Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States – though if detected early enough, is 95 percent curable. The subject is a little touchy and invasive (no pun intended), but one company has developed a non-invasive, patented, early detection test.
BioAmerica Inc. (OTCBB: BMRA) is a medical instrument supplier, developing and manufacturing medical diagnostic products designed for early detection of chronic diseases and medical conditions.
The company’s fecal occult blood test is the first FDA approved test with no diet restrictions or “stool handling,” and is distributed through drugstores such as Walgreen’s and CVS, allowing the consumer the privacy of conducting the test in their own home.
“By no means does this replace a visit to the doctor, or a colonoscopy, or other invasive methods – it just detects it … so when they do go to the doctor it’s not catastrophic,” said Zackary Irani, BioAmerica CEO.
The company has a portfolio of medical detection kits – from methamphetamine testing to self-breast exams and areas such as diabetes and allergies.
Irani said the uniqueness of BioAmerica’s products and its position in the marketplace that makes the company attractive to investors. In April the company released its third-quarter results with some pretty strong numbers.
BioAmerica reported its diagnostic revenues were $3.7 million, up 36 percent from the $2.7 million reported in 2006. Net income for the nine months ended Feb. 28, 2007 was $121,370, a 63 percent increase from the prior year’s net income of $162,285.
Irani said the company “is doing great,” but plans to continue building its portfolio of products.
“We’re not changing any directions, we’re just continuing to add to our growth and by that we’re adding new products.”
Irani noted that the medical supply space is growing, also part of the Merger and Acqusition (M&A) trend in so many other industries this year and the company wants to be a part of the growth.
“As we’ve seen in the marketplace, more and more M&A transactions are starting to occur at the lower, smaller company levels, which is what we are,” said Irani. “There’s some very big numbers going around in our space … it’s a very hot space – we think it will continue to be a very hot space in the near future.”