NEW YORK – Guardant Health said after the close of the market on Thursday that its first quarter 2024 revenues were up 31 percent year over year.
For the three months ended March 31, the company reported total revenues of $168.5 million compared to $128.7 million in the same period of 2023, beating analysts' average estimate of $150 million.
Guardant's Q1 precision oncology revenue grew 38 percent year over year to $156.2 million from $113.4 million, driven by an increase in both clinical and biopharma testing.
The company said it reported 46,900 tests to clinical customers and 8,450 tests to biopharmaceutical customers during the quarter, an increase of 20 percent and 37 percent, respectively, over the first quarter of 2023.
During a call with investors, Guardant co-CEO Helmy Eltoukhy said that the company's liquid biopsy therapy selection test Guardant360 continues to be the primary driver of test volume growth, but that contributions from newer products, such as its tissue sequencing assay TissueNext and its disease monitoring assay Guardant Response, are increasing.
According to the company, precision oncology revenue growth was also due to increases in both Medicare and private payor test reimbursement.
The firm's development services and other revenues totaled $12.3 million for the first quarter of 2024, down approximately 20 percent from $15.3 million in the prior-year period.
Eltoukhy said that its biopharma customers have been particularly excited about the firm's Infinity platform. He highlighted some of its most recent data, presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research earlier this year, including studies exploring the epigenomic platform's ability to distinguish tumor histological subtypes and to predict and track adverse cardiac side effects to targeted treatment.
For its minimal residual disease assay, Guardant Reveal, Eltoukhy said that the company anticipates publishing studies this year that could help expand Medicare coverage of the test for additional indications in colon and breast cancer, with more to come in 2025 that are exploring the test's clinical validity in lung, pancreatic, and gastric cancers.
Guardant's R&D costs for Q1 were $83.8 million, down about 10 percent from $93.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The firm's Q1 SG&A spending increased 2 percent to $119.1 million from $116.5 million in the same period of 2023.
Guardant co-CEO AmirAli Talasaz said during the call that the company expects to launch the in vitro diagnostic version of its colorectal cancer screening test, Guardant Shield, in 2024 despite a delay in the US Food and Drug Administration's review process.
Talasaz highlighted a recent study conducted by investigators at Kaiser Permanente and published online in March, which found a significant improvement in colorectal cancer screening rates when participants had the choice of a Shield test. The study randomized more than 2,000 previously unscreened individuals to two groups — one offered the Shield test alongside standard-of-care options and the other not. According to Talasaz, screening compliance nearly tripled in the group offered Guardant's blood-based option.
Guardant reported a net loss of $115.0 million, or $.94 per share, for Q1 2024, compared to a net loss of $133.5 million, or $1.30 per share, in Q1 2023. Adjusted loss per share was $.46, better than analysts' average prediction of a per-share loss of $.85.The firm ended the quarter with $1.13 billion in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash.
Guardant Health upped its guidance for the full year, saying it now expects 2024 revenue, excluding screening, to be in the range of $675 million to $685 million, representing growth of 20 percent to 21 percent compared to full-year 2023. The company previously guided for revenues of between $655 million and $670 million.
In Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq, shares of Guardant were up more than 8 percent at $21.07.