Pacific Edge shares gain 4% on fourth US deal

Monday 26th May 2014

Shares in Pacific Edge gained 4 percent after the biotech company said it had signed a deal with US healthcare provider MultiPlan for the use of its non-invasive bladder cancer test, Cxbladder.

The contract is the largest of the four US healthcare provider Pacific Edge has signed up since October last year, with MultiPlan a preferred provider organisation securing cheaper health rates for insurers for more than 900,000 healthcare providers covering an estimated 68 million people. Its previous three deals covered 62.6 million people.

“Our sales and marketing teams are now focussed on the urologists and clinicians who are treating the largest number of bladder cancer patients to ensure they fully understand the value and benefits that Cxbladder provides to them and their patients” Jackie Walker, chief executive of subsidiary Pacific Edge Diagnostics USA, said in a statement.

It is also "advancing" its relationship with state funded insurer, Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which could potentially give it access to a third of the US population, Walker said.

Pacific Edge shares rose 4 cents to $1.03 in early trading. The stock gained 150 percent last year on news of its US deals, and raised some $20 million to drive sales. Since its March debut on the NZX 50 Index the shares have dropped 58 percent amid a global sell off of growth-orientated tech stocks.

The non-invasive bladder cancer test was adopted by New Zealand district health boards earlier this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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