Investing in the Reinvention of the Syringe

In the 1850s, a French doctor by the name of Charles Pravaz and a Scottish physician named Alexander Wood invented the first modern syringe.

Early experimentation with the device involved the injection of morphine to treat neuralgia — a process Dr. Wood practiced on himself and his wife.

In an ironic twist of fate — and an ominous forecast of things to come — Dr. Wood and his wife both became addicted to the narcotic over the course of the experiments.

Mrs. Wood eventually became the first person in history to die from an overdose of IV-injected drugs.

This was a dark cloud the hypodermic syringe — perhaps one of the most important advancements in the history of modern medical science — was never able to shake.

Today’s syringe isn’t much different than the one pioneered back in the 1850s.

Modern Materials… Not Modern Technology

Glass has been replaced with plastic. Needles are thinner and more precise than ever. But the inherent dangers, unfortunately, have been passed down from the earliest prototypes.

Used improperly, syringes can cause painful and potentially deadly pockets of fluid called abscesses.

But even when they’re used just as intended, they are never completely safe.

Last year in the U.S. alone, accidental needlesticks caused $3 billion in damages and transferred potentially deadly diseases like HIV and hepatitis to countless individuals.

Across the world, improper use or disposal of hypodermic syringes causes as many as 1.3 million deaths each and every year — equal to the total number of fatalities from road accidents.

If that sounds crazy to you, you’re not alone.

Fear… It’s Not Just in Your Head

Syringes are inherently dangerous, both to the patient and to the medical professional… And even before they’re ever used, it’s fear of the syringe — or of the needle, more specifically — that causes further suffering through the avoidance of medical care.

The problem is so widespread that the AMA’s official psychological manual, the DSM-IV, lists the condition “trypanophobia” as a real disorder.

But here’s the catch: We can’t do without them.

As dangerous and downright crude as they may seem, syringes have saved millions of lives. They’ve helped stamp out some of humanity’s most feared diseases by delivering crucial vaccines.

In fact, I’d argue that you would not be here today if not for this amazing, albeit slightly terrifying, technology.

If you haven’t personally been saved by a syringe, chances are one of your parents or grandparents were.

So as much as we may hate them, we cannot do without them.

And that makes what I’m about to say all the more important.

A Century and a Half of Technological Evolution in One Fell Swoop

You see, right now, there’s a company that’s taking this 19th century invention and bringing it into the 21st century where it belongs.

The line of devices it’s created and is already marketing has the power to take all the crucial benefits of the classic syringe and combine them with unprecedented safety.

No more accidental needlesticks. No more missed veins or arteries. Perfect injections, each and every time, no matter what the skill level of the person executing the procedure.

And because the injections are done with computerized precision, the level of pain is nearly imperceptible — a feat that would require the hands of the most skilled nurse or doctor with a classic syringe.

Best of all, these 21st century injection devices are already FDA approved and will be in the hands of your dentist or primary care physician in the near future — if they’re not already.

Across the world, these advanced medical instruments are already benefiting medical professionals and patients in over 40 countries.

Now, here’s the most important thing to take away from all this…

The company responsible for this long-overdue innovation isn’t some big-name biotech company that makes a thousand other products for a hundreds other markets.

This company’s business begins and ends with these injection devices.

And its market capitalization is barely $50 million.

Not bad for a company that now has the power to completely flip a multi-billion a year industry on its head.

With FDA approval pending for the use of these devices in some of medicine’s most common procedures such as epidurals, this company is on the threshold of a vastly widened revenue stream.

That makes right now the most exciting time in its 25-year history.

To learn more about this giant-killer biotech company, click here for the full report.

To your wealth,

Brian Hicks

Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing and investment director for the income and dividend newsletter The Wealth Advisory. He writes about general investment strategies for Tech Investing Daily, Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. Known as the “original bull on America,” Brian is also the author of the 2008 book, Profit from the Peak: The End of Oil and the Greatest Investment Event of the Century. In addition to writing about the economy, investments and politics, Brian is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox and countless radio shows. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.