NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Curetis reported today a 38 percent drop in revenues for the full-year 2016, reflecting the receipt of nonrecurring Unyvero molecular diagnostic system revenues the year before.
For the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2016, Curetis' revenues fell to €1.3 million ($1.4 million) from €2.1 million in 2015. The company noted that its 2015 revenues included €900,000 in nonrecurring Unyvero sales to Asian partners for clinical trials and regulatory clearances, as well as €300,000 in pharma revenues.
The company said, however, that it expects its Unyvero installed base to grow to between 200 and 240 analyzers by the end of 2017, with "significant" growth in sales of system test cartridges. Curetis noted that it had 142 systems installed at the end of 2016 — a 38 percent growth rate over 2015.
Curetis also said that it expects to commercialize the Unyvero system and a lower respiratory tract panel in the US in the second half of the year, following their submission to regulators in January, and to achieve a US installed system base of 25 to 40 six to nine months after launch.
Curetis posted a net loss for the year of €15.2 million, or €.98 per share, compared with a net profit of €13.8 million, or €1.18 per share, in 2015. The company attributed the difference to the finance income of €27.8 million that mainly resulted from the fair value measurement of its preferred and common stock triggered by a corporate reorganization ahead of its late 2015 initial public offering.
Its R&D costs edged up almost 5 percent to €7 million from €6.7 million. Following the completion of development of the Unyvero intra-abdominal infection cartridge, Curetis said that it expects to further expand its menu of test panels with ones for urinary tract infections and sepsis host response already in development. It also said that it is on track to complete development of the multiplex qPCR-based Gyronimo Analyzer — which it acquired from Carpegen and Systec in December — by the end of 2018.
For 2016, Curetis reported a 28 percent increase in SG&A expenses to €9.7 million from €7.6 million a year ago. The company said that, in preparation of the Unyvero rollout, it expects to expand its US team with 20 or more new hires in sales, application specialists, field service, and operations later this year. It also aims to complete the establishment of its Vienna operations, which are focused on using a recently acquired bacterial genomic database to identify antibiotic resistance markers and develop informatics for interpretation and treatment guidance.
Curetis finished 2016 with €22.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, and has access to up to €25 million in nondilutive debt financing under an agreement with the European Investment Bank.