The Lead South Australia

News leads from South Australia

Get The Lead in your inbox. Subscribe

Ellex flags strong glaucoma surgery sales growth

Health & Medical

Strong sales of its products in the rapidly growing minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) device market has leading Australian manufacturer Ellex on track for a solid year.

Print article Republish Notify me

Sign up to receive notifications about new stories in this category.

Thank you for subscribing to story notifications.

Headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, Ellex Medical Lasers (ASX: ELX) is a global leader in medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease.

In a recent trading update to the Australian Stock Exchange for the year ended 30 June 2018, the company achieved group sales growth of 13 per cent led by its glaucoma treatment device Ellex iTrack.

Ellex says the iTrack, an illuminated, micron-scale microcatheter, has a significant opportunity to leverage the fast-growing MIGS market, which is expected to grow from a MIGS treatment spend of A$355 million in FY2017 to $1.89 billion 2022.

Overall iTrack global sales revenue for FY18 was up 38 per cent to $11.1 million with the largest market for Ellex, the United States, up 48 per cent compared to FY17. Outside of the US, iTrack sales revenue increased by 36 per cent in China and 20 per cent for the rest of the world.

The good sales result follows a marketing campaign for iTrack, which ramped up from January to March 2018 translating to 20 per cent quarter on quarter sales growth in the US in the fourth quarter.

Ellex CEO Tom Spurling said the improvement in iTrack sales in the US and customer feedback demonstrated the company’s investment was leading to improved market traction.

“The market for MIGS devices is still in its very early stages of growth creating the opportunity for Ellex to become a preferred supplier as physicians start to think about the role of MIGS in the glaucoma treatment paradigm,” he said.

“As a therapy that can be repeated and is rejuvenative, we are confident that Ellex iTrack has an important place in this rapidly growing market.”

Ellex began in Adelaide in 1985 and is South Australia’s largest medical device manufacturer with more than 280 employees worldwide.

It sells its laser and ultrasound systems in more than 100 countries and has offices in South Australia, the United States, France, Germany and Japan. It opened its new Adelaide headquarters late last year to provide a springboard for further growth.

Last month Ellex also announced the appointment of ophthalmic medical device industry expert Joaquin Wolff to the newly created position of President, Ellex iTrack.

Mr Wolff will be based at Fremont in the San Francisco Bay area and will be dedicated to managing the iTrack business.

“Joaquin brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of successful commercial product launches in the USA across many specialty segments within the ophthalmic industry,” Mr Spurling said.

“We see his appointment as a major step forward in the growth of our business, which is capitalizing on the growing shift toward MIGS in the treatment of glaucoma.”

Ellex’s Laser and Ultrasound sales grew by 8 per cent to A$67.5 million in FY18 driven by a 41 per cent increase in glaucoma laser revenue.

The company plans to continue to exploit its unique offering of glaucoma lasers and the Ellex iTrack in the fast-growing segment. The product combination yielded revenues of A$40.9 million for the year ending 30 June, 39 per cent up on FY17.

Ellex expects to release its audited full-year results in the week beginning August 27, 2018.

This is a Creative Commons story from The Lead South Australia, a news service providing stories about innovation in South Australia. Please feel free to use the story in any form of media. The story sources are linked in with the copy and all contacts are willing to talk further about the story. Copied to Clipboard

More Health & Medical stories

Loading next article