Broncus Technologies Inc. - IPO (NASDAQ (GM): LUNG Proposed)

A good stock to own

Why? Because there's no company with a commercial solution to treat emphysema. Let me start with the industry overview to get a fair idea of how well Broncus Technologies is positioned to move from strength to strength.

National Center for Health Statistics found that 3.8 million adults were diagnosed with emphysema and many more still undiagnosed. Emphysema is responsible for $5 billion in direct health care costs. National Emphysema Treatment Trial study says $20,000 per patient is the cost for treatment. This particular study was co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Emphysema develops due to chronic smoking and the characteristics of the diseases are difficult breathing and shortness of breath. The World Health Organization estimated 1.3 billion smokers worldwide. United States is the home for 45 million smokers. Currently there's no cure for this disease.  Patients are encouraged to stop smoking to slow disease progression and in severe cases are prescribed supplemental oxygen.

Broncus has patented its Airway Bypass treatment method and uses Exhale emphysema product line to perform the bypass treatment. Airway Bypass is a catheter-based bronchoscopic procedure and helps the patients to breath easy. Typically air gets blocked in the lungs as tissues in the lungs die. Airway Bypass procedure uses Exhale Doppler Probe to search for these dead tissues and Exhale Transbronchial Dilation Needle creates new passages that bypass the collapsed airways and the trapped air exists from the lungs. The new passages created are kept open by Exhale Drug-Eluting Stents. This entire procedure reduces  breathlessness. ( aargh...all ye smokers beware of the stents!!!). Broncus Technologies is a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing minimally-invasive medical devices for emphysema and other lung diseases.

Cary B. Cole is the President, Chief Executive Officer. He was the co founder CompuRAD, Inc. Prior to this he worked with Lumisys Incorporated and engineered CompuRAD's merger with Lumisys.

Dean MacIntosh is the Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Dean worked with WebEx Communications, Inc before joining Broncus. She took care of finance in Lumisys Incorporated.

Samuel L. Omaleki is the Vice President of Operations. He was with Access Closure, Inc, Radiant Medical, Inc, before joining Broncus.

Interestingly all the ex employers of this elite team dealt with medical imaging. This makes me conclude that this team has come together to form Broncus after prolonged thought and planning. The company at the moment seems to be in good hands.

As i mentioned earlier theres no one to challenge broncus but several start ups are exploring other possibilities to ease the sufferings. Large companies have directed their efforts to find a cure for emphysema. Until then the company will walk laughing all the way to the bank. The only hitch seems to FDA approval which will eventually be granted. But Broncus is classified as a development stage company and so far has not generated any revenues. Extensive clinical evaluation, regulatory review and approval is needed before it can market the Exhale product line.

The company has not yet announced the number of shares it wants to sell and the pricing, but watch for this stock. Its a good investment as long as smokers around the world live!!