Whether it was the relative anonymity of the 89 online shareholders watching proceedings, or one of the more vocal of 40 shareholders present, question time raked over the coals of projected cashflows, revenue expectations and a timeframe for the company to break even.
Pacific Edge had $14.6million cash left at the end of March, burns about $1.5million per month in operational expenses, and is yet to book a maiden profit since beginning in 2003.
Pacific Edge now has its four Cx-bladder products in the market, ranging from diagnosis through to disease management.
However, it is the uptake of tests by US urologists which is crucial to it breaking even, after spending more than $93million in research, development and early deployment.
Pacific Edge chairman Chris Gallaher and chief executive David Darling both reiterated the US remained Pacific Edge's ''main target'' this financial year.
''Our spend will be increasingly offset and eventually surpassed by new revenue, as we gain access and traction with the large-scale [US] customers we are targeting,'' Mr Gallaher said.
''I know many of you are eagerly waiting for revenue to scale up,'' Mr Gallaher said.
The board was ''very aware'' of issues of revenue, cash-flow and capital needs, but Mr Gallaher reiterated several times it was difficult to project test uptakes by the major US health insurers and providers.
However, the pair noted full year 2017 operating revenue was up 62% against this time last year, standing at $8.1million and actual tests were up 35% to 11,000.
After the meeting, Mr Darling said cash burn was acknowledged at around 1.5million per month, and while there were fluctuations, he was confident that cost was ''being contained'' this financial year.
There was a shareholder question from an earlier prediction Pacific Edge would have $100million revenue within three to five years.
Mr Darling said the US public charge for testing was $US2246, with the potential for 3million annual tests in the US, and much later down the track, 5million tests around Southeast Asia.
In pressing home the importance of of the US market, Mr Gallaher told shareholders there were 11,700 US urologists, with the potential to order 3million Cxbladder tests, while in Australasia there were only 300 urologists.
Health provider Kaiser Permanente alone had 400 urologists and Pacific Edge was ''nearing the end of negotiations'' on a commercial agreement. Mr Darling emphasised that when Kaiser adopted a new technology it was watched ''very closely'' by the rest of the US healthcare industry.
''There's a number of highly respected [US] healthcare organisations who we signed up in 2016 who are starting to adopt our products,'' Mr Darling said.
One question was why Pacific Edge had signed up with three New Zealand health boards, but not its neighbour in Dunedin, the Southern District Health Board, which has had urology issues in recent weeks over treatment and waiting times.
Mr Darling acknowledged the situation ''was surprising'', but said the company had been in recent ''direct contact'' with local urologists.
''We're happy to engage and bring about some help in that [SDHB] system,'' Mr Darling said.
He said the use of Cxbladder in a North Island health board had eventually left it without a waiting list queue.
