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Epigenomics Posts 57 Percent Rise in Q3 Revenues

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — German molecular diagnostics firm Epigenomics reported on Wednesday that its third quarter revenues rose 57 percent, thanks largely to increased product sales and licensing revenues.

For the three-month period ended Sept. 30, Epigenomics' revenues grew to €544,000 ($624,516) from €346,000 in the year-ago quarter. Contributing to the increase was a 73 percent rise in product revenues — which include sales of the firm's flagship Epi proColon blood-based colorectal cancer screening test — to €283,000 from €164,000, as well as a higher licensing revenues in China.

Epigenomics' Q3 loss widened to €3.0 million, or €.12 per share, from €1.1 million, or €.05 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

R&D spending in the quarter was up 120 percent to €1.4 million from €635,000 a year earlier, in part reflecting higher expenses related to a post-approval study of Epi proColon in the US. SG&A costs were up 161 percent to €2.2 million from €842,000, primarily due to legal and consulting costs.

At the end of the third quarter, Epigenomics had cash and cash equivalents of €5.8 million, and marketable securities of €803,000. In October, the company completed a capital increase with subscription rights for existing shareholders, grossing €22.3 million.

"The successful completion of our capital increase gives us the opportunity to further pursue our mission of developing and commercializing liquid biopsy tests for some of the deadliest cancer diseases worldwide," Epigenomics CEO Greg Hamilton said in a statement. The company expects its recently CE marked liver cancer diagnostic — called HCCBloodTest — to enter a prospective clinical trial in the US next year.

Looking ahead, Epigenomics said that it has lowered its full-year 2018 revenue guidance to €1.5 million to €2.5 million from earlier guidance of €2 million to €4 million, citing delays in reimbursement decisions in the US. The firm added that the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services last month published a final reimbursement rate for Epi proColon of $192. This per-test rate will be included in the 2019 Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, which is expected to be published later this month.