Shares in Echo IQ Ltd (ASX: EIQ) are more than 6% higher after the company said it had gained exclusive access to a large dataset that would materially enhance its cardiovascular product development.
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Why are Echo IQ shares doing so well?
The company's shares have been performing strongly recently, shooting up by more than 50% when they announced a deal with fellow Australian imaging company Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME).
The shares were trading at levels around $1.12 in mid-June but are now changing hands for $1.72, up 6.5% on Thursday.
Echo IQ said the new agreement with Advara Heartcare, "provides Echo IQ access to between 500,000 and 1,000,000 de-identified echocardiography studies and associated relevant clinical datasets''.
The company added:
The proposed dataset includes echocardiographic images together with associated clinical information, including de-identified patient demographics where applicable and appropriate, referral pathways, diagnostic findings and relevant clinical outcomes. Access to both large-scale imaging data and linked clinical datasets is expected to significantly enhance Echo IQ's ability to develop, train and validate future AI models across a broad range of cardiovascular conditions. The Company believes access to large, high-quality imaging datasets will become increasingly important as cardiovascular AI evolves from single-disease applications towards broader multi-condition diagnostic and predictive platforms. The Advara dataset is expected to materially strengthen the Company's future product development capabilities by providing a substantial imaging resources capable of further supporting algorithm development, model refinement and validation activities across multiple cardiovascular indications.
Strong deal flow good news for Echo IQ
The new agreement follows the Pro Medicus deal, under which the larger company agreed to invest an initial $10 million in Echo IQ through a subscription for secured convertible notes, with the right to subscribe for a further $10 million once Echo IQ had its EchoSolv HF product cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration.
EchoSolv HF is an AI-powered heart failure detection software.
Pro Medicus has also agreed to become a reseller for EchoSolv, "providing potential access to an extensive network of leading US health systems, academic medical centres and enterprise healthcare customers".
Echo IQ Chief Executive Officer Dustin Haines added at the time:
The execution of this binding Heads of Agreement with Pro Medicus represents a transformational milestone for Echo IQ and a significant validation of both our technology and long-term commercial strategy, while also providing exceptional financial flexibility to accelerate our commercialisation activities in the US.
Echo IQ also raised $110 million in new capital off the back of the Pro Medicus deal at $1.45 per share.
