Friday, August 19, 2011

Echo Therapeutics Inc. (ECTE) is “One to Watch”


Echo Therapeutics Inc., a transdermal medical device company, leverages its extensive expertise in advanced skin permeation technology to develop its Symphony tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system, and its Prelude SkinPrep System for needle-free, painless drug delivery as well as analyte extraction.

All existing FDA-approved continuous glucose monitoring systems are needle-based, requiring insertion of a glucose sensor into the patient’s skin. Not only does this cause discomfort, but it also gives rise to risks of infection, inflammation or bleeding at the insertion site. Echo Therapeutics’ Symphony tCGM does not require insertion of its glucose sensor, eliminating the risks and discomfort associated with needle-based CGM systems.

Because patients are often unaware that their glucose levels are either too high or too low, they are unable to always control their glucose levels and prevent complications. Echo Therapeutics believes the addressable market for needle-free, continuous wireless glucose monitoring in the hospital critical care setting is quite large. It estimates that the opportunity exceeds $1 billion annually. Overall, the global glucose monitoring market exceeds $12 billion annually.

The Prelude SkinPrep System incorporates Echo Therapeutics’ patented skin permeation control technology into a comfortable, hand-held device that increases the permeability of the skin allowing for analyte extraction and drug delivery. The key feature of the company’s skin permeation technology is its feedback control algorithm used to achieve optimal and pain-free skin preparation for transdermal sensing technologies.

The SkinPrep System has the potential to provide a safe and cost effective skin permeation process for rapid delivery of medication across the epidermis. Echo Therapeutics believes that its Prelude skin permeation process could increase transdermal topical drug delivery by as much as 100 times greater than untreated skin, including the delivery of a wide range of small and large molecule drugs.

Equity research coverage of Echo Therapeutics has been initiated by Morgan Joseph TriArtisan, JMP Securities, Feltl and Company, Chardan Capital Markets, and Noble Financial Capital Markets, all of which have issued a “Buy” or “Strong Buy” rating on the stock. The average analyst price target is currently $6.00, with projections as high as $8.50.

Both the Symphony tCGM System and Prelude SkinPrep System address exceedingly large and expansive market opportunities. As Echo Therapeutics continues to advance with its cutting-edge technology and proves its competence in the lucrative medical device industry, the company stands well positioned to increase shareholder value.

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