Verisante Technology Inc. V.VRS

VERISANTE WILL PREVAIL

[herbacious]

The MelaFind device only works on melanoma, whereas the Aura works on melanoma, basel cell and squamous cell carcinoma.  Only 4% of skin cancers are melanoma so our market is potentially 25 times bigger.  The Mela probe is very large (about the size of a pineapple) and the Aura is very small so that it can get into the nooks and crannies around the eyes, ears and in between the fingers and toes.  Mela takes two minutes and requires a few minutes of preparation such as shaving hair off the area to be examined and applying some oil to the skin, and the Aura takes a couple of seconds with no preparation.  Even after multiple attempts 8.6% of the lesions in the Mela pivotal study were un-evaluable (and it turned out that 17% of those were later confirmed to be melanoma).  So the Mela device is only practical on one or two lesions per patient due to the time it takes and the size and weight of the probe.  The Aura is almost instant and could be used on dozens of lesions on at-risk patients who typically have dozens of moles and other assorted lesions.
Moreover, because our device is a spectrometer - if one can characterize the spectral markers of a disease or skin condition, then the label can be expanded.  We will be looking to expand our label to include Actinic Keratosis.  Our initial study was focused on more serious lesions and so we want more data for an AK indication - but the AK market is massive and we are very confident that based on our initial AK test analysis that we can do that as well.  AK is a pre-cancerous lesion that is even more common than BCC and SCC.  There is a generic drug called ALA5 that is FDA approved for photo dynamic therapy of AK.  One doctor I know in Australia did PDF for 2000 patients in one year at his skin cancer clinic @ $700 each (the drug costs $40).  So doctors could use the device to recruit more patients for high margin PDF treatments.  This means we can offer upgrades as we go along just by upgrading the software on the device.  It is like adding new products without the costs associated.  Just more data collection and then upgrade in the software is all that would be needed

do your own due diligence

herrb