NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Molecular diagnostics firm AutoGenomics has refiled for an initial public offering, less than one year after it pulled earlier plans to go public.
The Vista, Calif.-based firm filed a Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, saying it intends to offer a maximum aggregate of $60 million of its shares. It has not priced its stock or said how many shares it intends to offer. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Market under ticker symbol "AGMX."
Stifel, Canaccord Genuity, and Cantor Fitzgerald are listed in the SEC document as the planned offering's underwriters.
AutoGenomics said that net proceeds from the offering would go toward capital expenditures related to the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities and sales and marketing efforts. They also will be used to fund the company's efforts to gain 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for a molecular diagnostics platform launched earlier this year and seven test panels — CYP450-2B6 QUAD; CYP450-3A4; CYP450-3A5; CYP450-3A4/3A5; CYP450-3A4/3A5 duplex; bacterial vaginosis; and CT-NG QUAD.
Additionally, net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, and to pay off debt, AutoGenomics said. As of June 30, the total amount it owed under promissory notes was about $20.8 million. The notes, which have a weighted average fixed annual interest rate of 8.6 percent, mature in December 2014, June 2015, and November 2015.
As of June 30, 2014, AutoGenomics had $404,000 in cash and cash equivalents and total assets of $12.8 million, it said in its Form S-1.
The proposed IPO is the third try by AutoGenomics at an IPO. In 2008, it filed to go public with intentions to raise as much as $86.3 million but withdrew those plans in 2011.
The following year, it filed again to go public with plans to raise $65 million, only to pull that IPO in November 2013.
AutoGenomics was incorporated in 1999 as Neuron Technologies and changed its name the following year. Its technology platform consists of a family of multiplexing analyzers under the Infiniti name, a menu of genetic test panels, proprietary microarrays, reagent modules, and other related consumables.
The Infiniti analyzers automate several "discrete processes of genetic analysis with minimal manual intervention," reducing the need for multiple, specialized instruments, AutoGenomics said in its Form S-1. The Infiniti and Infiniti Plus are cleared by the FDA for marketing in the US and are CE marked for marketing in countries that honor that designation. The Infiniti High Throughput System was launched this past February, and the company is currently in clinical trials to collect data in support of a 510(k) submission to the FDA.
AutoGenomics' genetic tests are focused on the personalized medicine, women's health, infectious disease, and genetic disorder markets.
Late last year, it began operations as a CLIA-certified laboratory in anticipation of the launch of its Infiniti HTS instrument. Since then, the company has focused its sales and marketing on clinical reference labs, specialty clinics, and hospital labs with high-volume genetic testing opportunities in personalized medicine and women's health, it said.
Through the first six months of 2014, AutoGenomics recorded $11.2 million in revenues, up from $10.5 million in the year-ago period. Its net loss in H1 2014 narrowed to $2.0 million from $5.6 million in H1 2013.
In 2013, it posted $18.1 million in revenues and a net loss of $7.1 million.