Digital medical imaging device specialist DRTECH is showing strong performance. News of large-scale exports of surgical medical devices to the U.S. market appears to be influencing its stock price. The company expects its flagship product, the detector, to serve as a 'signal flare' for expanding its business into the global video diagnostic system market, which is worth trillions of won. DRTECH is investing in facility expansion to broaden its business scope and has raised funds by issuing convertible bonds. The company is increasing production capacity at its factory in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and plans to expand its manufacturing plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, by more than five times.
As of 9:28 a.m. on the 23rd, DRTECH's stock is trading at 4,385 won, up 15.85% from the previous day.
DRTECH announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate with a major U.S. medical device distributor in the C-arm system segment for its 'Extron' product. DRTECH will supply a total of 1,000 units of Extron to the distributor over five years.
A DRTECH representative explained, “By combining our proprietary technology accumulated over 24 years in the digital medical imaging field with the U.S. local sales and service network of a large medical device distributor with over 50 years of experience, we expect to generate mutual synergy effects.”
The C-arm, named for its 'C-shaped arm,' can move in almost all directions due to its C-shaped structure. This allows for imaging of surgical sites and lesion locations from various angles during operations in orthopedics, neurosurgery, vascular surgery, general surgery, anesthesiology and pain medicine, urology, and more.
In particular, the 'angiography' technology equipped in Extron enables diagnosis of various vascular diseases. It can also be used for vascular procedures such as stent insertion. Extron obtained Korean KFDA certification in March and FDA approval in August. Compared to competitor products, it can produce high-quality images with only one-fifth the radiation dose. This minimizes radiation exposure risks for both patients and medical staff, providing a safer medical environment. DRTECH has started supplying Extron not only domestically but also to overseas hospitals in North America. The premium C-arm market has been dominated by a few companies such as General Electric (GE), Siemens, and Philips.
The representative added, “Extron is also preparing to obtain the European Conformity (CE) certification, which will expand its supply regions from domestic and North America to Europe and beyond. As Extron fully enters the market, it is expected to change the market landscape that has been led by existing foreign equipment.”
Meanwhile, DRTECH plans to secure high growth and high profitability through its four strategic product groups, including Extron, △dental video detectors, △industrial bendable detectors, and △breast cancer diagnostic imaging systems.
The global detector market (including medical and industrial use) was approximately 2 trillion won last year. During the same period, the global video diagnostic system market size reached about 16 trillion won.
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