Neovasc to Report First Quarter Financial Results on May 12, 2022

Research, News, and Market Data on Neovasc

VANCOUVER and MINNEAPOLIS – ( NewMediaWire ) – April 28, 2022 – Neovasc Inc. (NASDAQ ,  TSX : NVCN), will report financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Neovasc’s President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Colen, and Chris Clark, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to review the company’s results at 4:30 pm EDT on May 12, 2022.

Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing (877) 407-9208 or (201) 493-6784 (International) and reference Conference ID 13729200. Participants wishing to join the call via webcast should use the link posted on the investor relations section of the Neovasc website at  neovasc.com/investors/. A replay of the webcast will be available approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the call using the link on the Neovasc website.

About Neovasc Inc.

Neovasc is a specialty medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for the rapidly growing cardiovascular marketplace. Its products include Reducer, for the treatment of refractory angina, which is under clinical investigation in the United States and has been commercially available in Europe since 2015, and Tiara™ for the transcatheter treatment of mitral valve disease, which is currently under clinical investigation in the United States, Canada, Israel and Europe. For more information, visit:  www.neovasc.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

Certain statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws that may not be based on historical fact. When used herein, the words expect, anticipate, estimate, may, will, should, intend, believe, and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, the growing cardiovascular marketplace. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that the Company believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those described in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021 (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company’s forward-looking statements. The Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts

Investors
Mike Cavanaugh
Westwicke/ICR
Phone: +1.617.877.9641
Email: Mike.Cavanaugh@westwicke.com

Media
Sean Leous
Westwicke/ICR
Phone: +1.646.866.4012
Email: Sean.Leous@icrinc.com

Ocugen, Inc. to Present Preclinical Results at The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2022 Annual Meeting

Research, News, and Market Data on Ocugen

MALVERN, Pa., April 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel gene therapies, biologicals and vaccines, today announced two presentations on the company’s research into the development of a modifier gene therapy to treat dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and a novel biologic to treat wet-AMD and diabetic macular edema (DME) at The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology’s (ARVO) 2022 Annual Meeting in Denver on May 1 – 4, 2022.

“We are excited to share information about two of the innovative treatments for blindness diseases we’ve been working on,” said Arun Upadhyay, PhD, Ocugen’s Senior Vice President of Research & Development. “Our breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform, OCU410, consisting of a RORA modifier gene, has the potential to treat patients with dry age-related macular degeneration (Dry-AMD). RORA regulates inflammatory and oxidative pathways associated with Dry-AMD and establishes homeostasis in molecular processes to control the disease pathophysiology. We believe that OCU200, our novel biologic product candidate, has the potential to offer a better therapy to millions of people with diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, and Wet-AMD, furthering our goal to provide a new option for people who are currently underserved.”

Ocugen
Presentations at ARVO 2022:

Presentation
Title: OCU410, a Potential Therapeutic for
Dry-AMD, Suppresses Inflammatory Cytokine Gene Expression in Retinal Pigment
Epithelial Cells
Authors: Dinesh K. Singh, Sree S. Kattala, Arun K. Upadhyay
Presentation Type: Poster Session

Presenter: Dinesh K. Singh, Principal Scientist, Discovery
Date/Time: May 1, 2022, from 12:15 – 2:15 PM MDT

Presentation
Title:   Binding Affinity: A Measure of Potency
for OCU200, a Potential Therapeutic for the Treatment of Wet-AMD and DME
Authors: Pratap C. Naha, Subechhya Neupane, Arun K. Upadhyay.  
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Presenter: Pratahap C. Naha, PhD, Associate Director, Drug Delivery and Nanotechnology
Date/Time: May 4, 2022, at 3:00 PM MDT

About Dry
Age-related Macular Degenerations (Dry AMD)
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is characterized by thickening and loss of normal architecture within Bruch’s membrane, lipofuscin accumulation in the retinal pigment epithelium (“RPE”), and drusen formation beneath the RPE in Bruch’s membrane. These deposits consist of complement components, other inflammatory molecules, lipids, lipoproteins B and E, and glycoproteins. Dry AMD, which affects about 9 to 10 million Americans, involves the slow deterioration of the retina with submacular drusen (small white or yellow dots on the retina), atrophy, loss of macular function and central vision impairment. Dry AMD accounts for 85-90% of the total AMD population, and there is no approved treatment.

About
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)
Diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are the most common vision-threatening diseases occurring in people with diabetes. Approximately 7.7 million people are affected with DR and approximately 745,000 with DME in the United States. These numbers are expected to further increase as the number of people with diabetes increases.

About
Wet-AMD
About 10-15% of people with AMD progress to the advanced “wet” form. It’s generally caused by abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid or blood into the macula. (The part of the retina that’s responsible for central vision.) The result can be irreversible damage to photoreceptor cells and rapid, severe vision loss, particularly in the center of the field of vision, causing significant functional impairment. Wet-AMD accounts for 90% of all AMD-related blindness.

