Neovasc Receives FDA Approval to Initiate Pivotal Reducer Trial

NASDAQ, TSX: NVCN

VANCOUVER, Nov. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Neovasc Inc. ("Neovasc" or the "Company") (NASDAQ, TSX: NVCN) announced that it has received approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") to initiate the COSIRA-II IDE pivotal clinical trial.  The trial's purpose will be to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the Company's novel Reducer system for treatment of patients with refractory angina. Once completed, the trial data is intended to support an application to the FDA for approval to begin marketing Reducer in the United States.

Refractory angina is a common and disabling clinical condition, and a major public health problem, which affects patients' quality of life, and has a significant impact upon health care resources. 

"Since its commercial launch in Europe two years ago, Reducer has consistently provided relief of severe symptoms in patients suffering from refractory angina, resulting in significant improvements in their quality of life," commented Neovasc CEO, Alexei Marko. "We are eager to replicate our European clinical and commercial success in the United States, by introducing this important new therapy for patients who have no other option for managing their chronic, severe chest pain."

COSIRA-II will be a 380 patient, multicenter, randomized (1:1 ratio), double blinded, sham-controlled clinical trial with up to 35 investigational centers across North America.  The COSIRA-II trial design is very similar to the COSIRA study, a 104 patient study previously conducted in Europe and Canada.  The positive results of that study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, February 2015.

Neovasc is currently evaluating start up timelines and funding options for the COSIRA-II trial.

About the Neovasc Reducer™
The Reducer is CE-marked in the European Union for the treatment of refractory angina, a painful and debilitating condition that occurs when the coronary arteries deliver an inadequate supply of blood to the heart muscle, despite treatment with standard revascularization or cardiac drug therapies. It affects millions of patients worldwide, who typically lead severely restricted lives as a result of their disabling symptoms, and its incidence is growing. The Reducer can provide relief of angina symptoms by altering blood flow in the heart's circulatory system, thereby increasing the perfusion of oxygenated blood to ischemic areas of the heart muscle.  Placement of the Reducer is performed using a minimally invasive transvenous procedure that is similar to implanting a coronary stent and is completed in approximately 20 minutes. 

About Neovasc Inc.
Neovasc is a specialty medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets products for the rapidly growing cardiovascular marketplace.  Its products include the Neovasc Reducer™, for the treatment of refractory angina which is not currently available in the United States and has been available in Europe since 2015 and the Tiara™, for the transcatheter treatment of mitral valve disease, which is currently under investigation in the United States, Canada and Europe. The Company also sells a line of advanced biological tissue products that are used as key components in third-party medical products including transcatheter heart valves. For more information, visit: www.neovasc.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws regarding the Company's plans and expectations regarding the initiation and timeline of the COSIRA-II clinical trial to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the Reducer system, the size of the trial and the results of the data from such trial. Words and phrases such as "intended", and "will", and similar words or expressions, are intended to identify these forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that the Company believes are appropriate in the circumstances.  Many factors and assumptions could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks relating to the Company's litigation with CardiAQ, including the Company's ability to successfully appeal the validity of the awards as well as the ruling on inventorship, which create material uncertainty and which cast substantial doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; risks relating to the Company's need for significant additional future capital and the Company's ability to raise additional funding; risks relating to claims by third parties alleging infringement of their intellectual property rights; the Company's ability to establish, maintain and defend intellectual property rights in the Company's products; risks relating to results from clinical trials of the Company's products, which may be unfavorable or perceived as unfavorable; the Company's history of losses and significant accumulated deficit; risks associated with product liability claims, insurance and recalls; risks relating to competition in the medical device industry, including the risk that one or more competitors may develop more effective or more affordable products; risks relating to the Company's ability to achieve or maintain expected levels of market acceptance for the Company's products, as well as the Company's ability to successfully build the Company's in-house sales capabilities or secure third-party marketing or distribution partners; the Company's ability to convince public payors and hospitals to include the Company's products on their approved products lists; risks relating to new legislation, new regulatory requirements and the efforts of governmental and third party payors to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare; risks relating to increased regulation, enforcement and inspections of participants in the medical device industry, including frequent government investigations into marketing and other business practices; risks associated with the extensive regulation of the Company's products and trials by governmental authorities, as well as the cost and time delays associated therewith; risks associated with post-market regulation of the Company's products; health and safety risks associated with the Company's products and the Company's industry; risks associated with the Company's manufacturing operations, including the regulation of the Company's manufacturing processes by governmental authorities and the availability of two critical components of the Reducer; risk of animal disease associated with the use of the Company's products; risks relating to the manufacturing capacity of third-party manufacturers for the Company's products, including risks of supply interruptions impacting the Company's ability to manufacture its own products; risks relating to breaches of anti-bribery laws by the Company's employees or agents; risks associated with future changes in financial accounting standards and new accounting pronouncements; the Company's dependence upon key personnel to achieve the Company's business objectives; the Company's ability to maintain strong relationships with physicians; risks relating to the sufficiency of the Company's management systems and resources in periods of significant growth; risks associated with consolidation in the health care industry, including the downward pressure on product pricing and the growing need to be selected by larger customers in order to make sales to their members or participants; the Company's ability to successfully identify and complete corporate transactions on favorable terms or achieve anticipated synergies relating to any acquisitions or alliances; anti-takeover provisions in the Company's constating documents which could discourage a third party from making a takeover bid beneficial to the Company's shareholders; risks relating to conflicts of interests among the Company's officers and directors as a result of their involvement with other issuers; and risks relating to the influence of significant shareholders of the Company over the Company's business operations and share price.  These risk factors and others relating to the Company are discussed in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form and in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov, each of which are included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F).  These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.  The Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Neovasc Inc.