NEW YORK – Guardant Health reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its second quarter revenues were up 39 percent year over year.
The cancer genomics firm reported total revenues of $92.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared to $66.3 million in the same period of 2020, beating Wall Street analysts' average prediction of $84.6 million.
Guardant's oncology testing revenue grew 42 percent to $72.6 million from $51.0 million in the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by a 54 percent increase in clinical testing revenue. Development services and other revenue was $19.5 million, up 27 percent from $15.3 million in Q2 2020, reflecting several companion diagnostic project milestones achieved during the quarter.
The company reported 20,830 tests to clinical customers and 3,653 tests to biopharmaceutical customers during the quarter, an increase of 52 percent and 30 percent, respectively, over the same period last year.
In a statement, Guardant CEO Helmy Eltoukhy praised the firm's clinical research team for progress on its ECLIPSE study. "I am excited to announce we have enrolled more than 10,000 patients to date," he said.
During a call discussing the firm's quarterly results, AmirAli Talasaz, president and chief operating officer, added that Guardant is now planning to enroll an additional 3,000 patients, based on the colorectal cancer prevalence seen in the trial thus far, to ensure it has the required number of CRC-positive cases.
"We are confident that we’ll have total enrollment completed by November of this year — the same 24 months’ timeframe that we announced when we began," he said.
The firm now expects to launch the blood-based CRC screening test being validated in the trial in the first half of 2022.
Guardant's established liquid biopsy business is still being impacted by the pandemic, but not to an extent that it has prevented the firm from growing its revenues, Eltoukhy said during the call. "While patient visits and office actives are still not fully back to pre-COVID levels, we are pleased with how well our commercial team is continuing to execute in this environment and still achieve healthy volumes," he said.
International clinical volumes have been impacted more severely by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, he added, especially in countries where vaccination rates remain low. Also, oncology office visits and sales force access in the US have increasingly gone down in recent weeks, Eltoukhy said, adding that Guardant is monitoring the situation closely as it evolves.
Guardant's net loss for the quarter was $97.6 million, or $.96 per share, compared to a net loss of $54.6 million, or $.57 per share, in Q2 2020. Adjusted net loss per share was $.61 in Q2, compared to $.25 a year ago, beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of a net loss of $0.87 per share.
The company's R&D expenses rose 75 percent quarter over quarter to $63.7 million from $36.3 million. Its SG&A expenses were up about 55 percent at $96.1 million compared to $62.2 million a year ago.
As of June 30, Guardant had $938.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and $853.1 million in short-term marketable securities.
Concurrent with its earnings, Guardant also announced that its board of directors has approved a management rearrangement whereby Eltoukhy and Talasaz, formerly Guardant's president and COO, will now serve as co-CEOs.
Moving forward, Eltoukhy will lead the company’s oncology division, while Talasaz will oversee its screening division. Talasaz will also retain the title of president, and Eltoukhy will become the firm's board chairman.
Guardant also increased the number of directors on its board to eight, appointing Meghan Joyce as a class II director and to the board's audit and compensation committees.
In morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of the company's stock were down about 2 percent at $112.67.