NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Accelr8 Technology, which is currently in the midst of a turnaround effort, is relocating to Tucson, Ariz., the company announced on Thursday.
Currently based in Denver, the company said it plans to create 65 positions during the next three years and has the potential to grow to 200 to 300 employees in subsequent years. The company currently has about five employees.
Accelr8 will occupy a 15,000-square-foot facility at the Herbert K. Abrams Public Health Center, and after building out a wet laboratory space, it expects to be operational by early 2013, it said.
"Accelr8 is developing a revolutionary product in the diagnostics area and we were impressed with the region's emerging bioscience strength, innovation, and support that can help ensure our future success," Accelr8 President and CEO Lawrence Mehren said in a statement.
In June the firm reported that its fiscal third-quarter revenues dropped 18-fold year over year. Accelr8 is developing the BACcel culture-free diagnostic system for same-shift identification and antibiotic resistance testing of bacterial and fungal pathogens.
The company recently completed a transaction that brought in a $35 million investment. In connection with the deal, Mehren replaced Tom Geimer as its chief executive. Mehren most recently served as head of global business and chief operating officer of Roche Tissue Diagnostics.
In Friday morning trading shares of Accelr8 were up 3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange at $3.00.