Mark R. Tauscher, president and chief executive officer of PLC Systems, stated, “Our first quarter financial results reflect the positive impact we experienced from increased international revenues this past quarter stemming from our first CO2 Heart Laser (HL2) sale in Bangladesh. In addition we benefited in the first quarter this year from our ongoing cost containment efforts which resulted in lower overall operating expenses, most notably a reduction in U.S. clinical trial-related expenditures for our RenalGuard® technology due to the delay in commencing the next phase of the trial.”
During the first quarter of 2009, PLC Systems recorded one new HL2 sale internationally; there were no domestic laser sales. In the same quarter of 2008, PLC recorded one new HL2 sale to a US hospital through Novadaq Technologies, PLC’s US marketing and distribution partner for its TMR products. PLC ended the first quarter of 2009 with 169 HL2 CO2 Heart Lasers located at heart centers throughout the US.
During the first quarter of 2009, 347 disposable TMR kits were shipped, consisting of 332 kits shipped to hospitals in the US by Novadaq and 15 kits shipped internationally by PLC Systems. In comparison, a total of 390 disposable TMR kits were shipped worldwide during the first quarter of 2008.
