MIV Therapeutics Announces Participation at TCT 2008 in Washington, D.C.
ATLANTA & FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 9, 2008 - MIV Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:MIVI) (Frankfurt:MIV), a leading developer of next-generation coatings and advanced drug-delivery systems for cardiovascular stents and other implantable medical devices, announced today its participation at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2008 conference. The conference will be held on October 12-17 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, October 13 in Room 154AB at 1:22 p.m. Eastern time, as part of the scientific symposium "Special Drug-Eluting Stent Summit Concurrent Session," Greg L. Kaluza, M.D., Ph.D., from the Cardiovascular Research Foundation will discuss the developments, rationale, advantages, and need for MIV's polymer-free low dose drug eluting stent, the VESTAsync. Dr. Kaluza's talk titled "The MIV Hydroxyapatite-Coated Polymer-Free DES System: Design Concept and Experimental Studies." Dr. Kaluza's presentation will cover in detail the preclinical work conducted thus far supporting the improved healing of the VESTAsync versus other polymeric based drug-eluting stents and the opportunity for a significant reduction in the duration of anti-platelet therapy.
Principal investigator of VESTASYNC I and II trials, Alexandre Abizaid, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Coronary Intervention of Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology in Sao Paulo, Brazil will present a talk entitled, "The MIV Polymer-Free Hydroxyapatite-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Stent: One Year Outcomes from VESTASYNC I and Preliminary OCT Findings from VESTASYNC II." Dr. Abizaid's presentation will take place on Monday, October 13 in Room 154AB at 3:04 p.m. Eastern time. It is part of a practical workshop titled "Sirolimus First-In-Man DES Trials" within the scientific symposia "Special Drug-Eluting Stent Summit Concurrent Session."
"These presentations will demonstrate a more broadened focus of our programs," said Dr. Mark Landy, President and CEO of MIV Therapeutics. "They will provide the medical community with an update of data from our VESTASYNC I and VESTASYNC II trials and how they are progressing. Furthermore, the presentations will communicate the importance of the data and its impact on the industry going forward."
In May 2008, the Company announced the initiation of enrollment for a 120-patient, multi-center, randomized, controlled VESTASYNC II trial. The timeline was accelerated based on the positive nine-month human safety and efficacy data from the VESTASYNC I trial. The VESTASYNC II trial is designed to test the efficacy of the VESTAsync(TM) in a sufficient number of patients and will form the basis of a regulatory filing for CE-Mark in late 2009 or early 2010 which will provide the ability to sell the VESTAsync in the many countries around the world that accept the CE-Mark. We anticipate launching the VESTAsync in these markets sometime in the second half of 2010.
"Because our stent has been specifically designed to promote healing unlike polymeric drug eluting stents which significantly delay healing we believe it requires no more than 90 days anti-platelet medication such Plavix which is in stark contrast to the minimum one-year anti-platelet therapy mandated for polymeric drug eluting stents." Dr. Landy added. "This is a big deal for patients as anti-platelet therapy has significant and dangerous side effects. In support of this claim I would like to reference our VESTASYNC I patients who have now been off Plavix for almost one year without issue,"Dr. Landy added.
About Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2008
The Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation(R), is a scientifically stimulating symposium for physicians and other healthcare professionals who specialize in the field of interventional vascular therapy. TCT is the largest interventional vascular medicine symposium in the world, with attendance by more than 10,000 physicians, healthcare providers and industry professionals specialized in the field of interventional vascular therapy. TCT has become the premiere venue to introduce groundbreaking and pioneering innovations in this field. For more information, please visit http://www.tct2008.com.
About MIV Therapeutics
MIV Therapeutics is developing a next-generation line of advanced biocompatible coatings for passive and drug-eluting applications on cardiovascular stents, as well as for a broad range of other implantable medical devices. The Company's ultra-thin coating formulation is designed to protect surrounding tissue from potentially harmful interactions with bare metallic stents. This coating platform is derived from hydroxyapatite (HAp), an organic material that has demonstrated excellent in vivo safety and biocompatibility. Hydroxyapatite is a porous material that makes up the bone mineral and matrix of teeth, and is widely used today as a bone substitute material and for coatings on implantable fixation devices in orthopedic, dental and other applications. The Company's novel polymer-free drug-eluting technologies based on HAp could also provide an attractive alternative to current polymer-based drug-eluting coatings on the stent market, which have been associated with undesirable effects. The Company's drug-eluting coatings are additionally designed to suit a broad range of implantable medical devices that could benefit from highly customizable drug release profiles. MIV Therapeutics has a Collaborative Research Agreement with the University of British Columbia and has received a government grant for its research program on the "Development of Novel Drug Eluting Composite Coatings for Cardiovascular Stents," under the National Research Council-Industrial Research Assistance Program. Under this sponsorship, the Company is expected to complete its drug-eluting research and development program and to reach product commercialization. MIV's intellectual property portfolio includes patents held by the University of British Columbia and exclusively licensed to MIV. Key patent applications filed simultaneously in various countries around the world further protect the commercial exclusivity of MIV's inventions in the global marketplace. For more information, please visit www.mivtherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. All statements that discuss expectations and projections with respect to future matters including, without limitation, statements relating to the safety and efficacy of the Company's product and the ability of the Company's product to rejuvenate the stent market are forward-looking statements. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "proposed," "expected," "believe," "will," "breakthrough," "significant," "indicated," "feel," "revolutionary," "should," "ideal," "extremely" and "excited." These statements are made under "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, market acceptance of the Company's product, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient funding and to continue to develop its various business interests as presently contemplated, and other factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2007 and Forms 10-Q. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
Contact
For Investor Inquiries:
Anthony L. Huston
Vice President, Business Development & Investor Relations
MIV Therapeutics, Inc.
(604) 301-9545, x14
ahuston@mivtherapeutics.com
investor@mivtherapeutics.com
or
Kim Sutton Golodetz
kgolodetz@lhai.com
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
(212) 838-3777
or
For Media Inquiries:
Michele Fox / Cassie Wallace
Schwartz Communications
781-684-0770
miv@schwartz-pr.com
Posted: October 2008
