Biocept Inc (BIOC) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day. And welcome to the Biocept third-quarter financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Jody Cain. Please go ahead.

再會。歡迎參加 Biocept 第三季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）我現在想將會議轉交給 Jody Cain。請繼續。

This is Jody Cain with LHA. Thank you for participating in today's call. Joining me from Biocept are Sam Riccitellii, Chairman and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer; and Antonino Morales, Interim Chief Financial Officer.

我是 LHA 的 Jody Cain。感謝您參加今天的電話會議。和我一起來自 Biocept 的還有董事長兼臨時總裁兼首席執行官 Sam Riccitellii；臨時首席財務官 Antonino Morales。

During this call, management will be making a number of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and generally can be identified by terms such as anticipates, estimates, believe, could, expect, intend, may, plans, potential, predicts, project, should, will, would, or the negative of those terms

在此電話會議期間，管理層將根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》做出一些前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述包括所有非歷史事實的陳述，通常可以通過預期等術語來識別, estimates, believe, could, expect, intend, may, plans, potential, predicts, project, should, will, would, 或者這些術語的否定

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those statements as well as performance or achievement that are implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, there is significant uncertainty about the duration, severity, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means results could change at any time. And the contemplated impact of COVID-19 on Biocept operations, financial results, and outlook is a best estimate based on the information available for today's discussion.

前瞻性陳述涉及已知和未知的風險和不確定性以及可能導致實際結果、業績或成就與這些陳述以及前瞻性陳述暗示的業績或成就存在重大差異的其他因素。特別是，COVID-19 大流行的持續時間、嚴重程度和影響存在很大的不確定性。這意味著結果可能隨時改變。 COVID-19對 Biocept 運營、財務業績和前景的預期影響是根據今天討論的可用信息做出的最佳估計。

For details about these risks, please see the Company's SEC filings, including the company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on November 21, 2022. The content of this call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of today, November 28, 2022. Except as required by law, Biocept disclaimed any obligation to publicly update or revise any information to reflect events or circumstances that occur after this call.

有關這些風險的詳細信息，請參閱公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括公司於 2022 年 11 月 21 日向美國證券交易委員會提交的截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日期間的 10-Q 表季度報告。本次電話會議的內容包括時間-敏感信息僅在今天，即 2022 年 11 月 28 日準確。除法律要求外，Biocept 不承擔任何公開更新或修改任何信息以反映此次電話會議後發生的事件或情況的義務。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Sam Riccitelli. Sam?

現在我想把電話轉給 Sam Riccitelli。薩姆？

Thank you, Jody. And good afternoon, everyone. It has been about nine months since Antonino and I assumed our current operating roles at Biocept and more than five months since our last investment community conference call. We're delighted to be speaking with you today for an update on our business and our recent financial performance.

謝謝你，喬迪。大家下午好。自從 Antonino 和我在 Biocept 擔任我們目前的運營角色已經大約九個月了，而自從我們上次投資社區電話會議以來已經有五個多月了。我們很高興今天能與您交談，了解我們業務的最新情況和我們最近的財務業績。

And Antonino will speak to the numbers in a moment. But before we begin, I'd like to thank him and his team, both internal colleagues and external professionals, for their hard work in getting our Forms 10-Q for the second and third quarters of this year, finalize and file. The list of companies that have completed two 10-Q filings in 11 days cannot be long. And we are certainly not happy being on this list. It truly took heroic efforts and many, many hours were devoted to completing those documents. And as of last Monday, we are current with our SEC filings.

Antonino 稍後會談到這些數字。但在我們開始之前，我要感謝他和他的團隊，包括內部同事和外部專業人士，感謝他們辛勤工作，使我們今年第二和第三季度的 10-Q 表格定稿並歸檔。在 11 天內完成兩次 10-Q 申報的公司名單不能長。我們當然不高興出現在這份名單上。這確實需要付出巨大的努力，並且花費了很多很多時間來完成這些文件。截至上週一，我們收到了美國證券交易委員會的最新文件。

I'd also like to thank everyone joining us today for their patience with the scheduling of this call, but we chose to delay the call a bit rather than compete with the Thanksgiving holiday.

