Sernova Announces $3.5 Million Private Placement

LONDON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 16, 2012) -

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Sernova Corp. ("Sernova" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SVA) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 19,444,444 units of the Company ("Units") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $3.5 million, of which $2.5 million has been secured.

Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Share (a "Warrant Share") for a period of three years, at a price of $0.20 per Warrant Share in the first year and at a price of $0.35 per Warrant Share in the second and third years.

"Securing these funds represents a key milestone for Sernova and a testament to continued strong investor support," stated Dr. Philip Toleikis, President and CEO. "These funds will enable Sernova to initiate the planned clinical study to investigate the safety and efficacy of the Cell Pouch(TM) in diabetic patients receiving islet cell transplantation. This study, which will be initiated in the second quarter of 2012, will represent a significant step towards a new and potentially effective treatment that would improve the quality of life in patients with diabetes."

The Units will be made available by way of private placement exemptions in Canada under National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus and Registration Exemptions.

The Offering is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus one day from the date of completion of the Offering, in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The proceeds from the Offering will be used by Sernova for research and development of its proprietary Cell Pouch System(TM) and in particular to fund the upcoming first in man clinical trial for patients with diabetes receiving an islet transplant. The funds will also be used for general and administrative expenses. This clinical trial will be conducted at the University of Alberta with Dr. James Shapiro as principal investigator. Dr. Shapiro is world renowned for advancing cutting edge technologies in the islet transplantation field and was instrumental in developing the Edmonton Protocol. The study will assess both safety and efficacy of the Cell Pouch System(TM) in up to 20 patients with unstable diabetes. In this study, patients will be implanted with Sernova's Cell Pouch(TM) and then transplanted with islets. Safety and efficacy will be monitored throughout the study.

About Sernova

Sernova Corp. is a Canadian-based, health-sciences company focused on commercializing medical technologies. Sernova is currently developing a platform technology for a number of serious disease indications, starting with a novel treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes, using the novel Cell Pouch System(TM) and its patented Sertolin(TM) cell technology.

Forward Looking Information This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Sernova believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Sernova's management on the date such statements were made. Sernova expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.