Spherix Announces Closing of Private Placement of $1.25 Million, Discusses Use of Proceeds

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ: SPEX) an innovator in biotechnology for therapy in diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis, and providers of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies today announced the closing of previously announced agreements to sell $1.25 million of shares of its common stock together with warrants to purchase additional shares of its common stock in a private placement transaction. Spherix has issued an aggregate of 532,559 shares of common stock at a price of $2.365 per share along with warrants to purchase an additional 532,559 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.24 per share. The warrants are exercisable immediately and expire in five years. The Company is required to file a resale registration statement within 30 days following the closing that covers the resale by the investors of the shares and the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to continue the development of SPX-106T (the combination of D-tagatose and SPX-106), as well as for general corporate purposes.

“We are pleased to have completed this transaction, the proceeds of which will help fund additional studies to investigate SPX-106T as a therapy for high triglycerides and dyslipidemia,” commented Dr. Claire L. Kruger, CEO of Spherix. “In addition, Biospherics has filed applications for U.S. and foreign patents on SPX-106T, and has also filed for a formulation of D-tagatose in combination with metformin. We also will continue with our strategy to diversify the product pipeline to add value to the Company.”

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RODM), acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company. The securities offered and sold in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration, or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

About Spherix

Spherix Incorporated was launched in 1967 as a scientific research company under the name Biospherics Research. The Company now leverages its scientific and technical expertise and experience through its two subsidiaries Biospherics Incorporated and Spherix Consulting, Inc. Biospherics is dedicated to developing and licensing/marketing proprietary therapeutic products for treatment of diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis. Biospherics is actively seeking a pharmaceutical partner to continue the development of its Phase 3 compound for the treatment of diabetes, D-tagatose, while exploring new drugs and combinations for treatment of high triglycerides, a risk factor for atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Spherix’s Consulting subsidiary provides scientific and strategic support for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers of conventional foods, biotechnology-derived foods, medical foods, infant formulas, food ingredients, dietary supplements, food contact substances, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products and industrial chemicals and pesticides. For more information, please visit www.spherix.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Investors are cautioned that such statements in this release, including statements relating to planned clinical study design, regulatory and business strategies, plans and objectives of management and growth opportunities for existing or proposed products, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks that product candidates may fail in the clinic or may not be successfully marketed or manufactured, we may lack financial resources to complete development of D-tagatose, the FDA may interpret the results of studies differently than us, competing products may be more successful, demand for new pharmaceutical products may decrease, the biopharmaceutical industry may experience negative market trends, our continuing efforts to develop D-tagatose may be unsuccessful, our common stock could be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market, and other risks and challenges detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE Spherix Incorporated

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