Chronic Kidney Disease has reach almost epidemic proportions, causing more deaths than either breast or prostate cancer. In fact globally, there are 300k people waiting for transplants (& climbing) - but only 95k operations performed annually (23k US, 25K Europe & 47k RoW).
Meaning there’s a huge shortage of these type of life saving surgeries. Further exacerbated by organ rejection rates of between 35%-50%, reflecting adverse patient immune responses & an urgent lack of personalised diagnostics - ie to better match donees with kidneys & improve treatment regimes. In total, costing $10bn-$20bn worldwide.
Enter Verici Dx (VRCI ) – who are commercialising its proprietary platform of AI-enabled & RNA sequenced, immuno-diagnostics & data services for kidney transplants.
Indeed, the 1st two flagship tests have both passed extensive ‘real world’ validation studies with flying colours. Tuteva (a post transplant diagnostic) is scheduled for soft launch in Q4 & set to generate initial sales this year.
Whilst, Clarava (a pre operation test) is undergoing an additional 6 month trail in order to further enrich the clinical data, expand usage and broaden the addressable market.
Importantly too, with the underlying efficacy of the platform now ‘proven’. These results should hopefully open the door to similar scientific break-throughs for other products. Starting perhaps with Protega, a liquid biopsy that aims to predict the risk of fibrosis and long-term graft failure.
But that’s not all......
VRCI’s clever scientists plan to further enhance the platform’s accuracy via future R&D, AI, etc - for the benefits of patients & doctors, alongside maintaining its competitive advantage.
Plus due to the quality & depth of the technology (exclusively licensed from Mount Sinai Health System). There’s scope to sell this RNA signature/profiling data (eg histopathology imagery & the analysis of whole transcriptome) to outside 3rd parties for research (eg auto-immune) & therapeutic development (eg clinical trial stratification) purposes, &/or monitoring patient studies post approval. Maybe even under its Illumina deal.
Wrt today’s ‘on track’ H1 numbers. House broker Singer Capital Markets is predicting FY22 revenues of $0.1m - climbing to $0.9m & $6.1m over the next 2 years - with a 79p ‘risk adjusted’ target price vs 19p today.
Elsewhere net cash closed June at $15.7m (vs $13.5m now) & is expected to end 2022 at $10m. In turn, providing sufficient funding until the start of 2024 - including the commercialisation of Clarava & Tuteva, alongside progressing Protega & other exciting opportunities.
CEO Sara Barrington commenting: “For the rest of 2022, we are focused on the soft commercial launch of Tuteva, with a view to scaling up to a wider launch in 2023. The business is well funded to advance all three of our products as well as potential new growth opportunities, including new partnerships such as our collaboration with Illumina."