Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) told investors it was continuing to position itself as a "leader in neurological tumor diagnostics" as the company released second-quarter results, which included the first revenue from a biopharma firm using its CNSide in a clinical trial.
Biocept's CNSide cerebrospinal fluid assay can detect cancer cells that have metastasized to the central nervous system.
For the three months to June 30, the company posted revenue of $10.6 million, which included $58,000 from the biopharma collaborator. The figure included $9.8 million in RT-PCR COVID-19 test revenue. By comparison, the net revenue for the group in the second quarter of 2021 was $12 million.
Samuel D. Riccitelli, Biocept’s CEO, chairman and interim president, said the firm was now seeing "strong progress" in positioning the company as a leader in neurological tumor diagnostics.
READ: Biocept expands availability of its CNSide assay for most cancers that metastasize to the central nervous system
He said that recently the company had opened enrollment in its FORESEE trial in a bid to generate evidence of CNSide’s clinical utility in support of higher reimbursement and faster adoption into patient care guidelines.
"In October of 2022, we also expanded the commercial availability of CNSide to include metastatic melanoma, the third most common tumor type involved in central nervous system (CNS) metastasis with more than 60% of stage IV melanoma patients developing CNS metastasis," he added.
"We look for diminishing but cash-flow positive revenue from RT-PCR COVID-19 testing services as demand continues to decline and we do not anticipate COVID-19 testing revenue beyond December 2022," he noted.
Biocept also highlighted that orders for CNSide had increased by 14% compared to the first quarter of 2022 and 212% versus the first quarter of 2021.
Research and development (R&D) expenses in the second quarter were $1.7 million, compared to $1.1 million in Q2, 2021, Mainly due to additional costs associated with preparing for the FORESEE trial, the firm said.
The net loss in the three months was $1.8 million, narrowed from a loss of $5.2 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Biocept reported cash and equivalents as of June 30 this year of $22.9 million, compared with $28.9 million at the end of 2021, and said it expects to report its third-quarter results in the coming weeks.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com