Pacific Edge shares soar to new record on optimism about potential US growth
By Tina Morrison
Oct. 23 (BusinessDesk) –Shares in Pacific Edge soared, making the stock the best performer on the stock exchange today,
as investors are buoyed by signs the bladder cancer diagnostic company is gaining traction in the US, the world’s
largest healthcare market.
Shares in Pacific Edge touched a record $1.75, and were recently up 36 percent to $1.44, valuing the company at $403
million.
Pacific Edge yesterday announced its second deal in a week to provide its diagnostic test to healthcare providers in the
US. The latest agreement with America’s Choice Provider network gives 14 million people in the US access to the
Cxbladder test to diagnose bladder tumours, adding to the 40 million who gained access through a deal with healthcare
provider FedMed last week.
“Hopefully they will be able to sell plenty of their packages, that’s what the company wants,” said Grant Williamson, a
director at sharebroker Hamilton Hindin Greene in Christchurch. “The US is a huge market for them. It’s one of the
biggest medical markets in the world and that’s got investors pretty excited.”
The company aims to generate $100 million from Cxbladder sales in the US within five years. Pacific Edge gained
registration for its own US diagnostic laboratory in March and is targeting large commercial provider networks and
insurers and integrated health systems Medicare and Medicaid, which provide healthcare insurance for 100 million people,
about a third of the US population.
(BusinessDesk)