ImpediMed has a number of important similarities with one of our top performers Sirtex Medical, which has almost trebled subscribers’ money. Like Sirtex, this company’s produce is a medical device which has received clearance from the FDA, the giant US-based health regulator. The technology is quite complicated, and admittedly ImpediMed is where Sirtex was a few years ago. But one of the keys to ImpediMed’s story is that it has qualified for re-imbursement for Medicare (people aged over 65) from next January.
ImpediMed can generate as much as $340m a year from the sale of its products, which cost $30 a time, but are required five times by each cancer patient in the first year of remission, and then by the 30 per cent of patients who are at risk of lymphedema for four years after this. And then there is constant monitoring for the rest of their life. Read on to discover more.
We also have tip updates, which include a number of opportunities to make money from companies whose share prices have fallen. We always try to remember our motto for investing, as the Idle Speculator says in his column today: “Buy Cheap and Be Patient”.
If that’s not enough we have gone through our Best Buys with a fine tooth comb and we’re adding TWO MORE to the list. What are you waiting for?
IMPEDIMED This med tech has just raised $8.8m and is well positioned to capitalise on a market worth at least $144m a year – not bad for a market cap of $40m!
ANOTHER SIRTEX? Gaining the oncology world’s support is not easy, but ImpediMed has a number of similarities with Sirtex Medical (SRX) – a Radar tip which has almost trebled subscribers’ money. Both are medical device companies and like Sirtex, ImpediMed achieved US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance early on. Like Sirtex, as acceptance of its product gains momentum, investors should see exponential benefits to the bottom line.
This small biotech has huge potential, which is reachable within the next year, and you are not paying much for it. The big factor we like is that the US Government will be reimbursing cancer patients for use of ImpediMed’s products.
This November ImpediMed’s flagship product L-Dex will get the go-ahead for reimbursement in the US of costs incurred by patients who are over 65 and have been through cancer treatment. This gives cost-conscious oncologists the green light to recommend a product, which they see as essential to reducing the possibility of further trauma.
BIG CASH PRODUCING POTENTIAL ImpediMed can generate as much as $340m a year from the sale of its products, which cost $30 a time, but are required five times by each cancer patient in the first year of remission, and then by the 30 per cent of patients who are at risk of lymphedema for four years after this. And then there is constant monitoring for the rest of their life.
The company’s bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) technology is in demand from oncologists whose patients are at risk of lymphedema, where lymph fluid is retained and causes swelling. It can occur in patients after they have been through the ravages of chemotherapy.
Advanced lymphedema is impossible to treat, but a number of studies have shown that the condition can be reversed if identified and treated very early. Another factor that promotes early diagnosis is that while cancer survivors are at risk of lymphedema for the rest of their lives, about 70 per cent of cases occur within the first two years of cancer treatment.
THE ONLY AVENUE FOR EARLY DETECTION Lymphedema’s treatment is as simple as wearing a compression sleeve, but until ImpediMed’s L-Dex there hasn’t been an avenue for its early detection. If it is noticeable, it can often be too late. The danger is that the fluid becomes solidified and fibrosis, or scarring occurs making the condition both irreversible and progressive.
When you stand on a scale in the gym in order to measure your percentage of body fat, a single frequency is sent from one foot to the other, which then estimates this, from your hips up. For tall people, the reading can often be way off the mark.
QUEENSLAND’S BABY ImpediMed’s technology using BIS was developed out of the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology. A spectrum of 256 frequencies is sent throughout the body to deliver a detailed makeup of tissue composition.
L-Dex sends the spectrum of low and high frequencies throughout the entire body,
in order to generate a detailed make-up and assess whether lymphedema is occurring. A cancer patient without lymphedema will typically receive eight tests, while if that patient is showing risks of lymphedema he or she receives about 17. While the potential for the company is huge, it won’t be reachable from day one because it will take time for ImpediMed to get recognition in the different cancer indications. Thus far, it has worked most heavily on breast cancer patients. In the company’s favour is its recent $8.8m capital raise. It is in the middle of raising up to another $3m via a share purchase plan. It will be able to conduct further studies to gain acceptance from peak bodies. Already BIS is recommended by the Australasian Lymphology Association and the National Lymphedema Network in the US, as well as the National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancers in the US.
IPD Price at posting:
22.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
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