Exhibit
99.1
Contact:
Bob Newell
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(650) 331-7133
investors@cardica.com
CARDICA
ANNOUNCES $10 MILLION AT-THE-MARKET
COMMON STOCK FINANCING AGREEMENT
REDWOOD CITY,
Calif . –
December 16, 2010 — Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRDC) today
announced that it has entered into a common stock purchase
agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC, an Illinois limited
liability company, which provides that, subject to certain
conditions, Aspire Capital is committed to purchase up to
$10 million of Cardica’s common stock over the next two
years.
For the
duration of the two-year purchase agreement, Cardica will control
the timing and amount of any sales of its common stock to Aspire
Capital, subject to certain conditions, which include the
effectiveness of a registration statement registering the sale by
Aspire Capital of the shares issued to Aspire Capital under the
agreement. Each time that Cardica elects to sell shares to Aspire
Capital pursuant to the purchase agreement, the pricing of that
sale will be determined pursuant to a formula that is based upon
the actual sale prices of Cardica’s common stock on NASDAQ
over the 12 days preceding the particular sale to Aspire
Capital. Accordingly, Cardica will know at the time that it gives a
notice of sale to Aspire Capital the price per share that Aspire
Capital will be required to pay. Aspire Capital has no right to
require any sales by Cardica, but is obligated to make purchases as
Cardica directs in accordance with the purchase agreement, which
may be terminated by Cardica at any time, without cost or penalty.
The agreement does not restrict other financings by Cardica. A more
detailed description of the transaction with Aspire Capital is set
forth in the Company’s Registration Statement on
Form S-3 (No. 333-171195), filed on December 15,
2010 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We
believe that having access to additional capital opportunistically
will give us the financial flexibility and control to allow us to
complete development and pursue our plans to launch the Cardica
Microcutter ES8, subject to FDA clearance, in the appropriate
manner, while continuing development of other devices within our
planned microcutter product line,” said Bernard A. Hausen,
M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of
Cardica.
The securities
issuable under the common stock purchase agreement with Aspire
Capital have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933
and may not be
