MRI Interventions, Inc. (MRIC) is a medical device company that develops and commercializes innovative platforms for performing minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain and heart under direct, intra-procedural magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, guidance. From 1998 to 2002, MRI Interventions deployed significant resources to fund its efforts to develop the foundational capabilities for enabling MRI-guided interventions and to build an intellectual property position. Since 2003, company's focus shifted to identifying and building out commercial applications for the technologies that has been developed in prior years. MRIC stock was cleared for trading just a few weeks back and is still largely under the radar. Here's a chance for you to own a piece of a best-in-class technology company led by a strong management team
Technologies:
MRI Interventions has two product platforms:
ClearPoint® Neuro Intervention System, first-to-market platform, allows neurosurgeons to see inside the patient's brain during a procedure. This system is cleared by FDA and is in commercial use in the United States.
Highlights:
Targeting 2.2 million late-stage neuro disease patients.
Installed in 15 prominent U.S. neurosurgery centers, and growing.
Generated $1.5M since commercial roll-out, and growing.
ClearPoint® technology allows a direct, high resolution visualization, performed in an MRI suite and not in an operating room. ClearPoint® allows keep patient under general anesthesia during the procedure compared to the conventional method when patient often must be awake for their own brain surgery; takes less than 3 hours for the procedure compared with the long 8 hours conventional surgery; doesn't require to use by specialized neurosurgeon (only 300 specialists in US) thus available to the 3500 general neurosurgeons in US alone. See the company's presentation at this link:
http://content.stockpr.com/mriinterventions/media/f442744d043ae5f89f855ad34ef2bbbe.pdf 
MRIC is developing a second platform, ClearTrace™ System, for MRI-guided minimally invasive surgical procedures in the heart. The ClearTrace system is a product candidate still in development designed to allow catheter-based minimally invasive procedures in the heart to be performed using continuous, intra-procedural MRI guidance.
The ClearTrace system will represent a new paradigm in performing cardiac interventions. Similar to the ClearPoint system, the ClearTrace system is designed as an integrated system of hardware components, disposable components and intuitive, menu-driven software.
Significant selling point is that both systems utilize intra-procedural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to guide the procedures and are designed to work in a
hospital's existing MRI suite.
Market size for the medical devices with MRI safety or image compatibility limitations is about $15.8 billion; market dollar volume for cardiac support systems is about $20 billion. Even by capturing just one percent of this market prospect, MRIC would have sales 6X their tiny market capitalization of $48.5M. Here's the best part:
Partners:
Co-development and distribution agreement with Brainlab. Under the agreement, Brainlab will serve as a co-distribution partner for the ClearPoint® system in the United States and Europe. With about 5,000 systems installed in about 80 countries, Brainlab is a market leader in image-guided technology, it is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and today employs 1,070 people in 17 offices across Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America.
Exclusive co-development agreement with Siemens (NYSE: SI), the global market leader in MRI scanners, for the development and commercialization of the hardware and MRI software necessary for the ClearTrace™ system. Siemens Healthcare employs some 51,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2011 the Siemens Healthcare Sector posted revenue of 12.5 billion euros and profit of around 1.3 billion euros.
Exclusive licensing and development agreements with Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) to enable BSC to incorporate ClearPoint® and ClearTrace™ technologies into its cardiac pacemaker and neuromodulation products. Under the terms of these agreements, BSC paid MRI Interventions $13 million in upfront licensing fees and agreed to make further milestone and royalty payments to MRI Interventions if and when BSC incorporates our technologies into BSC products.
Management: Kimble L. Jenkins
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Board of Directors
Mr. Jenkins previously was a Managing Director with the investment bank Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. , where he founded Private Equity Group in 1998. Mr. Jenkins has over 20 years of experience building and working with growth stage companies.
Peter G. Piferi
Chief Operating Officer
Peter G. Piferi joined company in December 2006 as the Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Piferi has 30 years of industry experience in the areas of product development, manufacturing, quality and regulatory. Prior to joining MRI Interventions, Mr. Piferi served as the Vice President, Endovascular Technologies at Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) , Vice President of Operations at Kriton Medical Inc. (currently Heartware International (Nasdaq: HTWR), Vice President of Operations at Orbus Medical Technologies, Inc. (currently Orbus Neich) and as Director of Advanced Engineering at Cordis Corporation, a Johnson and Johnson company (NYSE: JNJ).
David W. Carlson
Chief Financial Officer
David W. Carlson joined company in February 2010 as Vice President and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in April 2010. Mr. Carlson has 18 years of experience in financial leadership roles in the medical device industry. He was serving as the Corporate Controller of Sofamor Danek, Inc. that was acquired by Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) . From 1999 to 2009, he served in various financial management positions as a Vice President of Finance and Senior Finance Director at Medtronic, Inc.
Contact:
MRI Interventions, Inc.
One Commerce Square
Suite 2550
Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: 901-522-9300
http://www.mriinterventions.com/ 5 Musick
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone: 949-900-6833
Fax: 949-900-6834
Summary: MRI Interventions, Inc. (MRIC) is a growing story unfolding in the investment community as it makes available access to next-generation technology in brain and heart surgery.
