The Capital Brief | EPI, AL3, NIC, OIL, EBR, ECH, SPL, AXL, KCC, UNT and 4DX

We would like to share The Capital Network’s summary of the week, including developments in financial markets, media articles, analyst insights, corporate catalysts, and investor engagement events.

With the last week covering the final part of April, there was a large number of March 2026 Quarter Activities Reports and progress report updates released.

And the good news is, most of these ASX announcements demonstrated the continued success many small cap companies across multiple industrial segments were having in implementing their stated growth strategies.

Some of these reports documented how many smaller ASX-listed companies were penetrating addressable markets. Others revealed the pace at which emerging health care sector companies were travelling the regulatory approval journeys required ahead of their products being released to market.

And in the small cap mining space, a host of companies updated investors on recently undertaken or current exploration activities that have them on the path to proving up the prospectivity of their resource projects. The extra bonus here is that many of these projects are ‘critical minerals-related – minerals that are currently powering our ‘new age’ economy industrial segments like electric vehicles, defence systems, and AI computing.

To the week ahead, a key focus will be the 4-5 May RBA Board Meeting, where policy makers will be considering the inflation ramifications of a yet-to-be-unveiled FY27 Federal Budget and the potential end-game of the current Middle East conflict.

Epiminder Limited (ASX:EPI)

Medical device company Epiminder (ASX: EPI), the developer of the US FDA-authorised Minder® implantable continuous EEG monitoring system for epilepsy, issued its March 2026 quarter activities report late this week.

Since December 2025, the company has contracted 18 leading US medical centres for the DETECT study, including Stanford University, the University of South Florida, Wake Forest University, the University of North Carolina and Indiana University.

Epiminder’s latest quarterly report also indicated that it had now enrolled 15 patients in the DETECT study, and was on track to enroll 25 participants by the end of May 2026, as previously forecast.

The company added that US medical centres’ continued interest in DETECT gave it confidence that the study was on course to enroll the required 210 patients across up to 25 leading US medical centres by the target date of the first half of calendar 2027.

Epiminder indicated that the completion of the design of its next generation Minder system (G1) continues to be on track to be delivered in first half of calendar 2027.

AML3D Limited (ASX:AL3)

Wire Additive Manufacturing technology and 3D metal printing solutions company AML3D continued to successfully penetrate target markets in the March 2026 quarter.

This as AML3D’s US Scale Up strategy continued to kick goals, delivering an additional $12.5m of orders in the March 2026 quarter, for a total of $20m of orders to date over the 20206 financial year.

Key highlights over the quarter included receipt of a $9.9m order for four ARCEMY® systems from Newport News Shipbuilding, a $2.6m order for five high demand, non-safety critical, US Navy submarine components, and the successful on-time commissioning of a $1.7m ARCEMY at US defence, Aerospace and Energy supplier FasTech.

Looking ahead, AML3D’s decision to increase capacity at its Stow facility will allow the company to meet the significant additive manufacturing demand forecasts outlined in the US Department of the Navy’s Letter of Intent supplied to AML3D back in 2025.

Optiscan Imaging Limited (ASX:OIL)

Emerging medical imaging device company Optiscan Imaging (ASX:OIL) released a March 2026 quarter activities report that catalogued the company’s key development strategy deliverables over the period.

Late in the quarter, Optiscan lodged its US FDA dossier for InSpecta® , a key step in this device’s commercialisation strategy and the company’s planned move into the US veterinary market.

The March 2026 quarter also saw the delivery of sustained strong momentum across several clinical studies involving Optiscan’s suite of Medtech devices.

These studies are steadily building the collection of images required for US FDA regulatory submissions for the company’s InVue® and InForm® clinical devices.

Optiscan has also recently received some well-deserved industry recognition, with it named as a finalist in two categories at the leading Endeavour Awards national manufacturing awards program, the first being Innovation in Health Technology and the second Leader of the Year (for Optiscan’s CEO Dr Camile Farah).

R&D-related activities over the March 2026 quarter resulted in significant progress across clinical and regulatory activities for the company’s upcoming FDA submissions for InVue® and InForm® , which are expected to be completed in the second half of calendar 2026.

EBR Systems Inc.(ASX:EBR)

Ahead of EBR Systems (ASX: EBR) releasing its March 2026 quarter Activities Report, the company announced that Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had granted Priority Review Determination for its WiSE® System.

This is a significant development, as a Priority Review Determination provides an accelerated pathway toward inclusion of the WiSE System on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

EBR intends to submit its ARTG inclusion application in the near term, which will support earlier access in Australia for heart failure patients with limited CRT options.

The TGA Determination builds on strong recent momentum across EBR’s regulatory, commercial and clinical programs, including US FDA approval, growing US commercial activity and early revenue generation.

Echelon Limited (ASX:ECH)

Oil and gas producer Echelon Resources (ASX:ECH) achieved much over its March 2026 quarter, with the company realising both a step change in revenue settings (as legacy gas contracts roll off and are replaced with higher‑priced contracts), and delivering disciplined execution across its project portfolio.

Echelon and its JV partners progressed a number of key commercial and operational initiatives across the Amadeus Basin. The Palm Valley JV entered into a new gas supply agreement with the NT Government for supply through to 2034, with take or pay provisions and inflation‑indexed pricing. This agreement supports the planned drilling of two new wells.

Operationally, Echelon’s March 2026 quarter production reflected a combination of planned activities and asset‑specific impacts.

After quarter’s end, Echelon accepted Horizon’s takeover offer for the company’s stake in Cue. Assuming this transaction completes, Echelon will no longer hold an interest in Cue, but is expected to have a circa 6% stake in Horizon.

Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, US OTC: SPHRY)

Biotech company Starpharma Holdings (ASX: SPL, US OTC: SPHRY) released its March 2026 Quarter Activities Report in the last week of April.

