MONTREAL - Nexia Biotechnologies Inc. completed a C$10 million (US$6.8 million) private placement of preferred stock. The funding will be used for further development of company's lead product, BioSteel, a man-made spider silk.

The BioSteel family of extreme performance fibers, which are 25 percent lighter than other synthetic, petro leum-based fibers, is based on recombinant spider dragline silk. Spider silk is the strongest substance known to man. These qualities will permit BioSteel, once it is perfected, to be used in applications in which strength and lightness are essential, such as in aerospace and various engineering projects. Nexia is also developing BioSteel as high-performance biomaterials, artificial tendons or ligaments, prostheses, tissue repair, wound healing and super-thin, biodegradable sutures for ocular surgery or neurosurgery.

Jeffrey Turner, president & CEO of Nexia, said the financing was led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and included Nexia's current investment syndicate of MDS Capital Corp., Societe Innovatech du Grand Montreal, Sofinov (a subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec) and Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund of London, Ontario, as well as three new investors: the Royal Bank Ventures Inc. Toronto, and two Asian investor groups lead by the Cheng Xin Venture Capital Corp., a Taiwan-based venture. - Peter Winter