NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Biocept reported today that its second quarter revenues increased more than seven times over year over year due to a jump in commercial test volume.
For the three months ended June 30, the San Diego-based liquid biopsy firm's total revenues rose to $662,860 from $76,768 in the prior year period. This included $596,000 in commercial assay revenues and $66,000 in development services test revenues.
"Key operational accomplishments in the second quarter of 2016 included an expanded menu of available tests and increased physician adoption and ordering of markers, resulting in a greater billable amount per sample and improved economies of scale, lowering costs per sample," CEO Michael Nall said in a statement.
On a conference call following the release of results, Biocept officials noted that the second quarter results were boosted by tests received in the first quarter but not recognized, due to a seven-week pause in billing during Q1 2016.
"We collected on many cases placed on hold during the first quarter billing hiatus," Nall said. Still, he noted that revenue cycle management was not yet optimized and he expected revenues to "continue to vary relative to the trend in accession growth."
"We've also made progress on our initiatives to distribute our test in international markets," he said, noting that the firm signed a reference test agreement with Quest Diagnostics for its blood-based EGFR mutation test, making it available in Mexico.
Biocept also reported that it has received a US patent on a staining technique used in its circulating tumor cell platform, shoring up its intellectual property protections.
Biocept said it tested 1,136 billable samples during the second quarter of 2016, up from 386 billable cases in Q2 of 2015. Of the billable samples, 981 were commercial and 155 were device services samples.
Biocept's net loss widened to $4.6 million, or $.20 per share, compared to $4.0 million, or $.22 per share a year ago. The firm reported an increase in weighted-average shares outstanding of 5.1 million.
The firm's R&D spending dropped 4 percent to $716,279 from $744,242 a year ago, while its SG&A spending for the quarter increased 28 percent to $2.8 million, up from $2.2 million in 2015. The increase in SG&A spending was attributed to "expanded commercial activities" and higher legal costs related to patent prosecution, the firm said in a statement.
The firm ended the quarter with $3.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.