我還要感謝今天加入我們的每一個人，感謝他們對這次電話會議安排的耐心等待，但我們選擇稍微推遲電話會議，而不是與感恩節假期競爭。

In terms of the business. I'm pleased to share progress and our goal to establish Biocept as a leader in the emerging category of diagnosing cancers that have metastasized to the central nervous system. We are well-positioned to achieve this goal with our CNSide assay, which is the first commercially available product to measure CNS biomarker status in real time.

在業務方面。我很高興分享進展和我們的目標，即使 Biocept 成為診斷已轉移至中樞神經系統的癌症的新興類別的領導者。我們完全有能力通過我們的 CNSide 檢測實現這一目標，這是第一個實時測量 CNS 生物標誌物狀態的商用產品。

As a laboratory developed tests, the inside is analytically validated and run commercially in our clear certified CAP-accredited laboratory here in San Diego. As an update following a College of American Pathologists for CAP inspection last month, our labs' CAP accreditation has been renewed for the next two years.

作為實驗室開發的測試，內部經過分析驗證，並在我們位於聖地亞哥的經過明確認證的 CAP 認可實驗室進行商業運行。作為繼上個月美國病理學家協會進行 CAP 檢查後的更新，我們實驗室的 CAP 認證已更新為未來兩年。

We recently announced that CNSide is now validated to detect and quantify tumor cells in the cerebral spinal fluid of patients with melanoma, who are confirmed or suspected of having leptomeningeal disease. This is a devastating complication in which metastatic cancers spread to the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This validation expands the commercial use of CNSide beyound breast cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, and other carcinomas to now include melanoma, which is the third most common tumor type in CNS metastasis.

我們最近宣布，CNside 現在已經過驗證，可以檢測和量化黑色素瘤患者腦脊液中的腫瘤細胞，這些患者已確診或疑似患有軟腦膜病。這是一種毀滅性的並發症，其中轉移性癌症擴散到大腦和脊髓周圍的膜。這一驗證將 CNSide 的商業用途擴展到乳腺癌、非小細胞肺癌和其他癌症之外，現在包括黑色素瘤，這是中樞神經系統轉移中第三大最常見的腫瘤類型。

The importance of detecting CNS metastasis cannot be overstated as targeted therapies can oftentimes reduce or resolve these debilitating symptoms and extend life expectancy. That said, the current standards of care, which are CSF cytology and clinical evaluation via MRI have limited sensitivity and specificity, which creates challenges for physicians in managing the disease and determining the best course of treatment.

檢測 CNS 轉移的重要性怎麼強調都不為過，因為靶向治療通常可以減少或解決這些使人衰弱的症狀並延長預期壽命。也就是說，目前的護理標準，即 CSF 細胞學和通過 MRI 進行的臨床評估，其敏感性和特異性有限，這給醫生管理疾病和確定最佳治療方案帶來了挑戰。

In pilot study, CNSide continues to demonstrate high levels of sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, CNSide is both qualitative and quantitative, which are key advantages in monitoring the response of leptomeningeal tumors to treatment and improving the ability to make or change treatment decisions.

在試點研究中，CNside 繼續表現出高水平的敏感性和特異性。此外，CNside 既是定性的又是定量的，這是監測軟腦膜腫瘤對治療的反應和提高制定或改變治療決策的能力的關鍵優勢。

Our first application for CNSide represents a major commercial opportunity for Biocept. We estimate the annual market opportunity of $1.2 billion in the US and $2 billion globally. We plan to explore the use of CNSide for additional indications that could further expand this market opportunity, including for other diseases beyond cancer that affect the CNS.

我們對 CNside 的首次申請代表了 Biocept 的一個重要商業機會。我們估計美國的年度市場機會為 12 億美元，全球為 20 億美元。我們計劃探索將 CNside 用於其他適應症，以進一步擴大這一市場機會，包括影響中樞神經系統的癌症以外的其他疾病。

Since CNSide early access launch about 2.5 years ago, we have continuously reported consecutive quarterly increases in ordering volume. I'm pleased to report this trend continued into the third quarter, with CNSide volume increasing 8% sequentially and up 176% over the prior year.

自大約 2.5 年前 CNSide 搶先體驗啟動以來，我們連續報告訂購量連續季度增長。我很高興地報告這一趨勢一直持續到第三季度，CNside 交易量環比增長 8%，比去年同期增長 176%。

Our customer base has also expanded with 28 of the elite 64 National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers having ordered CNSide. We expect some slowdown in ordering during this year's fourth quarter as historically cancer testing is impacted by the holiday season.

