VANCOUVER, Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Neovasc Inc. (TSXV: NVC) today announced that the first patent covering the company’s innovative Tiara transcatheter mitral valve replacement technology has been issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The new patent protects key aspects of the Tiara mitral valve prosthesis. It is the first patent to issue from a portfolio of US and international patent applications Neovasc has filed aimed at establishing an extensive intellectual property estate covering the entire Tiara program, including the prosthesis, delivery system, associated accessories and methods of use. Tiara is in development for the treatment of severe mitral valve disease.
“The issuance of this first patent in the Tiara portfolio represents a significant milestone for the company,” said Alexei Marko, CEO of Neovasc. “With this key intellectual property protection now assured and the successful completion of the majority of our preclinical studies, Neovasc is advancing the Tiara development program according to plan. We are working with the highly respected medical teams at Vancouver’sSt. Paul’s Hospital and the Antwerp Cardiovascular Center, ZNA Middelheim to plan the first-in-human Tiara trials, which we expect to get underway in 2014.”
Tiara is a self-expanding bioprosthesis specifically designed to treat mitral valve regurgitation (MR), a serious and poorly served condition that requires development of highly specialized devices to address the complex mitral anatomy. Severe mitral regurgitation can lead to heart failure and death. Conventional surgical treatments are only appropriate for a small percentage of the millions of patients with MR, including an estimated four million in the US alone.
Results from preclinical studies of Tiara were recently published in the journal JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions and presented at the 25th Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium.
US Patent No. 8,579,964, “Transcatheter Mitral Valve Prosthesis,” was issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office on November 12, 2013.
About Neovasc Inc.
Neovasc Inc. is a specialty medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets products for the rapidly growing global cardiovascular marketplace. Its products include the Neovasc Reducer for the treatment of refractory angina and the Tiara transcatheter mitral value replacement device in development for the treatment of mitral regurgitation. In addition, Neovasc’s advanced biological tissue products are widely used as key components in a variety of third-party medical products, such as transcatheter heart valves. For more information, visit: www.neovasc.com.
Statements contained herein that are not based on historical or current fact, including without limitation statements containing the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “may,” “continues,” “estimates,” “expects,” and “will” and words of similar import, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following: general economic and business conditions, both nationally and in the regions in which the Company operates; history of losses and lack of and uncertainty of revenues, ability to obtain required financing, receipt of regulatory approval of product candidates, ability to properly integrate newly acquired businesses, technology changes; competition; changes in business strategy or development plans; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; existing governmental regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental regulations; liability and other claims asserted against the Company; and other factors referenced in the Company’s filings with Canadian securities regulators. Although the Company believes that expectations conveyed by the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available to it on the date such statements were made, no assurances can be given as to the future results, approvals or achievements. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.
SOURCE Neovasc Inc.
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