Ortec Receives over $10 Million in Exercise of Class A Warrants; European and U.S. Institutions Participate
Thursday January 8, 1:46 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Ortec International, Inc.
NEW YORK, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortec International, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORTC - news) announced today that approximately 1,080,000 of its 1.2 million Class A Warrants (Nasdaq: ORTCW - news) were exercised, resulting in Ortec receiving gross proceeds in excess of $10,800,000, and netting $10,260,000 after deducting commissions payable in connection with the exercise of its warrants. The warrants originated from Ortec's initial public offering which took place in January, 1996. Through that offering, Ortec sold 1.2 million units at $5 per unit. Each unit consisted of one share of common stock, one class A warrant which had a $10 exercise price and one class B warrant (Nasdaq: ORTCZ - news) which has a $15 exercise price and expires on January 19, 1999. The successful exercise of the Class B Warrants would generate additional gross proceeds of $18 million for the company.
Commenting on Ortec's exercising of the warrants, Steven Katz, Ph.D. said, ''The exercise of the warrants is a significant event, for it has given Ortec a sizeable cash position to aggressively pursue its goals and has also broadened Ortec's institutional base of support.'' Including the cash received from the warrant exercise, Ortec currently has in excess of $13.5 million.
With the addition of the shares of common stock issued from the exercise of the warrants, Ortec has approximately 5,760,000 shares outstanding. Ortec's common shares are currently trading at $13.75. The B warrant is currently trading at $2.75.
Ortec International is a biotechnology and medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of a propriety and patented biologically active wound dressing (CCS) to stimulate wound repair and regeneration of human tissues. CCS is a composite skin substitute consisting of a bioengineered bovine collagen matrix seeded with epidermal and dermal cells. CCS is currently in pivotal clinical trials for the treatment of severe burns and in pilot trials for the treatment of chronic dermal ulcers of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) patients and donor sites. CCS may have wide commercial applications for the treatment of burns, venous and diabetic ulcers and serious skin diseases, such as EB, as well as for reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries.
Certain statements made in this press release which express the ''belief'', ''anticipation'' or ''expectation,'' as well as other statements which are not historical fact, and statements relating to the clinical trials and their results, design, features, functionality and performance insofar as they may apply prospectively, are forward-looking statements within the meaning and pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in this release or in other forward-looking statements presented by management. Factors that might cause such a difference include but are not limited to, development by the Company's competitors of new technologies or products that are more effective than the Company's, risks of failure of clinical trials, dependence on and retention of key personnel, protection of proprietary technology, compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, continued availability of raw material for the Company's products, availability of product liability insurance in the event of commercialization of the Company's products, ability to effect transition from pilot-scale manufacturing to large-scale commercial production of products, uncertainty as to the availability of additional capital on acceptable terms, if at all, and the demand for the Company's products, if and when commercially available.
SOURCE: Ortec International, Inc. |