我們的客戶群也擴大了，64 家國家癌症研究所指定的精英癌症中心中有 28 家訂購了 CNside。我們預計今年第四季度的訂單會有所放緩，因為從歷史上看，癌症檢測會受到假期的影響。

During our last call in June, we introduced three initiatives to achieve our goal of becoming a leader in neurological tumor diagnostics. Today, I'm pleased to share our progress against each of them. Our first initiative is to drive the generation of significantly more evident demonstrating the clinical utility of the inside. We plan to use this evidence to support reimbursement and the incorporation of CNSide into clinical care guidelines, which we believe will broaden physician adoption.

在 6 月份的最後一次電話會議中，我們提出了三項舉措，以實現我們成為神經腫瘤診斷領域領導者的目標。今天，我很高興分享我們對他們每個人的進展。我們的第一個舉措是推動更明顯地展示內部臨床效用的產生。我們計劃使用這些證據來支持報銷和將 CNside 納入臨床護理指南，我們相信這將擴大醫生的採用範圍。

Starting with our company-sponsored FORSEE clinical trial, the patient enrollment is now open at the first clinical site with a second site expected to be cleared before yearend or in early 2023. The FORSEE study is a two-part prospective clinical trial, where we'll enroll patients with breast or non-small-cell lung cancer, who have suspected or confirmed leptomeningeal metastasis. The trial is designed to compare CNSide with conventional care techniques such as CSF, cytology, and radiology.

從我們公司贊助的 FORSEE 臨床試驗開始，患者招募現已在第一個臨床中心開放，第二個中心預計將在年底前或 2023 年初完成。FORSEE 研究是一項分為兩部分的前瞻性臨床試驗，我們在其中將招募疑似或確診軟腦膜轉移的乳腺癌或非小細胞肺癌患者。該試驗旨在將 CNSide 與 CSF、細胞學和放射學等傳統護理技術進行比較。

The goal of the FORSEE trial is to further evaluate the performance of CNSide and monitoring the response to treatment in a prospective clinical trial setting, -- excuse me, and to assess the impact of CNSide on treatment decisions made by physicians. This trial is focused on demonstrating clinical utility, which is based on how and to what extent physicians find value and the detection of disease. And how CNSide influences them in their decision making. We believe evidence of clinical utility will support higher reimbursement decisions as well as achieving standard-of-care status.

FORSEE 試驗的目標是進一步評估 CNside 的性能，並在前瞻性臨床試驗環境中監測對治療的反應，請原諒，並評估 CNside 對醫生做出的治療決定的影響。該試驗的重點是證明臨床效用，它基於醫生如何以及在多大程度上發現價值和疾病檢測。以及 CNSide 如何影響他們的決策。我們相信臨床效用的證據將支持更高的報銷決定以及實現護理標準狀態。

Earlier this month, we announced participation in an investigator-initiated study to better understand the development and progression of metastatic breast cancer and brain metastases and/or leptomeningeal disease. This 20-patient pilot study is being conducted by leading breast oncologists, Doctors Michelle Melisko and Laura Huppert from the University of California, San Francisco under a grant from the California Breast Cancer Research Program and the University of California, San Francisco Brain Spore.

本月早些時候，我們宣布參與一項研究者發起的研究，以更好地了解轉移性乳腺癌和腦轉移和/或軟腦膜疾病的發展和進展。這項針對 20 名患者的試點研究由加州大學舊金山分校的主要乳腺腫瘤學家 Michelle Melisko 和 Laura Huppert 醫生在加州乳腺癌研究計劃和加州大學舊金山分校 Brain Spore 的資助下進行。

The study is designed to identify biomarkers associated with CNS metastases, enabling a better understanding of treatment response, prognosis, and treatment resistance that may improve the management of CNS disease in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Results from cerebral spinal fluid using Biocept CNSide assay and match patient blood samples will be analyzed and compared to detect and characterize cancer in CSF with the goal of identifying new targets and to guide therapeutic decisions.

該研究旨在識別與 CNS 轉移相關的生物標誌物，從而更好地了解治療反應、預後和治療耐藥性，從而改善轉移性乳腺癌患者的 CNS 疾病管理。將分析和比較使用 Biocept CNSide 測定的腦脊髓液結果和匹配的患者血液樣本，以檢測和表徵腦脊液中的癌症，以識別新靶點並指導治療決策。

This study is notable for several reasons. First, it is being conducted by oncologists rather than by neuro-oncologists, signaling that our test is gaining awareness beyond the neuro-oncology community.

