Medgenics, Inc. Raises $9.5 Million in Private Placement (MDGN)

Medgenics (NYSE AMEX: MDGN) is developing and commercializing Biopump, a proprietary tissue-based platform technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins using the patient's own skin biopsy for the treatment of a range of chronic diseases including anemia, hepatitis C and hemophilia. Medgenics believes this approach has multiple benefits compared with current treatments, which include regular and costly injections of therapeutic proteins.

The Company announced that it has "raised gross proceeds of approximately $9.5 million (approximately $8.4 million net) through the sale of 1,944,734 units (the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one share of the Company’s Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), and a warrant to purchase 0.75 of one share of Common Stock (the “Warrants”). Each Unit was sold for a purchase price of $4.90 to institutional and other accredited investors in a private placement transaction. The Warrants expire in five years, have an initial exercise price of $8.34 per full share and become first exercisable on December 15, 2012."

Medgenics plans to use these proceeds "to further its clinical trial programs for its EPODURE™ Biopump producing erythropoietin for the treatment of anemia, and its INFRADURE™ Biopump producing interferon-alpha for the treatment of hepatitis, as well as for other research and development, patent maintenance and other intellectual property support and general corporate purposes."

Maxim Group LLC acted as the exclusive placement agent for the private placement.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Medgenics Andrew L. Pearlman, Ph.D, stated,

"To date in 2012 we have achieved several regulatory milestones towards launching new clinical trials in the U.S. and in Israel. The capital we raised will be applied towards funding key studies in anemia and hepatitis, as well as advancing our technologies along the path towards commercialization."

Read the full release at Reuters.com.