Vancouver, British Columbia and Minneapolis, Minnesota–(Newsfile Corp. – April 16, 2021) – Neovasc Inc. (NASDAQ: NVCN) (TSX: NVCN) (“Neovasc” or the “Company”), today announced that the Tiara Transapical system (“Tiara TA”) will be unable to receive a European CE mark under the current Medical Device Directive regulations (“MDD”) ending on May 26, 2021. The Company is collaborating with its European Notified Body (the “Notified Body”) on potential next steps.
Neovasc has been working with its Notified Body for more than a year to obtain a decision on a CE Mark for Tiara TA, including an ongoing exchange of additional information beyond the original submission. The Company has determined that it will be unable to provide the additional information required by the Notified Body, which includes further testing data, before the current MDD regulations end next month.
The MDD is set to be replaced by the newer Medical Device Regulation (“MDR”) on May 26, 2021. A CE Mark under either the MDD or MDR regulations would allow the Company to commercialize the Tiara TA system in Europe.
“We are disappointed that the MDD regulations are going to be replaced before we are able to gain CE Mark approval for the Tiara TA system,” said Fred Colen, Chief Executive Officer Neovasc. “We believe that the Tiara valve has shown to be a remarkable device and we are pleased with the safety and efficacy profile the device has displayed in clinical trials to date. Our team has worked tirelessly, and we believe we have made meaningful progress with our notified body during COVID-19 lockdowns to advance the approval process, but we have run out of time to complete the review before the transition to MDR next month, our previously announced target date for a CE mark decision.”
The Company expects to provide an update at, or around, the upcoming Q1 2021 Earnings Call scheduled for early May.
The transition from MDD to MDR does not impact the Tiara transfemoral program (“Tiara TF”). The Company has always anticipated that Tiara TF’s CE Mark submission would be assessed under MDR.
About Neovasc Inc.
Neovasc is a specialty medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets products for the rapidly growing cardiovascular marketplace. The Company is a leader in the development of minimally invasive transcatheter mitral valve replacement technologies, and minimally invasive devices for the treatment of refractory angina. Its products include Neovasc Reducer™, for the treatment of refractory angina, which is not currently commercially available in the United States and has been commercially available in Europe since 2015, and Tiara™, for the transcatheter treatment of mitral valve disease, which is currently under clinical investigation in the United States, Canada, Israel and Europe. For more information, visit: www.neovasc.com.
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Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
Certain statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws that may not be based on historical fact. When used herein, the words “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “intend,” “believe”, and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to expectations as to the growing cardiovascular marketplace, the safety and efficacy profile of the Tiara TA, the Company’s plans to evaluate all feedback from the notified body and strategic alternatives, and the anticipated submission and assessment of the Tiara TF under the MDR rules at the time of submission. 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, the doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; risks related to the recent COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak or other health epidemics, which could significantly impact the Company’s operations, sales or ability to raise capital or enroll patients in clinical trials and complete certain Tiara development milestones on the Company’s expected schedule; risks relating to the Company’s need for significant additional future capital and the Company’s ability to raise additional funding; risks relating to the sale of a significant number of Common Shares; risks relating to the possibility that the Company’s common shares (the “Common Shares”) may be delisted from the Nasdaq or the TSX, which could affect their market price and liquidity; risks relating to the Company’s conclusion that it did have effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 but not at December 31, 2019 and 2018; risks relating to the Common Share price being volatile; risks relating to the possibility that the Common Shares may be delisted from the Nasdaq or the TSX, which could affect their market price and liquidity; risks relating to the Company’s significant indebtedness, and its effect on the Company’s financial condition; risks relating to lawsuits that the Company is subject to, which could divert the Company’s resources and result in the payment of significant damages and other remedies; risks relating to claims by third-parties alleging infringement of their intellectual property rights; risks relating to 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 use of the Company’s products in unapproved circumstances, which could expose the Company to liabilities; 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 its in-house sales capabilities or secure third-party marketing or distribution partners; risks relating to 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 relating to the extensive regulation of the Company’s products and trials by governmental authorities, as well as the cost and time delays associated therewith; risks relating to post-market regulation of the Company’s products; risks relating to health and safety concerns associated with the Company’s products and industry; risks relating to 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; risks relating to the possibility 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 the Company’s dependence on limited products for substantially all of the Company’s current revenues; risks relating to the Company’s exposure to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates; risks relating to the possibility that the Company could lose its foreign private issuer status under U.S. federal securities laws; risks relating to the possibility that the Company could be treated as a “passive foreign investment company”; risks relating to breaches of anti-bribery laws by the Company’s employees or agents; risks relating to future changes in financial accounting standards and new accounting pronouncements; risks relating to the Company’s dependence upon key personnel to achieve its business objectives; risks relating to 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 relating to 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; risks relating to the Company’s ability to successfully identify and complete corporate transactions on favorable terms or achieve anticipated synergies relating to any acquisitions or alliances; 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 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. 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 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2020 (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). The Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements beyond required periodic filings with securities regulators, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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