Grant Life Sciences, a publicly traded company focused on finding new means of detecting and diagnosing cervical cancer, recently relocated its administrative offices to Raleigh from Utah.

The firm has at least two North Carolina connections — its CFO once worked for Hardee’s and its chief medical officer is a Duke graduate.

A spokesman for the company, which trades over the counter under the symbol GLIF, said the move was due in part to the need to meet financial reporting requirements.

Grant Life Sciences recently named John Wilson, who lives in Raleigh, as its chief financial officer. Wilson is a former CFO of Hardee’s Food Systems. He also has worked for Credit Suisse First Boston, Perrier USA and Bell Canada International.

The company, which announced on Monday that one of its applications is “patentable”, is led by veteran entrepreneur and financier Stan Yakatan. He serves as chairman and chief executive officer.

Yakatan has worked with more than 15 startups, starting companies in the United States, Canada, Israel, France and Germany. He has been involved in raising more than $1 billion in capital.

Grant Life Sciences also recently named a Duke University medical school graduate, David Bolick, as its chief medical officer. Bolick also completed his residency at Duke. Bolick was founder, medical director and senior pathologist at Reference Pathology Services in Sandy, UT.

The process that the company has learned is patentable from the US Patent Office is part of a portfolio of technology Grant Life Sciences has licensed.

“We now believe that this official communication from the International Preliminary Examination Authority paves the way for us to develop additional valid and enforceable rights in the area of peptides for detecting and/or diagnosing cervical and other HPV (human papillomaviruses)-related cancers,” Yakatan said in a statement.

Grant Life Sciences is developing a test that uses blood and other body fluids and is the “only blood based product under development for cervical cancer screening”.

Cervical cancer kills more than 300,000 women a year, the company said.

Bolick said he believes Grant Life Sciences is developing a “potential blockbuster test — a non-invasive test for cervical cancer that is more accurate than traditional Pap testing.”

Grant Life Sciences’ operational office remains in Salt Lake City, the spokesman said.

Grant Life Sciences: www.grantlifesciences.com