TORONTO, Oct. 1 /CNW/ - The Jenex Corporation, a medical device company focused on the development and application of products based on its patented thermal therapy technology, today announced that it has arranged new financing that will enable the company to move forward, and has appointed a new chief executive officer and board of directors.
On September 29, 2009, Jon Aikman was appointed president and chief executive officer of Jenex. Mr. Aikman is the president and a director of Somnaform Corporation, a medical device company which has a history of successful development of intellectual property and market entry into domestic and international markets. He was named one of the top 40 innovators in the 2009 Life Sciences & Healthcare Venture Capital Summit. Previously, Mr. Aikman was vice-president and counsel for the international investment bank, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, based in Canary Wharf, United Kingdom. He is a qualified lawyer in Ontario, England, and Wales, and received his MBA from Oxford University. He has received several awards including the Roland Berger Award for Entrepreneurship and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Effective September 15, 2009, the company’s previous directors resigned. As a result, on the same day, the following three individuals have been appointed to serve on Jenex’s board.
Rob Fia has seven years of experience in the investment business encompassing equity research and corporate finance. In his career, Mr. Fia has focused on working with promising young companies, such as Jenex, advising corporate executives on business matters dealing with corporate finance, strategy, expansion, mergers and acquisitions, concept creation, private equity, corporate development, and corporate governance. Currently, he serves as a senior-level investment banker, involved in several multi-million dollar financing and advisory transactions in mining, oil and gas, technology, and healthcare.
John Gamble has been a consultant in various industries over the past 25 years. He currently serves as executive vice-president of COU Capital Inc., a solar investment, engineering and procurement company in Europe; president and chief executive officer of Elgan Investments Inc.; and president and chief executive officer of Elgan Systems Inc., a German-based electrical cabinet manufacturing company. He has been a director of Forterra Environmental Corp. (TSXV: FTE) since 2008.
Peter Shippen, CFA, has an extensive background in the research and analysis of mutual funds, hedge funds, and structured products. Currently he is the president of Ark Fund Management. Prior to founding Ark Funds in August 2007, he was vice-president, Fund Research and Product Due Diligence, at a bank-owned investment dealer.
These directors are all independent to the company and will compose Jenex’s audit committee. Rob Fia has been appointed chairman of the board, and Peter Shippen has been appointed chair of the audit committee.
Jenex is in the process of completing a brokered private placement equity offering consisting of 30,000,000 units at a price of $0.01 per unit for total gross proceeds of $300,000. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half common share purchase warrant of the company. Each full warrant will be exercisable at an exercise price of $0.05 per share for a period of two years from the date of the closing of the offering. All of the securities issued by Jenex pursuant to the private placement will be subject to a four-month hold period under Canadian securities laws.
“The investor group participating in this private placement financing, our new board of directors, and I believe that we have an opportunity to create sustainable value for ourselves and the other shareholders of Jenex. This financing will enable us to deal with the company’s debt situation so that we can move forward with our plans to grow the business,” said Mr. Aikman, the company’s newly appointed president and chief executive officer.
“We believe that Jenex for various reasons has not come close to realizing on the value of its patented thermal therapy technology. While Jenex has made some progress with its initial devices based on this technology, we expect to drive the sales growth of these products and to introduce others while we also work to expand our base of customers. Our goal is to build on Jenex’s core strengths, tightly managing our operations and research and development program, to grow the company into a leader in the medical devices industry.
“Our plan includes the development of new, innovative products and applications of our proprietary technologies, focused marketing, and a revitalized brand to compete in both domestic and international markets. As we move forward in developing and implementing our strategies, we look forward to reporting to our shareholders on our progress,” Mr. Aikman said.
Kingsdale Capital Markets Inc. of Toronto is acting as agent to the company for the private-placement offering. The company will pay Kingsdale a fee equal to 8% of the gross proceeds in cash and the company has granted the agent warrants to acquire units equal to 10% of the number of units sold. These agent warrants will be exercisable at $0.01 per unit for a period of two years following the closing of the offering.
The funds raised from this offering will be used for restructuring costs, settlement payments to former management and certain trade creditors, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Jenex also announced that it will hold a special and annual meeting of shareholders at the offices of Miller Thomson LLP, Suite 5800, Scotia Plaza, 40 King Street West, Toronto, ON, on November 12, 2009, at 4 p.m. (EST). Shareholders will receive and consider Jenex’s financial statements for its fiscal years ended July 31, 2007 and 2008, and be asked to approve resolutions approving the consolidation of Jenex shares on a 3 for 1 basis; changing the name of the company; approving the continuance of the company’s corporate jurisdiction from Alberta to Canada; electing directors; appointing auditors, and to transact such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting.
Specific details of the matters proposed to be put before the meeting will be set forth in the notice of meeting and the information circular that will be sent to the shareholders of Jenex. Each person who is a Jenex shareholder of record at the close of business on the record date of September 28, 2009 will be entitled to notice of, and to attend and vote at, the meeting.
The company’s shares will remain halted on the TSX Venture Exchange pending the completion of the required filings to the exchange regarding the change in management and board of directors.
About The Jenex Corporation
The Jenex Corporation, founded in 1999, is a medical device company that is focused on the research and development of its patented Thermal Therapy technology. The first device developed from this technology is the Therapik(R) product for relief of pain and itch caused by insect stings and bites. Therapik(R) has been approved as a Class II medical device in Canada (TPD) and the United States (FDA), and has received CE approval in Europe. The second device, interceptCS(TM), is the first product clinically proven and approved (TPD) to prevent cold sores. interceptCS is available exclusively in Canada at Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information
Investor and Media Relations, Richard W. Wertheim, Wertheim + Company Inc., Email: wertheim@wertheim.ca, (416) 594-1600, (416) 518-8479 (cell)
