NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Molecular diagnostics firm Rosetta Genomics today reported a sharp increase in first quarter revenues on strong sales of its urologic cancer testing services, which were acquired through the company's purchase of PersonalizeDx last April.
Revenues in the quarter jumped to $2.6 million from $321,000 in the same period last year, with urologic cancer testing services contributing $1.4 million to the total. Solid tumor testing services generated $1.2 million in Q1, a 272 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.
"We are especially pleased to report record quarterly clinical testing revenues as it demonstrates the progress we have made in expanding our molecular diagnostics test menu, selling our clinical testing products, and improving collections," Rosetta President and CEO Kenneth Berlin said in a statement. "Throughout the first quarter we completed the revamping of our sales force and invested in our billing and collections department. The results are reflected in our growing revenue and expanding customer base, as well as in improved collections."
Rosetta's net loss in the first quarter climbed to $4 million, or $.20 a share, from $3.9 million, or $.30 a share, the year before. Its non-GAAP net loss was $.18 per share.
The firm's R&D spending rose to $842,000 from $748,000, while SG&A costs increased to $4.2 million from $3.0 million as a result of the company's larger commercial footprint following the PersonalizeDx acquisition.
As of March 31, Rosetta had cash and cash equivalents of $11.9 million, and restricted cash and short-term bank deposits of $602,000, which the company said is sufficient to fund its operations for the next 12 months.
During early morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Rosetta were down $.08 at $1.14.