NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – DermTech reported recently that it recorded $46,000 in revenues for the first six months of the year, up from none a year ago.
The La Jolla, Calif.-based developer of a gene expression-based melanoma test also lowered the targeted amount for its proposed initial public offering to $15 million from $25 million.
In an amended preliminary prospectus filed last week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, DermTech said that the H1 2014 revenues were the first recognized revenues for the firm.
Its net loss for H1 2014 was $2.6 million, or $.33 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.7 million, or $.50 per share, in H1 2013.
Its R&D spending increased 69 percent year over year to $1.5 million from $887,603, while its SG&A costs rose 66 percent to $1.2 million from $724,015.
The firm had $1.6 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30.
DermTech also lowered the proposed maximum aggregate offering price on its planned IPO to $15 million. It has not yet disclosed a price range on the shares or said how many shares it plans to offer.
It filed a preliminary prospectus for the IPO in May, saying it plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market under ticker symbol "DMTK." The underwriters on the offering are the Maxim Group and Feltl & Co.
DermTech's initial products are directed at the diagnostic pathway of pigmented skin lesions. Its first test in this area is the Pigmented Lesion Assay, which is designed to reduce unnecessary surgical biopsy procedures by ruling out false positives. It provides a PLA score, which is derived from a proprietary algorithm that utilizes the gene expression data from the assay.
PLA is slated for a second-half 2014 commercial launch. The company plans to market the test to a group of 250 to 500 dermatologists who treat "a majority of the 750,000 patients with the highest risk of melanoma" in the US, it said in its Form S-1.