Verichip shares treble on grant of exclusive patent related to virus detection

Shares of Florida-based medical equipment firm Verichip Corp (CHIP) nearly trebled during intraday trading on Monday after the company announced the granting of an exclusive patent that would be helpful in the detection of various viruses, including H1N1 virus, and other biological threats.

Patent No. 7,504,364 titled “Methods of Making Arrays and Artificial Receptors” and Patent No. 7,469,076 “Sensors Employing Combinatorial Artificial Receptors” have been granted to Verichip and its development partner Receptors LLC. Minnesota-based Receptors LLC is a privately held firm involved in the development and application of artificial receptor products for both research and industry.

The stock price rose 193 percent since opening to $3.87, before shedding some gains. It was trading at $3.18 at 1:45 PM ET.