Regentis Biomaterials Announces $10 Million Raised in Latest Round of Funding

OR AKIVA, Israel and PRINCETON, New Jersey, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Regentis Biomaterials Ltd., a privately held company focused on developing proprietary hydrogels for tissue regeneration, announced that it has raised $10 million in its latest round of funding from new investors Royal DSM through its venturing subsidiary and from Crossroad Fund, as well as from existing investors Medica Venture Partners, SCPVitalife and the Technion Investment Opportunities Fund.

The Series C round of financing will be used to establish Regentis's European presence and expand its ongoing clinical efforts of GelrinC.  The biodegradable implant enhances growth of articular cartilage in damaged knee joints. It is currently an investigational device, and not available for sale in the U.S., Europe and Israel.

"We are thrilled with our new and existing investors' commitment to make GelrinC available to patients suffering from knee cartilage injuries," said Regentis Biomaterials CEO and President Dr. Alastair Clemow. "With this new investment, Regentis is poised to expand its clinical efforts and further demonstrate how GelrinC can regenerate cartilage so patients can return to an active lifestyle."

The product allows knee cartilage to regenerate so that it is of high quality and fits tightly with surrounding cartilage and underlying bone.  It closely restores cartilage to the condition it was in prior to injury.  While there are cartilage repair techniques that relieve pain and restore the knee's functionality, the regenerated cartilage resulting from these procedures is different in nature from the native cartilage and is often followed by subsequent surgical procedure.

Regentis Biomaterials is currently conducting a multi-center pilot study in Europe and Israel to evaluate the safety and performance of GelrinC.  Prior pre-clinical studies have successfully demonstrated its ability to regrow cartilage.

The company will be participating at the upcoming International Cartilage and Repair Society (ICRS) with a hands-on GelrinC demonstration in Booth # 16. ICRS will be held May 12-15, 2012 in Montreal, Canada.

About Regentis Biomaterials
With offices in Or Akiva, Israel and Princeton, NJ, Regentis Biomaterials is a privately held company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary hydrogels for tissue regeneration.  The company's core technology is a biodegradable hydrogel called Gelrin™.  It is based on polyethylene glycol diacrylate and denatured fibrinogen originally developed at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology by Dr. Dror Seliktar. The Gelrin hydrogel platform combines the stability and versatility of a synthetic material with the bio-functionality of a natural substance for a range of clinical applications and has undergone extensive preclinical and safety testing over the last few years.  The company's flagship product, GelrinC™, designed for the treatment of articular cartilage lesions, is currently in clinical trials.
DSM - Bright Science. Brighter Living.™ Royal DSM N.V. is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. By connecting its unique competences in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials. DSM's 22,000 employees deliver annual net sales of about € 9 billion. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext. More information can be found at http://www.dsm.com. About Crossroad Fund Crossroad is a foreign venture capital/private equity fund, in which the Italian insurance group Generali is investing, focusing on the Israeli high-tech industry. Crossroad is represented by Bit Enterprises Ltd.

About Medica Venture Partners Medica Venture Partners is a globally operating healthcare and life sciences venture capital fund investing in Israel, Europe and the United States. Medica provides equity financing, management assistance and expertise to early-stage start-ups and seed-stage companies in all areas of healthcare and life science technologies. For more information, visit http://www.medicavp.com.

About SCPVitalife SCPVitalife is a venture capital firm that focuses on life science investments in the U.S. and Israel. The firm invests in companies with breakthrough products that meet a current medical need and have strong intellectual property. For more information, visit http://www.scpvitalife.com

Technion Investment Opportunities Fund The Technion Investment Opportunities Fund (TIOF) is the investment fund of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. TIOF offers a unique gateway to the Technion's cutting edge scientific and technological information and capabilities. The fund invests in coordination with other investors and aims to preserve the equity stake in Technion related companies. For more information, visit http://www.trdf.co.il.

Contact
For more information, please contact
Alastair Clemow, Ph.D.  President & CEO
Tel: +972-4-6265502
Fax: +972-4-6265504
[email protected]

For media inquiries, please contact:
Josh Turner
Tel: +972-54-949-6526
[email protected]

SOURCE Regentis Biomaterials Ltd.