OncoCyte Corp. (NYSE: OCX), the Irvine-based designer of a lung cancer test, disclosed in late March that it may sell up to $25 million in shares to fund ongoing operations.
OncoCyte said its mission is to provide a “one stop lab” for lung cancer diagnosis and management. It has developed DetermaVu, which it describes as a “highly accurate, easy to administer, noninvasive molecular diagnostic test.” About 143,000 people last year died from lung cancer, more than double the next cancer disease, colon, which had 51,020 deaths, the company said in its annual report.
Deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 topped 15,000 as of last week, with OC deaths under 20.
Ronald Andrews, who became OncoCyte’s chief executive last July, was the founder and principal of The Bethesda Group LLC, a boutique consulting group focused on helping small and mid-stage diagnostic companies and investment groups move emerging diagnostic content and platforms into the marketplace. Andrews has 30 years of experience in the industry, including as president of the Genetic Science Division for Thermo Fisher Scientific and CEO of GE Healthcare’s molecular diagnostics unit.
Shares of OncoCyte in the past year have fallen by half to about $2.33 and a $140 million market cap. The company, which doesn’t yet have revenue, reported its 2019 net loss expanded to $22.4 million from $15.8 million in 2018. It has $23 million in cash and other assets and an accumulated deficit of $93.7 million.
The company is new to Orange County; it relocated from the Bay Area city of Alameda in January.
The company’s largest shareholder is Lineage Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NYSE: LCTX), which owns 28% of OncoCyte, followed by Broadwood Partners LP with 17% of shares.
