LONGMONT - There are still companies growing in this down economy. Longmont-based MicroPhage Inc. is doubling its space here.

The medical diagnostic company is expanding its lease of office, laboratory and manufacturing space to 11,400 square feet at 2400 Trade Centre Ave. in The Campus at Longmont.

The company intends to hire additional staff over the next year, including manufacturing, research, sales and marketing, and quality control employees, officials said.

"When MicroPhage moved into Longmont in November 2004 the company had only four full-time employees and today we currently have 25 dedicated people," said MicroPhage Chief Operating Officer Alene Campbell in a press release. "Longmont has been a good choice for us to find high quality staff from a growing biotechnology industry."

The expansion includes a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration registered manufacturing facility, which will allow MicroPhage to ramp up production of its platform medical diagnostic products for the rapid and easy-to-use identification of bacteria. The products are expected to debut in the United States by early 2010.

"Creating a high quality manufacturing suite is a huge step forward for the company on our way to commercial product launch. We now have the capability, equipment, flexibility and control to reliably manufacture our products," said Preston Brown, MicroPhage's director of manufacturing.

MicroPhage has raised $11 million in funding from its angel investors.

"We really owe our success to our investors," said Chief Executive Officer Steve Lundy. "In these hard financial times, MicroPhage, like many early-stage companies could have folded because of the lack of capital in the markets. Our investors really believe in our technology, our product, and our vision to make a difference in healthcare by bringing diagnostics closer to patients and their physicians and out of the lab."