Within the last two months, Possis Medical, received two FDA approvals. The first one in December was for their new version of their AngioJet device.

Dec 18, 2006 Possis Medical Inc., POSS, said Monday it has received marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its AngioJet Ultra Thrombectomy System, the next-generation version of the AngioJet Rheolytic Thrombectomy System. AngioJet is marketed for blood clot removal from arterial and venous blood vessels. A full-market release is expected by summer of 2007.

Jan 30, 2007: Possis Medical Inc., POSS, late Tuesday said the Food and Drug Administration has approved the marketing of its AngioJet Spiroflex rapid exchange catheter to remove blood clots from coronary arteries. The Spiroflex catheter is specifically designed for blood clot removal in small vessels such as coronary arteries, the Minneapolis-based medical device company said. The Spiroflex catheter is now approved for sale in the United States and in overseas markets for both peripheral and coronary use, the company said.

Well I recently obtained a blood clot, in my leg, a DVT aka Deep Vein Thrombosis. I got it on a ski trip and probably clotted up on the flight home-so says my doctors. Well one of the potential procedures that was proposed was this procedure where they slip a catheter in the vein and spray it with a fluid then “zip it out.” I was told it was the latest thing with DVT’s. It is an endovascular procedure and its done on an outpatient basis. Normally for DVT’s you are put on Coumadin and/or Lovenox and have to let it dissolve over time (often 3 months). Sometimes if a clot is not treated in time a piece of the clot can be “absorbed” by the vein wall and create a bump in the vein. That bump can potentially be a big problem down the road and cause a thrombotic event. The new AngioJet’s purpose is to break up and remove clots. The patient wouldn’t have that long term problem. This also probably means less time on Coumadin and Lovenox for the patient which my doctors tell me aren’t that great for the body. Note: I am still on Coumadin and did take Lovenox in the first week+ of my clot.

So I’m going through stocks tonight looking for certain technical/fundamental patterns and I find POSS. It looks good on a technical basis and then I go and find out what they do. Is it a serendipitous event? Nobody seems to be talking about this stock at all online.

A very good “mini-presentation” from the CEO of Possis can be found with this link talking about the recent studies of drug coated stents vs what the AngioJet system does.

Thanks for reading

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