Westaim announces plan to pursue IPO for NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals

CALGARY, Nov. 2 /CNW/ - The Westaim Corporation announced today that it
is planning to pursue an initial public offering of the common shares of its
NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals subsidiary. It is anticipated that all of the shares
will be newly issued shares sold by NUCRYST and that Westaim will not sell any
of its NUCRYST shares. NUCRYST plans to raise capital through the offering
for: construction of new production facilities and purchase of equipment;
clinical trials and other research and development; working capital and other
general corporate purposes; and to repay a portion of its debt owed to
Westaim. Westaim expects that the offering will occur within the next six
months and will be made primarily in the United States. Westaim also expects
that it will continue to maintain a controlling interest in NUCRYST following
the offering.
This press release does not constitute an offer for the sale of
securities.
The Westaim Corporation's technology investments include: NUCRYST
Pharmaceuticals, which develops, manufactures and commercializes medical
products that fight infection and inflammation based on its nanocrystalline
silver technology; and iFire Technology, which has developed a low-cost flat
panel display. Westaim's common shares are listed on NASDAQ under the symbol
WEDX and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol WED.

This press release contains forward looking statements about a possible
securities offering by Westaim's Nucryst subsidiary. The occurrence of the
offering is subject to market conditions and other uncertainties outside of
Nucryst's control.
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