這項研究之所以引人注目，有幾個原因。首先，它是由腫瘤學家而不是神經腫瘤學家進行的，這表明我們的測試正在獲得神經腫瘤學界以外的認識。

Second, the California Breast Cancer Research Program and the breast cancer program at UCSF are part of the Biden administration's Cancer Moonshot, which is aimed to accelerate progress against cancer.

其次，加州乳腺癌研究計劃和加州大學舊金山分校的乳腺癌計劃是拜登政府癌症登月計劃的一部分，旨在加速抗擊癌症的進程。

Third and perhaps most important, we expect that results will demonstrate the vastly superior ability of CNSide compared with blood to detect and quantify tumor cells in the CNS. We intend to solicit and fund additional investigator-initiated trials, including some that may lead to expanded CNSide market opportunities.

第三，也許是最重要的一點，我們預計結果將證明 CNside 與血液相比在檢測和量化 CNS 腫瘤細胞方面的能力要強得多。我們打算徵求和資助額外的研究者發起的試驗，包括一些可能導致擴大 CNSide 市場機會的試驗。

I'm also pleased to announce the three posters featuring CNSide inside were selected for presentation at the Society of Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting, which took place earlier this month. This is the premier neuro-oncology conference, and these presentations are important in generating further awareness and interest in CNSide amongst our core customer group as well as biopharma companies that are conducting studies with neuro-oncology therapeutics.

我還很高興地宣布，本月早些時候舉行的神經腫瘤學會年會上，選擇了三張以 CNSide 為特色的海報進行展示。這是首屈一指的神經腫瘤學會議，這些演講對於在我們的核心客戶群以及正在進行神經腫瘤學治療研究的生物製藥公司中進一步提高對 CNSide 的認識和興趣非常重要。

One of our posters covered HER2 heterogeneity observation in metastatic tumor, with this data currently being prepared for publication in a peer review journal. The other two posters provided compelling data demonstrating CNSide capability in CNS primary tumors, an area we intend to further evaluate for expansion. Of note, these studies were presented by leading neuro-oncology key opinion leaders, Dr. Priya Kumthekar of Northwestern University, and Dr. Santosh Kesari at Providence, Southern California.

我們的一張海報涵蓋了轉移性腫瘤中的 HER2 異質性觀察，該數據目前正在準備發表在同行評審期刊上。另外兩張海報提供了令人信服的數據，證明了 CNside 在 CNS 原發性腫瘤中的能力，這是我們打算進一步評估擴展的領域。值得注意的是，這些研究是由領先的神經腫瘤學關鍵意見領袖、西北大學的 Priya Kumthekar 博士和南加州普羅維登斯的 Santosh Kesari 博士提出的。

Our second initiative is to focus on leveraging CNSide to drive collaboration with biopharma companies that are seeking to develop new treatments or expand the use for existing treatments for CNS tumors. The ability of CNSide to capture and characterize circulating tumor cells in cerebral spinal fluid enables the identification of biomarkers targets that are susceptible to approved and investigational therapies.

我們的第二個舉措是專注於利用 CNSide 來推動與正在尋求開發新療法或擴大 CNS 腫瘤現有療法用途的生物製藥公司的合作。 CNside 捕獲和表徵腦脊髓液中循環腫瘤細胞的能力使得能夠識別易受批准和研究療法影響的生物標誌物靶標。

Additionally, the ability to quantitatively monitor the level of cancer cells in the CSF during treatment can indicate therapeutic response. CNSide may provide an observational endpoint to these trials. And subject to inclusion and standard-of-care guidelines has the potential to become an efficacy endpoint indicator for therapies undergoing clinical investigation.

此外，在治療期間定量監測腦脊液中癌細胞水平的能力可以指示治療反應。 CNside 可以為這些試驗提供一個觀察終點。並且根據納入和護理標準指南有可能成為正在進行臨床研究的療法的療效終點指標。

As you may have seen, we announced our first biopharma collaboration in June with Plus Therapeutics. To use CNSide, [no] ReSPECT-LM Phase 1/2a trial to evaluate response for treatment and treatment efficacy of Rhenium-186 NanoLiposome in patients with leptomeningeal disease. We also announced our first CNSide biopharma collaboration revenues in the second quarter. To continue to pursue additional collaborations through a robust funnel of potential leads, having identified more than 50 relevant opportunities.

