Recent Issues & Responses
ISSUE 1. What publicly traded firm has all by itself, invented a new category of diseases?
RESPONSE techstocks.com
....In 1987, in the middle of doing much of our color science research, we identified what we came to call "chromogenic diseases". While technically this is not a defined medical term, it describes diseases which currently are or the Company believes can be diagnosed or monitored by the coloration of human skin, tissue or fluids. There are many of these diseases such as anemia, hepatitis, tuberculosis, forms of malignancy evaluated through biopsy tissue and different fluid laboratory analyses.
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ISSUE 2. What publicly traded firm has stated its target market to be several times that of another publicly traded firm who is targeting exactly the same market?
RESPONSE Message 3639675 - Size of Market Determination Comparison
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ISSUE 3. What publicly traded firm in its own PR materials, touts cosmetic uses for its medical device, even though many cosmetic companies have evaluated it and decided to move on without it?
RESPONSE Message 2914502
The company has created a "miniaturized, hand held model" of the Colormate II which, I recall, should sell for around $150.00. This was stated in the question and answer period of the conference call on 9/17/97. This smaller model was created specifically from input received from the cosmetic/beauty industry. Introduction of the Colormate II is expected 2nd quarter, '98.
techstocks.com - AUG 12, 1997 CCSI CONFERENCE CALL
Throughout our history at different points in time we have been perceived to be a cosmetics company, or an equipment manufacturing company or more recently, a medical company. But we are none of these.
We are a Color Science Technology Company and we are seeking to mass-market commercial applications for our proprietary color science technology and instrumentation.I'll draw a lofty parallel to try and explain this. We are dealing with an Industry, the Industry is called "Color Science", which is similar in many ways to the Computer Industry 20 years ago -- certainly not insofar as size or world impact, but insofar as Computer Science had the two main tasks of miniaturizing hardware and developing software products for many different mass market applications. Our Company's charter is to help commercialize the field of Color Science.
.....The list for potential commercial markets goes on and on, but to accomplish commercializing this huge industry, we faced the same two basic problems as Computer Science did - First, to miniaturize big expensive equipment down to hand-held cost effective instruments and second, to develop software for all the applications. We have worked for 10 years to achieve the miniaturization of an inexpensive color measurement instrument and got our prototype 6 months ago. We plan to have our mass manufacturing prototype ready by 2nd quarter, 1998.
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ISSUE 4.What publicly traded firm encourages its supporters to use end-use prices in determining potential revenues?
RESPONSE techstocks.com - CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT 9/17/97
Regarding pricing of CCSI's medical device, the Company is not able at this time to disclose the pricing structure and business models currently being discussed with the different potential distribution partners, including any increased market potential for non-invasive testing.
When business discussions are completed with potential partners and/or licensees, the business models and pricing structure for the Company's medical system will be made available, along with the key terms and features of the Company's and its partners' 3-4 year business plan to achieve global market penetration, including distribution performance requirements.
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ISSUE 5.What publicly traded firm has its supporters ignoring the fact that distributors are not altruistic?
RESPONSE
FYI: Altruistic: Regardful of others; beneficent; unselfish
Message 3054670 - LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS 12/19/97
.....we have retained the services of Frederick Frank, Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers, and a leading health care industry authority, to assist the Company in increasing shareholder value and to provide investment banking and other business consulting services on an exclusive basis in the field of noninvasive monitoring of chromogenic diseases based on color science.
His initial focus will be assistance in the evaluation and negotiations related to the Company's business plans and potential agreements for the global distribution of the Company's noninvasive bilirubin monitoring device.In this regard, Mr. Frank has submitted to the Board his recommended agenda involving the Company's ongoing business discussions and negotiations with medical companies interested in global distribution rights.
He has also recommended additional potential licensing and distribution partners involving licensing for other applications for the Company's proprietary technology.....
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ISSUE 6. What publicly traded firm claims it has no competition when another company has a similar product approved outside the US?7. What publicly traded firm has a couple hundred million market cap with an approved product they spent years on developing that no hospital wants to buy?
