NEW YORK — Curetis reported on Thursday a nearly 17 percent increase in preliminary revenues for the first nine months of 2019 based on increasing demand for its Unyvero molecular diagnostics system and test cartridges, as well as bioinformatics services from its Ares Genetics subsidiary.
The German diagnostics firm's release of the preliminary financial results comes ahead of its acquisition by OpGen, which is slated to close in the first quarter of next year. It expects to release full results for the third quarter and first nine-months of the year, but did not provide a timeframe.
For the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, Curetis said it expects revenues to grow to €1.4 million ($1.5 million) from €1.2 million in the same period the year before. Commercial order volume committed and received by Curetis and Ares year-to-date, meanwhile, more than tripled to €3.4 million from €1.1 million.
Curetis said that the total installed base of Unyvero systems at the end of the third quarter fell to 165 from 166 the year before, but six systems are slated for shipping to international distributors by year end. Additionally, the company said it anticipates further increasing the installed base of systems in the US, which was 15 at the end of Q3, over the remainder of 2019.
Curetis also noted that Ares in September entered into an alliance with an undisclosed diagnostics company to develop next-generation sequencing-based infectious disease testing products, and launched an early-access program for an advanced version of its ARESupa NGS-based molecular antibiotic susceptibility test.
At the end of the third quarter, Curetis had cash and cash equivalents totaling €3.1 million, and noted it will have access to at least $4 million in interim funding under the terms of its merger with Gaithersburg, Maryland-based OpGen.
Ahead of the merger, Curetis said it will continue development of its Unyvero A30 RQ mid-plex system and expects to enter initial partnering deals for the system in 2020. While Curetis has been working on a Unyvero cartridge for invasive joint infections for the US market, a planned prospective arm for an ongoing clinical study will now depend on securing a development and commercialization partner or raising additional capital, the company said.