Press news Biocartis Group NV: BIOCARTIS MEETS 2020 KEY OBJECTIVES
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11 January 2021, 07:00 CETBIOCARTIS MEETS 2020 KEY OBJECTIVESMechelen, Belgium, 11 January 2021 – Biocartis Group NV (the ‘Company’ or ‘Biocartis’), an innovative molecular diagnostics company (Euronext Brussels: BCART), today announces to have met its 2020 key business objectives which were focused on three performance indicators: the installed base expansion of its rapid and easy-to-use Idylla™ molecular diagnostics platform, the growth of its Idylla™ cartridge volume and its year-end cash position.Based on non-audited numbers, Biocartis today reports:Installed base – Biocartis placed 335 new Idylla™ instruments in 2020, exceeding the latest guidance of 300 new instrument placements. Biocartis’ installed base as per 31 December 2020 increased to 1,581 Idylla™ instruments1.Cartridge volume – In 2020, Biocartis grew its commercial cartridge volume by 31%, slightly ahead of the latest guidance of 30%. In oncology, year-on-year growth both in Europe and in the US was largely offset by the distributor2 markets, but strong demand for the Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test3 complemented overall volumes totaling 230k cartridges.Cash position – As per 31 December 2020, Biocartis’ cash4 position amounted to EUR 124m (non-audited number) versus the latest guidance of EUR 120m.Herman Verrelst, Chief Executive Officer of Biocartis, commented: “I am very pleased to announce that we achieved our initial 2020 outlook, despite the pandemic that severely disrupted and deprioritized cancer care globally. Patient access to hospitals was again significantly restricted in Q4 2020, causing test volumes to decrease across all regions. Nevertheless, we stayed on track and delivered on our pre-pandemic expectations thanks to the versatility of Idylla™ and its new pandemic test menu. The past year has clearly demonstrated the need for rapid response testing in an overburdened healthcare system, and we saw that we are very well equipped to deliver on our customers’ needs in oncology as well as in infectious diseases. We made significant operational progress throughout 2020 on our path towards profitable growth. Therefore, we look ahead with confidence and start 2021 with a better than expected cash position that we plan to put at work to accelerate test menu expansion and diversification in a year that will again be marked by continued impact of the pandemic.” In 2020, Biocartis made significant progress in laying the foundation for future profitable growth, with amongst others following achievements:Expansion oncology partnerships – In 2020, Biocartis launched several new partnerships to strengthen its oncology business:In January 2020, Biocartis signed a master collaboration agreement with lung cancer targeted therapy leader AstraZeneca aimed at rapid and easy testing and expanded its partnership to, amongst others, the area of liquid biopsy testing using the Idylla™ ctEGFR Mutation Assay;In March 2020, Biocartis expanded its partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), to now also pursue, after the US, the registration of the Idylla™ MSI test as a companion diagnostic (CDx) test5 in mCRC6 in China;In November 2020, Biocartis announced its entry in the thyroid cancer domain with the signing of a license, development and commercialization agreement with GeneproDx7 for the development of GeneproDx’ novel genomic test ThyroidPrint® on the Idylla™ platform.Expansion infectious disease partnerships – Following amongst others the market shift due to the pandemic, in 2020, Biocartis launched several new partnerships to gradually expand its infectious disease test menu:In March 2020, the agreement with Immunexpress8 was expanded with a co-commercialization agreement for the SeptiCyte®RAPID test for use on the Idylla™ platform;In September 2020, the agreement with LifeArc9 was expanded to now also develop highly innovative prototype assays in the field of infectious and immune related diseases on the Idylla™ platform;In October 2020, the partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) was expanded into the infectious disease domain with the announcement of Biocartis joining the COVID-19 Testing Industry Consortium, aimed at improving, innovating and accelerating all aspects of COVID-19 testing10;In November 2020, a new partnership was signed with Endpoint Health11 aimed at the development and commercialization of a novel CDx5 test on Idylla™ for critical illnesses.Idylla™ test menu expansion – Biocartis made further progress in its Idylla™ oncology test menu, with the development of its highly innovative Idylla™ GeneFusion Assay, expected to be launched as a RUO12 in Q1 2021, for which it announced to have received a EUR 1.2 million grant from VLAIO13 in September 2020. In the field of infectious disease, Biocartis announced in September 2020 the market release of the SeptiCyte©RAPID test on Idylla™ (CE-IVD)14, followed by the CE-IVD launch of its Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test3 in November 2020.Idylla™ publications – In 2020, several studies and abstracts once again demonstrated the excellent performance of Idylla™:In September 2020, the FACILITATE[15]study16, launched as part of the agreement between Biocartis and AstraZeneca (LON: AZN), was selected for presentation at the renowned European Society for Medical Oncology (‘ESMO’) Virtual Congress17;
