Cornerstone Institutional Investors Head Avita Medical ‘s $10 Million Capital Raising

NORTHRIDGE, CA and CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - September 07, 2012) -

• Placement & SPP to Ensure Avita Is Well Funded Through to FDA Submission
  
  
• Octa Phillip Bioscience Managers to Invest $3M
  
  
• Major Shareholder Australian Ethical Investment to Invest Further $1.5M
  
  
• Expansion of Avita Board With Appointment of Jeremy Curnock Cook and Matt McNamara
  
  

Regenerative medicine company Avita Medical Ltd (ASX: AVH), (PINKSHEETS: AVMXF), (OTCQX: AVMXY) is raising up to A$10 million at $0.12 per share through a placement to professional and sophisticated investors, including a Share Purchase Plan (SPP) to existing shareholders. The capital raising will comprise a first tranche placement of $4.3 million, representing 15% of the issued capital, with the balance to be raised through a second tranche placement and the SPP.

Placement. The capital raising ensures that the company is well funded through completion of the US FDA trial and submission to the FDA for clearance to sell its ReCell® Spray-On Skin™ technology. The proceeds from the raising will be used in the expansion of sales and marketing efforts, funding of studies for the treatment of chronic wounds (venous and diabetic lower limb ulcers), ongoing marketing studies for the use of ReCell in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic procedures, and development of the next generation of Avita's regenerative medicine product line. This represents an exciting revenue-generation phase in Avita's development.

Octa Phillip Bioscience Managers has committed to invest $3 million of the $10 million raising following extensive due diligence that confirmed Avita's strong commercial prospects from a well-managed funding pathway. Australian Ethical Investment's ongoing support continues as it increased its cornerstone investment with a further $1.5 million stake in the placement. Both investments are subject to a minimum raising of $6 million and shareholder approval.

The first tranche of the Placement of $4.3 million has closed oversubscribed with the second tranche subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) expected to be held on Friday 19 October 2012. Existing shareholders will be eligible to participate in the SPP which is anticipated to close at 7:00pm AEST Monday 1 October 2012.

"This investment proposition will distinguish Avita from other smaller companies by presenting the full funding plan and operational outlook through to 2014," said Avita Medical CEO and managing director Dr William Dolphin.

"Securing a new cornerstone investor of the calibre of Octa Phillip Bioscience Managers, plus reconfirmation of Australian Ethical Investment support, is a validation of management's strategic approach in the building of a strong market base for the ReCell technology and testament to the clinical and revenue-generating prospects of the Company over the coming years."

Shareholder Purchase Plan. The SPP will be offered to shareholders recorded on the Company's share register as at 7:00pm AEST on Tuesday 4 September 2012. Each shareholder will be eligible to participate up to $15,000 at $0.12 per share. The SPP is not underwritten and is expected to be capped at $3.5 million, with Avita reserving the right to accept applications in excess of this amount. An appropriate scale-back will be applied if valid applications exceed $3.5 million. Further announcements and the offer documents relating to the SPP will be provided to shareholders shortly.

Board Appointments. As part of the Octa Phillip Bioscience Manager's investment, Jeremy Curnock Cook and Matt McNamara will be appointed to the board of Avita. Mr Curnock Cook launched a joint venture with Johnson & Johnson for the creation of Healthcare Ventures and also launched the International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) when he was head of the life science equity team at Rothschild Asset Management in the UK. Mr. Curnock Cook has served on more than 30 boards in the healthcare and medical sciences sector in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Japan and Australia.

Mr McNamara has over 23 years experience in the healthcare & medical sciences sector. After initially working in Molecular Biology Research, Matt spent 11 years with Merck & Co. and Johnson and Johnson Medical Pty. Ltd. He has served as SVP Business Development for eBioinformatics Inc. and was CEO of a Life Sciences Venture Capital fund, SciCapital Pty. Ltd.

Octa Phillip Bioscience Managers is a specialist investor in Australasian listed and unlisted bioscience companies. Established in 2008, the group's Fund I performance saw it up 74% for the 48 months to 30 June 2012.

Octa Phillip Securities Limited is acting as lead manager to the placement and SPP.

About Avita Medical Ltd.

Avita Medical (www.avitamedical.com) is a publicly listed medical technology company that develops and distributes regenerative and tissue-engineered products for the treatment of a broad range of wounds, scars and skin defects. Using patented and proprietary tissue-culture, collection and application technology, the company is able to provide innovative treatment solutions derived from a patient's own skin. The company's lead product, ReCell® Spray-On Skin, has been designed for use in a wide range of indications including treatment of chronic wounds and burns, as well as plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. ReCell is on market and generating early and growing revenues.

ReCell® is patented, CE marked for Europe, TGA registered in Australia, and SFDA cleared in China.

ReCell is not available for sale in the United States; in the U.S. ReCell is an investigational device limited by federal law to investigational use. A Phase III FDA trial is in process.

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