Exton, Pa.-based Fibrocell Science Inc. closed a registered direct offering for gross proceeds of about $3.9 million.

The company offered 1,474,080 common shares at $2.69 per share.

In addition, the biotechnology company issued unregistered warrants to buy 958,152 common shares, or about 65% of the common shares bought in the direct offering, in a concurrent private placement.

Each warrant was sold for 12.5 cents per underlying warrant share, for gross proceeds of about $100,000. The warrants can be exercised for $2.70 per share for five and one-half years from the date of issuance.

Net proceeds are expected to be about $3.5 million. Fibrocell plans to use proceeds for clinical and preclinical development of its skin disease drugs, FCX-007 and FCX-013, and for general corporate purposes.

H.C. Wainwright & Co. was the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

Fibrocell is a gene therapy company developing therapies for skin and connective tissue diseases.