NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Myriad Genetics reported after the close of the market on Monday that its quarterly revenues increased 6 percent year over year and exceeded the consensus Wall Street estimate.
For the three months ended March 31, the firm reported total revenues of $173.1 million compared to $164 million in the year-ago period. The consensus Wall Street estimate for the quarter was $156.2 million.
Myriad, under the new leadership of CEO and President Paul Diaz, has taken up a number of strategic initiatives to divest assets, refocus the company's molecular diagnostic pipeline, and improve the financial health of the company. "Myriad Genetics returned to year-over-year top-line growth in the March quarter through improved operational execution amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic," Diaz said in a statement. "We also continued to execute on our strategic transformation plan and launched major strategic initiatives focused on improving customer experience, building new tech-enabled commercial capabilities, reducing complexity and cost, and elevating the potential of our products."
Earlier in the day, the company announced the sale of certain operating assets and intellectual property, including its Vectra rheumatoid arthritis test, to Laboratory Corporation of America for $150 million in cash. In April, the company said it was selling its myPath Melanoma lab and the test by the same name to Castle Biosciences for $32.5 million in cash.
For the three months ended March 31, Myriad's molecular diagnostic testing revenue during the quarter increased 6 percent to $159.6 million compared to $150.5 million during the first three months of 2020. The company's pharmaceutical and clinical service revenues were flat year over year at $13.5 million.
Within the molecular diagnostics category, hereditary cancer test sales dropped to $76.1 million, an 11 percent reduction from $85.2 million a year earlier. Sales for GeneSight, the psychiatric pharmacogenetic test, went down around 14 percent to $17.6 million in the quarter compared to $20.4 million in the year ago period.
Meanwhile, several tests fared well during the first three months of 2021. Prenatal testing brought in $23.7 million compared to $20.3 million from the year prior, marking a nearly 17 percent increase. The Vectra rheumatoid arthritis test brought in $10.7 million during the quarter, a 2 percent increase from $10.5 million in the first three months of 2020. Revenues for the Prolaris prostate cancer test more than doubled to $18.5 million compared to $6.8 million.
Sales for MyChoice CDx, which assesses homologous recombination repair deficiency and is used to direct treatment with PARP inhibitors, also more than doubled to $8.4 million during the quarter compared to $3.3 million. Sales of the breast cancer recurrence test EndoPredict were $4.1 million compared to $3.5 million the prior year, a 17 percent increase. Myriad's other testing revenues were flat year over year at around $500,000.
The company also generated $2.5 million in the quarter from COVID-19 testing services. Myriad's test volumes were 236,000 during the quarter, down 1 percent year over year.
Myriad's quarterly net loss attributable to its shareholders was $39.5 million, or $.52 per share, compared to net loss of $115.2 million, or $1.55 per share, for the comparable quarter in 2020. On an adjusted basis, its loss per share was $.06 compared to the average Wall Street estimate of $.14.
The firm's quarterly R&D expenses increased 17 percent to $23.1 million from $19.7 million, and its SG&A spending grew 9 percent to $145.5 million from $132.9 million.
Myriad ended the quarter with $148.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $27.2 million in marketable investment securities.
In early morning trading on Tuesday, Myriad's stock was down around 3 percent and trading at $29.50.