RESPONSE techstocks.com - AUG 12, 1997 CONFERENCE CALL
As far as competition is concerned we are aware of 2 other companies who have tried to, or have monitored Bilirubin infant jaundice in various stages of research or in actual marketing efforts. One ofthem is Minolta Camera Company. Minolta Camera Company came out with a bilirubinometer in 1981 which has been marketed in many parts of the world. From medical publications, it seems there was a problem monitoring the disease for all races and providing an uncomplicated correlation to the mg/dl of the blood, even under phototherapy.
....The second company we are aware of is a company called Spectrex whose technology is licensed by a company called Healthdyne which has stated that it has technology for monitoring bilirubin infant jaundice but it has not announced data from extensive formal clinical trials. So that is what we know at this point in time on competition. We will certainly be doing more research to find out anything else that exists.
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ISSUE An initial blood sample is drawn on ALL newborns.
RESPONSE techstocks.com
By law, hospitals are required to do a PKU test on newborns (requires drawing blood). Therefore, no matter how great the CCSI device is, blood will always be drawn from newborns.
FYI:
Phenylketonuria (PKU): Inherited inability to process the amino acid phenylalanine. Newborns are screened for PKU. Treatment is a diet low in phenylalanine. Failure of treatment results in mental retardation.
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ISSUE Normal newborns are sent home within three days...Sick newborns require a longer stay and more extensive evaluation of all body functions, Bilirubin testing at that point must be more definitive (as in direct & indirect bilirubin levels) but it is easily performed on the samples drawn to do other more critical tests.
RESPONSE techstocks.com - CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT 9/17/97
This disease affects over half of all babies born and nearly 100% of all premature children. Every infant born is monitored for it. It is a liver-related disease and fundamentally occurs in varying degrees within the first two weeks of a child's life when the liver is trying to work on its own independent of the mother. If the liver doesn't take over quickly enough and the disease is not caught in time and then treated by phototherapy or exchange transfusion, the results can lie varying degrees of nervous system damage/or brain damage called Kernicterus. If left untreated, it is ultimately fatal.
FYI
monitor: to watch, keep track of, or check usually for a special purpose
techstocks.com - CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT 9/17/97
.....the Company assumed averages of one test (not part of a panel test) for full term infants in hospitals before discharge and one test at or after discharge, and an average of 1-2 (or 1.5) tests (not part of a panel test) for premature infants in hospitals during an average length of hospital stay of 11 days, with the remaining tests representing infants treated after discharge. These assumptions were based on publications by the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, independent market studies commissioned by the Company and business proposals from potential marketing partners.
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ISSUE The first person article by the new mother is a compelling but highly emotional description of a mothers pain in witnessing a heel stick. ......My conclusion is that this is a limited use device because a bili test can be easily performed in a hospital setting at extremely small actual cost to the hospital.
.....For a hospital to make a capital equipment purchase of this nature for something that performs only one test could never be considered cost effective. Perhaps as long as the hospital can charge the insurance company $25.00 to 30.00 per test (and the insurance company hasn't yet figured out this game it could be considered a revenue enhancing device.
......Incidently, the neonatal unit already have a device called a Bilimeter that is the size of a remote control and performs a simple Bilirubin test but blood must still be drawn to determine indirect vs direct bilirubin levels.
RESPONSE techstocks.com - AUG 12, 1997 CCSI CONFERENCE CALL
Now, with Chromatics' technology, it is possible for the health care professional to decrease blood tests and monitor the disease by using a light sensor which measures the skin of the baby's body and the incremental yellow content within this skin, painlessly and non-invasively.
This is a tremendous advantage as the extensive blood drawing from infants is a truly savage procedure. Many newborns, especially preemies, don't have fully formed veins, so to obtain the blood samples the doctors or nurses have to incise and squeeze the blood out which is a brutal process, leaving scars and moreover, is labor intensive, especially when this procedure occurs in a good size nursery with an average of 30 babies needing multiple tests per day. |
