By Monica Chen

mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM -- Shares for Durham-based Oxygen Biotherapeutics jumped by 23 percent following the announcement of the re-release of the company's wrinkle-reducing skin care product.

Oxygen said it has begun distributing a newly formulated version of over-the-counter Dermacyte Oxygen Concentrate, a perfluorocarbon concentrate that enhances oxygen delivery to the skin and is designed to decrease fine lines and wrinkles.

The new formulation has improvements on the touch and feel of the product. The trial batch for Dermacyte, with just a couple thousand units, had sold out.

"From the reaction of consumers, we finalized the formulation and what's out now is a significantly improved formulation," said CEO Chris Stern. "It's much more consumer friendly."

Following the announcement, company stock jumped by $1.07 to close at $5.71 Monday.

The company also filed for a "shelf registration" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday to issue up to $75 million in stocks.

The shelf filing allows the company to "place shares on a shelf" so they can go to market more quickly whenever the company decides to raise capital. Oxygen can make any number of stocks available at any time, up to the maximum monetary value of $75 million.

Stern said the market's reaction to Dermacyte and the shelf filing was a positive.

"Our stock went up significantly. The market perceives this as a clear symbol of the financial strength of the company," he said.

Oxygen was already a publicly traded company when it moved to the NASDAQ in January and so the jump did not have to do an initial public offering.

The company was founded in 1990 and focuses on oxygen therapy products. Its main product candidate, Oxycyte, is a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury, sickle cell pain, trauma, wound care, among others.

The company has hired clinical workers as well as a director of marketing and communications recently, and has grown from eight employees this time last year to 21 employees.