IceCure shares up as tumor-freezing tech gets FDA breakthrough device nod

IceCure Medical, an Israel-based maker of tumor-freezing technology, said Sunday that it had received notification from the US Food and Drug Administration recognizing its ProSense product as a “breakthrough device” to freeze tumors in a number of medical conditions including breast cancer.

The breakthrough devices recognition is given by the FDA for certain medical devices that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions, IceCure Medical said in a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where its shares are traded.

The stock was trading 34% higher at 3:15 p.m. in Tel Aviv after the filing, bringing the share’s rise in the past 12 months to 218% and giving the company a market capitalization of NIS 327 million ($98 million).

Being part of the FDA’s Breakthrough Devices Program will enable IceCure to speed up procedures vis a vis the US regulator regarding marketing permits for the device to treat breast cancer patients, the filing said.

The Breakthrough Devices Program gives manufacturers an opportunity to interact with the FDA’s experts via a number of different program options to efficiently address issues as they arise during the premarket review phase by the regulator. This can help manufacturers get feedback from the FDA in a timely way, and manufacturers can expect a prioritized review of their submission, the FDA website says.

IceCure develops and markets an advanced liquid-nitrogen-based cryoablation therapy for the treatment of tumors (benign and cancerous) by freezing them, with the main focus on breast, kidney and lung cancers. Its minimally invasive technology, which does not require surgery, is a safe and effective alternative to hospital surgical tumor removal that is easily performed in a relatively short procedure, the company has said.