After a 13-month hiatus in which Biocircuits Corp. had little goodnews to report, it is back on track with the filing of a 510 (k)premarket notification for its IOS system which resulted in a privateplacement of $8.7 million that led to relisting on NASDAQ.

A three-part strategy implemented more than a year ago helped leadBiocircuits from a troubled company to one that can see profitabilityahead.

"The take-home message is the company is really beginning to takeoff now _ the funding, the filing and moving on to developing newassays" for its IOS system, said Donald Hawthorne, Biocircuits' chieffinancial officer.

The IOS system incorporates a compact test instrument with apatented disposable cartridge in which the assay is performed. Theinitial 510 (k) filings were for the system and two initial assays _ T4and T Uptake _ for diagnosis of thyroid disorders.

"We knew last March, when we made a change of direction, that wewere going to have a tough 12 to 18 months ahead of us," saidBiocircuits CEO John Kaiser. That strategy involved three parts:keeping the company together; not making predictions publicly, butwaiting until events happened to announce them; and rebuildingconfidence with key investors.

The latter strategy worked as the Sunnyvale, Calif. company's largestshareholders returned. They purchased 17.4 million preferred sharesat 50 cents apiece and got 10.5 million warrants that can be convertedlater at 60 cents each, which could bring in another $6.3 million.Biocircuits' stock (NASDAQ:BIOC) closed Tuesday at $1.13, up 9cents per share.

Biocircuits plans to sell the IOS system for about $6,000, much lessthan others on the market. The company devised a way to movefluids at precise times and volumes into the disposable cartridge,which potentially could provide cheaper and quicker diagnoses.Kaiser said Biocircuits plans to expand the test menus to 15, eight ofwhich would be for particularly important conditions. n

-- Jim Shrine

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