Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your opinion of Neovasc Inc.? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Neovasc Inc., $0.47, symbol NVCN on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 66.8 million; Market cap: $32.0 million; www.neovasc.com), develops and markets specialty cardiovascular products. It also sells a line of biological tissue to other medical product manufacturers; they use that tissue to make replacement heart valves and other implants. Neovasc has its own products in development, including the Tiara; that transcatheter system is used to implant a replacement mitral valve in a patient’s heart. Located between the left atrium and the left ventricle, the mitral valve lets blood pass from one chamber to the other, but it prevents blood from flowing backward. The Neovasc Reducer is another of the company’s products in the development stage. The device is used to treat refractory angina—a cardiac disease causing pain that’s often resistant to standard treatments. The Reducer aims to replace those traditional treatments, including nitrates, calcium-channel and β-adrenoceptor blockers. Neovasc is now focused on…