Neovasc Inc (NASDAQ: NVCN)
Shares of Neovasc rallied more than 24% in Wednesday’s premarket session after the Canadian-based company announced positive data from the first American patient to be implanted with a device known as Neovasc Reducer, which is used to treat angina.
The patient told the physicians who had been treating him that before undergoing the procedure in June, he could only walk about two blocks without experiencing angina symptoms. He gave the pain a rating of 7-8 out of 10 and took nitroglycerin two to three times a week to get rid of the symptoms.
Neovasc said that the patient reported walking several miles without feeling any symptoms and lowered his intake of nitroglycerin to only one or two times a month, twelve weeks after receiving the device.
Neovasc President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Colen, commented, “The positive 12-week follow-up report provided on our first U.S. patient implanted with a Reducer under compassionate use is in line with the results from our clinical studies and the general European experience, as expressed in other medical publications. We are pleased that this patient was able to benefit from the Reducer therapy and is able to resume a more active and more normal life, with much less pain and discomfort,”
In the US, the number of people suffering from refractory angina currently stands at 600,000 to 1.8 million. Up to 100,000 new cases are reported each year in the country.
Neovasc’s device is designed to alleviate angina symptoms by altering the flow of blood in the circulatory system and increasing oxygenated blood flow to areas that are not receiving sufficient blood in the heart. The device is commercially available in the European continent after EU regulators gave it a nod three years ago.
Neovasc shares shot up 25% to change hands at $2.82 in the early hours of regular trading on Wednesday after the company made the announcement. The stock has slumped 95% since the beginning of the year.
Neovasc Inc Company Profile
Neovasc Inc., a specialty medical device company, develops, manufactures, and markets cardiovascular devices worldwide. Its products include the Tiara technology for the transcatheter treatment of mitral valve disease; and the Neovasc Reducer for the treatment of refractory angina.
The company also provides Peripatch tissue products. The company was formerly known as Medical Ventures Corp. and changed its name to Neovasc Inc. in July 2008. Neovasc Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada. – Yahoo Finance
