On May 7, 2020 Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary blood tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics, reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (Press release, Guardant Health, MAY 7, 2020, View Source [SID1234557282]).
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Revenue of $67.5 million for the first quarter of 2020, representing an 84% increase over the corresponding period of 2019
Reported 15,257 tests to clinical customers and 5,266 tests to biopharmaceutical customers in the first quarter of 2020, representing increases of 60% and 40%, respectively, over the first quarter of 2019
Onboarded more than 100 clinical sites for ECLIPSE trial and expanded the target number by 50% to 150 clinical sites
Data published in Nature Cancer demonstrated robust concordance of Guardant360 liquid biopsy with tissue biopsy testing and builds upon the strong clinical evidence from plasmaMATCH for Guardant360’s use in metastatic breast cancer
Strengthened leadership team with the addition of John Saia as Senior Vice President and General Counsel
"During these challenging times, I have even more confidence in the value that liquid biopsy can bring to the cancer treatment paradigm. Cancer treatment is not something that can be delayed for long and we remain unwavering in our commitment to serving patients in the advanced cancer setting," said Helmy Eltoukhy, PhD, co-founder and CEO. "We are operationally, financially, and strategically prepared to navigate through this difficult period and remain focused on the long-term opportunities ahead of us to transform cancer patient care."
"Consistent with our overall belief that earlier detection leads to better outcomes, we are confident that active surveillance testing of COVID-19 would benefit many essential businesses across the country. Given the significant testing gap that currently exists, we are exploring the feasibility of developing our own high throughput diagnostic test for COVID-19 to contribute to this need," continued Dr. Eltoukhy.
First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
Revenue was $67.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, an 84% increase from $36.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Precision oncology revenue grew 109% driven by increases in testing volume and average selling price. There were 15,257 clinical tests and 5,266 biopharmaceutical tests performed during the first quarter of 2020. Development services revenue decreased 7% primarily related to the timing of achieving project related milestones for companion diagnostic development programs.
Gross profit, or total revenue less cost of precision oncology testing and cost of development services, was $47.0 million for the first quarter of 2020, an increase of $23.9 million from $23.1 million for the corresponding prior year period. Gross margin, or gross profit divided by total revenue, was 69.6%, as compared to 63.1% for the corresponding prior year period.
Operating expenses were $81.9 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $46.8 million for the corresponding prior year period, an increase of 75.1%.
Net loss attributable to Guardant Health, Inc. common stockholders was $27.7 million for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $26.1 million for the corresponding prior year period. Net loss per share attributable to Guardant Health, Inc. common stockholders was $0.29 for the first quarter of 2020, as compared to $0.30 for the corresponding prior year period.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $758.3 million as of March 31, 2020.
Withdrawal of 2020 Financial Guidance
Given the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing uncertainty it has caused for us, our customers and our community, as well the difficulty in predicting the pandemic’s overall impact on its future financial results, Guardant Health is withdrawing its previously announced annual revenue and net loss guidance for 2020, which was provided on February 24, 2020.
Webcast and Conference Call Information
Guardant Health will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter 2020 financial results after market close on Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 2:00 PM Pacific Time / 5:00 PM Eastern Time. A webcast of the conference call can be accessed at View Source The webcast will be archived and available for replay for at least 90 days after the event.