Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB) Results for Six Months Ended 30 September 2021

Thursday 25th November 2021

Cancer diagnostics business, Pacific Edge Limited (NZX/ASX: PEB) has reported continuing growth for the six months ended 30 September 2021 (1H22), with key performance metrics significantly ahead of the same time last year, driven by reimbursement milestones, increasing insurance coverage and adoption by urologists and healthcare organisations.

CEO of Pacific Edge, David Darling, commented: “The momentum seen in 2H21 has continued with growth in test volumes, sales and cash receipts. This is particularly pleasing given the resurgence in Covid-19 restrictions due to the spread of the Delta variant, which further restricted access to clinics and urologists for both patients and for our sales people in both the U.S. and New Zealand. As Covid-19 restrictions are lifted and access improves, we expect to see a positive impact on our business.

“With a restructured balance sheet and significant cash resources now in hand, we continue to focus on scaling up our commercial operations to accelerate our growth in the U.S. and other targeted markets. We continue to make good progress as we position our Cxbladder suite of tests as the diagnostic product of choice for urologists and patients. The clinical evidence supporting the outperformance of our products, growing endorsement by key opinion leaders and our first mover advantage all serve to provide a strong competitive advantage for our business.”

In particular, the recent clinical papers published in the leading Journal of Urology, highlight a pivotal shift in clinical utility from, firstly, an increase in clinical resolution from the combined use of multiple Cxbladder tests for each patient presenting with haematuria and, secondly, the gain in clinical utility from Pacific Edge’s PIHSS for management of patients outside the clinic. These publications are expected to provide added impetus to the adoption of Cxbladder by urologists and healthcare organisations.

Outlook

Pacific Edge has a positive outlook for FY22 and beyond and is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities available to the company.

The U.S. market remains the primary focus and continued growth is expected once Covid-19 restrictions ease. The scaled up U.S. commercial operations provide the capacity and resource to drive growth opportunities and positive results from this investment are now starting to be seen. The U.S. sales team grew to 28 experienced sales representatives over the last year, with 30 sales reps expected to be operating by end-November.

The focus for FY22 is on growing the commercial adoption of Cxbladder by Kaiser Permanente and other large healthcare organisations, further increasing reimbursement coverage from private payers, and achieving a positive shift in guideline inclusion language following the publication of new clinical evidence further supporting the clinical utility of Cxbladder.

Full integration into Kaiser’s patient referral system and Electronic Medical Records has yet to be concluded and continues to constrain the growth rate expected from this important customer. Despite this, commercial test numbers continue to grow.

The recent clinical papers supporting the combined use of multiple Cxbladder products will further evolve how urothelial cancer is diagnosed and managed, with Cxbladder once again leading the way and delivering a greatly enriched clinical proposition for urologists. These papers also provide additional support in favour of inclusion in guidelines and national standards, which remains a key component that will drive widespread adoption of Cxbladder.

Pacific Edge’s rest of world markets – New Zealand, Australia and Singapore – are markets of strategic importance, with tailored plans being executed dependent on each market’s commercial maturity.

Chairman of Pacific Edge, Chris Gallaher, said: “Pacific Edge’s growth momentum over the last six months, despite the ongoing headwinds from Covid19, confirms the validity of our global growth strategy and the way we go to market. We have a committed and experienced team, with significant funding in place to allow us to scale up and to deliver revenue growth and value creation for our shareholders in FY22 and beyond. We are confident in our future and the actions we are taking now are positioning us to accelerate our growth trajectory once Covid-19 restrictions ease.”

Please see the links below for details

HY Interim Results - Announcement

HY Interim Results - Presentation

HY Interim Results - Financial Statements

HY Interim Results - Equity and Debt - Rule 3.5

Source: Pacific Edge Limited

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