YORK, Pa., March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Unilife Corporation (“Unilife” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: UNIS; ASX: UNS) today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Alan Shortall, has made open market purchases of Company shares as CHESS depositary interests (CDIs) on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Mr. Shortall, who is the largest shareholder of Unilife, purchased a total of 632,713 CDIs at an average price of A$0.795(US$0.80) per share, with an approximate value of A$503,000(US$507,000). Each CDI represents an interest in one sixth of a share of the Company’s common stock, and are freely traded on the ASX under the ticker symbol “UNS”.
Mr. Shortall has also advised the Company that he expects to purchase additional shares from time to time during the next several months as Unilife commences the manufacture and supply of its Unifill prefilled syringes to pharmaceutical customers, and seeks to consolidate commercial relationships with a number of interested parties. Such purchases would be made by Mr. Shortall in accordance with Unilife’s internal share trading policy regarding Officers and Directors.
Mr. Shortall stated, “Unilife is now entering a new phase of its business expansion as we finalize preparations to manufacture and commence the supply of our Unifill prefilled syringes to pharmaceutical customers by the end of June 2011. Over the coming months, we will be seeking to formalize agreements with a number of interested parties regarding the Unifill syringe and some of our other exciting pipeline products.
“I am very pleased with the Company’s recent progress, and our ability to continue to deliver upon our key business milestones. However, I do not believe that our current strong business position is adequately reflected in the valuation of Unilife’s shares. Consequently, I have chosen to increase my personal investment in Unilife in an effort to take advantage of this valuation gap. Furthermore, as the opportunity arises, I expect to further accumulate shares in Unilife over the coming months.”
About Unilife Corporation
Unilife Corporation is a U.S.-based medical device company focused on the design, development, manufacture and supply of a proprietary range of retractable syringes. Primary target customers for Unilife products include pharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers of medical equipment to healthcare facilities and patients who self-administer prescription medication. These patent-protected syringes incorporate automatic, operator-controlled needle retraction features which are fully integrated within the barrel, and are designed to protect those at risk of needlestick injuries and unsafe injection practices. Unilife is ISO 13485-certified and has FDA-registered medical device manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Our management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and those described from time to time in other reports which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
General: UNIS-G
Investor Contacts (US): | Investor Contacts (Australia) | ||
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SOURCE Unilife Corporation
