Exact Sciences Q1 Revenues Triple
Apr 27, 2017 | staff reporter
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Exact Sciences reported before the opening of the market on Thursday that its first quarter revenues rose 226 percent year over year, driven by a 150 percent increase in the number of completed Cologuard colon cancer tests.
For the three months ended March 31, the diagnostics company reported revenues of $48.4 million, up from $14.8 million a year earlier, and blowing away the analyst estimate of $37.3 million.
Exact completed 100,000 Cologuard tests during the quarter, with an average recognized revenue per test of $485.
"Our team is proud of the impact we are having on the early detection of colon cancer," Exact Chairman and CEO Kevin Conroy said in a statement. "More than 450,000 people have been screened using Cologuard since it was launched, including many patients who had never previously been screened. We believe that increasing patient demand and physician awareness, and Cologuard's recent inclusion in the Star Ratings position our test well for long-term, sustainable growth."
The company said that about 10,000 health care providers ordered their initial Cologuard test during Q1, and that approximately 70,000 providers have ordered the test since it was launched. Further, approximately 197 million Americans are members of health plans that cover Cologuard as of April 26.
Exact's Q1 net loss narrowed to $34.9 million, or $.32 per share, from $47.5 million, or $.49 per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected a loss per share of $.41.
The company's R&D costs for the quarter fell 21 percent to $8.0 million from $10.1 million in Q1 2016, and its SG&A expenses rose 35 percent to $58.9 million from $43.5 million.
The firm ended the quarter with $39.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $235.5 million in marketable securities.
For full-year 2017, Exact raised its guidance for both revenues and test volume. The company now anticipates revenues of $195 million to $205 million and completed Cologuard test volume of at least 470,000 tests during 2017. Analysts are expecting revenues of $178 million for 2017. Previous guidance was $170 million to $180 million in revenues and 415,000 completed Cologuard tests.
For the second quarter, the company anticipates at least 115,000 completed Cologuard tests.
Exact also announced today that it has signed a five-year epigenetics and molecular diagnostics collaboration agreement with MDxHealth. The companies will share their proprietary technologies with the goal of developing biomarkers and clinical diagnostics for urologic and lung cancers.
Further, Exact is acquiring MDxHealth patents for colorectal cancer, including its DNA methylation biomarker NDRG4, and technology covering the use of fecal immunochemical test in combination with methylation. These acquisitions include one-time fees totaling $15 million, including payments accrued since July 2016, the firms said.
Exact's shares rose 23 percent to $29.27 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.