NeoChord Enrolls First Patient in European Clinical Trial

Per Wierup, MD, PhD, and Sten Lyager Nielsen, MD, DMSc, perform
minimally-invasive, sternal-sparing, beating-heart surgery to implant artificial
chordae tendineae at Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, in Aarhus, Denmark
MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
NeoChord, Inc., a venture-backed, Minneapolis-based medical technology company,
announced today that it has enrolled the first patient in its European clinical
trial. The trial, known as TACT (transapical artificial chordae tendineae) is
being conducted in Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic and Norway.

"We are very pleased with the early results of this first procedure," said Per
Wierup and Sten Lyager Nielsen, the cardiac surgeons who performed the surgery.
"The patient is an otherwise healthy, very active 47-year-old male who preferred
to not have a sternotomy or cardiopulmonary bypass to fix his severe mitral
regurgitation. The NeoChord approach has successfully treated his mitral
regurgitation and potentially offers him a quick return to his military career
and favorite hobby, scuba diving."

Intra-operative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) confirmed that the
patient`s severe, eccentric mitral regurgitation was reduced to zero or trace
mitral regurgitation. Giovanni Speziali, MD, the cardiac surgeon who is the
primary inventor of the NeoChord device also attended the procedure. "These
results, although early, are equivalent to what we obtain in traditional open
heart surgery for correction of mitral regurgitation," said Dr. Speziali.

The NeoChord procedure was developed to treat sub-valvular chordal damage - the
primary cause of degenerative mitral regurgitation - via minimally invasive
implantation of artificial chordae tendineae. The technology was developed by
Speziali and other doctors at the Mayo Clinic and exclusively licensed to
NeoChord.

"We`re very pleased to have achieved the first-in-man milestone and want to
extend our very best wishes to the patient and his family," said John Seaberg,
CEO of NeoChord. "This successful outcome is the result of several years of hard
work by our product development staff and our clinical advisors. I`m extremely
proud of the extended NeoChord team."

About NeoChord, Inc.
Based in Minneapolis, NeoChord is a privately-held, early stage medical
technology company founded to advance the treatment of mitral regurgitation by
commercializing a surgical device for minimally invasive surgical implantation
of artificial chordae tendineae. For more information, visit: www.NeoChord.com.

About Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation (DMR)
DMR occurs when the leaflets of the heart's mitral valve do not close properly,
usually due to rupture or elongation of the chordae tendineae (chords) that
control the leaflet`s motion. During pumping, the "leak" in the mitral valve
causes blood to flow backwards (mitral regurgitation) into the left atrium,
thereby decreasing blood flow to the body. Mitral regurgitation is a progressive
disease that left untreated can result in atrial fibrillation, congestive heart
failure, and death.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as defined in
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve
a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate and the actual results and future events
could differ materially from management`s current expectations. Such factors
include, but are not limited to, our limited history of operations; our losses
since inception and for the foreseeable future; our lack of regulatory approval
for our products, or significant delays in the completion of our clinical
trials; our ability to timely commercialize our products; our dependence on
third parties to initiate and perform our clinical trials; the need to obtain
regulatory approval for any modifications to our products; physician adoption of
our products; ongoing regulatory compliance; our dependence on third party
manufacturers and suppliers; the successful development of our sales and
marketing capabilities; our ability to raise additional capital when needed; our
ability to attract and retain management and other personnel and to manage our
growth effectively; potential product liability claims; potential healthcare
fraud and abuse claims; and our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual
property protection for our technology and products. We are providing this
information as of the date of this press release and do not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

LaBreche
Sara Cziok, 612-392-7602
scziok@labreche.com

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