Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Boral hit by east coast floods

Building products group Boral has seen its earnings hit adversely by lower sales following the recent floods in New South Eales and Queensland. The company now expects operating profit (EBIT) to fall to between $145 million and $155 million for FY22. CEO Zlatko Todorcevski said the impact to earnings was around $23 million. “The exceptional weather conditions have prevented us from delivering products to our customers in many regions and caused significant production disruptions to our operations,” he said.

Hunter class frigate prototype blocks taking shape

The Hunter Class Frigate Program has reached a milestone with the structural manufacture of the third steel prototyping unit successfully completed. The unit was transferred from the Steel Fabrication and Unit Assembly Hall into the Block Consolidation Hall at the Osborne shipyard in Adelaide (pictured), where it joins the first two prototype units. At a sizable 232 square meters, 2.9 meters high and weighing over 37 tonnes, the units will comprise the first ship block – which would be located in the middle of the ship.

Noxopharm’s Veyonda given orphan drug designation

Biotech company Noxopharm’s Veyonda anti-cancer treatment has been given orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration, a move which fast tracks approvals for promising drugs in areas where no other treatment exists. The designation has been granted for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma with Veyonda, which is normally administered along with other cancer medications. It allows for waiver of registration fees, possible grant funding, regulatory guidance from the FDA and a seven-year period of market exclusivity. In 2021 orphan drug designation was given to only four Australian companies.

First Graphene enters US market

Graphene technology company First Graphene has signed an exclusive technology partnership with established US graphite materials company NeoGraph Solutions. The 10-year agreement aims to develop and grow the graphene market in the US. The companies are targeting to reach an annual uptake of 10 tonnes of Pure Graphene’s PureGraph product – which will be sold under NeoGraph’s Grapf-X brand – within five years. Initially shipment will be two tonnes a year minimum, worth up to $375,000.

Orthocell receives approval to market Remplir

Tissue regeneration technology developer Orthocell has received Therapeutic Goods Administration to market its Remplir nerve repair device in peripheral nerve repair procedures. The Perth company estimates there are 11,780 surgical repairs of peripheral nerves in Australia each year, representing a significant new market. Remplir is a first of kind biological scaffold designed to mimic the outer layer of the peripheral nerve, with its use facilitating nerve repair. Orthocell managing director Paul Anderson said: “This is an important step on our continued pathway to making meaningful impact in the global market.”

New food incubator for Melbourne

A dedicated commercial kitchen together with support will be available to food start-ups in Melbourne’s north from a new Food Incubator + Network Centre (FoodINC) in Preston. Developed by Melbourne Innovation Centre and Melbourne Polytechnic and Melbourne’s North Food Group, the centre will give innovative companies the resources they need to turn their ideas into viable businesses. Set up as a response to a lack of affordable, commercial-quality facilities and education services for SMEs, the centre will offer training across compliance, occupational health and safety, and food safety. Users could be existing restaurants looking to develop retail products such as dinner kits, or manufacturers needing commercial facilities to scale up production.

Picture: BAE Systems Australia Maritime

Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.