FY14 Marks Significant Commercial Milestone for Pacific Edge

Full commentary: PEPRELIMCOMMENTARYFINALNZXANNOUNCE27May14.pdf
Announcement: PEPRELIMRESULTSFINALNZXANNOUNCE27May14.pdf

FY14 Marks Significant Commercial Milestone for Pacific Edge

The 2014 Financial Year marked a significant commercial milestone for Pacific Edge as the Company celebrated the start of revenue generation in its primary market, the USA, alongside a strong year of market development and customer capture.

Pacific Edge, which develops and markets molecular diagnostic tests, primarily for the detection of bladder cancer, commercially launched its first bladder cancer product, Cxbladderc in the US market in July 2013. This diagnostic test allows urologists to evaluate patients who present to their clinic with hematuria (blood in the urine) for bladder cancer.

The USA is the world’s largest biomedical market, and has 10,500 urologists evaluating in excess of 1 million people with hematuria and investing in excess of US$1 billion in the evaluation of those patients annually. Pacific Edge has conservatively estimated that this market could provide the Company with the opportunity to develop $100 million in gross revenue at the completion of its fifth full year of trading.

Over the last 18 months, Pacific Edge has made a significant investment in the growth of the business and its entry into the American market. The Company has achieved a very rapid commercial rollout of Cxbladder in the USA, building its own laboratory, gaining regulatory approval, establishing a sales force and launching Cxbladder. All of these steps were completed on time, to specification and within budget.

For the 2014 Financial Year Ended 31 March 2014, Pacific Edge recorded a Total Comprehensive Loss after tax of $9.38 million (FY13: $6.95 million), in line with budgeted expectations. The Company reported its first substantial trading revenue and whilst still only a small number, this is a strong lift despite the short period of selling in the American market. The majority of the Net Loss is the significant investment the Company has made in the growth of the business; setting up and roll out of business in the USA, clinical trials and User Program’s with new customers, further product development and management of intellectual property1.

Chairman of Pacific Edge, Chris Swann, said: “During the year it has been affirmed to us that our product, Cxbladder, is in strong demand as an accurate tool for the detection of bladder cancer.

“Evaluating hematuria in American patients for bladder cancer is a significant market of scale and could be worth up to $100 million in gross revenue for our Company in five years’ time. It takes time to develop competency and recognition in the market and to begin establishing the relationships with our customers at a commercial level.

We have been delighted to see the first steps of our revenue generation since the appointment of sales staff in the USA in July 2013 and we are confident the momentum of the extensive commercialisation program, to familiarise the urology clinicians in the US health system with the significant benefits of Cxbladder, will accelerate sales in FY15.”

“Whilst the New Zealand and Australian markets are important to us from a product development and commercialisation process perspective, it is the scale and accessibility of the American market that is paramount to the success of the Company.”

Full commentary: PEPRELIMCOMMENTARYFINALNZXANNOUNCE27May14.pdf
Announcement: PEPRELIMRESULTSFINALNZXANNOUNCE27May14.pdf

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