Oncor Inc., a Gaithersburg company that markets gene-based tests for cancer and other diseases, yesterday posted a first-quarter loss of $8 million, or 32 cents a share. The company said revenue fell to $3.3 million in the quarter, which ended March 31.
The loss includes $2.2 million in noncash interest expenses. The company said it was able to reduce its loss from operations in the first quarter of 1997 to $4.1 million, compared with $4.5
million in the corresponding period last year, through "streamlining initiatives."
The company lost $6.6 million, or 30 cents a share, on revenue of $4.2 million in the first quarter of 1996.
Cecil Kost, Oncor's president and chief operating officer, said in a prepared statement that the company in the first quarter put together new data for its application to the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a breast cancer test.
The company, he said, also had obtained exclusive rights during the quarter to new genetic discoveries about cancer and landed a U.S. patent on a method to detect lung cancer.
Oncor shares closed at $3.75 yesterday, unchanged, on the American Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, OncorMed, a separately traded company spun off from Oncor in 1993, reported a net loss of $3.6 million, or 49 cents a share, for the first quarter.
The company, which provides gene-based cancer test services to hospitals and clinical laboratories, reported revenue of $115,279 for the quarter.
By comparison, OncorMed had a net loss of $1.86 million, or 30 cents a share, on revenue of $78,233 for the same period in 1996.
The increase in revenue was due largely to an increase in genetic testing services, the company said. But Dr. Timothy J. Triche, chairman and chief executive officer of OncorMed, said in a prepared statement yesterday that the market for patient testing was "developing slower than expected."
OncorMed shares closed at $5, down 6.25 cents, on the American Stock Exchange.
Pub Date: 5/16/97
