Protox Therapeutics Announces Additional CDN $8.3M Investment by Warburg Pincus

SAN DIEGO and VANCOUVER, March 28, 2012 /CNW/ - Protox Therapeutics Inc. ("Protox") (TSX: PR X), a developer of innovative products for the treatment of urological diseases, today announced that Warburg Pincus has agreed to invest an additional CDN $8.3 million in Protox, pursuant to its rights under the terms of the existing Investment Agreement dated September 28, 2010 (the "Investment Agreement").

Dr. Lars Ekman, Executive Chairman and President said, "We are very pleased to receive this continued and meaningful support from Warburg Pincus.  This additional capital will be utilized to drive development of PRX 302, our novel therapy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia."

Under the Investment Agreement, Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, L.P. and Warburg Pincus X Partners L.P. (together "Warburg Pincus") have the right to invest up to CDN $35 million in Protox. The initial CDN $10 million investment closed November 19, 2010 and a second CDN $8.3 million investment closed on December 28, 2011.  Upon closing of this additional investment, Warburg Pincus will have invested a total of CDN $26.7 million in Protox under the current Investment Agreement.  Warburg Pincus has the right to make further additional investments under the terms of the Investment Agreement.

With this specific CDN $8.3 million, Warburg Pincus has agreed to purchase an additional 20,833,333 units of Protox (the "Subsequent Investment"), on the same terms as the initial investment, being at a price of CDN $0.40 per unit, where each unit is comprised of one common share of Protox and 0.6 common share purchase warrants.  Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of Protox at a price of CDN $0.50, exercisable for a period of five years from the date of issue, subject to the acceleration of the expiry date in certain circumstances.

The closing of the Subsequent Investment is expected to occur on March 29, 2012, or such other date as is agreed on by Protox and Warburg Pincus, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.  The Investment Agreement and the transactions contemplated previously received approval from Protox's shareholders on November 16, 2010 and have also been approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange.  Upon the closing of the Subsequent Investment, Warburg Pincus will hold 66,666,666 common shares (approximately 40.7% of the Company's outstanding shares) and 40,000,000 share purchase warrants.

Warburg Pincus advises that the investment in Protox is being made as a strategic investment and that Warburg Pincus may increase or decrease its investment, directly or indirectly, in Protox from time to time, depending on market conditions or any other relevant factors.

About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing.  The firm has more than $30 billion in assets under management. Its active portfolio of more than 125 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography.  Warburg Pincus is a growth investor and an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value.  Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $40 billion in over 650 companies in more than 30 countries.

Since inception, the firm has invested approximately $7.5 billion in healthcare companies, including investments in American Medical Systems (NASDAQ: AMMD), Bausch + Lomb, Coventry Health Care (NYSE: CVH), Euromedic International (acquired by Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity and Ares Life Sciences in 2008), Harbin Pharmaceuticals (SHA: 600664), InterMune (NASDAQ: ITMN), Lepu Medical Technology (SHE: 300003), RegionalCare Hospital Partners, ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services, Rural/Metro Corporation and Tornier (NASDAQ: TRNX).

The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mumbai, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

About Protox
Protox Therapeutics is a developer of innovative products for the treatment of urological diseases. Protox's lead program, PRX302 (PORxin), achieved positive results from its Phase 2b placebo controlled trial called TRIUMPH, to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH or enlarged prostate). Protox has partnered with Kissei Pharmaceuticals for the development and commercialization of PRX302 in Japan. For more information, please visit www.protoxtherapeutics.com.

Certain statements included in this press release may be considered forward-looking. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on Protox' current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Protox and relate to, among other things, closing of the Subsequent Investment, anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory developments, market acceptance and future commitments. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.  Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by Protox in its public securities filings; actual events may differ materially from current expectations. Protox disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Lauren Glaser
Investor Relations
Trout Group
646-378-2972
[email protected]

Michael Moore
Investor Relations
Equicom Group
619-467-7067
[email protected]

James Beesley
Investor Relations
Sequoia Partners
778-389-7715
[email protected]