Exagen Posts 15 Percent Drop in Second Quarter Revenues

NEW YORK — Exagen reported on Tuesday a 15 percent year-over-year drop in its second quarter revenues on lower testing revenue.

For the three-month period ended June 30, Exagen's revenues were $8.9 million versus $10.5 million a year earlier, topping the consensus Wall Street estimate of $4.7 million. Testing revenue dropped 33 percent to $6.8 million year over year from $10.2 million, which the San Diego-based autoimmune diagnostics company attributed to lower testing volumes amid the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and a decrease in average reimbursement per test.

Exagen said that it delivered 18,522 of its flagship Avise CTD tests for lupus and connective tissue diseases in the quarter with 1,442 ordering healthcare providers, including 428 adopters. Second quarter revenues from the company's copromotion of the arthritis drug Simponi (golimumab) with Janssen Biotech were $2.1 million versus $300,000 in the same period last year. 

The firm's R&D spending in the second quarter rose 27 percent to $751,000 from $590,000 a year ago, while its SG&A costs rose nearly 14 percent to $8.3 million from $7.3 million.

Exagen's Q2 net loss was $3.4 million, or $.27 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.8 million, or $78.87 per share, a year earlier. Analysts had, on average, been expecting a loss per share of $.76.

Exagen went public in September 2019 and used approximately 12.6 million shares to calculate its loss per share for this year's second quarter compared with 63,050 shares for the Q2 2019 loss per share figure. 

At the end of the second quarter, Exagen had cash and cash equivalents totaling $63.7 million.

Separately, the company said on Monday that all of its Avise tests will be a contracted covered service with TRICARE East managed care support contractor Humana Military. Avise tests will be available for 6 million beneficiaries as a result.