Imricor Medical Systems Inc (ASX: IMR) has become one of the most talked about ASX small-cap shares on the ASX this year.
The healthcare share price has really come alive in the past 12 months, and has almost doubled to $1.44 per share at the time of writing. The surge on the stock market signals that investors are increasingly excited about what Imricor is achieving in this US$10 billion industry.
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World-firsts
So, what makes this US based medical technology company so popular? Imricor is a pioneer that focusses on the heart. It claims to be the first company in the world to deliver commercially viable MRI-compatible consumables for cardiac catheter ablation.
This is a new technology to treat heart rhythm disorders. Unlike traditional X-ray guided ablation, Imricor's iCMR-platform allows doctors to see the heart in real-time. This offers the patient and surgeons potential benefits – better visibility of soft tissues, reduced radiation exposure and improved procedure outcomes.
Last week Imricor claimed to have another world-first when it reported the successful completion of the first MRI-guided ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation ever performed in real time in a patient with an implantable cardiac defibrillator.
These innovations are obviously good marketing, but more importantly they could really change the way how cardiac ablations are done. If adoption picks up, Imricor's technology could become the new standard in cardiac care.
International ambitions
Imricor's global aspirations are pretty clear. It has identified four key regions where it's executing a rollout: the US, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Europe, where it got CE-Mark approval for its product portfolio.
The company is expanding its base in European countries like Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy, while it's conducting medical trials in the US to obtain clearance for its products. In the Middle East Imrico has already signed exclusive distributor agreements and it already sold its first products in Qatar.
In March this year, Imricor completed a capital raise of $70 million to fund the international ambitions, the expansion of commercial operations and research and development.
Speculative buy
The combination of breakthrough technology and growing clinical validation has pushed the ASX small-cap share to new heights.
Taylor Collison analysts recently retained their outperform recommendation for this speculative investment. Their target price for the healthcare company is $2.26, which implies a 53% upside.
In their latest research note, they comment:
CMR adoption continues to accelerate globally as cardiologists wrestle imaging away from radiologists. With cardiologists demanding their own CMR for deeper tissue, scar, and functional insights – we believe this ultimately positions CMR as the future gold standard for diagnosing and guiding treatment of complex arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies.
