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Yourgene H1 Revenues Up 5 Percent

NEW YORK – Yourgene on Monday reported a 5 percent year-over-year increase in revenues for the first half of its fiscal year 2020.

For the half year ended Sept. 30, Yourgene booked £8.2 million ($10.7 million) in revenues, up from £7.8 million during the same period last year.

According to the Manchester, UK-based company, strong UK and European revenues offset weaker international sales that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am pleased to report continued year-on-year growth in the first half in the most challenging of circumstances, and it goes to show the core resilience that Yourgene has developed through its greater geographic and business diversity," CEO Lyn Rees said in a statement.

By region, UK revenues grew 40 percent to £1.5 million from £1.1 million, European revenues grew 80 percent to £2.9 million from £1.6 million, and international revenues shrank 25 percent to £3.8 million from £5.1 million.

UK sales were primarily driven by COVID-19-related products and services, as well as by sales of the Elucigene DPYD chemotoxicity diagnostic assay, while noninvasive prenatal testing and reproductive health testing remained "resilient despite the national lockdown," the firm said.

Growth in European sales mainly reflected Yourgene's acquisition of French distributor AGX-DPNI in March. In addition, sales of the DPYD assay in Germany grew during the period and COVID-related products and services started to contribute to revenues.

Yourgene's international business was severely affected by the COVID-19 lockdowns, which inhibited cross-border shipments and non-COVID-19 testing, particularly in Japan and India, the company said.

By product, Yourgene had £4.2 million in revenues from noninvasive prenatal testing, down 13 percent from £4.8 million a year ago. Molecular Genetics revenues grew 75 percent to £2.4 million, from £1.4 million a year ago, and Reproductive Health revenues increased 2 percent to £1.7 million from £1.6 million last year.

NIPT sales were affected by a shift of laboratory testing capacity to COVID-19 testing in many of the firm's core markets, particularly in the first quarter, while the second quarter "saw a return to more normal trading patterns," Yourgene said. Reproductive Health revenues "proved more resilient" because they were focused on the UK and public hospitals in Europe, which were "somewhat insulated from the diversion to COVID-19 testing," according to the firm. Molecular genetics sales were driven by the DPYD assay and growth in the Yourgene Genomic Services business, as well as by COVID-19 testing volumes.

During the half year, Yourgene raised £15 million in net funding to pay for the acquisition of Canadian sample prep technology firm Coastal Genomics. Yourgene also used the funding to accelerate commercial activities, including the development of its Iona Nx NIPT workflow and building its COVID-19 testing capacity.

As of Sept. 30, Yourgene had £11.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Looking forward, Yourgene said that core lab customers are now returning to "more normal patterns of testing," which it expects will restore previous growth trends in NIPT, reproductive health, oncology, and research. Revenues from its UK COVID-19 testing service and its internationally sold Clarigene SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test have been "showing strong growth" in the second half of the financial year so far and are expected to grow further. Also, delays in the launch of new international customer sites, including in the US and Japan, have recently been resolved.

Yourgene's UK COVID-19 testing service now has capacity to conduct 10,000 tests per month, and the firm plans to double that capacity by January 2021, increasing COVID-19 testing revenue potential to approximately £1 million per month. The company is working on obtaining additional regulatory approval for its Clarigene SARS-CoV-2 test.