This a tale of three great penny shares competing to save thousands of patients every year from a very grim fate foot amputation.
Last week I watched a stomach-churning short video. It showed a surgeon scraping stuff out of somebody's blood vessel. I was reminded of a fisherman I saw on holiday scraping the guts from a freshly caught fish.
In fact, when you come down to it, most forms of medical intervention are little more than a rather tricky form of plumbing. But still they achieve more than just unblocking the drains. In this particular instance the procedure could have saved the patient from having his foot amputated a surprisingly common procedure, as it turns out.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Every thirty seconds somebody somewhere has a foot amputated and the number is rising steadily. The cause of this is usually diabetes, and diabetes is becoming ever more widespread. Already over 200 million people worldwide have diabetes and that number is forecast to increase by 50% over the next fifteen years. Diabetes produces foot ulcers; in extreme cases, the only answer is amputation.
Fortunately, new solutions may be on the way, and in my travels through the world of penny shares I have encountered three interesting companies that are all working on this problem.
Three penny shares racing to save our feet
One of these is Reneuron (LSE: RENE), a specialist in stem cell research. Its most advanced programme is for patients suffering from the after-effects of a stroke, who it believes can be assisted by the injection of stem cells into that part of the brain that is malfunctioning.
So far as gangrenous feet, or 'peripheral arterial disease', is concerned, Reneuron intends to take stem cells from elsewhere in the patient's body, inject them into those parts of the foot that have effectively seized up, and encourage them back to life. Reneuron has already conducted some encouraging experiments on mice, and hopes to start human trials next year.
Claim your special FREE report: 10 simple rules for maximising your penny share profits
- Receive the stock market wisdom of a top-level penny share expert
- Your essential guide to playing the small caps market
An alternative is offered by Clearstream Technologies (LSE: CTN), an Irish maker of stents which, once inserted into blood vessels via a catheter, hold them open. These are normally used around the heart but there is growing interest in their use for peripheral parts of the body.
The problem with the foot is that the arteries that run through the ankle are very narrow and often badly calcified (clogged up). What Clearstream has come up with is a thin but super strong catheter than can twist and turn its way through these narrow arteries, allowing the blood to flow through to the foot.
Last week I came across a third contestant in the battle to save our feet. This is Tissue Regenix (LSE: TRS), a Leeds-based company that believes that the best method for replacing worn out body parts is to grow new ones from our own cells.
The starting point is to take a piece of animal or human tissue that matches that which needs replacing. The next step is then to strip the cells from this tissue to leave a 'scaffold' that has biomechanical properties but, crucially, does not provoke an immune response from the body, with the risk that it will be rejected altogether. Once implanted into the body, the patient's own cells will populate this flexible scaffold and it will even grow with the body, a potentially major benefit in surgery on children.
How to back the right medical tearaway
Tissue Regenix uses research work done by the University of Leeds' Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. They recently produced a report entitled '50 Active Years After 50'. It turns out that more than half of the babies born today in the UK can expect to live to be 100, But, while good health and medicine may keep them alive, some parts of the body the joints, spine, teeth, and heart are not always designed to last that long.
Tissue Regenix believes that the regeneration of body parts could be the answer, and it is this vision that has inspired investors to give it a fancy valuation.
Having launched on AIM in June at 5p, the share price has risen to 16p to give it a valuation of some £70m. This seems plenty for a company that is yet to produce any meaningful revenue. And it compares with the £22m valuation given to Reneuron, another business yet to make a sale. Clearstream, on the other hand, is expecting to record sales of some £15m and record a profit in the new financial year, and yet is valued at just £12m.
Sometimes, in their excitement over futuristic technologies, investors seem to lose sight of valuations.
This article is taken from Tom Bulford's free twice-weekly email The Penny Sleuth
-
Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to shut another 45 branches
Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, is set to close a further 45 branches in 2024 - find out if a branch near you is closing.
-
US stock trading app Robinhood launches in the UK
The low-cost trading platform has opened another waiting list for British investors - following two failed attempts to launch in this country - and is hoping to be fully operational next year.
-
Somero: trading this overlooked bargain
Features Mechanical-screed maker Somero dominates its niche and is attractively valued. Matthew Partridge picks the best way to trade it.
-
How to find big profits in small companies
Cover Story The small- and micro-cap sectors are risky and volatile. But with careful research and patience, investors could make huge gains. Matthew Partridge explains how to find the market’s top tiddlers.
-
The hidden gems on Aim, London's junior market
Features Aim, London’s junior market, is risky – but you can find solid stocks at low prices. Scott Longley reports.
-
Is Aim finally coming of age?
Features The Aim market of mostly smaller companies has traditionally been seen as a bit of a backwater. Is it time to change that view? Matthew Partridge talks to Paul Latham and Richard Power of fund management company Octopus.
-
Fetch! The Chinese small-cap stocks to buy in the Year of the Dog
Opinion Each week, a professional investor tells us where she’d put her money. This week: Tiffany Hsiao of Matthews Asia selects three Chinese small-cap stocks with exciting potential.
-
Small and mid-cap stocks with big potential
Opinion Professional investor Guy Anderson of the Mercantile Investment Trust selects three small and medium-sized firms with promising prospects that the market has missed.
-
Get cheap, reliable growth from smaller companies
Features One of the most reliable long-term investment trends is the long-term outperformance of smaller companies over blue chips. Max King picks some of the best ways to buy into this growth.
-
Big gains from small caps
Features In an environment of middling inflation and low interest rates, small-cap stocks tend to beat big blue-chips. John Stepek explains why, and how to invest in them.
