Dear Startup Investor,
We have updates on two of our outstanding medical technology companies. They serve as chronological bookends. Medical Surgery Technologies, or MST, was one of our first recommendations from late 2013. And Reliant Immune Diagnostics was one of our most recent recommendations from earlier this year.
First, let’s get you caught up on MST…
To refresh your memory, MST offers a camera that makes certain kinds of surgery (like laparoscopy) much easier. The camera follows the movements of a surgeon’s tool. The surgeon can see what he’s doing on a nearby video monitor without having to worry about unclear images.
Here’s what one surgeon says: “System holds the camera completely stable… relieves assistants of long periods of uncomfortable positions.”
For more details, see our original recommendation right here.
This chart summarizes the company’s main milestones to date…
Revenues are just now beginning to ramp up. MST expects to almost double its installed base in 2017. It has delivered 12 systems that are operational. Six more have been purchased and are awaiting placement in the field. And orders have been received for 11 more.
But, for me, the needle-moving development involves China.
MST got a $12.5 million investment from powerful Chinese company Haisco. The amount of money is important because it allows MST to aggressively move forward on several fronts.
Most importantly, Haisco has helped MST obtain regulatory clearances in China, which is no small matter. MST expects full approval by the end of 2018, which will allow it to enter into China’s large and rapidly growing market for surgical robotics.
It’s a big deal, to say the least.
With everything in place, MST is on the cusp of making a giant leap in revenue. Which is why it’s raising on the OurCrowd site for a second time, this time in a Series D round. It hopes to collect up to $1.65 million.
It will use the money primarily to build up its U.S. infrastructure (operations, personnel, signing up local reps/distributors, etc.), which will accelerate U.S. market adoption.
MST is rapidly reaching the point where it can tap into its two biggest markets: the U.S. and China. It’s an exciting time for the company.
Finally, let’s get you caught up on Reliant…
Founder Henry Legere tells us that over the next couple of months, the company will be finalizing its FDA applications for its Pregnancy, Urinary Tract Infection, Group A Strep (Strep A) and Influenza A and B tests. It wants to expand its software development team and add 11 additional tests for FDA approval. To do so, Reliant is beginning another raise – this one for $5 million – to continue to move full steam ahead.
Good investing,
Andy
Startup Investor Portfolio
