Press news Biocartis Group NV: BIOCARTIS ANNOUNCES H1 2020 RESULTS

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PRESS RELEASE: REGULATED INFORMATION

3 September 2020, 07:00 CEST

BIOCARTIS ANNOUNCES H1 2020 RESULTS

Mechelen, Belgium, 3 September 2020 – Biocartis Group NV (the ‘Company’ or ‘Biocartis’), an innovative molecular diagnostics company (Euronext Brussels: BCART), today announces its business highlights and financial results for the first half of 2020, prepared in accordance with IAS 34 ‘Interim Financial Reporting’ as adopted by the European Union. Furthermore, the Company reinstates its outlook for the full year 2020.

Commenting on the H1 2020 results, Herman Verrelst, Chief Executive Officer of Biocartis, reacted: “The global pandemic definitely left its marks, but we nevertheless delivered a 12% growth of overall commercial cartridge volumes in H1 2020. Supported by a loyal customer base and a swift recovery towards the end of Q2 2020, the net impact from COVID-19 was limited in Europe: growth of European cartridge volumes remained robust and is now back in line with our pre-pandemic expectations. After a strong Q1 2020, the recovery was less pronounced in the US. Here, we saw new instrument placements stalling as lockdown measures prevented all new customer prospection during the entire Q2 2020. As such, we expect a prolonged effect of the pandemic into H2 2020 in the US. RoW1 volumes were most impacted in H1 2020 and timing of recovery is still uncertain. However, the need for high quality, rapid and easy diagnostic testing for every patient is more obvious than ever. In oncology, we managed to stabilize our business and return to growth in Europe and the US mainly thanks to Idylla™’s fully automated testing which has shown to be very useful in times where all lab resources are focused on priority pandemic testing. Next to that, we now see complimentary opportunity in infectious diseases and we have developed an Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test for which we expect strong demand in H2 2020, particularly in the US. Comforted by the resilience of our oncology business, most notably in Europe, and the expected demand for the Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test, we look ahead with confidence and reinstate our full guidance for 2020.”

KEY MESSAGES

  • Commercial cartridge volume:

    • Nearly 80k cartridges sold in H1 2020, a year-over-year increase of 12%, despite the COVID-19 pandemic;

    • After a strong 68% year-over-year growth in Q1 2020, Q2 2020 volumes came in 20% lower than last year;

    • Europe: Strong continued growth in Q1 2020 and recovery by the end of Q2 2020, offsetting the impact of the pandemic in early Q2 2020;

    • US: Strong volume growth in Q1 2020, but recovery in Q2 2020 less pronounced, as COVID-19 cases remain high in many States. Prolonged impact of the pandemic expected into H2 2020;

    • RoW: After a strong Q1 2020, RoW volumes were most impacted with limited visibility on recovery.

  • Installed base:

    • 101 new Idylla™ instruments placed versus 156 in H1 2019;

    • Total installed base of 1,411 end H1 2020;

    • 50% of the new placements in Europe. Pace of new placements in the US and RoW slowed down due to highly restricted access to customers.

  • New Idylla™ pandemic response test menu in H2 2020:

    • Submission of the Idylla™ SARS-CoV-2 Test for Emergency Use Authorization (‘EUA’) with the US FDA;

    • Commercialization rights in Europe and RoW for the CE-marked IVD test SeptiCyte® RAPID2 on Idylla™ from Immunexpress Pty Ltd3 ('Immunexpress').

  • Expanded oncology partnerships:

    • Partnership with AstraZeneca expanded with a study on liquid biopsy testing using the Idylla™ ctEGFR Mutation Assay (RUO4);

    • New project with Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) aimed at pursuing the registration of the Idylla™ MSI Test as a companion diagnostic5 (CDx) test in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in China.

  • Financials:

    • Total operating income of EUR 17.6m (H1 2019: EUR 17.3m), including EUR 11.4m product income (H1 2019: EUR 10.0m);

    • Cash and cash equivalents of EUR 150m as per end H1 2020.