TORONTO, Feb. 14, 2014 /CNW/ - SQI Diagnostics Inc. ("SQI" or the "Company") (TSX-V: SQD), a life sciences and diagnostics company that develops and commercializes
proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray
diagnostics, today announced financial and operational results for its
fiscal first quarter-ended December 31, 2013.
"Over the last few months we secured agreements with three global
pharmaceutical companies and a major biotechnology company, reflecting
the growing enthusiasm for our multiplexed diagnostic technologies by
drug developers," said Andrew Morris, CEO of SQI Diagnostics. "During
the quarter, as we continued to advance our commercialization strategy,
we also made substantial progress in product development, highlighted
by the Canadian regulatory submission of our celiac diagnostic panel
subsequent to the end of the quarter. These achievements continue to
position SQI for success over the longer term and we are carefully
managing our current resources as these opportunities mature."
Highlights for the quarter:
-
Validation work for the Ig_plex Celiac DGP Panel successfully progressed
through the first quarter, enabling the Company to file for a Health
Canada license for the assay on February 12, 2014. The Company expects
to file in the United States in the second fiscal quarter of 2014.
-
During the quarter the Company entered into a commercial agreement with
an Irving, California based pharmaceutical company (Global Pharma 3)
for the development of an anti-drug antibody (ADA) assay to detect and
measure immunogenic responses to a drug in the customer's extensive
drug pipeline. The Company made significant progress on this assay
during the quarter.
-
Significant progress was made on the previously announced ADA assay
development project for Isis Pharmaceuticals. The Company has
presented data to Isis and believes it has met or exceeded the
customer's expectations.
-
SQI continued to develop an ADA assay to detect and quantify immune
response to a new drug class under development by a major
pharmaceutical company (Global Pharma 1). Positive data was generated
during the development of the prototype and management anticipates this
will result in a commercial agreement to complete a final product
which, if successful, could be used for future clinical trials.
-
Continued to work with a major pharmaceutical company (Global Pharma 2)
in their evaluation of a recently completed 21-plex ADA assay. Major
development milestones have been achieved to date on this project and
the Company believes that it is well positioned to win on-going revenue
from this agreement. The customer is also evaluating an 8-plex cytokine
assay from SQI for a development-stage biologic.
-
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company completed a
non-brokered private placement raising gross proceeds of $1,483,000.
Financial Results
For the quarter-ended December 31, 2013, SQI recorded a net loss of
$1,501,000 or $0.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $1,563,000 or
$0.04 per share for the quarter-ended December 31, 2012.
R&D expenditures, excluding amortization and stock based compensation,
for the quarter-ended December 31, 2013 were $816,000 compared to
$784,000 for the quarter-ended December 31, 2012. During the quarter
the Company focused its R&D efforts on the validation testing of the
Celiac DGP assay.
Corporate and general expenses excluding stock based compensation were
$298,000 for the quarter-ended December 31, 2013 compared to $390,000
for the quarter-ended December 31, 2012. The decrease is a result of
the Company's cost containment efforts including the reduction of one
executive level position. In addition, travel costs which had
previously been allocated to general and administrative costs have been
split between sales and marketing and general and administrative based
on the nature of the travel.
Sales and marketing expenses, excluding stock based compensation,
totalled $150,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2013 compared
to $109,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2012. The increase
in sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended December 31,
2013 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2012 was primarily
a result of increased expenditures on conferences and marketing
efforts. In addition, travel costs for selling activities have been
allocated to sales and marketing whereas previously all travel costs
had been allocated to general and administrative costs.
At December 31, 2013, current assets were $632,000 compared to
$1,724,000 at September 30, 2013. As at September 30, 2013 the Company
has a $92,000 working capital deficit compared to a surplus of
$1,270,000 at September 30, 2013. On January 27, 2014 the Company
completed a non-brokered private placement of 2,965,000 units of the
Company at $0.50 per unit for gross proceeds of $1,483,000. The
Company believes that this financing and other cost reduction efforts
result in the Company having sufficient funds to meet our anticipated
cash requirements for approximately the next four months.
Detailed financial statements and the MD&A are available at www.sedar.com.
About SQI Diagnostics
SQI Diagnostics is a life sciences and diagnostics company that develops
and commercializes proprietary technologies and products for advanced
microarray diagnostics. The Company's proprietary microarray tests and
fully-automated systems are designed to simplify protein and antibody
testing workflow, increase throughput, reduce costs and provide
excellent data quality. For more information, please visit www.sqidiagnostics.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may",
"plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend",
"expect", "believe", "in the process", "is subject to" and other
similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking
statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions,
and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including,
but not limited to, our need for additional capital to sustain our
business, statements with respect to sales of our Ig_ plex™ Celiac
product and analytical systems, agreements and future agreements to
sell our products, the success of our Diagnostic Tools and Services
business and our intent to build near-term revenue streams from this
business, the completion of our second-generation sqidlite platform,
the build-out of our portfolio of quantitative tests, the successful
regulatory filing and receipt of regulatory approvals for our later
stage quantitative diagnostic kits , the acceleration of our revenue
ramp, general economic and market segment conditions, competitor
activity, technology changes and regulatory approvals. Such statements
reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events
and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks
detailed from time-to-time in the Company's ongoing filings with the
securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at
www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ
materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE SQI Diagnostics Inc.