您可能已經看到，我們在 6 月宣布了與 Plus Therapeutics 的首次生物製藥合作。使用 CNside，[no] ReSPECT-LM 1/2a 期試驗評估錸-186 納米脂質體對軟腦膜病患者的治療反應和療效。我們還在第二季度公佈了我們的第一個 CNSide 生物製藥合作收入。確定 50 多個相關機會後，繼續通過強大的潛在線索漏斗尋求更多合作。

And our third initiative is to identify additional technologies, products, and services we can in-license or acquire that can augment our offerings to neuro oncologists. We are very early in this process yet remain excited about the prospects. As an update on our COVID-19 business. We do not anticipate providing this testing service much beyond the end of 2022. It's notable that we have received more than 1 million samples for COVID-19 testing since we began offering this service in June 2020, with the resulting gross profit helping to fund our CNSide activities.

我們的第三個舉措是確定我們可以授權或獲得的其他技術、產品和服務，這些技術、產品和服務可以增加我們為神經腫瘤學家提供的服務。我們在這個過程中還處於早期階段，但仍對前景感到興奮。作為我們 COVID-19 業務的更新。我們預計在 2022 年底之後不會再提供此檢測服務。值得注意的是，自 2020 年 6 月開始提供此服務以來，我們已收到超過 100 萬份 COVID-19 檢測樣本，由此產生的毛利有助於資助我們的檢測CNside 活動。

As previously announced, we have judiciously exited most of our blood-based oncology diagnostic businesses to focus our resources on CNSide. However, we continue to support existing diagnostic and biopharma company collaborations that still require some aspects of our prior blood-based (inaudible).

正如之前宣布的那樣，我們明智地退出了大部分基於血液的腫瘤學診斷業務，將我們的資源集中在 CNSide 上。但是，我們繼續支持現有的診斷和生物製藥公司合作，這些合作仍然需要我們之前基於血液的某些方面（聽不清）。

With those comments, I'd like to turn the call over to Antonino Morales to review our financial result. Antonino?

有了這些評論，我想把電話轉給安東尼諾莫拉萊斯來審查我們的財務結果。安東尼諾？

Thanks, Sam. And thanks, everyone, for joining us today. As mentioned, we recently became current with our quarterly SEC filings. Although we filed our 10-Q for the second quarter on November 10, and we filed our 10-Q for the third quarter on November 21, today, I will focus my remarks on our Q3 and nine-month financial results.

謝謝，山姆。感謝大家今天加入我們。如前所述，我們最近更新了我們的季度 SEC 文件。儘管我們於 11 月 10 日提交了第二季度的 10-Q 報告，並於 11 月 21 日提交了第三季度的 10-Q 報告，但今天，我將重點關注我們的第三季度和九個月的財務業績。

Starting with our third quarter results. Net revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2022, were $5.6 million, which included $4.7 million in COVID-19 test revenue. This compares with net revenues for third quarter of 2021 of $17.5 million, which included $16.5 million in COVID-19 test revenue. We accessioned 49,874 commercial samples during Q3 of 2022 compared with 152,796 commercial samples during the prior-year period, with a decline due primarily to lower COVID-19 testing volume. Cost of revenues for the third quarter of 2022 was $5.8 million compared with $11.3 million a year ago, with a decrease primarily related to lower COVID-19 testing volume.

從我們的第三季度業績開始。截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日止三個月的淨收入為 560 萬美元，其中包括 470 萬美元的 COVID-19 測試收入。相比之下，2021 年第三季度的淨收入為 1750 萬美元，其中包括 1650 萬美元的 COVID-19 測試收入。我們在 2022 年第三季度獲得了 49,874 個商業樣本，而去年同期為 152,796 個商業樣本，下降的主要原因是 COVID-19 測試量減少。 2022 年第三季度的收入成本為 580 萬美元，而一年前為 1130 萬美元，下降主要與 COVID-19 測試量減少有關。

R&D expenses for the third quarter of 2022 were $1.4 million, which compared with $1.3 million for the third quarter of 2021. G&A expenses for the third quarter of 2022 were $3 million compared with $3.5 million for the third quarter of 2021, with the decrease primarily due to lower stock-based compensation and lower head count.

