Exact Sciences' Q4 Revenues Up 64 Percent

Exact Sciences reported after the close of the market recently that its fourth quarter revenues rose 64 percent year over year, thanks to a 66 percent increase in the number of completed Cologuard colorectal cancer tests during the quarter.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018, the Madison, Wisconsin-based molecular diagnostics company reported revenues of $143.0 million for Q4, up from $87.4 million in Q4 2017, and beating the average Wall Street estimate of $134.8 million.

Fourth quarter Cologuard test volume increased to 292,000 completed tests, expanding the firm's estimated share of the total colorectal cancer screening market to 4.1 percent. Nearly 15,000 healthcare providers ordered their first Cologuard test during Q4, and approximately 147,000 doctors have ordered the test since it was launched. The firm also said that the average recognized revenue per test was $486 in Q4, a decrease of 2 percent from the prior-year quarter.

"The Exact Sciences team made tremendous progress in 2018, and we look forward to helping more people get screened for colorectal cancer in 2019 through our partnership with Pfizer," Exact Chairman and CEO Kevin Conroy said in a statement. "Our team continues working hard to advance our pipeline of liquid biopsy tests to deliver additional life-changing innovations in early cancer detection."

On a conference call with analysts following the release of the earnings, Conroy said that Exact is still aiming to reach about 40 percent of its total addressable market from the 4 percent it has now, and that the firm's results in 2018 show that this goal is possible in the long term.

He also noted that about 94 percent of people who now complete a Cologuard test will have no out-of-pocket costs. "We have signed in-network agreements with most major insurers and added nearly 80 million total contracted lives in 2018," Conroy said. "We expect the benefit of widespread coverage to increase over time as our sales and marketing teams deliver that message broadly to physicians and patients."