Shares of diagnostic products maker, AspenBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: APPY) were up as much as 71 percent from Monday’s closing price, in morning trading on Tuesday after the company announced that it initiated manufacturing on its AppyScore™ cassette-based test system, and added personnel to handle its clinical, regulatory and commercial planning efforts.

“Aspen has made significant progress advancing the AppyScore cassette-based test and we are excited to put the test in the hands of actual hospital users for feedback as we proceed towards our pivotal clinical trial,” said Steve Lundy, President and Chief Executive Officer in a statement.
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AppyScore™ is a rapid, blood-based test designed to assist doctors in assessing the low risk population of emergency room patients suspected of having acute appendicitis when presenting with abdominal pain.

According to AspenBio’s Web site, up to 18% of patients are misdiagnosed and sent home with appendicitis; 8 – 10% of surgeries remove a normal appendix; women are more difficult to diagnose than men and the negative appendectomy rate is significantly higher in women; an estimated 1 million patients present annually with a low risk for acute appendicitis and are exposed to unnecessary CT scan radiation—a potentially significant health risk.

The Colorado-based company also appointed Michael Wandell, PharmD to lead its human diagnostic products’ clinical and regulatory strategy, and Erik Miller to head the company’s commercial planning efforts, including pre-clinical field testing of the AppyScore system.

Shares of AspenBio Pharma, Inc. are up about 44 percent since October 1.