2022 年第三季度的研發費用為 140 萬美元，而 2021 年第三季度為 130 萬美元。2022 年第三季度的 G&A 費用為 300 萬美元，而 2021 年第三季度為 350 萬美元，減少的主要原因是由於較低的股票薪酬和較低的員工人數。

Sales and marketing expenses for this year's third quarter were $1 million compared with $1.9 million a year ago, with the decrease due primarily to reduction in sales commissions expense. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the third quarter of 2022 was $5.1 million or $0.33 per share. This compares with net loss attributable to common stockholders for the third quarter of 2021 of $0.6 million or $0.04 per share.

今年第三季度的銷售和營銷費用為 100 萬美元，而一年前為 190 萬美元，減少的主要原因是銷售佣金費用的減少。 2022 年第三季度歸屬於普通股股東的淨虧損為 510 萬美元或每股 0.33 美元。相比之下，2021 年第三季度歸屬於普通股股東的淨虧損為 60 萬美元或每股 0.04 美元。

Turning to our nine-month results, net revenues for the nine months of 2022 were $36.1 million, which compares with $47.3 million for the first nine month of 2021. Operating expenses for the first nine months of 2022 were $49.5 million and included cost of revenues of $24.1 million, R&D expenses of $4.9 million, G&A expenses of $4.2 million, and sales and marketing expenses of $6.3 million.

談到我們前九個月的業績，2022 年前九個月的淨收入為 3610 萬美元，而 2021 年前九個月為 4730 萬美元。2022 年前九個月的運營費用為 4950 萬美元，其中包括收入成本2410 萬美元，研發費用 490 萬美元，G&A 費用 420 萬美元，銷售和營銷費用 630 萬美元。

Within G&A, $3.5 million of expenses were nonrecurring. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first nine months of this year was $13.6 million or $0.80 per share. This compares with net income attributable to common stockholders for the first nine months of 2021 of $0.1 million or $0.01 per share. We reported cash of $18 million as of September 30, 2022.

在 G&A 中，有 350 萬美元的費用是非經常性費用。今年前 9 個月歸屬於普通股股東的淨虧損為 1360 萬美元或每股 0.80 美元。相比之下，2021 年前九個月歸屬於普通股股東的淨收入為 10 萬美元或每股 0.01 美元。截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日，我們報告的現金為 1800 萬美元。

With those comments, I'll turn the call back to Sam.

有了這些評論，我會把電話轉回給山姆。

Thanks, Antonino. I want to mention that last month, we hosted our second KOL webinar. This one featuring neuro-oncologist, Dr. Priya Kumthekar from Northwestern University and Dr. Seema Nagpal from Stanford University. Both discussed the real-world use of CNSide in their practices and at their institution. We invite you to watch this compelling webinar, which is available on the CNSide page on biocept.com.

謝謝，安東尼諾。我想提一下，上個月，我們舉辦了第二次 KOL 網絡研討會。這一位是西北大學的神經腫瘤學家 Priya Kumthekar 博士和斯坦福大學的 Seema Nagpal 博士。兩人都討論了 CNside 在他們的實踐中和在他們的機構中的實際使用。我們邀請您觀看這個引人入勝的網絡研討會，該研討會可在 biocept.com 的 CNSide 頁面上找到。

Before opening the call to your questions, let me summarize by stating that our goal is to establish leadership in the emerging category of neurological tumor diagnostics. We intend to generate the requisite clinical utility evidence that will support CNSide reimbursement and adoption of the patient care guidelines. We are also focused on forming collaborations with biopharma companies that are developing treatments for CNS tumors. We faced several near-term milestones, including the following.

在開始回答您的問題之前，讓我總結一下，我們的目標是在新興的神經腫瘤診斷領域建立領導地位。我們打算生成必要的臨床實用證據，以支持 CNSide 報銷和採用患者護理指南。我們還專注於與正在開發 CNS 腫瘤治療方法的生物製藥公司合作。我們面臨著幾個近期的里程碑，包括以下幾個。

We expect to announce our second revenue-generating biopharma collaboration, either later this year or early next year. We plan to open an additional center in the FORSEE clinical trial again, either later this year or early next year. We have one investigator-initiated trial with CNSide already underway and are seeking opportunities for additional independent trials. And we expect CNSide clinical study results to be published in a peer-reviewed journal sometime in the first half of 2023.

