Alliance with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson to
Accelerate Development of First Nasal Swab Test for Early Lung Cancer
Detection
Veracyte to Host Conference Call and Webcast on January 3, 2019 at 8:30
a.m. ET
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 2019--
Veracyte,
Inc. (“Veracyte”) (Nasdaq: VCYT) announced today that it has entered
into a long-term strategic collaboration with Johnson & Johnson
Innovation LLC* and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson &
Johnson to advance the development and commercialization of novel
diagnostic tests to detect lung cancer at its earliest stages, when the
disease is most treatable. The collaboration will build upon
foundational "field of injury" science -- where genomic changes
associated with lung cancer can be identified with a simple brushing of
a person's airway -- to develop new interventions that can save lives.
Under terms of the agreement, Veracyte and the Lung Cancer Initiative at
Johnson & Johnson, whose mission is to prevent, intercept and cure lung
cancer, will combine clinical study cohorts involving more than 5,000
patients with multiple years of clinical outcome data. Veracyte will
contribute bronchial and nasal samples from its clinical trials, which
are part of the company's extensive lung cancer-focused biorepository.
Veracyte will deploy its RNA whole-transcriptome sequencing platform,
utilizing high-dimensional data and machine learning pipelines on the
combined cohort, providing the most comprehensive genomic content
available which the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson will
have access to for therapeutic purposes.
The collaboration is expected to accelerate two key lung cancer programs
for Veracyte. First, the development of the first non-invasive nasal
swab test for early lung cancer detection and, secondly, the
commercialization of its Percepta classifier on the company’s RNA
whole-transcriptome sequencing platform, which, as a result of this
collaboration, is expected to launch in the first half of 2019.
"We are thrilled to team up with Johnson & Johnson and their Lung Cancer
Initiative in the fight against lung cancer," said Bonnie Anderson,
chairman and chief executive officer of Veracyte. "This strategic
collaboration further advances Veracyte’s pioneering position in lung
cancer diagnosis and underscores the promise of our field of injury
science and approach. With the acceleration of our product pipeline, we
believe this collaboration expands our addressable lung cancer
diagnostic market to a $30 billion to $40 billion global opportunity.”
Anderson continued, “We estimate the combined monetary and non-monetary
value of the collaboration to Veracyte at more than $50 million. The
monetary component consists of a $5 million upfront payment and the
potential to earn up to a total of $15 million in future development and
reimbursement milestone payments. The non-monetary value reflects the
significant value of clinical cohorts accessible to Veracyte through the
collaboration. Also as result of this agreement, we expect our
biopharmaceutical service revenue for 2019 to increase by an estimated
$5 million.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In the
United States, lung cancer causes more than 154,000 lung cancer-related
deaths each year – more than the next three most prevalent cancers
combined. Because lung cancer is difficult to diagnose before it has
metastasized, only 16 percent of cases are detected at an early stage,
when the disease is more treatable. Lung cancer's five-year survival
rate is only 18 percent, much lower than that of other common cancers.
Approximately 80 percent of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking.
*Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. is the legal entity party to
the agreement.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Veracyte will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast today at
8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its collaboration with Johnson & Johnson
Innovation and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson. The call
and webcast may be accessed as follows:
The webcast should be accessed 10 minutes prior to the conference call
start time. A replay of the webcast will be available for one year
following the conclusion of the live broadcast and will be accessible on
the company’s website at https://investor.veracyte.com/events-presentations.
About Veracyte
Veracyte (Nasdaq: VCYT) is a leading genomic diagnostics company that
improves patient care by providing trustworthy and actionable answers to
challenging clinical questions. The company's products uniquely combine
advanced genomic technology, clinical science and machine learning to
provide answers that give physicians and patients a clear path forward,
informing both diagnosis and treatment decisions without the need for
costly, risky surgeries that are often unnecessary. Since its founding
in 2008, Veracyte has commercialized three genomic tests, which are
transforming the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, lung cancer and idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis. Veracyte is based in South San Francisco,
California. For more information, please visit www.veracyte.com
and follow the company on Twitter (@veracyte).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as:
"anticipate," "intend," "plan," "expect," "believe," "should," "may,"
"will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of
forward-looking statements include, among others, the expected impacts
of Veracyte’s collaboration with Johnson & Johnson in developing
interventions for lung cancer, on Veracyte’s financial and operating
results, on the timing of the commercialization of the Percepta
classifier, and on the size of Veracyte’s addressable market.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances
of future performance, but are based only on our current beliefs,
expectations and assumptions. These statements involve risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially
from our predictions, and include, but are not limited to: our ability
to achieve milestones under the collaboration agreement with Johnson &
Johnson; our ability to achieve and maintain Medicare coverage for our
tests; the benefits of our tests and the applicability of clinical
results to actual outcomes; the laws and regulations applicable to our
business, including potential regulation by the Food and Drug
Administration or other regulatory bodies; our ability to successfully
achieve and maintain adoption of and reimbursement for our products; the
amount by which use of our products are able to reduce invasive
procedures and misdiagnosis, and reduce healthcare costs; the occurrence
and outcomes of clinical studies; and other risks set forth in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks
set forth in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 2018. These forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date hereof and Veracyte specifically disclaims any obligation to
update these forward-looking statements or reasons why actual results
might differ, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law.
Veracyte, Afirma, Percepta, Envisia and the Veracyte logo are trademarks
of Veracyte, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190103005209/en/
Source: Veracyte, Inc.
Investor and Media Contact:
Angie
McCabe
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
650-243-6371
angie@veracyte.com