$$$$$$$$$$ TO ALL $$$$$$$$$$$$
Special thanks to IBD Online for the following:
LEADERS & SUCCESS
BEAMING ESC Lasers Win Over Doctors
For Varicose Vein Treatments
Date: 2/14/97
Author: Robin M. Grugal
ESC Medical Systems Ltd. is proving skeptics wrong.
Eight months ago, analysts and reporters echoed some doctors' claims that
ESC's new pulsed-light treatment for varicose veins didn't live up to its
promise. They said it caused blistering and discoloration.
But physicians using ESC's PhotoDerm have found otherwise and are
helping boost the Israeli company's sales by more than 200%.
Dr. Leonard Yaffe, an analyst at Montgomery Securities, said that while
the claims may be true, they are misleading. ''(The device) is of great
interest to physicians, because it is the most versatile product on the
market, with the least side effects.''
Yaffe said the device can be more effective than alternative noninvasive
laser treatments, but requires greater physician training and skill. ''If done
improperly, there can be side effects. But doctors experienced in using the
devices have great results.''
The choice of wavelength and pulse depend on the size and depth of the
vessel being treated. The goal is to heat the vessel just enough to collapse
its walls, without damaging surrounding tissue. There are no needles or
punctures to the skin.
Effectiveness studies on the PhotoDerm VL are uniformily positive, Yaffe
said. It causes fewer side effects than other lasers in the treatment of
varicose veins. Plus, it can be used to treat larger vessels.
Competing lasers - produced by Candela Laser Corp., Laserscope, Laser
Industries Ltd. and Coherent Inc. - are good at clearing vessels less than
one millimeter in diameter. PhotoDerm can treat vessels up to three
millimeters in size.
In a recent study, the ESC system completely cleared 61% of vessels
greater than one millimeter in diameter. A competing system provided just
50% clearance on 38% of vessels and had a 100% incidence of skin
discoloration.
ESC has sold 350 PhotoDerm units to date, including 230 last year. It
received Food and Drug Administration clearance in mid-1995. Doctors
pay an average of $118,000 for the system.
Included in the sales count are mixed VL/PL units. The PL upgrade,
approved by the FDA in September, lets doctors also treat sun spots, age
spots, birthmarks and tattoos with pulsed-light technology.
But ESC's technology doesn't stop at varicose veins and skin conditions. A
new hair-removal laser called EpiLight could soon hit the U.S. market.
''Growth of PhotoDerm will continue for the next few years,'' Yaffe said.
''But EpiLight is clearly the new product story. It will set a new standard
for effectiveness in hair removal.''
The device uses pulses of light to remove hair follicles without damaging the
skin. It's available overseas, but awaits FDA approval here.
The closest thing on the market is an FDA-approved laser produced by
Thermolase Corp.. In one study, patients treated with that product saw
50% regrowth after three months. Data on EpiLight's effectiveness is still a
bit sketchy, as no official studies have been done. But Yaffe says he's
heard that EpiLight's results are superior.
EpiLight's key strength is its flexibility, said Hillel Bachrach, ESC's head of
marketing and sales. Because it adjusts to hair color and coarseness, body
locations and skin types, he said, it can achieve better results.
Bachrach won't call EpiLight a permanent solution. But in Europe, where
it's been in commercial use for 15 months, doctors are seeing people return
with no signs of hair growth over 95% of a treated area. Still, he said,
there's no way of knowing what the results will look like after two years.
ESC sold as many as 40 units in 1996. The price ranges from about
$135,000 to $160,000.
ESC has another big product in the pipeline - a skin rejuvenation laser
known as Derma 20. Bachrach expects FDA clearance for both EpiLight
and Derma 20 in 30 to 60 days.
The Derma 20 is a pulsed laser used for wrinkle removal and skin
resurfacing. Bachrach has high hopes for the product, considering what's
now available in the market -namely CO2 lasers. CO2 lasers are effective,
but healing takes three to six months. Derma 20 gets the job done with less
thermal damage to surrounding tissue and therefore heals faster.
In the quarter ended Dec. 31, ESC's net income rose 266% to $4.4 million
from $1.2 million the year before. On a per-share basis, the gain was
177% to 25 cents from nine cents on 39% more shares outstanding.
Revenue was up 214% to $11.6 million. The stock, priced near 35, sells
by ESCMF.
(C) Copyright 1997 Investors Business Daily, Inc.
DD |
