Biomerica Reports Fiscal 2021 1st Quarter Financial Results

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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.