Original from: 360DX

Burning Rock Biotech said late Tuesday that its Q3 revenues were up 22 percent year over year, driven by higher volumes of the companies test kits for use in hospitals.

The Guangzhou, China-based firm's total revenues for the three months ended Sept. 30 were RMB 154.6 million (about $21.7 million) compared to RMB 126.6 million in the same period of 2021.

Revenue generated from Burning Rock's central laboratory business was RMB 90 million during the quarter, up 14 percent from RMB 78.8 million in Q3 2021. The company attributed this to increased use of monitoring packages that consist of multiple tests performed longitudinally.

According to Burning Rock, test volumes for its minimal residual disease assay, brPROPHET, have continued to ramp following its commercial launch in March. The company completed approximately 700 tests in Q3, more than doubling its Q2 performance.

The firm's in-hospital test revenues rose more than 13 percent to RMB 49.6 million from RMB 43.7 million in the same period last year. Test volumes in this segment were up 24 percent year-over-year.

Burning Rock saw particularly significant year-over-year growth in its pharma research and development services segment, with Q3 revenues of RMB 15 million more than tripling RMB 4.1 million in the prior-year quarter.

According to the company, the new research contracts it has inked since January total about RMB 198 million, a nearly 40 percent bump compared to the same period of 2021.

Among recent news, Burning Rock highlighted the initiation of work with BeiGene on initial clinical studies using its personalized MRD testing, as well as a companion diagnostic deal with Eli Lilly and Company in China for the RET inhibitor selpercatinib.

Burning Rock reported R&D expenses of RMB 109.4 million during the quarter, a 57 percent jump from RMB 69.6 million in Q3 2021. This was primarily due to increases in expenses for the firm's early cancer detection development program.

The company's Q3 SG&A costs were RMB 233.8 million, up nearly 18 percent from RMB 193 million in the same period of 2021. Executives cited increased head count and staff costs, spending on conferences, and a bump in amortized expenses on share-based compensation.

Burning Rock's net loss for the quarter was RMB 231.5 million, or RMB 2.23 per share, compared to RMB 170.5 million, or RMB 1.64 per share, in Q3 2021.

The company ended the quarter with a little over RMB 1.01 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments.

Based on the impact of COVID-19 in the region earlier this year, joined by a significant new wave at the beginning of October, Burning Rock said it is taking a cautious view and now projects a year-over-year drop in revenues for Q4. As such, the firm revised its 2022 full-year guidance from a growth of 22 percent to approximately 5 percent compared to 2021.

Source: Burning Rock Biotech Q3 Revenues Climb 22 Percent