BioCarb Inc. has been sold for an undisclosed amount to HowardKrivan, its former vice president of research and development.The Gaithersburg, Md., company, which had been a subsidiary ofBioCarb AB of Sweden, has been renamed MicroCarb Inc., withKrivan as its president.

MicroCarb, with total assets of $3.3 million, is refocusing itsefforts away from cancer therapeutics and toward diagnosticsbased on its cell adhesion receptor technology.

This technology can determine why and how different bacteriaor viruses attach to carbohydrate receptors on cells, said SamSparks, vice president of administration and finance. "There's adifferent receptor for every (disease) that connects thedisease to the cell," said Sparks. "Our technology can isolateand identify that receptor. By knowing what it is, we can, ineffect, disattach it."

MicroCarb expects to announce within the next 30 days amarketing agreement for a diagnostic for E. coli bacteria,which can cause food-related illnesses. The product hasn't yetbeen reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

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