Samcat: I have been thinking about comments another poster made about Medtronic being involved with ITI, and perhaps eventually being the buyer of the Omnifilter rights. It does stand to reason. Why would ITI pay that kind of money? That million bucks is evidently, after all, a substantial part of its overall net worth, so this is a BIG investment for them.
But ITI doesn't really have a distribution network to use once the product is approved. And they don't have a broad and successful line of intravascular products with which to utilize the Omnifilter. So is ITI going to build itself into a big name in this field from scratch? No way. Something else is going on. And this time it's not Steve Rash saying so, but another company willing to put a million bucks on the line for a product which seems of little value to it.
There is mystery here, for sure. I'm still not clear on the strength of the ties between Medtronic and ITI, but it is obvious that Medtronic, which is a top player in the intravascular field with a broad and deep product line and massive distribution, could really take the Omnifilter and run with it upon approval. I don't know what questions other people want to ask Steve Rash, but my first one would be this: What is Medtronic's real relationship with ITI, and what is their role in this deal? I'm still digging for info on that question, but it's hard due to ITI being privately held.
Yes, I know, Rash always has a way of being understated, mysterious, and smug, implying he is deep-down totally confident in the long-term future of this stock. And unfortunately the share price has continued to plummet anyway. Well, this time I think he is right, and I view ITI's commitment as additional proof of that. But still, even if that's the case and the share price is going to jump in few months when the full picture is revealed, I would prefer it if he (or Bockler) said more NOW to get the share price up immediately for us "loyal shareholders."
I'm still hoping for Omnicath news very soon, also, for what it's worth.... |
