Sernova Completes First Tranche of Non-Brokered Private Placement

LONDON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 29, 2012) -

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Sernova Corp. ("Sernova" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SVA) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche of the non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") announced on February 12, 2012. The Offering, which was previously announced as being up to 19,444,444 units of the Company ("Units") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $3.5 million, was increased by $130,120 to accommodate oversubscriptions.

In this first tranche of the Offering, the Company has raised gross proceeds of $3,491,120 through the issuance of 19,395,100 Units. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles 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. The Company intends to complete a secondary closing of up to 772,222 Units.

The proceeds from the Offering will be used by Sernova for research and development of its proprietary Cell Pouch System™, and, in particular, to fund the upcoming first in man clinical trial for patients with diabetes receiving an islet transplant, and for general and administrative expenses.

All securities issued in connection with this first tranche of the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four month plus one day from the date of completion of the first tranche of the Offering, expiring June 29, 2012, in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

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™ and its patented Sertolin™ 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.

The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirement of such Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.