SEATTLE, WASHINGTON--(Marketwired - April 30, 2013) - Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd. ("Ventripoint" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:VPT) (OTCQX:VPTDF) is announcing it has received an expanded license from Health Canada to sell the VMS™ heart analysis system for clinical use in Canada. The expansion was for the NRV™ application for the analysis of 2-D ultrasound images for patients with non-specific heart disease. The NRV™ application will allow clinicians to rapidly and accurately assess the status of the right ventricle in all patients that do not have significant congenital heart defects or pulmonary hypertension, yet may have a variety of other conditions, such as left-heart failure or valve disease.
The NRV™ database will be used with the VMS-2DE™ heart analysis system for patients where knowledge of the function of the right heart would be useful in assessing the overall heart function and optimally treat the patient. Heart disease and stroke costs the Canadian economy more than $20.9 billion every year in physician services, hospital costs, lost wages and decreased productivity (Conference Board of Canada, 2010). There are approximately 1,500,000 Canadians living with heart disease and about 10% of them die each year. There are also 300,000 hospitalizations for heart failure each year and this accounts for 17% of all hospitalizations.
The addition of the NRV™ application to the VMS™ heart analysis systems will provide a direct avenue for clinicians to better evaluate and care for these individuals. It is anticipated that the NRV™ application can also be used to provide a reference baseline study for patients at risk for developing right heart dysfunction and would benefit from frequent monitoring.
The VMS-2DE™ is approved for clinical use in Europe and Canada and is available for investigational use only in the United States.
The Company is also correcting its previous news release of April 22, 2013. In conjunction with the final closing of the offering announced March 1, 2013, Ventripoint paid cash commissions of $10,296 and issued 102,960 agent's options ("Agent's Options"). As a result of the two closings, Ventripoint raised gross proceeds of $933,700 and paid total cash commissions of $26,776 and issued 267,760 Agent's Options.
Each Agent's Option is exercisable into one Common Share for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance at a price of $0.10 per Common Share. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to a four-month hold period pursuant to applicable securities legislation. The proceeds made available through the sale of Units will be used for the general working capital needs of the Company.
About VentriPoint Diagnostics Ltd.
Ventripoint has created a diagnostic ultrasound tool to monitor patients with heart disease, a leading cause of death in developed countries. Management believes that VMS™ is the first cost-effective and accurate diagnostic tool for measuring right ventricle heart function. Congenital heart disease in children and adults and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension are the first applications in a suite of applications for all major heart diseases including cardiovascular disease and heart failure - a multi-billion dollar market potential. Canada and Europe (CE Mark) have granted approval for the sale of its VMS™ tool and the Company is pursuing the US-FDA marketing clearance through the 510(k) process.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that involves risk and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address Ventripoint's expectations, should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. When used in this document, the words "may", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and words of similar import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect a current view of future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as contained in the Corporation's filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Although management believes that expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these expectations will materialize.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
