VolitionRx (NYSEMKT:VNRX) Limited reports that it ended its second quarter with a strong balance sheet with about $27.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The epigenetics company, which had a balance sheet of $19.4 million as of December 31, 2020, said it continued to manage expenditures carefully with a cash burn rate of about $2 million per month.
It added that it raised $900,000 during the quarter ended June 30, 2021, in an at-the-market equity distribution program.
READ: VolitionRx says Nu.Q NETs assay shows promising results in coronavirus risk stratification
However, Volition said it had a quarterly net loss of $5.6 million and net cash used in operating activities was $5.4 million.
On the management front, the company noted that Dr. Tom Butera, a seasoned veterinary executive with an extensive commercial track record and former non-executive director of Volition, joined the team full time as CEO of Volition's veterinary subsidiary to drive its product launches.
"We have made significant progress on many fronts during the first half of 2021, in particular on all four of the company's key pillars: Nu.Q, Nu.Q Vet, Nu.Q NETs and Nu.Q Capture," said Volition CEO Cameron (NYSE:CAM) Reynolds in a statement. "We have also significantly strengthened our balance sheet, our intellectual property portfolio, and our executive team to drive our commercial focus."
Reynolds added: "I am delighted that the Nu.Q Vet beta launch has not only been very successful in providing invaluable real-world learnings for our first veterinary product but has also generated a high level of interest in both the licensing and distribution of our veterinary products, and we are actively negotiating potential arrangements on multiple fronts."
Volition said it expects to achieve the following milestones during 2021 and beyond, COVID-19 pandemic permitting, to drive revenue in the coming quarters:
- Licensing of its technology, with a particular but not exclusive focus on Nu.Q Vet, with the aim of signing the first deal this year;
- Processing samples at Silver One using its Nu.Q Discovery assays, and disease monitoring tests (e.g. COVID-19, sepsis);
- Continue to progress the research program for the use of Nu.Q in NETosis, in monitoring disease progression of COVID-19, sepsis, and potentially other diseases and as a possible companion diagnostic for treatment of sepsis;
- Continue to advance its previously announced large-scale blood, lung, and colorectal cancer trials in Europe, Asia, and the US;
- Publish several abstracts and peer-reviewed scientific papers with clinical results showing the robustness and utility of its Nu.Q platform;
- Advance the development of Nu.Q Capture; and
- Continue to file patents to expand and extend its intellectual property portfolio.
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