MicroPhage seeks bankruptcy protection

LONGMONT – MicroPhage Inc., a Longmont-based company that makes medical tests that can detect staph infections and determine whether they are resistant to antibiotics, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with debts in excess of $2.3 million.

MicroPhage will attempt to reorganize, according to documents filed Dec. 28 with the Colorado District of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Founded in 2002, MicroPhage develops blood tests that identify bacterial infections. Its first product is the KeyPath MRSA/MSSA blood culture test, which identifies Staphylococcus aureus and whether it is MRSA resistant. MRSA infections do not respond to antibiotics usually prescribed to treat infections and require more advanced treatment. They increasingly are prevalent among hospitalized patients, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In 2011, the company received federal Food and Drug Administration clearance for the device and signed a marketing agreement with Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH), a Dublin, Ohio-based health-care services company and medical device maker. Its first U.S. sales were in 2011, according to MicroPhage’s website.

MicroPhage has from 50 to 99 debtors, and the total of its liabilities are between $1 million and $10 million. It owes $2.3 million to its 20 largest debtors, according to its filing.

Cardinal Health, the company’s largest creditor, is owed $2 million with a secured claim of $1 million. MicroPhage does not expect to be able to repay unsecured creditors after exempt property is excluded and administrative fees are paid, according to its bankruptcy petition.

MicroPhage said it has assets of between $500,001 and $1 million.

MicroPhage president Don Mooney could not be reached for comment Thursday.

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