Further Capital to Assist with Increasing Capabilities, Capacity, and Efficiency
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, OTCQX: MBXBF, Microbix®), a life sciences innovator, manufacturer, and exporter, announces that it has received C$ 2.4 million in new equity capital from the partial exercise of expiring share purchase warrants.
The warrants were issued in connection with a private placement undertaken in January, 2020, and had an exercise price of C$ 0.36 and a five-year term (the “2020 Warrants”). Originally, 12,321,000 of the 2020 Warrants were issued and 8,881,564 of the 2020 Warrants remained unexercised at September 30, 2024. A total of 6,703,314 of those remaining 2020 Warrants have now been exercised, representing 75.5% of the remaining warrants and providing C$ 2.4 million of additional equity capital to Microbix.
Microbix intends to use this additional capital to broaden its product development capabilities, to expand its manufacturing capacity, and to make more improvements to the efficiency of its operations. A portion of the proceeds may also be used to reduce debt or, when judged to be appropriate, to fund additional share repurchases under Microbix’s previously-disclosed Normal-Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”).
A total of 1,450,000 of the remaining 2020 Warrants were exercised by Insiders. After addition of all new shares resulting from 2020 Warrant exercises, Microbix has 142,326,164 common shares outstanding. There are no further Microbix warrants outstanding following the expiry of this series. Microbix’s cash and equivalents balance stands at over C$ 15 million after the exercise of these last 2020 Warrants.
Cameron Groome, CEO and President of Microbix, stated, “We greatly appreciate the confidence that our shareholders are demonstrating by exercising their expiring warrants to purchase common shares. We will appropriately deploy the additional equity capital that they are committing. Such new equity capital will be used to create further value for our shareholders by helping enable Microbix to realize still greater sales, achieve better gross margins, and attain higher net earnings.”
Jim Currie, CFO of Microbix, also commented, “With these warrant exercises, Microbix now has a current ratio of over 7.0 times and a debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 0.30. This financial strength helps demonstrate to current and prospective customers that we are a reliable long-term partner and should thereby accelerate the growth of our business. Among other matters, our available funds and ongoing positive cash flow are being used to add new product development capabilities, manufacturing capacity and sophistication, and to implement optimal use of our eQMS and ERP systems.”
About Microbix Biosystems Microbix Biosystems Inc. creates proprietary biological products for human health, with over 120 skilled employees and sales now targeting C$ 2.0 million or more per month. It makes and exports a wide range of critical ingredients and devices for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPs™) that support clinical lab proficiency testing, enable assay development and validation, or help ensure the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Its antigens drive the antibody tests of approximately 100 diagnostics makers, while QAPs are sold to clinical lab accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies, and clinical labs. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, supported by a network of international distributors. Microbix is ISO 9001 & 13485 accredited, U.S. FDA registered, Australian TGA registered, Health Canada establishment licensed, and provides IVDR-compliant CE marked products.
Microbix also applies its biological expertise and infrastructure to develop other proprietary products and technologies, most notably Kinlytic® urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots, and reagents or media to support molecular diagnostic testing (e.g., its DxTM™ for patient-sample collection). Microbix is traded on the TSX and OTCQX, and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Forward-Looking Information This news release includes “forward-looking information,” as such term is defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, discussion of the warrant exercises and their relevance, Microbix’s business and business results, goals or outlook, risks associated with financial results and stability, development projects such as those referenced in its corporate presentation, regulatory compliance and approvals, access to and sales to foreign jurisdictions, engineering and construction, production (including control over costs, quality, quantity and timeliness of delivery), foreign currency and exchange rates, maintaining adequate working capital and raising further capital on acceptable terms or at all, and other similar statements concerning anticipated future events, conditions or results that are not historical facts. These statements reflect management’s current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Accordingly, actual future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and represent the Company’s judgement as of the date of this new release, and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking information.
Please visit www.microbix.com or www.sedar.com for recent Microbix news and filings.
For further information, please contact Microbix at:
Cameron Groome, CEO (905) 361-8910
Jim Currie, CFO (905) 361-8910
Deborah Honig, Investor Relations Adelaide Capital Markets (647) 203-8793 ir@microbix.com
