NEW YORK, Feb. 3 (GenomeWeb News) - Shares in Accelr8 were up 7.95 percent, or $.21, at $2.85 in late-afternoon trading after the company said it won a US patent for its OptiChem surface chemistry.
The stock shot up to $3.35 in early-morning trade before settling down to $2.85 in unusually heavy volume.
The patent, No. 6,844,028, covers a new coating that "makes it possible to selectively capture, target and analyze individual bacteria. ... "
OptiChem is a component of Accelr8 's new BACcelr8r diagnostic system that, "when fully developed, has the potential to replace bacterial culturing by producing test results in a matter of hours," the company said. Results from traditional culturing "typically require several days," Accelr8 said.
Accelr8 currently sells OptiChem-coated slides for research applications, and is developing custom coating formulations for industrial clients.