11 January 2021, 07:00 CETBIOCARTIS MEETS 2020 KEY OBJECTIVESMechelen, Belgium, 11 January 2021 – Biocartis Group NV (the ‘Company’ or ‘Biocartis’), an innovative molecular diagnostics company (Euronext Brussels: BCART), today announces to have met its 2020 key business objectives which were focused on three performance indicators: the installed base expansion of its rapid and easy-to-use Idylla™ molecular diagnostics platform, the growth of its Idylla™ cartridge volume and its year-end cash position.Based on non-audited numbers, Biocartis today reports:Installed base – Biocartis placed 335 new Idylla™ instruments in 2020, exceeding the latest guidance of 300 new instrument placements. Biocartis’ installed base as per 31 December 2020 increased to 1,581 Idylla™ instruments1.Cartridge volume – In 2020, Biocartis grew its commercial cartridge volume by 31%, slightly ahead of the latest guidance of 30%. In oncology, year-on-year growth both in Europe and in the US was largely offset by the distributor2 markets, but strong demand for the Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test3 complemented overall volumes totaling 230k cartridges.Cash position – As per 31 December 2020, Biocartis’ cash4 position amounted to EUR 124m (non-audited number) versus the latest guidance of EUR 120m.Herman Verrelst, Chief Executive Officer of Biocartis, commented: “I am very pleased to announce that we achieved our initial 2020 outlook, despite the pandemic that severely disrupted and deprioritized cancer care globally. Patient access to hospitals was again significantly restricted in Q4 2020, causing test volumes to decrease across all regions. Nevertheless, we stayed on track and delivered on our pre-pandemic expectations thanks to the versatility of Idylla™ and its new pandemic test menu. The past year has clearly demonstrated the need for rapid response testing in an overburdened healthcare system, and we saw that we are very well equipped to deliver on our customers’ needs in oncology as well as in infectious diseases. We made significant operational progress throughout 2020 on our path towards profitable growth. Therefore, we look ahead with confidence and start 2021 with a better than expected cash position that we plan to put at work to accelerate test menu expansion and diversification in a year that will again be marked by continued impact of the pandemic.” In 2020, Biocartis made significant progress in laying the foundation for future profitable growth, with amongst others following achievements:Expansion oncology partnerships – In 2020, Biocartis launched several new partnerships to strengthen its oncology business:In January 2020, Biocartis signed a master collaboration agreement with lung cancer targeted therapy leader AstraZeneca aimed at rapid and easy testing and expanded its partnership to, amongst others, the area of liquid biopsy testing using the Idylla™ ctEGFR Mutation Assay;In March 2020, Biocartis expanded its partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), to now also pursue, after the US, the registration of the Idylla™ MSI test as a companion diagnostic (CDx) test5 in mCRC6 in China;In November 2020, Biocartis announced its entry in the thyroid cancer domain with the signing of a license, development and commercialization agreement with GeneproDx7 for the development of GeneproDx’ novel genomic test ThyroidPrint® on the Idylla™ platform.Expansion infectious disease partnerships – Following amongst others the market shift due to the pandemic, in 2020, Biocartis launched several new partnerships to gradually expand its infectious disease test menu:In March 2020, the agreement with Immunexpress8 was expanded with a co-commercialization agreement for the SeptiCyte®RAPID test for use on the Idylla™ platform;In September 2020, the agreement with LifeArc9 was expanded to now also develop highly innovative prototype assays in the field of infectious and immune related diseases on the Idylla™ platform;In October 2020, the partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) was expanded into the infectious disease domain with the announcement of Biocartis joining the COVID-19 Testing Industry Consortium, aimed at improving, innovating and accelerating all aspects of COVID-19 testing10;In November 2020, a new partnership was signed with Endpoint Health11 aimed at the development and commercialization of a novel CDx5 test on Idylla™ for critical illnesses.Idylla™ test menu expansion – Biocartis made further progress in its Idylla™ oncology test menu, with the development of its highly innovative Idylla™ GeneFusion Assay, expected to be launched as a RUO12 in Q1 2021, for which it announced to have received a EUR 1.2 million grant from VLAIO13 in September 2020. In the field of infectious disease, Biocartis announced in September 2020 the market release of the SeptiCyte©RAPID test on Idylla™ (CE-IVD)14, followed by the CE-IVD launch of its Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test3 in November 2020.Idylla™ publications – In 2020, several studies and abstracts once again demonstrated the excellent performance of Idylla™:In September 2020, the FACILITATE[15]study16, launched as part of the agreement between Biocartis and AstraZeneca (LON: AZN), was selected for presentation at the renowned European Society for Medical Oncology (‘ESMO’) Virtual Congress17;
