NEW YORK – DermTech reported a 62 percent increase in first quarter revenues after the close of the market on Thursday.
For the three months ended March 31, the La Jolla, California-based firm reported $2.5 million in revenues, up from $1.6 million in Q1 2020.
Its assay revenue was $2.2 million, nearly triple the $796,000 it earned from tests in the same period of last year, primarily due to a higher billable sample volume and better cash collections that led to an improved average selling price.
DermTech said it processed approximately 9,400 billable samples in Q1, a 62 percent increase compared to approximately 5,800 samples recorded for the first quarter of 2020.
Q1 contract revenue, meanwhile, was $334,000, down 56 percent from $761,000 in the same period of 2020.
"Q1 was a very busy quarter for DermTech with the closing of our follow-on public offering, the addition of noninvasive genomic patch testing, like the [Pigment Lesion Assay], to the NCCN guidelines, and the effectiveness of our new contracts with major Blues plans in California, Texas, and Illinois, which fueled strong assay revenue growth even during the height of the pandemic," CEO John Dobak said in a statement.
"Data from the Optum economic study further confirms the cost saving potential of our technology, and we are optimistic that it will help in our efforts with commercial payers," he added. "Access to physician offices continues to be challenging but we are starting to see some improvements, and we believe the recent launch of our PLAplus will help drive adoption."
DermTech's net loss for Q1 was $15.1 million, or $.55 per share, compared to a net loss of $6.9 million, or $.53 per share, for the same period of 2020.
R&D expenses were $2.3 million, an increase of 151 percent compared to $897,000 for the same period of 2020. This was primarily due to higher compensation costs for expanding its research and development team, increased clinical trial costs, and increased spending on laboratory supplies to support new product development.
SG&A expenses for the quarter were $11.7 million, almost twice the $6.5 million in Q1 2020, reflecting higher compensation costs related to the expansion of the company's workforce.
As of March 31, DermTech had $218.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and $39.6 million in short-term marketable securities.
For the second quarter, DermTech management estimates assay revenues between $2.4 million and $2.8 million. The company said it is not providing financial guidance for 2021 at this time but expects to do so when it announces its second quarter earnings.
In Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq, DermTech shares were up 13 percent at $33.05.