About
Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel gene therapies, biologicals and vaccines that improve health and offer hope for people and global communities. We are making an impact through courageous innovation, taking science in new directions in service of patients. Our breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform has the potential to treat multiple diseases with one drug and we are advancing research in other therapeutic areas to offer new options for people with unmet medical needs. Discover more at www.ocugen.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements within this press release include, without limitation, the intended use of net proceeds from the registered direct offering. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our current expectations, such as market and other conditions. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the risk factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the quarterly and annual reports that we file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Ocugen
Contact:
Ken Inchausti
Head, Investor Relations & Communications
ken.inchausti@ocugen.com

Image Credit: Alex Green (Pexels)

Discovering New Drugs is a Long and Expensive Process – Chemical Compounds that Dupe Screening Tools Make it Even Harder

Modern drug discovery is an expensive and complicated process. Hundreds of scientists and at least a decade are often required to produce a single medicine. One of the most critical steps in this process is the first one – identifying new chemical compounds that could be developed into new medicines.

Researchers rely heavily on bioassays to identify potential drug candidates. These tests measure a compound’s ability to act on a biological target of interest. Candidates that show up as a “hit” by interacting with a target of interest (such as fitting into a binding site on the target) move on to further study and development. Advances in technology called high-throughput screening have allowed researchers to run thousands of compounds through bioassays in a short time, significantly streamlining the process.

But some of these “hits” don’t actually interact with the target as intended. And for the unwary researcher, this can lead down a rabbit hole of lost time and money.

I am a medicinal chemist who has been working in the drug discovery field for over 26 years, and one of the greatest challenges I have faced in my research is selecting good candidates from drug screening tests. One particular category of compounds, known as pan-assay interference compounds, or PAINS, is a common pitfall.

Bioassays involve placing a chemical compound together with the target of interest and measuring the strength of their interaction. Researchers assess interaction strength using a number of methods depending on how the bioassay is designed. A common assay design emits light when there is an interaction, where the intensity of the light depends upon the strength of interaction.

PAINS refer to compounds that often come up as false positives during the screening process. Because of certain characteristics of these molecules, they can interact with a target in nonspecific or unexpected ways. Some can even react chemically with the target. So while PAINS may come up as a hit in a screen, it doesn’t necessarily mean they actually do what researchers hoped they’d do. Common worst offenders include compounds like quinones, catechols and rhodanines.

Unlike desired drug compounds that interact specifically with a target of interest, PAINS react nonspecifically with a wide variety of targets. Image credit: Bcary (Wikipedia Commons)

There are a number of ways that PAINS dupe bioassays.

Some PAINS have properties that cause them to emit light (or fluoresce) under certain conditions. Since many bioassays detect light as a signal for a hit, this can confuse the assay readout and result in a false positive.

Other PAINS can act as redox cyclers in bioassays – producing hydrogen peroxide that can block the target and be misread as a hit.

Similarly, some PAINS form colloidal aggregates – clumps of molecules that interfere with the target of interest by absorbing it or modifying the molecular structure. In rare cases, these clumps can even elicit a desired interaction with the target of interest because of their large size.

Trace impurities left over from manufacturing can also elicit a PAINS response.

To make things even more complicated, because PAINS react with targets much more strongly than most compounds that are true drug candidates, PAINS often appear as the most promising hits in screening.

Curcumin, the bright yellow chemical commonly found in the turmeric in curry, is one notorious example of a pan-assay interference compound.

What Can be Done About PAINS?

An estimated 5% to 12% of compounds in the screening libraries academic institutions use for drug discovery consist of PAINS. Scientists misled by a false positive can waste considerable time if they try to develop these compounds into usable drugs.

Since researchers became aware of the existence of PAINS, medicinal chemists have identified frequent offenders and actively remove these compounds from screening libraries. However, some compounds will always fall through the cracks. It is ultimately up to the researcher to identify and discard these PAINS when they show up as false positives.

There are a few things researchers can do to filter out PAINS. In some cases, visually inspecting compounds for structural similarities with other known PAINS can be enough. For other cases, additional experiments are necessary to eliminate false positives.

Testing for the presence of hydrogen peroxide, for example, can help identify redox cyclers. Likewise, adding detergents can help break up colloidal aggregates. And bioassays that do not use light detection to register hits can circumvent PAINS that emit light.

Even the most experienced medicinal chemist needs to be cognizant of the dangers of these false positives. Taking steps to ensure that these types of compounds don’t make it to the next stage of drug discovery can avoid wasted time and effort and ultimately lead to a more efficient and cost-effective drug discovery process.

Suggested Reading

Psychedelic Medicine a Revolution for the Mind

A Global Reimagined Health Ecosystem

Generating Synthetic Data to Speed AI

Tracing the Origins of a Virus

Stay up to date. Follow us: