SpectRx Reports First Quarter 2003 Operating Results
Tuesday May 20, 8:28 am ET
NORCROSS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2003--SpectRx (NASDAQ: SPRX - News)
Current Highlights:
SimpleChoice® reservoir rollout campaign underway
SimpleChoice® easy manufacturing line start up nearing completion
Discussions with potential strategic partners for continuous glucose monitor moving forward
Initiating FDA clinical trial for non-invasive cervical cancer detection
SpectRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRX - News) today announced its operating results for the first quarter of 2003.
The net loss for the first quarter of 2003 was $238,000, or $0.02 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.4 million, or $0.22 per share, in the comparable quarter of 2002. The reduction in net loss was primarily due to a $1.1 million gain realized from the sale of the BiliChek® product line, which was completed on March 6, 2003. The Company deferred $2.0 million of the $4.0 million it received until completion of previously planned component engineering work for which there is a contingent obligation. There is an additional $1.0 million payment to be made to SpectRx based upon completion of the engineering work, which is expected before the end of the year.
The quarterly operating loss, before the gain on the sale of the BiliChek product line, was $1.2 million, which represents a 50% improvement when compared to the $2.4 million loss a year ago. The reduction in operating loss was primarily due to a reduction in expenses of approximately $900,000 and a lower cost of goods between the two periods.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2003, primarily from the BiliChek product line, was $801,000 compared with revenue of $652,000 in the first quarter of 2002, an increase of 23%.
Excluding the impact of approximately $671,000 in revenue from the BiliChek product line in the first quarter of 2003, the revenue in the first quarter would have been approximately $130,000 and the operating loss approximately $1.5 million, and is more indicative of the operating performance moving forward after the sale of the assets related to the BiliChek product line.
Diabetes Business
"We continue to make progress in the engineering, manufacturing and marketing of our SimpleChoice line of diabetes products, while carefully controlling expenses," said Mark A. Samuels, Chairman and CEO of SpectRx, Inc. "Our SimpleChoice reservoir brand syringe for insulin pumps is now available from a small but growing number of suppliers as we continue to build distribution. Our easy brand insulin infusion set, the second SimpleChoice product, is currently in the final pilot manufacturing stage, and we expect to begin limited shipments later this quarter. Progress continues on other products in the pipeline, including the quick brand and patch infusion sets."
"In the other major segment of our diabetes business, we have been discussing our continuous glucose monitoring technology with several companies that have the appropriate sensor technology, marketing infrastructure and market position to be a good strategic partner. We have clinical studies, data analysis and other evaluation activities ongoing with some or all of these companies. We believe that these studies, along with our other efforts, will result in a strategic partnership for commercialization of the product," Mr. Samuels said.
Cancer Business
"Funding provided by the recently announced $1.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute has allowed us to begin patient enrollment in the training phase of the FDA clinical trial of our non-invasive cervical cancer detection device at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas. We believe this represents a significant advancement in the product development cycle and will be important in our efforts to independently fund the program," Mr. Samuels said.
SpectRx management will hold a conference call to discuss first quarter 2003 results on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 at 11 a.m. EDT. To access the call via telephone, dial 800-889-0817 or visit www.companyboardroom.com for access via the Internet.
SpectRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRX - News) is a medical technology company providing innovative detection, monitoring and treatment solutions for the diabetes and cancer healthcare markets. SpectRx is currently marketing its SimpleChoice® line of innovative diabetes management products, which include insulin pump disposable supplies and over-the-counter diabetes testing kits. These FDA-cleared products complement its developmental consumer device for continuous glucose monitoring. SpectRx is also applying its leading-edge biophotonic technology to the early detection of cancer. Products under development include devices to detect and guide treatment of cervical cancer and skin cancer. The combined market opportunity for SpectRx's products is approximately $7 billion annually. For more information, visit SpectRx's web sites at www.spectrx.com and www.mysimplechoice.com.
SimpleChoice, SimpleChoice easy, SimpleChoice reservoir, SimpleChoice quick and SimpleChoice patch are trademarks owned by SimpleChoice, a SpectRx company. |
