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PALO ALTO - Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq:GH), a $7.5 billion healthcare diagnostics company whose stock has surged nearly 97% year-to-date according to InvestingPro, announced Monday a strategic partnership with PathGroup to expand access to Shield, its FDA-approved blood test for colorectal cancer screening.
The collaboration will extend Shield’s availability to more than 250 hospitals and health systems, reaching over 15,000 PathGroup-affiliated physicians across 25 states. PathGroup serves approximately five million patients annually through its network of phlebotomists and patient service centers. With a robust gross profit margin of 63% and strong liquidity position evidenced by a current ratio of 3.7, Guardant Health appears well-positioned to support this expansion.
Shield is the first blood test approved by the FDA as a primary screening option for colorectal cancer, which ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The test offers an alternative screening method for the estimated one-third of eligible adults who do not complete recommended screenings.
"This partnership with PathGroup represents an important milestone in our mission to bring the pleasant and convenient screening option of Shield to as many people as possible," said AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO, according to the company’s press release.
PathGroup is integrating Shield into its electronic ordering systems, allowing healthcare providers to incorporate the test within their existing clinical workflows. The partnership will particularly benefit patients in community and rural settings who can access screening through a simple blood draw.
"This collaboration will not only simplify the workflow for providers but also help deliver life-saving early detection to patients across the communities we serve," said Pranil K. Chandra, PathGroup’s Senior Vice President and Chief Genomics Officer.
As part of the agreement, PathGroup will also provide immunohistochemistry testing expertise for Guardant’s comprehensive biomarker testing for solid tumors.
Colorectal cancer has a 91 percent five-year survival rate when detected in early stages, according to information provided in the announcement. With revenue growth of 29% in the last twelve months and significant market momentum, Guardant Health continues to demonstrate strong execution in the cancer diagnostics market. For deeper insights into Guardant Health’s growth trajectory and comprehensive financial analysis, investors can access the detailed Pro Research Report available on InvestingPro, which covers over 1,400 US stocks with expert analysis and actionable intelligence.
In other recent news, Guardant Health announced updated results for its Shield colon cancer screening test, which showed improvements in sensitivity. The Shield V2 assay demonstrated an 84% sensitivity at 90% specificity for colorectal cancer detection, with notable improvements in stage I cancer detection. Despite these advancements, the test’s performance did not meet some bullish expectations, as noted by Raymond James, which maintained an Outperform rating and a $61 price target. BTIG also raised its price target to $70, citing the improved data for the Shield test while maintaining a Buy rating. Leerink Partners reiterated an Outperform rating and a $70 price target following the Shield V2 results. Evercore ISI echoed a positive outlook with an Outperform rating and a $60 price target, although they noted no material improvement in results compared to the previous version. The updated Shield algorithm’s sensitivity rates varied across cancer stages, with stage I at 62% and stages II and IV at 100%. The test’s sensitivity for detecting advanced adenomas was reported at 13%.
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