Vancouver, B.C. and Boston, MA, January 10, 2017 – Imagin Medical (CSE: IME) (OTC PINK: IMEXF) (Frankfurt/Stuttgart Stock Exchanges: DPD2) (the “Company”) announced today that, during 2016, the Company laid the foundation for the success of its i/Blue Imaging System, a patent-protected endoscopic visualization technology for the early detection of cancer. The Company believes it will radically improve the way physicians detect cancer and reduce rates of recurrence. Imagin’s initial target is bladder cancer.
In 2016, Imagin accomplished its primary goal of developing the i/Blue Imaging System Alpha B Prototype for human evaluation. Dr. Stavros Demos, the inventor of the technology, accepted a new position and relocated from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to the University of Rochester Laboratory of Laser Energetics (LLE) in New York. As a Senior Scientist at LLE, he has continued to support and help drive Imagin’s engineering team. Transferring the development to a fully integrated medical and research facility has put Imagin on a path to rapid product development with significant new intellectual property opportunities. It has also allowed the Company to develop a relationship with Dr. Edward Messing, a world-renowned urologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center who will be performing Imagin’s first human studies.
Completed in late 2016, the Alpha B Prototype has significant improvements to its internal components. Due to sensitivity estimated to be more than 100 times greater than currently available systems, the Company’s proprietary image-blending technology is expected to produce a high-definition composite image of the bladder, highlighting the cancer lesions in less than 10 minutes compared to the current market standard of one hour. This will make these procedures more practical, improve outcomes and expand the market. Imagin believes the i/Blue system will support the new 2016 American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines for bladder cancer detection.
Additionally, during 2016, a Boston-based medical device management team was put in place, as well as a Medical Advisory Board, led by Dr. deVere White from the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Davis and Dr. Edward Messing, from the University of Rochester Medical Center.
In 2017 Imagin predicts more success as it completes human studies, redesigns the prototypes for manufacturability, works with the appropriate regulatory bodies and prepares for commercialization in 2018. This year’s plan includes the completion of an initial “human research” project at the University of Rochester. Concurrently, as the Company validates the technology, Optel, Inc., a firm uniquely qualified to redesign the Alpha B Prototype for manufacturability, will be working to deliver Imagin’s higher quality imaging technology in a product only 30% the size of the prototype. The i/Blue system will become a mobile device that can be easily moved between different operating rooms and physicians’ offices. First product samples are expected to be available by mid-year, and a final product for commercialization by year end. The product will be highly manufacturable and cost effective, and will become the basic platform for Imagin to expand from bladder cancer to other minimally invasive surgical procedures requiring improved visualization.
Over the course of the year, the Imagin plans to initiate discussions with appropriate regulatory bodies for product approval. The Company anticipates additional clinical studies will be conducted at UC Davis Medical Center, the University of Rochester Medical Center and other institutions. Imagin will attend this year’s American Urological Association (AUA) meeting being held during May in Boston with the objective of strengthening relationships with its future sales force of independents sales representatives and meeting with various major healthcare companies with large distribution channels. Over the course of 2017 the Company plans to establish a presence in the marketplace and continue the path of launching a “new standard of care in bladder cancer detection” and other minimally invasive procedures.
About Imagin Medical
Imagin Medical is developing imaging solutions for the early detection of cancer and improved visualization through the use of endoscopes. The Company believes it will radically improve the way physicians detect cancer and view the surgical field. Imagin’s initial target market is bladder cancer, a major cancer worldwide, the sixth most prevalent in the U.S., and the most costly cancer to treat due to a greater than 50% recurrence rate. Developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, this advanced, ultrasensitive imaging technology is based upon improved optical designs and advanced light sensors. Learn more at www.imagindev.wpengine.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:
Jim Hutchens,
President & CEO
For further information, contact:
Bill Galine, Investor Relations
Telephone: (775) 737-3292
Email: [email protected]
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management’s current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
