ASX healthcare stocks haven't done so well as a collective over the past 12 months.
The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) is down 8% over the past year.
By comparison, the market benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 3.2%.
But as always, there are outliers.
Here are three ASX healthcare stocks going their own way and booking astounding share price growth.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)
The Neuren Pharmaceuticals share price has leapt 130% over the past 12 months to $12.86 at the time of writing.
The key driver has been the approval of Daybue by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Daybue is the first and only approved treatment for Rett syndrome.
The illness is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 6,000 to 9,000 people in the US.
The ASX healthcare stock rose 1.4% yesterday after the company released its FY23 half-year report.
The company revealed a total income of $64.4 million, with Daybue accounting for $62.9 million of that.
Neuren reported a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $47.8 million.
Impedimed Limited (ASX: IPD)
The Impedimed share price has risen 157% over the past 12 months to 17 cents at the time of writing.
The company makes medical devices to assess and monitor lymphoedema and heart failure. It also offers a cloud-based digital platform called SOZO to manage patient data.
Everything changed for the ASX healthcare stock on 27 March when the company announced the inclusion of bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) for the first time in United States medical guidelines.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released a new version of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Survivorship on 24 March.
NCCN Guidelines are the globally recognised standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer care.
The new version names bioimpedance spectroscopy as an objective measurement tool to identify early signs of lymphoedema.
The news sent the biotech share into the stratosphere, up 117% in one day of trading in what the CEO described as "a major validating moment".
The ASX healthcare stock has continued rising amid further milestones, including the first medical policy from a top-five national payor in the United States covering bioimpedance spectroscopy last month.
AVITA Medical Inc (ASX: AVH)
The Avita share price has rocketed 166% over the past 12 months to $5.00 at the time of writing.
The company makes treatments for severe skin burns. It is known worldwide for its revolutionary flagship product — a spray-on skin technique called Recell.
The ASX healthcare stock has been rising reasonably steadily over the past 12 months.
Among the milestones was the 8 June announcement that the FDA had approved its premarket approval (PMA) supplement for the use of Recell to treat full-thickness skin defects beyond burns.
The Avita share price soared 11% on the news. Management said the approval dramatically expanded the company's market opportunity by at least five times.
The approval means Recell will have an expanded indication and can be used for other medical problems.
These include wound injuries, surgical excisions as a result of issues like necrotising soft tissue infections, and skin resections caused by the removal of skin cancer, among other things.
Recell was first approved in the US for the treatment of severe burns in 2018.
