Health: Cogstate continues recovery, makes $9m in sales

Neuroscience tech company Cogstate (ASX:CGS) produced some much needed good news today, saying it has executed $9.1m of clinical trials sales contracts since the start of 2020.

The stock — up about 30 per cent on the news — says this revenue is recognised over the life of the clinical trial, so that whole figure will not show up in the next set of accounts.

Cogsgate signed $26.9m of contracts in the six months to December 31, 2019, which was a record for the company.

Cogstate developed technology that can assess cognition — the mental process of thinking, experiencing the world, and acquiring knowledge. It sells this technology to clinical practices, researchers, and into clinical trials that need a way to assess mental states.

It needs to add another $5.4m in clinical trials contracts this half to beat its best second half result which took place in fiscal 2018.

Cogstate disappointed investors in February when it delivered another fall in half year revenue, albeit one that was forecast as there is a lag time between when these contracts are signed and when they’re paid out, and continued high costs.

While the company booked $8.7m in revenue for the six months to December 31, it also struggled to reduce admin and professional services fees, and employee costs.

In other news:

Medical Developments International (ASX: MVP) is losing its CEO John Sharman, who after 10 years at the helm is leaving “to pursue other business interests”. MVP is the maker of the Green Whistle, a device that patients puff on to instantly gain pain relief from the company’s non-opioid painkiller.

Micro-X (ASX:MX1) has received additional purchase orders for Nano X-Ray units totalling about $1m, bringing the total sales orders to $1.8m this quarter for delivery to Asia and Europe. The urgent delivery of within four weeks suggests some of the units are to be deployed in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, where chest x-rays are to detect fluid in the lungs.