NEW YORK – Vermillion reported after the close of the market on Thursday a 55 percent year-over-year rise in first quarter revenues.
For the three months ended March 31, the Austin, Texas-based cancer diagnostics firm said that total revenues rose to $1.2 million from $779,000 in the year-ago quarter.
Revenues for the recently completed quarter were derived from 3,654 OVA1 tests performed, up 58 percent from the 2,313 OVA1 tests performed in Q1 2019. Revenue per test was $324, down 4 percent from $337 in Q1 2019.
During a conference call following release of the results, Vermillion President and CEO Valerie Palmieri noted that despite the growth the firm posted for the quarter, it had been impacted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with OVA1 test volumes dropping in the second half of March to roughly 40 to 50 percent of the company's pre-pandemic volume.
She noted that the company began to see volume rebound in the third week of April and that volume has increased by around 20 percent a week since then.
She said that prior to the start of the pandemic, Vermillion had seen 80 percent year-over-year growth in test volume for the quarter.
Palmieri said Vermillion plans to begin offering SARS-CoV-2 antigen and antibody testing and will begin validating Roche's Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay in Q2. Additionally, the company is in discussions with officials in Connecticut to offer SARS-CoV-2 testing out of its lab facility in that state.
Vermillion CFO Bob Beechey said that the company had received a loan under the payroll protection program provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that it will use to fund payroll in the amount of roughly $1 million. He added that he expects the company will qualify for complete forgiveness of the loan.
Beechey also noted that the company had regained compliance with Nasdaq as its stock traded at above $1 per share for 10 consecutive days. Vermillion originally received the delisting notice in August 2019.
For Q1 2020 Vermillion had a net loss of $3.7 million, or $.04 per share, compared to a net loss of $3.7 million, or $.05 per share, in Q1 2019.
Its R&D expenses rose 89 percent year over year to $395,000 from $209,000, while its SG&A spending was up 3 percent to $3.8 million from $3.7 million.
The company finished the quarter with $8.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.