Telehealth services have been around for decades and witnessed a strong adoption amid the shelter-in-place orders from various government during the current COVID-19 crisis.
Companies such as Teledoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) and American Well (NYSE: AMWL) registered stock gains this year of 40% to 130% while MedX Health Corp (TSXV: MDX) has been overlooked by investors.
Even with COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, telehealth adoption should continue in a post-pandemic world and MedX should benefit from this trend.
MedX’s Teledermatology Platform = SIAScopeTM + DermSecureTM
MedX is a medical device and software company focused on skin health. MedX’s platform is a leader in teledermatology and comprises a handheld, image capture medical device (SIAScope™) and a fully-secure telemedicine platform (DermSecure™).
MedX’s non-invasive device takes multiple scans, including images that penetrate below the skin’s surface, which allows dermatologists to make a more accurate assessment of skin
cancer.
Its telemedicine platform is a browser-based, hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), and encompasses a comprehensive patient management system that fully integrates into existing Electronic Management Records (EMR) systems.
The hardware is sold or leased and the platform is deployed as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model with the Company collecting revenue every time a scan is completed.
Source
Development Phase Completed and the Rollout Continues
MedX has spent over $11 million in product development and, according to the Company, the platform is being used in over 200 pharmacies in 3 countries with regulatory approvals in 35 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, Norway, Turkey and the USA.
The solution is beyond the “proof of concept” phase as the deployment in Norwegian pharmacies has caught over 800 cases of skin cancer from over 80,000 scans.
In 2020, even with the coronavirus disturbances to its business, the Company made a series of product, partner and people announcements in laying the foundation for what should be a breakout year for MedX in 2021.
- Brazil: In January, MedX announced that it received an order for 500 SIAScope™ units for deployment on its DermSecure™ telemedicine platform from its Brazilian distributor, representing the single largest order in the Company’s history. In March, the Company announced that it received regulatory approval in Brazil.
- Mexico: In June, MedX signed an exclusive distribution agreement to launch the platform in Mexico, with EMC LABS, S.A.P.I. DE C.V., operating as MedX Mexico.
- North America: In October, MedX expanded North American clinic sales by signing a sales agency agreement with the Ziemer Professional Corporation that resulted in the immediate roll-out to six clinics in November and additional installations planned in 2021.
Beyond Cancer – Inflammatory Skin Assessments
MedX has also added a High Definition (HD) clinical camera to the platform, adding another service to the recurring revenue model. With the HD camera, the system can be used for inflammatory skin assessments for conditions such as acne, psoriasis and rosacea.
Unfortunately the Market is Growing
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD), skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with millions of cases diagnosed each year. For skin cancer, early detection represents the only strategy to reduce the disease-related mortality, and when found early enough, it is highly treatable.
Some basic facts from the AAD:
- “Current estimates are that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.”
- “It is estimated that approximately 9,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with skin cancer every day.”
- “Melanoma rates in the United States have been rising rapidly over the past 30 years, doubling from 1982 to 2011.”
- “The five-year survival rate for people whose melanoma is detected and treated before it spreads to the lymph nodes is 92%.”
The high prevalence of skin cancer is not just limited to the United States, according to the World Cancer Research Fund, the top 5 countries for skin cancer are Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, at 2-2.5 times the rate of the United States.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
The seriousness of the disease has led to an emphasis on early detection and the cost to the health system for early detection is hundreds of times less than the treatment once the cancer has metastasized.
2021 Revenue Potential
In a recent study by Cognitive Market Research, the Handheld Melanoma Scanner market was valued at US$300 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$500 million by 2025, at an annual growth rate of almost 9% during this period.
For every 500 units deployed by MedX, the Company books $1 million in hardware sales and forecasts $1.5 to $2.0 million of annual SaaS revenue. With the Brazilian and other recent orders, revenue could land in the $5.6 million to $8.4 million range in 2021, more than 10 times what was reported in 2019.
Currently, MedX’s sales pipeline includes multiple Pharmacy chains in North America, an Insurance company in Spain, a global Medical Spa distributor, and prospects associated with existing country distributors in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, The Netherlands, and Uruguay.
Could MedX be the Teledoc of 2021?