BiOptix name, ticker-symbol changes become official

BOULDER – In the wake of its acquisition of Boulder-based BiOptix Diagnostics Inc., publicly traded company Venaxis Inc. officially changed its name to Bioptix Inc.

The merged company, Bioptix Inc., also changed its ticker symbol from APPY to BIOP on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Castle Rock-based Venaxis acquired BiOptix Diagnostics in September in an all-stock transaction worth $2.6 million, with Venaxis moving its operations and four full-time employees to BiOptix’s Boulder office at 1775 38th St.

The company’s focus now is BiOptix Diagnostics’ Enhanced Surface Plasmon Resonance device that is used for the detection of molecular interactions. The device is aimed specifically at helping biotechnology researchers understand earlier in the drug discovery process whether their target molecules are effective against the disease targeted.

Venaxis had been developing a rapid blood test of appendicitis, but that test failed to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance, leading the company to seek out other strategic alternatives like an acquisition.

Bioptix Inc. shares were trading at $4.25 on Tuesday morning.

on Facebook on LinkedIn