Biomerica Reports Fiscal 2021 1st Quarter Financial Results
17 October 2020 - 12:27AM
Biomerica, Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRA), a global provider of advanced
medical products, today reported financial results for the fiscal
quarter ended August 31, 2020.
Net sales for the three months ended August 31,
2020 were $1.14 million compared to net sales of $1.19 million for
the same period of 2019. Net loss was $1.6 million for the three
months ended August 31, 2020 compared to a net loss of $0.5 million
for the same period in the previous year. Research and Development
(R&D) expense was $0.7 million for the three months ended
August 31, 2020 compared to $0.4 million the same period in the
previous year, an increase of over 80%. The increase in R&D
investment expense was primarily due to the development of several
COVID-19 tests, including a new antigen test for COVID-19. The
Company is working to complete the validation testing of this
product, which if successful, will enable the launch of the new
antigen test in several weeks, pending international regulatory
clearances. The Company also expects R&D investment to decrease
as it prepares to move its remaining COVID-19 test products out of
development and into manufacturing and sales. Selling, general and
administrative expenses for the three months ended August 31, 2020
were $1.2 million, compared to $0.5 million, for the same period in
the previous year. This increase was due to an increase in reserves
for aged receivables, an increase in legal fees and to a lesser
extent, higher salaries due to several new employees hired to help
manage the company’s projected growth.
Cash and cash equivalents were $7.0 million, and
current assets were $13.1 million on August 31, 2020.
"By leveraging our technology and expertise, we
were able to develop tests to detect COVID-19 antibodies quickly.
While we wait for the FDA to issue an Emergency Use Authorization
(EUA) for our COVID-19 antibody ELISA lab-based serology blood
test, we are completing work on our COVID test line. As part of
these efforts, we are planning to launch an antigen test, preparing
to launch the ELISA product outside of the US under a CE mark, and
filing for other point of care applications for certain products.
We believe that the introduction of an antigen test will enable us
to offer a more complete line of point of care products for
COVID-19 testing. In addition, we have also worked diligently to
differentiate our products from the competition by focusing on a
simple finger-prick blood collection device, which enables blood
samples to be collected virtually anywhere (corporation, university
or other organization) by a trained professional. This device is
used in conjunction with our ELISA lab-based serology test," said
Zackary Irani, CEO of Biomerica.
“International demand for our disposable
point-of-care antibody test decreased during the quarter. I believe
this decrease was due in part from a lower daily infection rate
during the summer months in the international markets in which we
operate, as well as an increase in customer focus on virus testing
(PCR and antigen tests). Importantly, as we enter the fall and
winter months, the daily rate of new infections is rising, and the
number of persons who have been infected by COVID-19 continues to
increase, we are seeing increases in demand for both antigen and
antibody tests. In addition, I am encouraged to see revenues of our
non-COVID related products, which have been negatively affected by
the pandemic, now starting to recover,” concluded Mr. Irani.
About Biomerica (NASDAQ:)
Biomerica, Inc. (www.biomerica.com) is a global biomedical
technology company that develops, patents, manufactures and markets
advanced diagnostic and therapeutic products used at the
point-of-care (in home and in physicians' offices) and in
hospital/clinical laboratories for detection and/or treatment of
medical conditions and diseases. The Company's products are
designed to enhance the health and well-being of people, while
reducing total healthcare costs. Biomerica primarily focus is on
gastrointestinal and inflammatory diseases where the Company has
multiple diagnostic and therapeutic products in development.
About InFoods® The Biomerica
InFoods® IBS product is designed to allow physicians to identify
patient specific foods (e.g. eggs, broccoli, wheat, potatoes, corn,
etc.), that when removed from the diet, may alleviate or improve an
individual's IBS symptoms including, but not limited to,
constipation, diarrhea, bloating, pain and indigestion. This
patented, diagnostic-guided therapy is designed to allow for a
patient specific, guided dietary regimen to improve IBS outcomes.
The point-of-care product is being developed to allow physicians to
perform the test in-office using a finger stick blood sample while
a clinical lab version of the product is expected to be the first
for which the company will seek regulatory approval. A billable CPT
code that can be used by both clinical labs and physicians' offices
is already available for InFoods® diagnostic products. Since the
InFoods® product is a diagnostic-guided therapy, and not a drug, it
has no drug type side effects. An estimated 45 million people in
America currently suffer from IBS making it a leading cause for
patient doctor visits.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements.
Certain information included in this press release (as well as
information included in oral statements or other written statements
made or to be made by Biomerica) contains statements that are
forward-looking, such as statements relating to the efficacy of the
Company’s COVID-19 tests, FDA clearance, EUA clearance, the
rapidity of testing results, uniqueness of a product, pricing of
the Company’s test kits, increase in demand, demand for
international orders, availability of the Company’s COVID-19 test
kits, and patent protection on the test technology. Such
forward-looking information involves important risks and
uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results
in the future, including, without limitation: results of studies
testing the efficacy of the Company’s COVID-19 tests; regulatory
approvals necessary prior to commercialization of the Company’s
COVID-19 tests; availability of the Company’s COVID-19 test kits;
capacity, resource and other constraints on our suppliers;
completion of validation testing; dependence on our third party
manufacturers; dependence on international shipping carriers;
governmental import/export regulations; demand for our various
COVID-19 tests; competition from other similar products and from
competitors that have significantly more financial and other
resources available to them; governmental virus control regulations
that make it difficult or impossible for the company to maintain
current operations; regulations and the Company’s ability to obtain
patent protection on any aspects of its rapid test technology.
Accordingly, such results may differ materially from those
expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of
Biomerica. Additionally, potential risks and uncertainties include,
among others, fluctuations in the Company's operating results due
to its business model and expansion plans, downturns in
international and or national economies, the Company's ability to
raise additional capital, the competitive environment in which the
Company will be competing, and the Company's dependence on
strategic relationships. The Company is under no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements after the date of this
release.
Corporate Contact: Company
Spokesperson949-645-2111
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