NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — GenMark Diagnostics reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its second quarter revenues rose 37 percent year over year.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company reported $6.3 million in revenues, up from $4.6 million for the third quarter of 2013, and above the average analyst estimate of $5.8 million.
Product revenues were $6.2 million in Q3 2014, compared to $4.5 million in Q3 2013, while licensing and other revenues fell to $67,000 from $116,000. The company placed 27 net new XT-8 analyzers in Q3, bringing its total installed base to 502 all in end-user laboratories in the US.
"With an installed base of more than 500 XT-8 analyzers, we are confident in the continued market acceptance and support of our eSensor detection technology," GenMark President and CEO Hany Massarany in a statement. "Based on this and other progress made during the quarter, we remain on track for completing development of our ePlex system by the end of this year.
The ePlex, formerly called NexGen, integrates automated nucleic acid extraction and amplification with the firm's eSensor detection technology. It is designed to enable technicians using the ePlex system to place a raw, or a minimally prepared patient sample, directly into a test cartridge and obtain results without any additional steps.
The ePlex had been originally slated for completion in April. Then the timing was pushed back to the end of the summer, as company officials attributed the delay to the complexity of the system's technology. The firm now anticipates completing development of the ePlex by the end of this year, followed by a launch in Europe shortly thereafter, and a launch in the US targeted for the second half of 2015.
According to GenMark's 10-Q filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm is developing seven assays for the ePlex: gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial identification panels; a respiratory panel; a gastrointestinal panel; an HCV genotyping panel; a central nervous system infection panel; and a fungal infection panel.
GenMark's net loss for the third quarter was $9.6 million, or $0.23 per share, compared to a net loss of $10.8 million, or $.30 per share, a year ago, beating the consensus Wall Street estimate for a loss of $0.32 per share.
GenMark's R&D costs in the quarter increased 46 percent year over year to $ 7.9 million from $5.4 million in Q3 2013. Its SG&A spending dropped 19 percent to $6 million from $7.4 million in the previous year's quarter.
The firm ended the second quarter with $25.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $53.6 million in marketable securities.
Following the Q3 results, GenMark increased its full-year 2014 revenue guidance, which is now "expected to exceed $29 million," from its previous guidance of $28 million.
GenMark's shares climbed 7 percent to $11.00 in early Friday trade on the Nasdaq.