Viaderma is a biotechnology company that has developed a treatment for diabetic ulcers called Viabecline. Diabetic ulcers are a really nasty condition associated with – as their name suggests – diabetes, and are characterized by swollen and open wounds, generally in the legs or feet of sufferers. When they open up, they are incredibly difficult to treat, and a large portion of patients that develop these ulcers end up having to have foot or leg amputations.
The primary cause of this amputation is that the ulcer gets infected, and this infection exacerbates the condition. The standard of care treatment is an administration of antibacterials in an attempt to counter the infection, but often times this is not sufficient to do the job.
Viaderma has developed a topical formulation of Viabecline, which is an already pretty well-established antibacterial, and the idea is to administer it directly to the wound associated with the ulcer. This topical administration should improve the likelihood of stopping bacterial infection, and there is a wealth of data both collected by the company and in the form of legacy collection that points towards validation of this suggestion.
As we noted last time, the company is just about to start shipping units to California, and this was one of the primary value drivers we noted as being an important event to keep an eye on near-term. It is this roll out, and its potential beyond completion, on which our focus firmly remains. Viaderma Is hoping to ship 500,000 units during 2017, but if things work out as hoped, this initial shipment should be just the beginning.
Why? Because of just how much of a difference this drug makes in this current strongly unmet need in healthcare. The drug is 96% more effective in treating diabetic foot ulcers than current standard of care across a four-week period. It is especially effective in the most severe cases, and is able to completely replace standard of care treatment in patients with cardiovascular risk – a risk that will often preclude them from standard of care administration.
Right now, and on the back of the ongoing distribution push, topical Viabecline is only treating a small portion of diabetic foot ulcer patients. If Viaderma can execute on a successful commercialization strategy, there looks to be no real reason why the drug won’t become standard of care administration in all diabetic foot ulcer patients – not just the most serious cases, and not just in the US. According to Medicare, around 8% of the diabetic patients it covers develop foot ulcers. Ulcer care adds around $9 billion to $13 billion to the direct yearly costs associated with diabetes.
There is a huge market on offer here, and Viaderma is positioned to dominate it with topical Viabecline.
The company also just reported that it is looking to file patents for its MMJ delivery technology, so chances are we will see some news driven speculative volume hit the tape near term.
When the Fish speaks, people listen!
This is only my opinion.
AI
