Biocept, Inc. has reported a strong rise in full-year 2021 revenue due to growth in volumes for reverse transcription (RT) PCR coronavirus (COVID-19) testing.
The company, a leading provider of molecular diagnostic assays, products and services, said net revenues for the year to December 31, 2021, reached $61.2 million, a 123% increase from $27.5 million in 2020.
Revenues included $60.9 million in commercial test revenue, $147,000 in development services test revenue and $171,000 in revenue for Target Selector RUO kits and CEE-Sure blood collection tubes and payments for development services.
READ: Biocept reports unaudited net revenue of $61.2 million for 2021
"RT-PCR COVID-19 testing volume drove revenue throughout 2021 and we ended the year with positive operating cash flow and a strong cash position," the company’s chairman, interim president and CEO Samuel D. Riccitelli said in a statement. "Even with the decline in demand for COVID-19 testing services we are currently experiencing, we believe our cash runway is sufficient to fund operations for the current year, including planned investments in CNSide.
The company reported a reduced net loss for 2021 of $2.8 million, or $0.19 per share, compared with a net loss for 2020 of $17.8 million, or $1.50 per share a year earlier.
Fourth-quarter net revenue declined to $14 million from $18.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, which it attributed to the lower levels of RT-PCR COVID-19 testing in the final quarter of the year.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of December amounted to $28.9 million, compared with $14.4 million as of December 31, 2020. During 2021, it generated positive cash flows from operations of $3.7 million, versus negative cash flows from operations of $19.8 million during 2020.
"During the fourth quarter we expanded our CNSide customer base to include several additional prestigious academic institutions while generating sequential-quarter volume growth," Riccitelli continued. "As the first commercial service to measure biomarker status in the central nervous system in real-time, CNSide holds promise to play a critical role in serial quantitative monitoring of patient response to therapy. Our focus is on generating additional clinical data in support of establishing CNSide as the standard of care for the clinical management of metastatic cancer involving the central nervous system.”
Biocept, Inc. develops and commercializes molecular diagnostic assays that provide physicians with clinically actionable information for treating and monitoring patients diagnosed with a variety of cancers.
In addition to its portfolio of blood-based liquid biopsy assays, Biocept has developed the CNSide cerebrospinal fluid assay that detects cancer that has metastasized to the central nervous system.
Biocept's patented Target Selector technology captures and quantitatively analyzes CSF tumor cells for tumor-associated molecular markers, using technology first developed for use in blood.
The company is also leveraging its molecular diagnostic capabilities to offer nationwide COVID-19 RT-PCR testing to support public health efforts during this unprecedented pandemic.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com