Regenerative medicine company and 3D bioprinter material developer Collplant (NASDAQ:CLGN) , has reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2018. Headline revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2018 was $224,000, a 209% increase on the same period in 2017, which was $73,000. The increase is reflective of the growing commercialization of the company’s proprietary materials.
In a press release on the financial report Yehiel Tal, CollPlant CEO, commented, “During the third quarter we made progress advancing our other 3D bioprinting business. We are moving forward with our development activities with various companies that are using CollPlant’s rhCollagen based BioInk for the bioprinting of organs and tissues.”
Living biomaterials, extracted from tobacco plants
At present, Collplant is in the market with three materials:
– VergenixSTR, a soft tissue repair gel designed to form a metric for Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), and treat chronic tendon and ligament disorders.
– VergenixFG, a collagen gel for addition to bandages and improving wound care.
– And it rhCollagen bioink, its primary solution for 3D bioprinting with live cell content for which it has a separate development division.
The rhCollagen bioink is grown and harvested from tobacco plants bioengineered with DNA to create live collagen. rhCollagen is also to be used in a newly-formed lung bioprinting project between CollPlant and United Therapeutics Corporation. As an aside United Therapeutics Corporation’s subsidiary Lung Biotechnology PBC that is working on this project with CollPlant, also has a 3D bioprinting agreement in place with 3D Systems.
Driven by collagen sales in America
According to the Q3 FY2018 report, this quarter’s revenues were dominated by European sales of CollPlant’s VergenixSTR material, and rhCollagen sales in America.
Operating expenses in Q3 FY2018 have risen in comparison to last year, from $1.1 million to $1.7 million. This rise has been primarily attributed to an increase in salaries and share expenses. Of the $1.7 million operating cost for Q3 2018, general, administrative and marketing costs equate to $748 thousand. The company has also spent more on research and development in this quarter than in Q3 2017. Net research and development expenses for Q3 2018 were reported at $941 thousand, compared to $740 thousand for the same period in 2017.
The CollPlant Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results report, including results for the first nine months of 2018, can be found online here.
In closing comment on the report, Tal stated, “Based on our work with major market players in the fields of 3D bioprinting and medical aesthetics, we believe that CollPlant’s rhCollagen is the ideal building block for regenerative medicine scaffolds available today, and will play a critical role in those markets.”
Featured image shows Professor Oded Shoseyov, founder of CollPlant Holdings Ltd. Photo via jewishbusinessnews
