Neocrin Company raises $12.5 million; David Scharp, M.D. named executive vice president.

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 1995--Neocrin Company, a biomedical company developing a bioartificial pancreas for treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes, announced that it has raised $12.5 million in a self-managed private offering.

The company sold approximately 2.5 million shares of Preferred Stock Series C to both existing and new investors.

Neocrin CEO Greg Dane said that participants in the current financing included all major investors from previous rounds as well as several important new investors. Previous investors took approximately half of the offering, and included Aspen Venture Partners, Domain Associates, Sprout Group, Asset Management Associates, New Enterprise Associates, Alliance Technology Ventures, Baxter Healthcare and CytoTherapeutics, Inc. New investors were led by Hancock Venture Partners and included Forrest, Binkley and Brown, Sofinnova, Inc. and GIMV Investment Co. of Flanders, Belgium.

"This broader round of financing positions the company to complete our large animal preclinical studies and move toward filing an IND submission by early 1996," Dane said. "In such a difficult financial environment, this is a tangible demonstration of investor confidence that the company will achieve its objectives."

In conjunction with the financing, Neocrin added Franklin (Pitch) Johnson of Asset Management to its board of directors, which now numbers 10.

Neocrin also announced that David W. Scharp, M.D., has joined Neocrin on a full-time basis as chief scientific officer and executive vice president of research and medical affairs, after having spent a year with the company on a leave of absence from Washington University. Scharp, a world renowned islet transplant surgeon, brings Neocrin 20 years of experience in pancreatic islet cell transplantation for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. While at the university he and Dr. Paul E. Lacy, with whom he has collaborated since 1972, completed numerous successful human islet transplants. Dr. Lacy also serves on Neocrin's internationally recognized scientific advisory board.

"I am pleased and excited to be able to combine my academic and clinical research experience with a company dedicated to providing islet cell therapy for patients with diabetes," Dr. Scharp said. "Now that this combination of research experience, commercial product development capability and business expertise has the required resources to proceed, Neocrin can take its technology to the clinical marketplace and create a major benefit for patients with diabetes. Without question, islet transplantation can be expected to demonstrate a dramatic improvement over conventional insulin therapy in helping prevent long-term complications of the disease."

Dane added, "Speaking for both myself and the board of directors, we are extremely pleased that Dr. Scharp has permanently joined this effort. Diabetes is a costly and devastating disease that should soon yield to advanced medical technology, and Dr. Scharp will play a pivotal role in bringing that technology through its final development and into the clinic."

Neocrin is a leader in the research and development of a bioartificial pancreas, a minimally invasive implantable device, to treat insulin-dependent diabetes.

CONTACT: Neocrin Company, Irvine

Greg Dane, 714/727-1942