Genetic Signatures

CEO Report Genetic Signatures has made great progress amid the one-in-100-year healthcare crisis. The pandemic has highlighted the need for rapid and effective diagnostic testing to ensure populations are kept as safe as possible by identifying those who need to isolate and who need appropriate treatment. While the company’s recent successes have been strongly influenced by the SARS-CoV-2 testing applications, the pandemic has demonstrated to commercial laboratories the benefits of molecular PCR based testing methods that are easy to use, with minimal intervention required. Genetic Signatures leveraged this interest to demonstrate the power of our 3base ™ technology to medium and high throughput laboratories. The pandemic has opened the doors to high throughput laboratories overseas, introducing them to Genetic Signatures’ technology and empowering them to not only perform COVID-19 diagnosis but also introduce them to testing for other pathogens, be it respiratory, gastrointestinal, sexually transmitted infections or other infectious diseases. Genetic Signatures’ core 3base ™ technology can detect 20+ different pathogens at a time, from one patient sample, whilst maintaining high throughput screening. Replacing traditional methods, such as the old ‘sample on a slide’ lab methods which are still prevalent overseas, our tests reduce turnaround time from days to hours, allowing medications such as antibiotics to be more quickly dispensed, or for patients to enter isolation sooner. On a financial note, the solid demand for our unique Australian diagnostic technology continued to drive our revenue, with a strong finish in the June quarter. Sales for the year increased by more than 150 percent to $28.3m, and this momentum has continued into the new financial year. Notably, we have quadrupled the number of Genetic Signatures branded instruments in the field over the last 18 months. This is very important, as once the device is incorporated into a lab’s workflow it is easier to cross-sell other tests to the customer. We also announced at the end of FY2021 our investment in our next generation instrument. This instrument will further reduce technician hands-on-time and dramatically decrease the time-to-result, whilst preserving the broad number of testing targets. In light of the strong demand, Genetic Signatures invested in expanding manufacturing capacity through automation and increased staffing. We have now sold kits in all our major target markets of the US, Europe and Australia. The US and Europe together account for 75 per cent of global testing for infectious diseases. Thus, they are our key markets and we continue to leverage the market access we have gained during the pandemic, with a view to enhancing customer knowledge of our entire product suite. Meanwhile, trading in the current (first) quarter of FY2022 gives us confidence in the revenue momentum continuing. However, client order flows will be determined by the severity and location of further COVID-19 outbreaks, the take-up and ultimate effectiveness of vaccines, and different governments’ response to them. It is clear that symptomatic patients are now coming forward for testing more frequently than prior to the pandemic, and Genetic Signatures is well placed to provide the tests and throughput required by the testing laboratories. Dr John Melki Managing Director and CEO Genetic Signatures Limited – Annual Report 2021