News & Media

Miraculins Announces PreVu® Test Expansion into Ontario and Atlantic Canada through PharmaChoice® Drug Stores

Miraculins Inc. (TSX-V:MOM), a medical diagnostic company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing diagnostic tests and risk assessment technologies for unmet clinical needs; PharmaChoice, one of Canada’s largest pharmacy networks comprised of over 350 independently-owned stores; and Pear Healthcare Solutions, a leading provider of in-pharmacy health screening and educational services, today announce that PharmaChoice will be the first pharmacy network to introduce the PreVu® Non-Invasive Skin Cholesterol Point of Care (POC) Test in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, through a Phase One launch in up to 50 of its stores this February - Canada’s National Heart Health Month.

“At PharmaChoice, we are committed to providing the highest standard of health care and advice to our patients, and we are very pleased to be the first pharmacy in Eastern Canada to introduce the PreVu POC Test to patients through our network of independently-owned and operated community pharmacies,” said Lowell Johnstone, Director of Pharmacy Services, PharmaChoice. “PreVu represents a perfect fit for our pharmacies which encourage preventative healthcare within the communities they serve. With this important new non-invasive technology, we can identify patients who may be at higher risk for coronary artery disease. We are confident that the availability of this service in PharmaChoice pharmacies will raise heart health awareness for Canadians.”

“We are very excited to be expanding PreVu into Eastern Canada through PharmaChoice, one of the country’s most respected and forward-thinking retail pharmacy operations,” said Paul Moreau, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Miraculins Inc. “Ontario and the Atlantic provinces represent significant markets for us and our retail launch through PharmaChoice will provide us with access to millions of consumers who have come to trust the PharmaChoice brand in its delivery of neighborhood-based wellness advice and services. As an industry leader, PharmaChoice understands the critical importance of raising heart disease awareness at the grassroots level and by using the PreVu test, will be able to identify individuals at risk who could benefit from more intensive primary prevention measures directed by their doctors to help guard against a first heart attack.”

PreVu will be introduced this February during National Heart Health Month in up to 50 PharmaChoice locations spread out across Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, as part of a Phase One launch of the new test through the PharmaChoice network. This introductory campaign will see the PreVu POC Test conducted in-store by PharmaChoice pharmacists as part of a series of special PreVu Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Clinics. Phase Two of the expansion will see additional PharmaChoice locations being added in the months that follow, with all participating stores anticipated to transition to offering PreVu testing as an ongoing risk assessment service available either through walk-up request or by appointment. Further details as to participating store locations for Phase One will be released closer to February.

Based upon a patient’s PreVu test results, formal risk assessment under their healthcare provider’s direction, including blood cholesterol testing and global risk assessment, may be warranted, or should be considered. The PreVu POC Test does not diagnose the presence or absence of coronary artery disease (CAD), but without blood draw or fasting it can quickly identify individuals who may possess hidden, higher levels of risk of CAD by measuring their skin cholesterol levels, and encouraging them to see their doctors. Clinical studies have shown that elevated skin cholesterol is strongly associated with an increased risk of serious atherosclerotic disease. PreVu is not a substitute for blood serum cholesterol testing.

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