SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Veracyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCYT) today announced that Bonnie H. Anderson, president and chief executive officer, will present at the Cowen and Company 34th Annual Health Care Conference on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 10 a.m. ET in Boston, Mass.
The live audio webcast and subsequent replay may be accessed by visiting Veracyte's website at http://investor.veracyte.com. Please connect to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the live webcast to ensure adequate time for any necessary software download. The webcast will be available shortly after conclusion of the presentation and archived on the company's website for 14 days following the presentation.
About Veracyte, Inc.
Veracyte (Nasdaq: VCYT) is focused on discovering, developing and commercializing molecular cytology solutions that enable physicians to make more informed treatment decisions at an early stage in patient care, thus helping patients avoid unnecessary invasive procedures while reducing healthcare costs. Veracyte's first commercial solution, the Afirma® Thyroid FNA Analysis, includes the Gene Expression Classifier (GEC). Over 525,000 fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies are performed each year in the United States on thyroid nodules that are suspicious for cancer, with up to 30% of FNAs yielding indeterminate results using cytopathology
alone. Traditionally, most of these patients have undergone surgery to remove all or part of their thyroids, yet in 70% to 80% of cases, the nodules prove to be benign and thus the surgery was unnecessary. The GEC helps physicians reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries by employing a proprietary 142-gene signature to determine preoperatively whether thyroid nodules previously classified by cytopathology as indeterminate can be reclassified as benign. Since the commercial launch of Afirma in January 2011, Veracyte has received over 60,000 FNA samples for evaluation using Afirma and has performed approximately 12,000 GECs to resolve indeterminate cytopathology results, as of September 30, 2013. The company has obtained positive coverage decisions from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Medicare,
United Healthcare and other commercial payers, which collectively represent more than 115 million covered lives. Afirma is marketed and sold in the United States through a global co-promotion agreement with Genzyme Corporation, a subsidiary of Sanofi. Veracyte estimates the global market for Afirma to be $800 million. The company intends to expand its molecular cytology franchise to other clinical areas and is in late biomarker discovery for its first product in pulmonology.
Veracyte and Afirma are trademarks of Veracyte, Inc. This press release also contains trademarks and trade names that are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the estimated size of the global market for Afirma and the company's intent to expand its molecular cytology business into other clinical areas. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our limited operating history and history of losses; our ability to increase usage of and reimbursement for Afirma; our dependence on a few payers for a significant portion of our revenue; the complexity, time and expense associated with billing and collecting from payers for our
test; laws and regulations applicable to our business, including potential regulation by the Food and Drug Administration; our dependence on strategic relationships; our ability to develop and commercialize new products and the timing of commercialization; the outcome of clinical studies and the timing and publication of study results; the applicability of clinical results to actual outcomes; our ability to compete; our ability to expand into international markets; our ability to obtain capital when needed; and other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and Veracyte
specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Media:
Tracy Morris
650-380-4413
Tracy.Morris@Veracyte.com
Investors:
Angeli Kolhatkar
Burns McClellan, Inc.
212-213-0006
akolhatkar@burnsmc.com
SOURCE Veracyte