EchoSolv commercialisation and clinical studies dominate quarter for Echo IQ
Echo IQ is moving closer to FDA certification and the commercial launch of its AI cardiac diagnostic tool.
Artificial intelligence and medical technology company Echo IQ (ASX: EIQ) has cited US commercialisation plans and ongoing clinical studies for its EchoSolv heart disease screening platform as its main areas of focus for the three months to December 2022.
The company moved closer to the commercial introduction of its cloud-based solution for the retrospective and real-time identification of guideline-defined severe aortic stenosis during the period. Steady progress was also made towards US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification.
Clinical study results
However, it is the results from two separate clinical studies — both released during the quarter — which are expected to give prospective customers a powerful assurance of EchoSolv’s potential impact.
A clinical effectiveness and validation study being conducted at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deconess Medical Centre showed the product could rapidly and clearly identify a significant proportion of patients with untreated aortic stenosis which falls within current treatment guidelines.
The technology was also able to identify a similar-sized cohort of patients with a substantially increased risk of death from the disease, despite not meeting current treatment guidelines.
Interim results from a study at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne identified a cohort of patients with guideline-defined severe aortic stenosis, where 45% of them had not been reported with severity of the disease.
Triage tool
Echo IQ executive chair Andrew Grover said EchoSolv has worked “extremely well” to identify individuals with severe aortic stenosis, despite needing minimal data inputs.
“This suggests the product’s potential utility as a triage tool to identify patients at-risk and not-at-risk,” he said.
“Using EchoSolv in clinical practice could make a huge difference in our ability to identify those individuals who require timely evaluation.”
Commercial availability
In December, Echo IQ announced the commercial availability of EchoSolv to registered users within the US cardiology sector and continues to actively engage with potential customers.
In October, the company announced it had been selected for inclusion in the HeartX Accelerator, which is a cardiovascular-focused healthcare program aiming to fast-track deployment of new cardiovascular innovations.
The program selects only five companies each year from several hundred applications and participation provides guaranteed hospital pilot projects and clinical trials with seven of the largest healthcare providers in the US.
The following month, Echo IQ became one of only nine companies invited to participate in the Texas Medical Centre Innovations Bootcamp.
The event facilitated a number of introductions with prospective commercial sites, where discussions are currently underway.
Capital raising
In October, Echo IQ completed a $3.5 million capital raising to fund its US expansion plans, finishing the quarter in a strong financial position with $3.54 million in cash at hand.
Cash used in operating activities was affected by $500,000 in one-time or non-ongoing expenses.
These included costs associated with the raising, a scheduled payment for additional data access from National Echo Database Australia and enhanced cyber-security insurance.
Over the next six months, Echo IQ expects its financial position to be positively impacted by the start of commercial revenues from EchoSolv, as well as research and development grants and the exercising of up to $3 million in $0.08 options expiring at the end of June.