Pelikan Technologies Closes $69 Million Series F Financing and Secures a Further $20 Million in Debt Financing

One of the Largest Medical Device Company Financings of 2007 will Fund

Launch of Next Generation Glucose Monitoring Products

    PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Pelikan Technologies, Inc., a
 leading developer of innovative hand-held medical diagnostic and monitoring
 devices, today announced the closing of a $69,000,000 Series F Preferred
 Stock equity financing led by Clarus Ventures LLC. Also participating in
 the financing are new as well as current Pelikan investors, including HBM
 BioVentures Ltd, Global Life Science Ventures, Mannheim Holdings LLC and
 Bio*One Capital. Dennis Henner, Ph.D., a managing director at Clarus
 Ventures, has joined Pelikan's Board of Directors in connection with this
 financing. UBS Investment Bank acted as sole placement agent for Pelikan
 for this private placement. In addition to the Equity Financing the Company
 has received pre approval for a $20,000,000 venture loan facility from
 General Electric Capital Corporation and Oxford Finance Corporation. The
 total financing including this venture loan facility is $89,000,000.
 
     Pelikan intends to use a portion of the proceeds from this financing to
 support the company's near-term commercialization of the FDA-approved
 Pelikan Sun(TM) electronic lancing device. After a successful launch of the
 Pelikan Sun in Australia in October, and in Europe in November, the company
 will launch the device in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2008. In
 addition, the company will use the proceeds to complete development of its
 next-generation, fully-integrated blood glucose system and support that
 product's anticipated 2008 launch, as well as to fund research and
 development for future Pelikan products.
 
     "The closing of this financing will allow us to achieve critical
 development and commercial launch milestones for our products," said
 Pelikan's President and CEO, Dirk Boecker, M.D., Ph.D. "The next 12 to 18
 month period promises to be a very exciting time for Pelikan as we drive
 global sales growth of our Pelikan Sun lancing device and start marketing
 of the world's first next-generation, fully-integrated blood glucose
 monitoring system."
 
     Pelikan's products are designed to significantly improve the quality of
 life for individuals with diabetes by providing a Finger Friendly(TM) blood
 sampling unit and the first fully-integrated glucose measurement system.
 These innovative products promise to revolutionize blood glucose monitoring
 from today's cumbersome, painful, multi-step process to an automated,
 one-step process that dramatically improves ease-of-use while providing
 finger-friendly testing and measurement.
 
     "We are excited to be affiliated with Pelikan Technologies," stated Dr.
 Dennis Henner of Clarus Ventures. "Pelikan combines a state-of-the-art
 scientific approach to product innovation with a deep understanding of and
 compassion for the patients whom its products are intended to benefit. We
 believe that this unique combination provides the ideal foundation for the
 development and commercialization of truly revolutionary products."
 
     About Pelikan's Products
 
     By addressing the pain and inconvenience associated with current
 product options, Pelikan aims to develop products that eliminate the major
 obstacles to consistent glucose monitoring and vigorous diabetes
 management. The company's current product is the Pelikan Sun(TM) lancing
 device. In the future the company will add advanced versions of the Pelikan
 Sun as well as highly sophisticated, next-generation integrated glucose
 monitors.
 
     The Pelikan Sun(TM) lancing device is designed to address the pain and
 convenience issues associated with lancing while offering novel solutions
 to the limitations of today's lancing devices. Lancing, an often painful
 act of piercing the skin in order to obtain a sample of blood for glucose
 measurement, is required multiple times each day for millions of people
 with diabetes. Based on Pelikan's "one-step, one-button" approach, this
 lancing device is the first fully-automated, electronically-controlled,
 self-contained system that allows a patient to execute the entire lancing
 process at the touch of a button. The key innovation of the Pelikan Sun
 device is Smart Lancing, which utilizes extremely precise technology
 controlled by an intelligent electronic drive mechanism. Working together,
 these components accurately and precisely drive the lancet at an
 individually controlled speed to the exact intended depth while minimizing
 trauma and significantly improving wound healing. Since the product offers
 30 accurate depth settings, people of all ages and skin types can reliably
 find the depth that is right for them. As a result of the system's strict
 control over every aspect of the lance, blood acquisition is highly
 successful, pain is nearly eliminated, the healing of the wound channel is
 considerably improved, callus generation reduced, and most importantly
 finger sensitivity is retained. The Pelikan Sun lancing device also offers
 safety and convenience by integrating 50 sterile lancets into one small
 disposable disk, eliminating the need to handle, load, and unload exposed
 lancets.
 
     Pelikan's next product generation will combine the blood sampling
 benefits of the Pelikan Sun lancing system with superior glucose
 measurement capabilities in one convenient device. This system is expected
 to alter the paradigm of diabetes care by being the world's first
 fully-integrated, one- step lancing and glucose monitoring system,
 providing unparalleled freedom and flexibility for people with diabetes to
 better manage their health.
 
     About Blood Glucose Monitoring
 
     The global blood glucose self-monitoring market is estimated at $7.4
 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 6% to 8%. The American Diabetes
 Association (ADA) recommends that people with diabetes and on insulin-based
 therapy test their blood glucose at least four times per day.
 
     Clinical studies have proven that regular monitoring of blood glucose
 levels leads to better disease control and better long-term disease
 management. Diabetes experts support this evidence by acknowledging that
 people with diabetes who are aware of their changing glucose levels can
 adjust their treatment programs accordingly and prevent the high blood
 glucose concentrations that contribute to both short and long-term medical
 problems.
 
     About Pelikan Technologies
 
     Pelikan Technologies, Inc. combines novel and proprietary blood
 sampling and measurement techniques with state-of-the-art miniaturization
 and automation technologies to develop superior hand-held medical
 diagnostic and monitoring devices. In addition to Pelikan's initial focus
 on diabetes and blood glucose monitoring, the company's proprietary
 technology platform, supported by an extensive intellectual property
 portfolio, may be leveraged to develop state-of-the-art products for a
 variety of other medical conditions that involve blood screening and
 monitoring. Point-of-care testing and diagnostic panel test systems may
 eventually benefit from this novel technology.
 
     For more information on Pelikan Technologies and the company's
 innovative products, please visit http://www.pelikantechnologies.com.
 
 
 

SOURCE Pelikan Technologies, Inc.