MEDIA RELEASE
17 December 2008
$1.3 million capital raising for Lincoln University trade-waste bio-sensor oversubscribed
A $1.3 million capital raising to commercialise a bio-sensor developed at Lincoln University subsidiary Lincoln Ventures
Ltd that measures the toxicity of trade-waste has closed oversubscribed and ahead of schedule.
The offer of shares in SciTOX Ltd opened 28 November 2008 and closed 12 December, six weeks ahead of the scheduled
closing date of 23 January 2009 and $300,000 oversubscribed.
The initial offer in the SciTOX Investment Statement was for 689,655 shares at $1.45 per share but SciTOX directors
increased the offer by 206,895 shares to 896,550 shares to meet strong investor demand.
SciTOX Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Wattinger, said "the bio-sensor, which uses micro-organisms to measure the
toxicity of trade-waste, will enable waste-water treatment plants to charge fees for the treatment of effluent according
to the nature and level of pollutants.
"A key feature of the instrument is that it will enable municipalities to more accurately measure the pollutants in
trade waste produced by manufacturers and others," Mr Wattinger said.
"SciTOX is also reliable and simple to control via a touch screen and produces results in 15 minutes which is much
faster than alternative toxicity-testing devices," he said.
Mr Wattinger said "SciTOX's toxicity analysis device will sell for around US$10,000 – one half to a third of the price
of alternative products."
Lincoln Ventures Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Robertson said "the performance of SciTOX has exceeded expectations
with alternatives being too fragile, too expensive or too complicated to use.
"Instead of oxygen, which the bacteria 'breathe', SciTOX uses a synthetic chemical which can be made to generate an
electrical signal. The more bacteria die, the lower the signal. In this way, the instrument measures the effect of a
toxic chemical on bacteria," Mr Robertson said.
"While the instrument will be marketed to waste-water treatment plants initially, the technology also has the potential
to be applied in the dairy, medical, chemical, pharmaceutical, food and drinking-water industries," he said.
Brent Ogilvie, Director of Pacific Channel, the company which brought SciTOX to the market, said "the bio-sensor will be
sold in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the US, Korea and Japan via distributors from 2009."
SciTOX Chairman, Dr Mervyn Jones, said "investors participating in the capital raising included Pacific Channel and its
seed co-investment partner, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund".
Dr Jones, who is based in Sydney, is a former Managing Director of URS Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, a consulting firm offering
construction, design, environmental and planning services. URS Asia Pacific is a wholly-owned subsidiary of URS
Corporation which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
ENDS