Olympic makes first foray into biotech field
Olympic Resources Ltd ORL
Shares issued 10,654,378 2000-03-15 close $1.4
Thursday Mar 16 2000
Mr. Daryl Pollock reports
Olympic Resources has made its first foray into the biotech field as part of the corporate diversification initiatives recently announced. The company has agreed to enter into an investment and advisory contract with M-1 Vascular Innovations Inc.
MI Vascular is a private Delaware incorporated company which owns 100 per cent of MIVI Technologies Inc., a Vancouver-based research and manufacturing facility of the MIVI stent. Approximately $1.5-million (U.S.) has been invested in MI Vascular by its shareholders in the past year for research and development and MI Vascular is presently preparing to become a reporting issuer in the United States. The board of MI Vascular is composed of highly qualified individuals with internationally recognized medical credentials in the cardiac field and with international corporate and management experience.
The MIVI stent is a vascular support device which is being developed to market to the cardiovascular industry for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Stents have entered the surgical field only in the last few years and are rapidly replacing invasive cardiac and other surgeries to correct restrictions or occlusions in the circulatory system. The MIVI stent is presently undergoing animal tests at the Ottawa Heart Institute. Successful small scale manufacturing production has been effected to supply the animal trials. In vitro and animal trials have been successful to date.
The MIVI stent is a patent-pending design made of formed stainless steel wire and combines modular design and low profile with high flexibility and wide adaptability to stent delivery catheters. MI Vascular developed the product to provide a number of advantages, compared with existing stents, including improved visibility during insertion, superior metal fatigue tolerance, and enhanced manufacturing capability with a resultant significant cost saving.
Olympic views this investment in MI Vascular as a significant step in its diversification initiatives in the biotech industry. The contract with MI Vascular provides that Olympic will appoint its president, Daryl Pollock, to the board of Ml Vascular. In addition, Olympic will provide non-exclusive financial and general merchant banking services and advice to assist MI Vascular in achieving its corporate and general business goals. Olympic also has a right of first refusal to partner with MI Vascular in the development of new product and a right of first refusal to participate in new private placements for the period of its subscribed warrants.
Olympic is subscribing for 600,000 units in Ml Vascular at a price of $1 (U.S.) per unit. Each unit consists of one common shore and a non-transferable piggyback warrant comprising one A and one B warrant. Each A warrant is exercisable for a period of one year from issue of the warrant to purchase a common share at a price of $1.50 (U.S.) and each B warrant is exercisable, subject to the A warrants having been exercised, for a period of two years from the date of issue to buy a common share at a price of $7 (U.S.). This investment represents approximately 3 per cent of MI Vascular and, subject to dilution, if the piggyback warrants are exercised, this will represent approximately 10 per cent of the company.
Olympic is primarily a natural resource company with holdings in oil and gas assets and production and with a corporate treasury in excess of $2.4-million resulting from successful ventures in this field. Olympic has recently determined to employ its corporate capabilities and resources to examine diversification into other business opportunities and has selected the biotech industry as a field of great interest. |
