VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2005--MIV
Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:
MIVT -
News), a developer of next-generation
biocompatible stent coatings and drug delivery technologies for the
treatment of cardiovascular disease, announced that interim results of
a long-term animal study of its proprietary ultra-thin Hydroxyapatite
coating will be featured at this year's 17th annual Transcatheter
Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2005 conference in Washington, D.C.
TCT is the largest interventional vascular medicine symposium in
the world, with attendance by more than 10,000 physicians, health care
providers and industry professionals specialized in the field of
interventional vascular therapy. TCT has become the premier venue to
introduce groundbreaking and pioneering innovations in this field.
Acceptance to present at the conference represents an important
recognition of the significance of MIVT's proprietary technology.
Making the presentation will be Dr. Greg L. Kaluza, Scientific
Director, Center for Research in Cardiovascular Interventions at The
Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, TX, who directed the
independent preclinical, animal-based study of MIVT's passive stent
coatings. Stents are devices placed inside arteries to prop open the
blood vessels to maintain healthy blood flow to the heart and
throughout the body. MIVT's stent and device coatings are based on a
novel application of Hydroxyapatite (HAp), a substance that has
demonstrated exceptional biocompatibility with excellent safety and
healing capabilities, compared to stent technologies currently in use.
MIVT developed its HAp coating technologies under Collaborative
Research Agreement with the University of British Columbia. The
company has exclusive worldwide license from the University of British
Columbia to use and sublicense patents for proprietary HAp coating
technologies, including their application for the development,
manufacture and sale of coated stents and other implantable medical
devices.
At the conference, Dr. Kaluza will deliver an abstract entitled,
"Biocompatibility of a Novel Ultra-Thin Hydroxyapatite Stent Coating
in Normal Porcine Coronary Arteries." The abstract was accepted for
oral presentation as part of the Drug-Eluting Stents "Next Generation"
Basic Science Workshop Session on Monday, Oct. 17, 2005. The
co-authors also include chief study pathologist Dr. Fred J. Clubb, Jr.
and several members of MIVT's research team who collaborated on the
project. The presentation is scheduled for 3:27 p.m. - 3:42 p.m. in
Room 146A.
"The TCT conference is one of the most important institutions in
our field. Only a small proportion of abstracts are selected every
year to be presented as oral presentations at the TCT conference, and
I am very pleased that our research was found by TCT's professional
reviewers worthy of this exposure," said Alan Lindsay, Chairman and
CEO of MIVT. "This gives MIVT enormous credibility as we continue on
our path to commercialize the HAp-based technology for passive as well
as drug-eluting stent coatings."
Dr. Kaluza's oral presentation will be featured during a special
session of the conference dedicated to newest advancements in
drug-eluting stent technology. "In addition to abstracts on original
new research such as ours, this session will also feature numerous
expert talks and will be chaired by eminent scientists in the stent
technology area," said Arc W. Rajtar, Vice President of Operations for
MIVT. "We are very pleased that the outcome of The Methodist Hospital
Research Institute's studies will be presented at a forum of such
scientific caliber." MIVT officers will also attend the TCT conference
to meet with industry and scientific professionals.
"Biocompatibility and safety of vascular stents and stent coatings
are among the most pressing issues in the field of transcatheter
therapeutics," said Dr. Kaluza. "Animal trials are an important part
of the process to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of
HAp-based 'passive' coating technology, which was designed as a
biologically inert platform with considerable potential to improve the
effectiveness of drug-eluting stents for cardiovascular disease. I am
looking forward to presenting our research findings about the
biocompatibility of MIVT's ultra-thin stent coatings."
MIV Therapeutics is developing and pursuing the commercialization
of safe and fully biocompatible coatings for stents and other medical
devices with the intent of providing improved solutions for the
treatment of cardiovascular disease and other conditions. In
collaboration with the University of British Columbia, MIVT is focused
on developing a proprietary ultra-thin coating formulation to protect
surrounding tissue from chemical interaction with bare-metal stents,
an interaction which may cause aggressive response of the immune
system resulting in elevated restenosis, or renarrowing of arteries,
and a risk of thrombus in the stented artery. MIVT's innovative
coatings are based upon a natural material, Hydroxyapatite, a
component of hard tissue found in certain parts of the human body,
such as bone, which enables the surface of metallic stents to
virtually mimic the natural state of structurally-sound 100%
biocompatible and bio-active tissue. MIVT's HAp coatings do not
trigger the various adverse and inflammatory reactions that are often
associated with implantation of stents and other foreign substances;
the HAp coatings have also been shown to potentially help reduce
restenosis, or re-blocking of the arteries following angioplasty. HAp
coatings are expected to reduce risks of thrombogenic (blood clotting)
events attributable in some instances to polymer-coated stents. MIVT
has successfully completed a comprehensive range of biocompatibility
and histopathology tests of its coating technologies and recently
completed, with very encouraging results, a 3-month phase of porcine
animal trials that confirmed exceptional safety and biocompatibility
of HAp coatings in coronary arteries. MIVT believes its technology
also has potential for an array of additional medical applications,
including dental, hip and bone repair implants.
About Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2005
Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), sponsored by the
Cardiovascular Research Foundation®, is a scientifically stimulating
symposium for physicians and other health care professionals who
specialize in the field of interventional vascular therapy. This
year's event is scheduled for Oct. 16-21, 2005, Washington Convention
Center, Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit
http://www.tct2005.com.
About the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute is a cornerstone of The
Methodist Hospital's strategic vision for its future as a top-ranked
academic medical center. The Research Institute is committed to moving
the latest discoveries in the laboratory to the bedside in order to
provide a new standard of care for our patients in Houston and in
other parts of the country. For more information on The Methodist
Hospital and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, see
www.methodisthealth.com.
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.
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.
Contact:
MIV Therapeutics Inc.
Investor Relations, 604-301-9545
Toll-free: 800-221-5108
Fax: 604-301-9546
E-mail: investor@mivtherapeutics.com
Web: www.mivtherapeutics.com
Or for Product Inquiries and Business Opportunities:
Arc Rajtar, 604-301-9545 Ext. 22
arajtar@mivi.ca
or
Trilogy Capital Partners
Paul Karon, Toll-free: 800-342-1467
paul@trilogy-capital.com
