Daily Special: Energy World Corporation, Imagion Biosystems, Vitrafy Life Sciences

Australian shares moved lower at midday, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.7% to 8,668.30 at 12:19pm AEST as conflicting signals from the US and Iran clouded prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict. Eight of the 11 sectors traded lower, while weaker US futures also weighed on sentiment following recent record highs on Wall Street. Real estate and financials led the declines, with Vicinity Centres and Scentre Group retreating sharply, while ANZ, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank all traded lower. Healthcare stocks also weakened, with CSL falling to its lowest level since 2016. Materials were broadly flat despite strength in copper prices supporting gains in BHP and Rio Tinto. Technology stocks continued their recent rally, led by Xero, WiseTech Global and Life360 as investors maintained exposure to AI-related growth themes.Energy World sells turbines for US$350 million. 

In other company news, 

Asset sale unlocks capital as company shifts focus to LNG and regional energy assets.

Energy World Corporation (ASX: EWC) has agreed to sell its Siemens gas and steam turbines to Nasdaq-listed Hallador Energy for US$350 million as part of its strategy to monetise assets and unlock shareholder value. The turbines, located in the Philippines, will be refurbished in the United States before transfer, with the transaction expected to generate gross proceeds of US$350 million and estimated net proceeds of approximately US$331 million. The company said the sale reflects changing dynamics in the Philippine power market and strong global demand for gas turbines driven by data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Energy World intends to use the proceeds to address balance sheet matters and support development of its LNG platform and other assets in Indonesia and Australia.

Imagion receives FDA clearance for breast cancer imaging trial

Imagion Biosystems (ASX: IBX) has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to proceed with a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of its MagSense HER2 Imaging Agent in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. The FDA issued a “Study May Proceed” notice for the company’s Investigational New Drug application, marking a key milestone in the development of its molecular MRI imaging technology. Patient recruitment is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026 following site activation and contracting activities. The study will assess safety, optimise dosing and imaging protocols, and evaluate diagnostic performance, with the company aiming to demonstrate the potential of MagSense as a non-radioactive imaging tool for earlier and more accurate cancer detection.

Vitrafy partners with Vitalant on blood preservation technology

Vitrafy Life Sciences (ASX: VFY) has entered a partnership with Vitalant Innovation Center, one of the largest blood network organisations in the United States, to adapt its cryopreservation technology for long-term red blood cell storage. Vitalant operates around 125 collection sites and supplies blood products to more than 900 hospitals across the country. The partnership is designed to address an emerging industry challenge as existing red blood cell cryopreservation technologies approach end-of-life with no direct replacement currently available. Vitrafy believes its cryopreservation ecosystem could become a successor technology across the US blood network, with potential applications extending beyond red blood cells to other blood products including platelets.