Plugging into car apps could keep you on the road

In about a decade we will all be able to reminisce about the good old days when cars weren't even connected to the internet.

Music, traffic information, navigation and cloud-based vehicle management will all be happening via the internet, most likely through a SIM card mounted in the car but also through connected mobile phones.

Connexion Media chief executive George Parthimos is planning to be an integral part of moving cars online and already the little Aussie company has outfoxed some much bigger rivals by getting accreditation from large car companies such as General Motors to supply applications and hardware.

That is not a guarantee of success but given that car model runs can continue for up to seven years, it is a very handy foot in the door.

Connexion's miRoamer system is now available as an option in the new Skoda Fabia and in many Volkswagen models, using a MirrorLink that allows a plugged in mobile phone to provide data for built-in systems.

However, the big new development for the company is the imminent launch of a plug-in diagnostic device that will be able to keep real-time tabs on a wide variety of vehicle data.

That could be particularly useful for hire car fleets, with drivers able to be warned if they are breaching rules such as speed, engine revs or straying on to a dirt road.

"You can set a range of alarms and notifications and it is a great opportunity to change driver behaviour in real time," explained Mr Parthimos.

It could also be a great way to raise some extra revenue if certain boxes have been ticked in a rental agreement.

For other fleets, the opportunity to know where trucks or cars are at any time and get relevant information such as vehicle mileage and an approaching service should be well worth the estimated two minutes of productivity improvement a day that is required to pay for the system.

Longer term, Mr Parthimos has plenty of apps and hardware to keep Connexion at the forefront of cars with built-in SIM cards but the current products should start some useful cash flow this year. A speculative buy.

Many biotechnology companies are great at coming up with alternative uses of their research.

Cancer treatment company Circadian is a good example, with a highly promising eye treatment now one of the keys to the company's future.

While it has three solid tumour cancer compounds in clinical testing with large pharmaceutical partners, the treatment for age-related wet macular degeneration of the eyes (AMD) could well be a company maker on its own.

With an estimated US market alone of greater than $5 billion a year and the incidence of AMD increasing as the population ages, it is a major commercial opportunity and a chance to slow down the major cause of blindness in people aged 55 or older.

The two existing drugs for the condition block the action of what is known as VEGF-A while the Circadian treatment blocks VEGF-C and D.

Either on its own or in conjunction with the existing drugs, Circadian's OPT-302 drug holds the promise of preventing the blood vessel growth and leakage that lead to wet macular degeneration.

Chief executive Dr Megan Baldwin said testing in mice had shown a significant improvement compared to treatment with existing drugs alone.

Circadian has assembled an impressive range of US and Australian AMD experts for its clinical board, including some who helped develop the existing AMD treatments.A speculative buy, given the size of the world market for a better eye treatment.