Just after the end of the quarter, Starpharma met with the US FDA and received positive feedback following a Type C guidance meeting, confirming alignment on the proposed clinical development strategy and study design for its DEP® HER2.With this FDA-related milestone ticked off, Starpharma’s DEP® HER2 FIH phase 1 preparations are advancing well, with clinical site selection complete and trial-enabling activities underway.

In the March 2026 quarter, Starpharma advanced its strategic partnerships and ensured programs progressed in line with development plans, work that will pave the way for delivery of further development milestones. The company also continued to focus on generating value from both existing collaborations and new business development activities.

On the latter front, the company connected with prospective partners at JP Morgan in January and BIO-Europe in March. Star Navigator was a primary focus at these conferences, providing a streamlined pathway for partners to explore dendrimer drug conjugates and rapidly assess fit with Starpharma’s DEP® platform technology.

Axel Ree Limited (ASX:AXL; FSE:HN8)

Brazil-focussed critical minerals explorer Axel Ree (ASX: AXL; FSE: HN8) materially progressed exploration activities across its project portfolio in the March 2026 quarter, with the company continuing to focus on its Caladão REE-Gallium and Caldas REE assets.

At the Caladão REE-Gallium Project, metallurgical advances validated its in situ recovery (ISR) development pathway. And the good news kept coming post quarter’s end, with the Woolrich ISR Deposit within this project selected as the field trial location. Results to date support a dual-pathway development concept.

From an ISR Commercial and Technical Strategy angle, infill drilling and 3D geological modelling is now underway within the Caladão REE-Gallium Project to support future wellfield definition and ISR field trials at the 128Mt Woolrich deposit.

At Axel Ree’s other major asset, the Caldas REE Project, exploration target and metallurgical studies have been advanced over the March 2026 quarter. The period saw the completion of auger drilling programs across the North, Central, East and South prospects at the Poços de Caldas alkaline complex within Caldas, with results from this work pending.

Kincora Copper Limited (ASX &TSXV:KCC)

Copper-gold explorer and hybrid project generator Kincora Copper (ASX &TSXV: KCC) has just announced that the first phase drilling program was now underway at the company’s 100% owned Condobolin epithermal gold, silver, base metals project located in the Cobar Basin.

This capital efficient, sole funded drilling program will comprise of up to eight diamond core holes. It represents the first systematic drilling in over a decade at this historic Condobolin Mineral Field.

It will test down dip, on strike, new adjacent coincident geochemical and geophysical targets at the high-grade Meritilga discovery within this project.

Once this work is complete, Kincora plans to undertake some fully funded follow-up drilling at Meritilga, which will involve additional targets including other open prior discoveries and larger causative porphyry centers also now under consideration.

This is an exciting development for Kincora, with recent corporate activity highlighting the value on high-grade projects in the Cobar Basin.

Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC)

Nickel Industries delivered a strong March 2026 quarter, reporting US$135.6 million in adjusted EBITDA - its best result since December 2023 - driven by higher nickel prices and improved margins across mining, RKEF, and HPAL operations. Performance was underpinned by robust ore sales exceeding 3 million wet metric tonnes from the Hengjaya Mine and a more favourable product mix.

Margins improved significantly, with NPI margins rising 155% quarter-on-quarter and HPAL margins up 20%, reflecting both operational efficiency and stronger realised prices. Importantly, costs remained well controlled, particularly at RKEF operations, where increases were modest despite broader market pressures.

A major positive was the approval of a higher RKAB sales licence for Hengjaya, increasing annual capacity from 9 million to 14.3 million wmt - especially notable given industry-wide reductions in Indonesia. Tightened supply also supported a 16% rise in LME nickel prices, further boosting earnings.

The company advanced its growth strategy by increasing its stake in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt HPAL project to 46%, with commissioning on track for mid-2026 and full ramp-up by October. Additional positives include proactive cost management, ongoing project development, and a US$450 million refinancing that lowers borrowing costs and strengthens financial flexibility.

Unith Limited (ASX:UNT)

Unith (ASX:UNT) continues to deliver on its stated development plan, which was targeting a scaling the company’s proprietary AI and Digital Human platform, an expansion of recurring revenues, deepening enterprise adoption levels and a strengthening its global footprint.

In late April 2026, Unith announced that (1) work on its sought after ISO 27001 accreditation process had been successfully completed and (2) that additional funding had been secured.

The successful completion of all requirements for ISO 2700:2022 certification is a significant development. Such accreditation is a necessary requirements if Unith is to meet its goal of onboarding clients offering larger, compliance driven enterprise accounts that demand high level procurement and compliance standards.

The additional $2m secured finance facility now in place will enhance the company’s liquidity levels, and give it extra financial flexibility to fund near term platform execution and growth initiatives.

Unith’s late April announcement also indicated that the company was continuing to assess potential corporate and strategic opportunities, indicating that both organic and inorganic growth possibilities were currently being explored.

4DMedical Limited (ASX:4DX)

The commercial momentum behind 4DMedical (ASX: 4DX) and its CT:VQ™ non‑contrast post‑processing technology continued to build in the March 2026 quarter.

In the quarter, the University of Chicago Medicine became the fifth US Academic Medical Centre to commercially adopt CT:VQ™, and the Mayo Clinic deployed CT:VQ™ for ventilation and perfusion analysis under an initial 90-day evaluation arrangement.

In Europe, CT:VQ™ received CE Mark certification, enabling commercial deployment across the European Union, one of the world's largest respiratory imaging markets.

And from a funding angle, in March 2026, 4DMedical completed a well supported $83 million institutional placement, with proceeds set to fund the expansion and acceleration of CT:VQ™ into Europe – all from a position of balance sheet strength.