Colorado Springs lab firm recovers from near-shutdown to double in size
May 20, 2017 Updated: May 20, 2017 at 2:51 pm
Pyxant Labs Inc. was nearly at the point of shutting down when CEO Maurice Gaubatz instead shifted to a new strategy that has helped the Colorado Springs-based pharmaceutical testing company to double its staff to 50 people in the past year with plans to add 150-250 employees during the next five years.
Three years ago, Gaubatz recapitalized the company by creating a class of stock that would control the company and help him raise more than $1 million to finance Pyxant’s expansion into the clinical toxicology market – testing urine, oral fluids and tissue samples for pharmaceuticals and other drugs. That meant he and other shareholders lost their voting rights and saw the value of their shares slashed. At the same time, Pyxant shut down a division that had tested for pesticides that had struggled for much of the company’s first 14 years.