- Imricor Medical Systems (ASX:IMR) will have its heart surgery catheters distributed in Qatar under a new deal
- The catheters are unique in that they can be used while a patient is inside an MRI machine
- The company earlier this year moved into Saudi Arabia
- Shares last traded at 55 cents
Provider of interventional Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (iCMR) ablation medical hardware Imricor Medical Systems (ASX:IMR) has just expanded its Middle Eastern presence.
After successfully entering Saudi Arabia earlier this year, Imricor has inked a deal with a Qatari distributor.
What that means is East Agency – the name of the distributor in question – will market ASX-listed Imricor products to hospitals and clinics in Qatar.
East Agency now holds exclusive rights to sell the products in the Middle East.
Distributor East Agency CEO Mohamed Mekky claimed that some of the “largest cardiac centres … in Doha” have shown interest towards Imricor’s products.
The deal
Ablation refers to the process of freezing or cauterising parts of the heart that are damaged.
The process can be done as an open surgery or via a catheter. Catheter ablations have a high success rate and are generally quite routine.
Imricor advertises ablation catheters on its website – with an added benefit.
Its main selling point: the catheter can be used in real-time while a patient is in an MRI machine.
Growing market
The ‘Vision-MR Ablation Catheter’ is “designed to look, feel and function like a traditional ablation catheter,” according to the company’s website.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with East Agency, and we look forward to offering real-time iCMR cardiac ablations to patients and physicians in Qatar soon,” Imricor CEO Steve Wedan said.
Qatar ranks in the top 40 per cent of countries for prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Occurrences in the jurisdiction are slowly on the rise.
Stock considerations
Imricor has a few watchful eyes on it.
Four brokers rate the stock a ‘Buy’; one rates it a ‘Hold’.
The company has a market cap of $92.9 million, and its one-year performance is up 52.78 per cent.
Year-to-date returns sit at 50.68 per cent and are down 8.33 per cent over the last month.
Shares last traded at 55 cents.