ASX Health Stocks: 4DX skyrockets 54pc after US update on its XV LVAS scanning device

Medtech company 4DMedical put on a mighty surge after a key US federal agency agreed to cover its lung scanning device – at $US299 a pop.

Things are looking good for 4DX, thanks to its scanning success. Picture: Getty Images

Medtech company, 4DMedical (ASX:4DX), surged 54 per cent on Monday morning after announcing that its XV LVAS scanning device had been included into the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The CMS is the US federal agency providing health coverage through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Medicare is an important public health insurance scheme for US adults aged 65 years and over; and as of March 1, it had 65.7 million people enrolled.

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The new inclusion for 4DX means that from January 1 next year, XV LVAS scans conducted in a US hospital outpatient facility for Medicare patients can be billed to CMS, which

has finalised assignment of the Category III CPT code for XV LVAS to the rate of $US299 a scan.

4DX’s XV LVAS uses X-rays to create detailed images of lung movement and function during breathing. It gives clinicians a clearer picture of lung health for pulmonary disorders including asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and even cancer.

Also read: 4D Medical’s technology disrupts century-old procedures AND makes over 90pc profit margin

4DMedical CEO and founder, Andreas Fouras, said achieving Medicare reimbursement of $US299 a scan was a major milestone in the company’s progress to secure reimbursement across the entire US healthcare system.

“This ruling will lead to accelerated uptake of XV LVAS, which in turn will support our pursuit of a Category I CPT code,” said Fouras, referring to US coding for different procedures performed in inpatient and outpatient offices and hospitals.

4DX shares were still up more than 42 per cent of the day at 12.30pm (AEDT).

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PYC drug effective against kidney disease

RNA-therapies focused biotech, PYC Therapeutics (ASX:PYC), says its fourth drug candidate has disease-modifying potential in patients with end-stage renal failure due to PKD (polycystic kidney disease).

A study conducted by PYC in human 3-dimensional models showed its investigational drug candidate, PYC-003, could address PKD at the root cause.

Results showed a deduction in cyst size and frequency following treatment with PYC-003 in a human 3D model, which was generated using tissue collected directly from the kidneys of PKD patients.

These results complement data from animal models highlighting the ability of PYC-003 to reach the cells affected in PKD.

PKD is a life-changing disease affecting 1 in every 1000 people, with an addressable market of about $US10 billion a year. As such, it is an area of major commercial interest for the drug development industry.

Half of the patient population with PKD will require a kidney transplant by the age of 60, due to the absence of current impactful treatment options in this disease.

Following Monday’s results, PYC now plans to accelerate PYC-003 into human trials.

PYC says an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the US FDA will enable the human trials for this drug candidate to start in the second half of 2024.

At 12.30pm (AEDT), the PYC share price was up by more than 10 per cent for the day.

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Pro Medicus signs $20 million deal

Healthcare imaging software company, Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), has signed a $20 million, eight-year contract with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the pre-eminent academic medical centre in the state of Oregon, US.

Under the agreement, PME’s Visage platform will replace the legacy PACS and vendor neutral archive (VNA) systems throughout the OHSU enterprise.

The contract is for the “full stack” – Visage 7 Viewer, Visage 7 Open Archive and Visage 7 Workflow – to be implemented in the cloud.

PME says the deal represents another step in PME’s rapid expansion into the North American academic medical centre market.

There was no big bounce on the news, with PME’s share price up just 1.43 per cent for the day at 12.30pm (AEDT).

This content first appeared on stockhead.com.au

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Originally published as ASX Health Stocks: 4DX skyrockets 54pc after US update on its XV LVAS scanning device