United Healthcare to cover Cologuard
Exact Sciences shares up 12% on cancer test announcement
Shares of Madison-based Exact Sciences Corp. soared nearly 12% Wednesday after United Healthcare said it would cover the company’s Cologuard colon cancer screening test, effective July 1.
Exact Sciences’ shares posted the gains on a day when major stock market indexes all closed lower.
Exact Sciences shares closed at $36.47, up $3.82. Exact Sciences shares have gained 449% since they closed at $6.64 a year ago.
The company declined to comment on United Healthcare’s decision, which was announced Tuesday in what the insurer calls a “medical policy update bulletin.”
United Healthcare is one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States. The insurer’s networks include 1 million health care professionals and 6,000 hospitals across the U.S.
Cologuard is a non-invasive screening tool for colorectal cancer.
Cologuard detects the presence in stool samples of red blood cells and DNA mutations that might indicate the presence of colon cancer or its precursors.
Early detection and removal of pre-cancerous lesions in the colon can often result in eliminating the possibility of developing colorectal cancer, but only 60% of the people who are at risk for colorectal cancer — which is anyone in the U.S. over age 50 — have ever been screened for the disease.
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause (after lung cancer) of cancer death in the U.S.
Colorectal cancer is expected to cause
50,260 deaths during 2017, according to the American Cancer Society.
The use of the Cologuard test continues to gain momentum. In late April, Exact Sciences said it generated revenue of $48.4 million and completed approximately 100,000 Cologuard tests during
the quarter ended March 31.
First-quarter 2017 revenue and completed Cologuard test volume grew 226% and 150% from the same period of 2016, respectively, the company said.
For the first quarter of 2017, Exact Sciences reported a net loss of $34.9 million, or 32 cents per share. The company reported a net loss of $47.5 million, or 49 cents per share, for the same period of 2016.