Australian Market Report of August 9, 2010

Sydney, Aug 9, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Australian stock market opened lower on Monday, following mixed leads from overseas markets. In early trade, the S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.41 per cent, at 4547.4 points, while All Ordinaries had fallen 19 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 4567.3 points.

In economics news, National Australia Bank Limited (ASX:NAB) will release its business confidence index for July and the Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish its housing finance data for June.

Companies News

ECSI Limited (ASX:ECS) has entered into an Agreement for Purchase of the Qitaihe Coking Plant in China, subject to satisfactory completion of its Due Diligence. Located in the north-east of Heilongjiang Province, the plant produces a Grade II coke with an annual rate over 150,000tpa. Once purchased and upgraded, it will be capable of producing a Grade I coke and exceeding an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes. As part of its business expansion in China, ECSI also plans to purchase a coal mine within 30-50km of the plant and to float one of its businesses separately in the future.

Tissue Therapies Limited (ASX:TIS), an Australian biomedical company developing wound healing, tissue repair and cell culture technologies, announced today that its VitroGro (R) has been granted a patent in Japan, following the multiple VitroGro (R) patents already granted in the USA, South Korea, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. VitroGro (R) is a technology for enhancing cell growth and migration, which has particular commercial applications in wound healing, tissue regeneration, stem cell therapies and other cell culture uses. Recent clinical trials in Australia and Canada have proven VitroGro (R) very successful in treating diabetic and venous ulcer. The examination process of the VitroGro (R) patents in all international jurisdictions is progressing smoothly and the company is expecting more patent announcements by the end of 2010.

QRxPharma Limited (ASX:QRX), an Australian pharmaceutical company focused on new treatments for pain management and central nervous system disorders, has received encouraging results of a phase 2 comparative study to evaluate its intravenous formulation of morphine plus oxycodone (MoxDuo IV) versus intravenous morphine alone for the treatment of moderate to severe post-operative pain in patients after hip replacement surgery. The study showed that MoxDuo IV resulted in fewer side effects and offered better pain relief than morphine alone. In February 2010, QRxPharma and Aoxing Pharmaceutical Company (AMEX:AXN) entered into an agreement, under which Aoxing will fund the development of MoxDuo IV for the Chinese market in exchange for exclusive marketing rights in China.

Contact

Qiubei Fu Asia Business News Asia Bureau Tel: +61-2-9247-4344 Email: qiubei.fu@abnnewswire.net