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Utah's BSD Medical Corp. is anticipating that 2011 will be a breakout year as it chases profitability and continues to make progress rolling out its newest system that uses heat therapy to treat cancers.
The company, which has been developing and marketing hyperthermia equipment since 1978, reported shortly after the first of the year that it shipped its first MTX-180 microwave-ablation system to Med-Italia Biomedical, one of the largest distributors of radiology/oncology equipment in Italy.
And that announcement was followed by the Cancer Treatment Centers of America purchasing aBSD-2000 hyperthermia system for its Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia.
"We've been seeing a lot of interest in our systems — interest that we are hoping will continue to grow as the year goes on," said Dennis Gauger, BSD's chief financial officer.
BSD Medical received FDA approval last year to begin marketing its MTX-180 in the United States, as well as clearance to offer the product for sale in the 30 countries that make up the European Union. The system uses a microwave generator and single-patient-use disposable antennas to focus heat on tumors during treatment.
Gauger pointed out the disposable antennas used with each treatment will give the company a "high-end" disposable product that should provide a steady revenue stream.
The Cancer Treatment Centers' purchase of the BSD-2000, which costs more than $1 million, is the fifth hyperthermia system acquired from the Utah company. Three of those systems were purchased within the past five months.
Curt Heese, radiation oncologist at the hospital in Philadelphia said that facility was using another BSD system for superficial hyperthermia treatments.
"We are looking forward to introducing the BSD-2000, with the capacity to treat deep into tissues, to offer our patients even more options to treat their cancer," he said in a statement announcing the system's acquisition.
Initially, the BSD-2000 will be used as an "investigational device," said spokeswoman Julia Scherer. "It will be used only to treat select patients who qualify for one of the various clinical trials we are conducting."
BSD Medical, whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol BSDM, reported earlier this month that it had a sales backlog of $2.1 million for both its hyperthermia and microwave ablation systems.
"With the completion of a $10 million equity financing in November 2010, we have a strong balance sheet, no debt and believe we are sufficiently capitalized to continue the rollout of our [MX-180] system," BSD President Harold Wolcott, said in announcing the company's first-quarter financial results.
For the period ended Nov. 30, 2010, the company reported a loss of $947,000, or 4 cents per share, 51 percent better than the same quarter a year earlier, when BSD reported a loss of $1.9 million, or 9 cents per share.
First-quarter revenue was $507,000, a 19 percent increase over revenue of $426,000 recorded for the first quarter a year ago.
"The results reflect the positive impact of the expense reduction measures we implemented to reduce the level of our operating cash burn," Wolcott said.