我們預計將在今年晚些時候或明年初宣布我們的第二次創收生物製藥合作。我們計劃在今年晚些時候或明年初再次在 FORSEE 臨床試驗中開設一個額外的中心。我們已經在進行一項由研究者發起的 CNSide 試驗，並且正在尋找更多獨立試驗的機會。我們預計 CNSide 臨床研究結果將在 2023 年上半年的某個時候發表在同行評審的期刊上。

Lastly, I want to welcome Biocept's newest director, Quyen Dao-Haddock as a CPA with more than 20 years of financial and accounting experience. Quyen will be a valuable addition to our Board and also as a member of our Audit Committee. In closing, we believe Biocept is on an optimal path for growth and building shareholder value. We look forward to sharing our progress on the goals on upcoming quarterly calls. And as always, we are committed to improving patient treatment choices and clinical outcomes.

最後，我要歡迎 Biocept 的新任董事 Quyen Dao-Haddock 作為一名擁有 20 多年財務和會計經驗的註冊會計師。 Quyen 將成為我們董事會的重要成員，同時也是我們審計委員會的成員。最後，我們相信 Biocept 正走在增長和建立股東價值的最佳道路上。我們期待在即將到來的季度電話會議上分享我們在目標方面取得的進展。一如既往，我們致力於改善患者的治療選擇和臨床結果。

And with that overview, we'll now -- or we're now ready to take your questions. So operator?

有了這個概述，我們現在 - 或者我們現在準備好回答你的問題。那麼運營商？

Thank you. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。 （操作員說明）

While we are waiting for the first question with the accounting review now completed and our SEC filings up to date, we look forward to keeping you abreast of our progress by resuming our practice of holding quarterly conference calls. Also, Antonino and I will be in San Francisco during the Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference and are available for one-on-one meetings January 9 through 11. Please contact LHA, if you would like to schedule some time with us. Okay, operator, we're ready for the first question.

在我們等待第一個問題的同時，會計審查現已完成，我們的 SEC 文件已更新，我們期待通過恢復召開季度電話會議的做法讓您了解我們的進展。此外，Antonino 和我將在摩根大通年度醫療保健會議期間在舊金山參加 1 月 9 日至 11 日的一對一會議。如果您想與我們安排時間，請聯繫 LHA。好的，接線員，我們準備好回答第一個問題。

Kemp Dolliver, Brookline Capital Markets.

Kemp Dolliver，Brookline 資本市場。

Hi, good afternoon. I have a couple of questions. First is, what does the expense base look like after you exit the COVID testing, assuming that that will occur at the end of the year?

嗨，下午好。我有一些問題。首先，假設退出 COVID 測試後費用基數會在年底發生，費用基數如何？

Hi, Kemp. Thanks for the question. I'm going to let Antonino answer this one. Go ahead.

嗨，坎普。謝謝你的問題。我要讓安東尼諾回答這個問題。前進。

Yeah, that in anticipation of the exit of the COVID, we had started reducing our expense base not only from the operating side and headcounts, and we had incurred some expenses to make that happen this year. And you'll see some improvements in the expenses going forward after the fourth quarter, but there will be definitely reductions in the expense base.

是的，由於預期 COVID 將退出，我們已經開始不僅從運營方面和員工人數減少我們的費用基數，而且我們在今年為此付出了一些費用。你會看到第四季度之後的支出有所改善，但支出基數肯定會減少。

You're not in a position to give specifics at this point?

你現在不能給出具體細節嗎？

No, I really can't. No, I can't project at this point.

不，我真的不能。不，我現在不能投影。

Okay. Fair enough. The next couple of questions are interrelated and they relate to CNSide and your ability to expand use of it, the designated National Cancer Center, so how are you trying to touch the cancer centers that have yet to order? What are the gating factors for you in doing so beyond the obvious that you have probably a minimal number of people out making calls? And finally, what experience have you had with repeat orders of late?

好的。很公平。接下來的幾個問題是相互關聯的，它們與 CNSide 和您擴大使用它的能力有關，指定的國家癌症中心，那麼您如何嘗試接觸尚未訂購的癌症中心？除了你可能只有最少的人打電話外，你這樣做的門控因素是什麼？最後，您對最近的重複訂單有什麼經驗？

So, many, many good questions in there, Kemp. As you may or may not be aware, we have a relatively small commercial organization in the field right now. We're not fully covering the geography of the US, we're focused mostly in the Midwest, the South, the Southeast, and in the Northeast. We have about three FTEs there, and we have a leader of that group and who's also helping us on the commercial side itself. He is carrying a bag itself a bit.

