NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – GenMark Diagnostics reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its second quarter revenues rose 64 percent, driven by strength in sales of its XT-8 eSensor molecular diagnostics system and its infectious disease menu.
For the three months ended June 30, the molecular diagnostics firm reported revenues of $12.5 million, up from $7.6 million a year ago, and beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $9.6 million.
The GenMark eSensor XT-8 system, which supports a range of molecular diagnostic tests, continues to deliver strong results, Hany Massarany, president and CEO of GenMark, said in a statement. "Our second quarter revenues were once again mainly driven by our infectious disease menu and reflected the unusually late 2015/16 flu season," he said.
In June, the firm garnered CE IVD marking for its ePlex instrument system and ePlex respiratory pathogen (RP) panel. The ePlex molecular diagnostics system integrates sample preparation with the firm's eSensor technology to enable the detection of multiple molecular targets on a single test cartridge.
The ePlex RP Panel detects 20 viral and three bacterial targets in nasopharyngeal specimens with less than two minutes of hands-on time. GenMark said it is the first of many similar cartridges expected to be made available for the ePlex system.
"We mentioned when we announced the achievement of the CE mark that we had 20 customer agreements in place for ePlex," Massarany said during an analyst call to discuss the company's earnings. "We've installed systems in 12 separate sites, and we are continuing to add to the prospects in Europe as well as sign additional agreements."
The firm said it has also installed systems at US sites where the firm will initiate clinical trials for its ePlex respiratory pathogen panel this quarter. The company added that it expects to submit its ePlex instrument and respiratory pathogen panel for US Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance during the fourth quarter.
GenMark Diagnostics' net loss widened to $12.9 million, or $.30 per share, from almost $12.2 million, or $.29 per share, a year ago, and beat analysts' average estimate for a loss per share of $.33.
Its R&D costs rose 48 percent to $13.2 million from $8.9 million in Q2 2015, and its SG&A costs fell 3 percent to $7.2 million from $7.4 million.
GenMark ended the quarter with $37.5 million in cash and cash equivalents.
For 2016, the company maintained its revenue guidance and expects between $47 million and $51 million for the year. Analysts expect revenues of $47.7 million for the year.
GenMark Diagnostics' shares rose more than 1 percent to $10.26 in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.