VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2006--MIV Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:
MIVT -
News; FWB:MIV), a
leading developer of next-generation biocompatible coatings and
advanced drug delivery systems, announced today that a leading
industry researcher has reaffirmed a 6-month target price projection
of $2.50 in a newly updated paid research report that reflects the
Company's 2005 technology achievements.
"MIVT had a very successful year in 2005," according to the update
by SISM Research and Investment Services. "The Company entered (a)
decisively strategic expansion stage, more than doubled its portfolio
of Intellectual Property, successfully completed animal testing
proceeding clinical evaluation of its proprietary hydroxyapatite
coating technology for cardiovascular stents and other implantable
medical devices and progressed to the next stage with preliminary
evaluation of its novel Aortic Embolic Protection Device."
Report author Ernest C. Schlotter, Senior Analyst with Zurich,
Switzerland-based SISM, also reiterates the Company's innovative
leadership in the burgeoning field of advanced, safe and biocompatible
stent technologies and concludes with a strong endorsement of the
Company's projected growth potential.
In the new update to the fee-based research coverage, Mr.
Schlotter also includes the following MIVT highlights expected in 2006
and beyond:
- Completion of necessary preclinical/animal studies for its
proprietary "SMART" drug delivery technologies, to provide
customized, optimized therapeutic benefits to patients
requiring controlled, gradual release of drugs from their
implanted devices.
- Commencement of human clinical trials of its first commercial
product, a drug eluting "Smart-1" system combined with
ultra-thin HAp stent coating formulation, which is designed
primarily to protect surrounding tissue from chemical
interaction with bare-metal stents. If human clinical trials
are successful, the Company could get CE clearance for
marketing of its product in 2007 and FDA approval
approximately fifteen to eighteen months later.
- Commencement of human clinical trials of its HAp-based
drug-eluting stent using a thicker and nanoporous coating
suitable for polymer-free drug delivery purposes. This thicker
coating will be loaded with a suitable drug, that is
anti-inflammatory and anti-restenotic. Drug-eluting stents
have broad applications in both cardiovascular and
non-cardiovascular drug/device combination products such as
peripheral stents, biodegradable implants, gene therapy, and
delivery systems for the release of chemotherapeutic agents.
CE approval is expected in 2008.
In addition, the SISM update also emphasizes the Company's "world
class Management Team, which will be able to successfully execute the
Company's aggressive business strategy and bring its products to the
marketplace." MIVT is very close to the commencement of human clinical
trials and is nearing with every day to the commercialization of its
products, the update continues.
"This will help the Company to realize the full potential of its
earning power and drive its valuation. The present status of quickly
maturing technology offers an exceptionally favorable risk/reward for
risk-tolerant, capital gains oriented investors who can see the
long-term growth potential of this unique and innovative Company. We
have therefore reaffirmed our six-month target price of $2.50 but
still maintain our Speculative Buy/4 rating for the stock of MIV
Therapeutics."
MIVT's proprietary Hydroxyapatite (HAp) coating technologies are
increasingly being recognized as inherently safer, naturally
bio-porous alternatives to inferior polymer products on the market.
HAp can be found in human bone and teeth and has been used
successfully for years in other, unrelated therapeutic applications.
MIVT has a valuable Intellectual Property portfolio of more than
40 proprietary solutions based on its advanced HAp technologies. The
full SISM Research update can be found at
http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/mivt/sism_report.html.
About SISM Research
SISM Research, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is a private
investment research firm offering high-quality, independent,
fundamental research on public companies since 1995. SISM writes,
publishes and distributes research coverage, in both English and
German, on micro- to small-cap public companies trading on the OTC
Bulletin Board, NASDAQ and AMEX. This coverage is geared toward
institutional and individual investors in both North America and in
German-speaking Europe, a market that represents more than 100 million
people. SISM Research is a content provider to Thomson Financials
OneAnalytics/FirstCall, to Multex, and InvesTrend. Both SISM Research
and InvesTrend Research subscribe to the "Standards for Independent
Research Providers." MIV Therapeutics will pay SISM Research $1,750
per month over a two-year period solely to ensure independent
coverage.
About MIV Therapeutics, Inc.
MIV Therapeutics, Inc. is developing a next-generation line of
advanced biocompatible coatings for passive and drug-eluting
application on cardiovascular stents and for application on other
implantable medical devices. The Company's ultra-thin coating
formulation is designed primarily to protect surrounding tissue from
the chemical interaction with metal stents. The Company's unique
ultra-thin coating has been derived from a biocompatible material
called hydroxyapatite (HAp) that during in-vivo animal trials
demonstrated excellent safety and superior healing properties pursued
by the science in the field of advanced implantable drug delivery
systems. Hydroxyapatite is a bioactive porous material that makes up
the bone mineral and matrix of teeth. It is widely used as a bone
substitute material and for coating implantable fixation devices in
orthopedic, dental and other applications. The Company's novel drug
eluting technologies based on Hydroxyapatite provide an attractive
alternative solution to polymer-based drug eluting coatings currently
in the stent market. The Company's drug eluting coating is designed to
suit a broad range of implantable medical devices which may benefit
from a highly customizable drug release profile. MIVT reached a
Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) with the University of British
Columbia and supported a research and development grant from the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in
2002 for the development of Hydroxyapatite as a drug-eluting coating.
In December 2004 MIVT received a Government grant for the research
program titled "Development of Novel Drug Eluting Composite Coatings
for Cardiovascular Stents" under the National Research Council --
Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). Under this
sponsorship the Company will progress to the development stage, which
is expected to finalize the drug-eluting research and development
Program. For more information, please visit:
http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/mivt/website.html. To read or
download MIV Therapeutics' Investor Fact Sheet, visit
http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/mivt/factsheet.html. To obtain
daily and historical Company stock quote data, and recent Company news
releases, visit http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/html/mivt.htm. MIVT
is also traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol
MIV.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the
matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking
statements. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as
"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. See the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the
Company's recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs, which identify specific
factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially
from those described in the forward-looking statements.
