Originally published Oct. 6.
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Genetic Technologies reported that in its first fiscal quarter of 2015 it received close to 950 patient samples for its BREVAGen test for gauging risk of sporadic, non-hereditary breast cancer.
According to the molecular diagnostics shop, the quarter's test volume marks "a slight increase" over the comparable quarter a year ago and was "consistent" with the number of samples the firm received in the third and fourth quarters of FY 2014. According to Genetic Technologies' financial report for the quarter ended June 30, the company received 1,096 patient samples during its fiscal fourth quarter and 3,935 samples in total during for FY 2014.
Genetic Technologies reported a 35 percent decrease in gross revenues year over year in its fiscal 2014 revenues. For the 12 months ended June 30, the Australian molecular testing firm said that gross revenues from continuing operations and other revenues fell to A$5.5 million (US$4.8 million) from A$8.4 million in fiscal 2013.
Australia-based Genetic Technologies attributed BREVAGen's growth rate in the first quarter of FY 2015 to the slow summer months. Additionally, the firm highlighted that many breast cancer centers have been anticipating the launch of the new version of its breast cancer risk test, and as such have held off on ordering the older version. In this regard, the company's US subsidiary Phenogen Sciences also announced this week the market launch of a second-generation breast cancer risk test, dubbed BREVAGenplus.
Genetic Technologies commercially launched the first iteration of BREVAGen in 2011. Compared to that earlier test, BREVAGenplus expands the SNP panel by 10 fold and includes risk-associated markers from the latest published literature.
"The intervening three years," between the launch of the first- and second-generation tests, "have seen rapid progress in both technology and the rate of genetic discoveries, such that the number of SNPs which have now been associated with breast cancer has increased 10-fold," Richard Allman, scientific director of Genetic Technologies, said in a statement. "BREVAGenplus incorporates these latest discoveries to provide an improved polygenic risk test." The company further boasts that the new test provides a 20 percent increase in accuracy over the original version.
BREVAGenplus, which gauges clinical and genetic risk factors, is intended to be used for Caucasian, Hispanic, and African-American women, 35 years or older, who haven't been diagnosed with breast cancer, have normal pathology, but have one or more risk factors for developing the disease. Genetic Technologies is hoping that doctors will use the test to make preventative treatment decisions for women at heightened risk of developing breast cancer in the next five years.