March was another stellar, record-breaking month for the Biotech Daily Top 40 Index (BDI-40) with 24 companies up, of which 12 were up by more than 10 percent, with Mesoblast more than doubling to $633 million and Dimerix up 68.4 percent to $165 million. Fifteen companies fell and one was unchanged.

The BDI-40 was up 2.9 percent for the month to a record collective market capitalization of $27,200 million, and up 39.6 percent for the year, while the benchmark ASX200 was up 2.6 percent in March to 7,897 points and up 10.0 percent for the year to March 31, 2024.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) edged up one point or 0.02 percent for the month to 4,430 points and up 7.4 percent for the year.

The Big Caps of Cochlear, CSL and Resmed (which are not included in the BDI-40) recovered in March, up 2.5 to a collective market capitalization of $205,529 million, and up 2.5 percent for the year to March 31, 2024. The three Big Caps record high was $215,852 million on August 31, 2021 (see charts below). Resmed did the heavy lifting in March, up 12.9 percent to $44,285 million, with CSL up 0.6 percent to $139,138 million, while Cochlear shed 3.6 percent to $22,106 million.

Mesoblast was March’s best, on news that the US Food and Drug Administration would accept more data from its 2018 paediatric graft versus host disease trial for a biologics licence application, recovering $333 million or 110.0 percent to $633 million.

Mesoblast was followed up by Dimerix (68.4%), Universal Biosensors (35.3%), Emvision (25.7%), Resonance (24.0%), Genetic Signatures (22.1%), Nova Eye (17.8%), Prescient (15.8%), Opthea (15.6%), Atomo (11.1%), Proteomics (11.0%), Impedimed (10.7%) and Neuren adding $240 million to the index - up 9.7 percent.

Medical Developments led the falls, down $19 million or 26.8 percent to $52 million, followed by Compumedics (17.2%), Imugene (shedding $110 million or 12.5%), Orthocell (7.9%), Syntara (7.4%), Starpharma (7.1%), Clarity (5.5%) and Avita (4.7%).

The 11-member Cannabis Corner climbed 13.75 percent from a very low base in March to a collective market capitalization of $374 million, down 22.3 percent for the year. Seven were up, one fell and three were unchanged. Avecho was the best, up 60 percent to $16 million, followed by Emyria up 46.7 percent to $22 million and Vitura up 34.6 percent to $109 million.

Outside the BDI-40, Botanix showed the value of dropping medical marijuana and “going straight”, climbing 33.1 percent to $354 million, its record highest market capitalization.

Argenica’s clinical progress has been rewarded with the market cap more than doubling over the year from $29 million at March 31, 2023 to $67 million at March 31, 2024.

Similarly, Neurotech’s marijuana for autism trial expansion has pushed it up 114.9 percent to $101 million, with Immuron up 52.9 percent to $26 million. Pharmaust was up 322.9 percent to $148 million – watch this Monepantel for motor neuron disease (MND) space.