Shares in Neovasc (NSDQ:NVCN) have fallen nearly 10% today after the medical device maker posted full year 2018 earnings that showed losses growing to more than triple what it reported in 2017.
The Vancouver-based company posted losses of $109.1 million, or $7.63 per share, on sales of $1.7 million, seeing losses grow 338.7% while sales shrunk 67.5% compared with the previous fiscal year.
“After achieving a steady flow of positive operational and development milestones throughout 2018, we have entered 2019 with significant momentum in the business which is driving increased awareness among cardiologists for both the Tiara and Reducer. Our sales and marketing team continues to make steady progress ramping up sales for the Reducer through our partners and distributors across the EU and Middle East and through direct sales activities in Germany. The clinical data that we have generated for the Reducer as a treatment for chronic refractory angina continues to build support among some of the leading cardiologists around the world. As a result, we have already generated a number of peer reviewed articles and presentations at medical conferences in 2019 that are putting us in front of an ever larger number of cardiologists and other treating physicians. This new data is going further in showcasing patients’ responses to the Reducer, by utilizing new technologies to measure its performance, including dipyridamole stress perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance. While still in clinical trials, the Tiara truly is a leading edge, ground-breaking device that is expected to be able to treat more patients with a larger amount of co-existing conditions. Our clinical data continues to support our efforts to further develop the Tiara as we look to bring it to market. The positive momentum we built up in 2018 for patient enrollment through the addition of several new clinical sites will support the ongoing TIARA-II study in 2019. We recently received regulatory approval in Germany and the UK to proceed with the second phase of the study,” prez &CEO Fred Colen said in a press release.
Shares in Neovasc have fallen approximately 9.3% so far today, at approximately 43¢ as of 10:44 a.m. EDT.
Yesterday, Neovasc claimed a win in its patent infringement war with Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) subsidiary CardiAQ Valve Technologies, saying a German appeals court dismissed a case there.
