Surmodics Presents Encouraging SurVeil DCB Data At VIVA Meet

Surmodics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRDX) recently announced promising clinical trial presentation of data from PREVEIL early feasibility study (EFS) of the company’s SurVeil drug-coated balloon (DCB) at the Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA) 2017 Conference.

According to the company, PREVEIL is a multi-center, single-arm trial designed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of paclitaxel DCB — SurVeil. It is used for treating subjects with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) due to de novo lesions of the femoral and popliteal arteries.

Surmodics’ shares have outperformed the broader industry in the past three months. The stock has gained 10.4% in the period, compared to the industry's 1.5%.The current level is also better than the S&P 500's return of 2.7%. The positive SurVeil results, closely followed by regulatory approval for the same platform, reflect Surmodics’ solid surface technology for muscular devices, particularly in the drug delivery space.

Coming back to the news, the six-month data was based on 13 patients who were treated at three clinical sites. The study showed that 100% of subjects secured positive outcomes demonstrating the trial’s “acute success measures of safety.”

The company aims to use lower drug dosage to enhance drug transfer and impact on the arterial wall along with reducing the amount of drug reaching tissues outside the area of treatment with the SurVeil DCB.

Meanwhile, the company anticipates an increase in R&D expenses in the second half of fiscal 2017. This is because of increased investments related to the SurVeil DCBtrial and other proprietary products.

Estimate Revision Trend

The latest estimate revision trend has been favorable for the company. For the current year, one estimate moved north compared with no movement in the opposite direction over the last two months. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year earnings has increased 28% to 32 cents per share.

Our Take

According to a report by Market Research Future, the global peripheral artery disease market is expected to reach a worth of $3.47 billion at a CAGR of 6.5% in the 2017-2023 period. Considering the huge potential of the market, we believe the latest development is a strategic fit.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Surmodicscarries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked medical stocks in the medical sector are Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) , Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNTH) and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) . Edwards Lifesciences sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Lantheus Holdings and IDEXX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Edwards Lifesciences has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 15.2%. The stock has rallied roughly 19.9% in the last six months.

Lantheus Holdings has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12.5%. The stock has gained 40.7% in the last six months.

IDEXX has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 19.8%. The stock has gained around 4.7% in the last six years.

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