EMERYVILLE, Calif.—NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NYSE MKT: NBY), makers of Avenova Lid and Lash Cleanser, reported unaudited total net sales on a GAAP basis for the first quarter of 2016 ending March 31, 2016, of $1.7 million, up 220 percent from $538,000 for the first quarter of 2015. The increase was primarily due to higher sales of Avenova, which was commercially launched in August 2014, the company said.

“Total sales for the quarter reached $1.7 million, up 5 percent sequentially; however, under our new pharmacy channel strategy, sales for the quarter on a non-GAAP basis would have grown by 44 percent to $2.3 million, as we still needed to work through the lower-priced inventory held in our distributors’ network at the end of 2015,” said Mark M. Sieczkarek, NovaBay’s chairman and interim president and CEO. “We sold through the entire remaining lower-priced inventory during the first quarter and all retail pharmacy sales are now under the new pricing model.”

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $1.4 million as of March 31, 2016, compared with $2.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2015. The company used approximately $4.9 million in cash to fund operations during the first quarter of 2016. In January 2016, NovaBay secured an additional $1.4 million bridge loan and in February 2016, the company completed a private placement raising net proceeds of $2.6 million.

On May 3, 2016, NovaBay received stockholder approval for the sale of common stock and warrants in a private placement to accredited investors for $11.8 million in two tranches. The company closed the first tranche on May 5, 2016, with gross proceeds of $7.8 million, and the second tranche is scheduled to close on July 31, 2016, for additional gross proceeds of $4.0 million.