data and eventual regulatory or partnering outcomes. The failure of TACTI-004 therefore introduces renewed uncertainty around the pace, scope and ultimate commercial potential of Immutep’s lead asset in lung cancer.

The market also received a separate ASX notice confirming that Immutep’s securities were reinstated to quotation immediately after release of the company’s update on the futility analysis. That reinstatement highlights the market significance of the result and allowed trading to resume once investors had access to the material information.

Efti remains central, but the development path becomes narrower

Despite the disappointment, Immutep has made clear that it remains committed to advancing its broader pipeline, including efti. Management said it was surprised by the futility outcome given the candidate’s performance in the rest of its clinical program and is now conducting a comprehensive review of the available data to better understand the result and determine next steps.

That point is important for shareholders because it suggests the company is not abandoning the asset outright. Instead, the focus now shifts to whether the TACTI-004 result is specific to this trial design, patient population or treatment setting, or whether it signals a broader challenge for efti’s role in lung cancer. The answer to that question will likely shape investor confidence in the rest of the company’s oncology pipeline.

Cash runway improves, creating strategic flexibility

One of the more constructive elements in the update is the expected impact on cash burn. Following discontinuation of TACTI-004, Immutep said its cash runway is now expected to extend well beyond the previously guided timeframe of Q2 CY2027. Management also said it will revisit capital allocation priorities once operational assessments and a full analysis of the study data are completed.

From an investor perspective, this matters because late-stage global oncology trials are expensive. Removing that expenditure reduces near-term funding pressure and may allow the company to preserve capital for other development programs, business development opportunities or a more selective clinical strategy. In a biotech market where access to capital can materially affect valuation, an extended runway can soften some of the damage from a clinical failure.

A late-stage biotech at an inflection point

Immutep describes itself as a late-stage biotechnology company focused on novel immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune disease, with deep expertise in LAG-3-related therapeutics. Efti remains under evaluation in multiple solid tumour settings, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, soft tissue sarcoma and breast cancer, and has previously received Fast Track designation from the US FDA in first-line head and neck cancer and first-line non-small cell lung cancer.

That broader platform is now more relevant to the equity story. With TACTI-004 no longer progressing, investors are likely to place greater weight on the remaining pipeline, the quality of readouts in other indications, and management’s ability to reallocate capital in a way that preserves value. The company’s future performance may depend less on one flagship Phase III lung cancer trial and more on whether its broader immunotherapy strategy can still deliver meaningful clinical and commercial outcomes.

What investors should watch next

The next major catalyst is likely to be Immutep’s fuller analysis of the TACTI-004 data and any revised guidance around strategic priorities. Investors will want clarity on whether there were subgroup signals, operational factors or mechanistic issues that help explain the futility outcome. They will also watch closely for any updated capital management framework, changes to pipeline prioritisation and commentary on how the company intends to maximise value from efti outside this discontinued study.

For now, the company faces a classic biotech reset. The discontinuation of a pivotal study is clearly negative, but the extension of the cash runway and the existence of a broader development portfolio mean the story is not over. The investment debate has shifted from whether TACTI-004 could unlock late-stage upside to whether Immutep can successfully reposition its pipeline and capital base after a major clinical disappointment.

RocketDNA has taken a step toward transforming its drone services into a scalable technology platform, unveiling its proprietary Skylink operating system and deploying it with a Tier-1 mining customer.

The ASX-listed drone data specialist says Skylink acts as a centralised operating system for managing autonomous drone missions across enterprise sites. The platform has entered an initial testing phase with an existing global mining client, providing a live environment to refine the software before broader commercial rollout.

The move signals RocketDNA’s push beyond simply supplying drone services toward building a software ecosystem that can orchestrate fleets of autonomous drones across large industrial operations.

According to managing director and CEO Christopher Clark, the system represents a major evolution in how mining companies and other industrial customers can deploy aerial data services.

“We’ve effectively built an operating system that unlocks the power of on-demand drone data, combined with operational transparency and centralised management, giving our customers the confidence to deploy our autonomous systems at scale,” Clark said.

Turning drones into a managed digital workflow

At its core, Skylink functions as a mission management platform that allows enterprise users to request and coordinate drone operations from anywhere.

Customers can draw mission areas directly within the system, set priority levels and receive real-time status updates as flights are executed. The platform also allows missions to be scheduled in advance or triggered automatically at regular intervals, enabling consistent data collection across large industrial sites.

This capability is particularly relevant for mining operations, where aerial inspections, surveying and monitoring tasks are routine but traditionally labour intensive.

By digitising the workflow, RocketDNA aims to shift drone usage from occasional manual deployments toward continuous automated data collection.

The system also integrates with RocketDNA’s existing SiteTube product, creating a full pipeline from mission request through to data delivery and visualisation.

For customers, the attraction is the ability to request and receive drone-derived data on demand without managing the underlying hardware or flight operations.

Enabling automation and third-party integration

A key feature of Skylink is its potential to become the central command layer for increasingly automated drone fleets.

The platform is designed to support machine-to-machine triggering of missions, meaning software systems could automatically request drone flights when specific conditions occur. This could include asset monitoring alerts, safety inspections or operational checks triggered by other industrial systems.

The architecture also allows third-party original equipment manufacturers and software providers to integrate their applications with Skylink, enabling custom analytics or geospatial tools to automatically dispatch drone missions.

Clark said this capability could unlock new productivity and safety benefits for large industrial users.

“It creates an opportunity for third-party OEMs and other software providers to integrate and trigger autonomous drone missions from anywhere in the world, unlocking custom AI and geospatial applications that provide cost savings, improved productivity and increased safety.”

For RocketDNA, this approach opens the possibility of evolving from a services business toward a software-enabled ecosystem.

Early deployment with Tier-1 mining customer

The first live deployment is taking place with an existing Tier-1 mining customer, providing a real-world environment to test the system while handling actual operational workloads.

RocketDNA says the rollout should improve deployment speed, operational efficiency and consistency across multi-site drone operations.

Engagement with large mining clients is expected to help refine the platform before a broader commercial rollout. Feedback from early users will inform future product iterations and feature upgrades.

The company plans to evolve Skylink through staged releases, adding deeper automation capabilities, improved analytics tools and enhanced interoperability with other systems.

Over time, the platform is expected to support higher levels of automation, including “one-to-many” operations where a single operator can manage multiple drone systems simultaneously across different sites.

Strategic implications for RocketDNA

RocketDNA already provides drone-based surveying, mapping, surveillance and inspection services to enterprise customers in mining, agriculture and engineering sectors across Australia and Africa. Its client roster includes major miners such as Rio Tinto, BHP and South32.

Historically, much of the company’s revenue has been tied to service contracts for drone operations.

The development of Skylink hints at a longer-term strategy to add a higher-margin software layer on top of those services.

If successful, the platform could enable RocketDNA to manage larger fleets of autonomous drones while reducing operational complexity. It may also create opportunities for licensing software capabilities or integrating with external technology partners.

For investors, the key question will be how quickly Skylink transitions from pilot deployments to broader commercial adoption.

The company has indicated that it will provide updates as the deployment progresses, particularly if material commercial developments emerge.

For now, the launch represents a technology milestone rather than a revenue event. But in the race to automate industrial data collection, RocketDNA appears determined to build the operating system that sits at the centre of the drone ecosystem.