Orthocell Ltd (ASX: OCC) shares are having a strong start to the day.
In morning trade, the small cap ASX share is up over 8% to $1.35.
Why is this ASX share jumping on Tuesday?
Investors have been bidding the regenerative medicine company's shares higher this morning after it released a positive announcement.
According to the release, the small cap ASX share is pushing forward with the commercialisation of its nerve repair and regeneration device Remplir in the US$75 million Canadian market with the appointment of its first Canadian distributor.
It notes that exclusive distributorships have been secured for Alberta and British Columbia, with further appointments anticipated for additional provinces. This is to ensure broad coverage of the material Canadian nerve repair market.
It may not be long until the company is generating revenue in the market. It revealed that official launch activities will commence in early October at the prestigious Annual Meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) in Vancouver.
And the good news for this small cap ASX share is that its Canadian distributor has a wealth of expertise in nerve, spine and orthopaedic implant distribution. It also has established networks and a strong reputation in the local healthcare sector, which it believes will help drive product adoption.
It also believes it has the balance sheet strength to do this. Management notes that with around $27.5 million in cash and no debt, it is "well-positioned to drive rapid product adoption to deliver a step change in revenue in FY26."
Orthocell's CEO and managing director, Paul Anderson, was pleased with the news. He said:
Securing our first Canadian distributor provides immediate access to key provinces and will build Remplir's profile as a next-generation nerve repair solution. This is a major step in accelerating Remplir's international growth and our team is looking forward to supporting Canadian clinicians in delivering improved patient outcomes.
Our existing US Marketing and Medical Education teams are ideally placed to oversee our Canadian market entry given the significant crossover between jurisdictions with many surgeons operating in both countries. We expect to see early surgical cases commence in Canada late this year.
Though, it is worth noting that Canada represents only a small slice of its total addressable market (TAM). Management estimates that Remplir has a US$1.6 billion opportunity in the United States alone.