所以，裡面有很多很多很好的問題，坎普。您可能知道也可能不知道，我們目前在該領域有一個相對較小的商業組織。我們並沒有完全涵蓋美國的地理位置，我們主要關注中西部、南部、東南部和東北部。我們在那裡有大約三個 FTE，我們有該小組的領導者，他也在商業方面幫助我們。他自己背著一個包有點。

And essentially, meetings like we just had, as you know, our big forums for us, where we try to touch base with all of the KOLs that we have been interacting with, including those who have not yet ordered. I would describe the NCI centers, much like I would describe most of the [bine] universe for health care products. There are early adopters. There are late adopters there. There are middle to late adopters.

從本質上講，就像我們剛剛舉行的會議一樣，如您所知，我們為我們舉辦了大型論壇，在那裡我們試圖與我們一直與之互動的所有 KOL 建立聯繫，包括那些尚未訂購的 KOL。我會描述 NCI 中心，就像我描述醫療保健產品的大部分 [bine] 世界一樣。有早期採用者。那裡有後來者。有中後期採用者。

So I think we've done a very good job at identifying those folks that were willing to try something brand new because of perhaps [compassionate] use issues or just the desperation they have in helping to manage these patients. And so we continue to call on these centers with our small group. It is a collaboration between inside and outside folks. Our medical team spent a lot of time interacting with KOLs explaining how the test works and what it can provide to these caregivers.

因此，我認為我們在確定那些願意嘗試全新事物的人方面做得非常好，這些人可能是因為[同情]使用問題，或者只是因為他們在幫助管理這些患者時感到絕望。因此，我們繼續與我們的小組一起拜訪這些中心。這是內部人員和外部人員之間的協作。我們的醫療團隊花了很多時間與 KOL 互動，解釋測試的工作原理以及它可以為這些護理人員提供什麼。

So hopefully, some of that gives you a little color on how we go about getting these NCI centers. We're seeing a nice pace of adoption, just had -- several just start here in the last period of time. So we're now up to 28. So hopefully that gives you some color, Kemp. Did I answer all your questions?

因此，希望其中一些能讓您對我們如何獲得這些 NCI 中心有所了解。我們看到了一個很好的採用速度，剛剛 - 幾個剛剛在過去的一段時間裡開始。所以我們現在最多 28 個。所以希望這能給你一些顏色，坎普。我回答了你所有的問題嗎？

The last question related to experience with repeat orders, so far.

到目前為止，最後一個問題與重複訂單的經驗有關。

So we're seeing relatively good performance there. I don't have any offhand statistics for that, other than track -- you can track the number of physicians who order every quarter, you can attract. You can also track the trends, the positive trends we've seen in cases per client. That's been steadily increasing. So those kinds of metrics are all contained in our investor deck. So those kinds of things give us great assurance that the test is sticky, once the clinicians have some experience with it.

所以我們在那裡看到了相對較好的表現。除了跟踪之外，我沒有任何臨時統計數據——你可以跟踪每個季度訂購的醫生數量，你可以吸引。您還可以跟踪趨勢，即我們在每個客戶的案例中看到的積極趨勢。這一直在穩步增加。因此，這些指標都包含在我們的投資者平台中。因此，一旦臨床醫生對它有一些經驗，這些事情就給了我們很大的保證，即測試是有粘性的。

Great. Thank you, Sam.

偉大的。謝謝你，山姆。

Thank you, Kemp. Thanks for the questions.

謝謝你，坎普。感謝您的提問。

And this will conclude our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Sam Riccitelli for any closing remarks.

這將結束我們的問答環節。我想將會議轉回給 Sam Riccitelli 作閉幕詞。

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for participating on today's calls and for your interest in Biocept. We look forward to providing an update during our next conference call in March 2023, when we report our 2022 fourth-quarter and full-year financial results. Thanks again. Have a great day.

我要再次感謝大家參加今天的電話會議以及您對 Biocept 的興趣。我們期待在 2023 年 3 月的下一次電話會議上提供最新信息，屆時我們將報告 2022 年第四季度和全年的財務業績。再次感謝。祝你有美好的一天。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。