This was our 3rd SM meeting (having had 2 in 2024) and about the 12th-15th time I've heard Brian over the years I've been following the company - albeit mostly from the sidelines.

My key takeaway was his confidence on where they are in the US, 4 years into building the direct Myriad sales force backed by great clinical data, as well as the other growth options at hand.

On Myriad, having cautiously held that team flat for 3 years (if you go back and look at the investor presentation, the prouctivity growth has been exceptional), to now add +10-15 reps per year plus a one-off beefing up US management, is the most significant step they've taken directly in recent years. And it is part of a clear program to get to 100-120 reps over 3-5 years. So, I definifely see upside on the revenue growth for Myriad than I have in my central case valuation. And given the lag effect as new reps become effective, we could see modest growth (c. 30% for Myriad) in FY27, accelerate onwards in FY28. (There is ample precedent in the US hospital dermal repair market, for example, a few years ago when BTM for $PNV was at the same stage.)

I think the meeting properly conveyed "the time is now, we have to have a go" for Symphony. Because the outpatient DFU/VLU market is huge and being disrupted now, a $4m scale-up in sales force and "infrastructure" to support distributors, is hardly a large bet. Brian made clear that if they get traction this year, then there is a clear opportunity to intensify resources allocated to Symphony. I can't wait to read the full RCT paper, because a lot hangs on that. If it is strong enough to support a PMA (as a future step), and win support for a claim of superiority to current standard of care in particular wound types, then it could on its own become a $100m - $200m+ product over time. But Brian's cautiousness shines through, as he is not talking about numbers like that, because he wants to see the first cautious steps pay off.

With their limited capacity, putting Enivo on the back burner makes sense. It now sounds like they will only be doing what they can with existing R&D fixed cost base, which means no further significant clinical development for the next year. But Brian still sounds very positive about the product for the longer term.

I like the US-focus, but I also like that they are seeing opportunities to push (their distributors!) a bit harder in target markets: Canada, UK, Ger, Swiss., Austria and even a niche application in India by the sounds of it.

On Ovitex, I've never heard him speak before so candidly about TELA Bio. Clearly, the Board has discussed options. It sounds like the plan is stick with them for now with the belief that the headwinds are temporary (he didn't refer to the lawsuit TELA has filed against their competitor claiming anti-competive conduct in locking in accounts for 80% market share, nor did he reveal TELA's own admission that they have allowed their sales to become too concentrated in a small number of accounts as I read their disclosures in the last Q earnings call.)

So the Ovitex options in the event of TELA's failure are:

i) sell the asset

ii) assign to another dsitributor

iii) go direct

All three would see a loss of market traction, but Brian indicates that he see's this as temporary. (I could see them going backward for 1 year, and then having another 2-3 to build back.) With TELA cashed up for a year, $ARX will get early warning via the quarterly reporting, so any "shock" looks to be a FY28+ thing. But his point was that it is less material to them now that in the past (41% of revenue in FY26 vs. 63% in FY22). So it it hardly existential. (As a sensitivity on my valuation central case of $0.85, if I dialed back Ovitex growth from 6% p.a. to 0% p.a., my $0.85 expected value falls to around $0.64.)

So, these are just a few reflections. But overall, I am becoming more impressed with Brian over time. There is a consistency in the approach, but importantly the strategy and priorities have evolved coherently with the progress of the business and the evolving market opportunity.

$ARX is today 4.8% of my RL ASX portfolio and the SP of $0.66 is still close to my entry price and well-positioned according to my valuation range ($0.60 - $1.20). I think I will look across my more speculative holdings and re-allocate some more to $ARX, such is my confidence in management. If Brian can execute his plans, then I think the market will view this business quite differently a year down the track.

Disc: Held