Vancouver-based Neovasc has announced that its Tiara mitral valve has been successfully implanted in a human patient on January, 30, 2014. Following the announcement on February 3, the company's stock jumped up 35.17%.
The device, which was implanted in a 74-year-old male patient with mitral valve regurgitation, was delivered using the transapical approach. Working at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, the physicians responsible for implanting the device deemed that patient to be an extremely high risk candidate for traditional valve repair—which involves open heart surgery—and thus elected to use the Tiara device. After implanting the device, the physicians reported that the device helped improve the patient's heart function while eliminating the patient's mitral regurgitation.
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Commenting on the news in a statement, Alexei Marko, the Neovasc's CEO referred to the recent implantation of the device as "an exciting clinical milestone for patients with mitral disease." He added that the "procedure has the potential to provide a safe and effective new therapeutic option that could improve the health and quality of life of millions of patients worldwide."
One of the unique aspects of the device's design is that it was created to precisely conform to the mitral anatomy.
The results of a preclinical study related to the device were also promising.
Neovasc also offers the PeriPatch line of biological tissue products for use in third-party medical products and creates custom products for such applications. The company also offers the Neovasc Reducer device for treating refractory angina.
