NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Molecular diagnostics firm Great Basin Scientific today reported that its first quarter revenues rose 60 percent year over year due to growth in its customer base and adoption of its Group B Strep assay.
For the three months ended March 31, the Salt Lake City-based firm reported revenue of $731,422, up from $458,730 in the first quarter of 2015. In the quarter the firm also reported a 120 percent increase in US customers, from 101 to 222.
Net loss for the quarter was $33.7 million, or $15.26 per share, compared to $71.2 million, or $29,374.17 per share in Q1 2015. The firm, which went public last year, used some 2.2 million shares to calculate net loss in Q1 2016 compared to 2,423 shares in the year-ago period.
The firm's R&D spending increased 53 percent, to $2.3 million from $1.5 million due to increased clinical and regulatory activities related to its Staph ID/R Blood Culture Panel and Shiga Toxin Direct Test as well as ongoing pipeline development. SG&A expenses, meanwhile, increased 64 percent to $3.8 million from $2.3 million, the result of increased headcount as well as increased legal, accounting, and consulting fees related to financing and restructuring transactions.
Great Basin finished the quarter with $2.3 million in cash.
During the quarter the firm was warned by Nasdaq of potential delisting, and it announced this week that a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has been rescheduled until mid-June.