NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Nanosphere today said that revenues for its third quarter rose nearly three-fold on sales of its Verigene Gram-Positive Blood Culture Test.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Northbrook, Ill.-based molecular diagnostics company said that revenues increased to $2.4 million from $865,000 a year ago, missing the average Wall Street expectation of $2.6 million.
The company said that the year-over-year increase was driven by the blood culture test, which was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in June 2012. Nanosphere achieved 45 new customer placements during the third quarter and reaffirmed its full-year 2013 new customer placement guidance of between 150 and 200.
The firm's net loss in the quarter was $9.4 million, or $.16 per share, compared to a net loss of $8.7 million, or $.16 per share, a year ago. Analysts had estimated, on average, a net loss per share of $.15.
Its R&D spending dropped to $3.9 million, down 15 percent from $4.6 million during the second quarter of 2012. SG&A costs rose 39 percent to $6.1 million from $4.4 million as Nanosphere expanded its sales and customer support teams, while clinical trial expenses in support of the company's pipeline rose.
Nanosphere ended the quarter with $49.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. The firm netted $27.7 million from a public offering in September.
"We continue to make progress in delivering value to our customers through our menu of infectious disease tests," Nanosphere President and CEO Michael McGarrity said in a statement. "The proceeds from our underwritten registered direct offering afford us the balance sheet strength to execute on our operating plan and make the necessary investment to continue building a sustainable world-class molecular diagnostics company."
The company reaffirmed its full-year 2013 revenue guidance of between $10 million and $11 million, which had been lowered in the second quarter from an earlier guidance of between $13 million and $15 million.