Wireless Medicine: The Most Important Healthcare Revolution for the Next 20 Years
by Louis Basenese, Small Cap and Special Situations Expert
Thursday, February 25, 2010: Issue #1204
I’m always on the hunt for the next trillion-dollar mega trends – and the companies that will benefit the most from them.
And as American Idol judge Randy Jackson likes to say, “We’ve got another hot one, America!”
In terms of innovation, I’m not exaggerating when I say that this one ranks right up there with other life-changers like the personal computer, mobile phones, e-mail, DNA testing and sequencing, even the Internet.
It will conceivably alter how every last penny is spent on healthcare. And that’s a lot of darn pennies. In the United States alone, we spent $2.4 trillion on healthcare in 2009 – roughly 17% of GDP.
If you have any doubt that sniffing out these opportunities early represents one of the most profitable strategies, consider Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG).
When the firm went public in 2000, investors were clueless about robotic surgery, let alone the company’s market-leading position in the space. In fact, Intuitive had to cut its IPO price by 30% just to attract enough interest and raise a measly $47 million.
Fast-forward to today, though. The robotic surgery trend has exploded and ISRG is up 1,558%.
I don’t think the robotic surgery trend has peaked just yet. But I wouldn’t recommend buying into it this late in the game. Not when another, more powerful mega-trend is unfolding…
“Imagine…”
Channel John Lennon and “imagine” with me for a moment…
Imagine… a pill with a tiny radio implanted inside it. Once digested, the radio powers up by using electrolytes in your stomach acid and lets your doctor know immediately that you took the medicine.
Imagine… a band-aid sized monitor that tracks seven heart functions and can wirelessly alert your doctor – or call 911 – if a heart attack is imminent.
Imagine… a wireless stethoscope that can be mailed to patients who face a long commute to reach a doctor’s office, or require an exam by a specialist located thousands of miles away.
Okay, stop imagining. These breakthrough technologies actually exist. And they’re just the start…
“There are hundreds of devices [like these] out there waiting in the queue,” says Dr. Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Institute.
And thanks to the convergence of healthcare and low-cost, ubiquitous wireless technologies, they represent a sea change in the way medicine will be practiced.
From “Doctors Without Borders” to “Wireless Medicine “
He’s particularly keen on “ingenious sensors” – non-invasive, disposable devices that can track heart rhythm, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, blood glucose, brain waves and many more physiological metrics.
And it doesn’t take much imagination to know that this trend – affectionately dubbed “Wireless Medicine” – isn’t just big. It’s colossal.
For example, the top 10 diseases that would benefit from wireless monitoring affect a massive 252 million Americans alone and account for hundreds of billions of dollars in annual costs. We’re talking about diseases like Alzheimer’s, asthma, breast cancer, depression, diabetes and heart failure. On a global scale, the market potential would reach billions of people.
So it’s no wonder insiders dub this the most important medical trend for the next 20 years. And why countless technology companies – Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MFST), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and AT&T (NYSE: T) – are jockeying to get a piece of this healthcare revolution.
Here’s how you can, too…
Wireless Medicine… Getting a Piece of The Healthcare Revolution
Let’s start with what not to do: Don’t try to play the wireless medicine revolution by buying mega-cap stocks (like the ones I mentioned above). They won’t hand us mega profits because they’re already too big.
But that’s not the case with small-cap companies. A trend like wireless medicine can catapult them from $100 million market cap unknowns into multi-billion dollar household names.
Need an example? Consider Intuitive Surgical again. When it went public, it sported a market cap of less than $200 million. Today, it tips the skills at a hefty $13.3 billion.
I’m convinced that the explosion of wireless medicine could easily create similar results for the leading players in the space. And that’s why I’m tracking promising privately held companies.
My shortlist includes…
- HQ, Inc., which has developed a patented thermometer pill for NASA.
- Epocrates, which turns a doctor’s cell phone into a real-time medical library.
- Zeo, Inc. – a company started by a group of sleep-deprived students at Brown University and now markets a technology that helps you monitor and improve your sleep.
All could go public in the next few years. That’s why I’m monitoring the SEC filing window to see if/when they file an “S-1.”
On the publicly traded side, I’ve uncovered one promising candidate. I’d love to tell you about it here, but I’m considering making it an official recommendation in the March issue of The White Cap Report next week. So out of fairness to paying members of The White Cap Nation, I can’t reveal its identity here.
But if you want its name – and grab the many other benefits that come with being a member, consider signing up for a risk-free trial of The White Cap Report.
No matter whether you decide to join us or not, though, I assure you that wireless medicine promises to be the most important healthcare trend for the next 20 years.
And if you want to profit from it, you need to start by identifying compelling small-cap opportunities today.
Good investing,
Louis Basenese
P.S. Want another medicine mega-trend? Take a look at genomics – a science that studies the genetic makeup of organisms and their DNA by looking at how DNA is arranged in the body.
We’ve got that base covered, too. We’ve identified the hands-down leader in the race to make genomic testing affordable, thus paving the way for truly customizable medicines. The stock is already up by double-digits since we recommended it. But it’s not done yet – not by a long way. Our estimates suggest that it could still double from here.
And like with our wireless medicine candidate, you can find out what it is by simply signing up for a risk-free trial of The White Cap Report today.
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One Response to “Wireless Medicine: The Most Important Healthcare Revolution for the Next 20 Years”
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In addition to being the foremast expert on small-cap stocks, Louis is also well versed in special situations including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs and contrarian investments. His commentary has been featured in several media outlets, including MarketWatch. And he's also a top-rated speaker at financial conferences throughout the country. 
February 28th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Re: My shortlist includes…•HQ, Inc.,•Epocrates, •Zeo, Inc.
You might want to look into: Healionics Inc.
http://www.healionics.com
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