AORTECH International is a bio-materials and medical device development company. The group owns all of the intellectual property to exploit Elast-Eon Polyurethanes. It focuses on providing a range of high-performance Elast-Eon materials in a variet
y of applications for use in medical devices.
AorTECH was, at one time, one of the biomedical darlings, its shares rocketing up during the technology boom of the late 1990s. Commercial reality at the time proved difficult, so AorTECH focused, instead, on polyurethanes. Its product, Elast-Eon, is used in cardiac rhythm management (CRM).
AorTECH's strategy now is to develop the market for Elast-Eon along three revenue streams: up-front licence fees; supplying finished components to medical implant companies and supplying complete and semi-complete Elast-Eon-based medical implants.
AorTECH signed a contract with St Jude Medical, in March 2006, for Elast-Eon to be used as a coating material for St Jude's range of CRM products. AorTECH is also working on producing a synthetic replacement heart valve, built around the Elast-Eon material. There is enormous potential in the field of breast implants, especially since the FDA's decision to lift an embargo on the use of silicone in November 2006.
In the field of medicine, nothing is assured, especially today, when the route to market can be challenging. Nevertheless, AorTECH now appears to have an established product enjoying increasing brand recognition. It appears to offer great potential, especially on the cardiac front, from an ageing population in the West.
• The value of your investment could fall and you may get back less than you invested. You should take professional advice if you have any doubt about the suitability of this company for your portfolio.
The full article contains 295 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
