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According to a recent report, the global Precision Oncology market is estimated to grow to $99.7 billion by 2027. Precision oncology and recent advances in cancer care have been closely associated with genomic medicine. Researchers realize that knowing the genetic mutations of unique tumors will deliver the ability to improve treatments for cancer. Guardant (Nasdaq: GH) is leveraging its technology capabilities to help address this demand.

Guardant’s Offerings

Redwood City-based Guardant was set up in 2012 by AmirAli Talasaz and Helmy Eltoukhy to drive improvement in oncology through technological innovation. Guardant’s founders realized the importance of analytics to find a treatment for cancer. To select the best treatment, doctors and patients need to have access to detailed genomic information about the disease. Access to this information is not always easy. Traditional tissue biopsies require physical access to tumor tissue and can result in serious risks for some patients. And sometimes, biopsies are conducted when it is already too late to treat.

Guardant believes that the key to treating cancer lies in the ability to access and analyze its molecular information throughout the various stages of the disease. It is working on developing a solution that can use a blood sample to deliver advanced results about cancer. Today, its blood tests are helping with timely therapy selection for patients and are also helping doctors in early detection and cases of recurrence. Guardant is also working with pharmaceutical companies to discover and understand new treatment approaches that can help improve the lives of the patients.

Guardant’s solutions focus on treatment selection, recurrence detection, and early detection. It integrates its proprietary Digital Sequencing technology with high-efficiency biochemistry and next-generation sequencing to deliver a machine learning platform that delivers the clinical sensitivity needed to identify the stage of cancer. It is developing blood-based tests with high sensitivity by leveraging data from tens of thousands of cancer patients to identify asymptomatic individuals and individuals at a higher risk for developing cancer. It is collaborating with multiple investigators at cancer centers globally to help build this much-needed technology.

Guardant continues to expand its data library. Last quarter, it launched a real-world clinical genomic platform called GuardantINFORM to help accelerate research and development of the next generation of cancer therapeutics. GuardantINFORM integrates genomic data with the identified clinical information for each patient and offers its biopharma partners real-world insight into how patients are treated based on their mutation profiles as well as pattern of drug resistance and tumor evolution.

Guardant’s Financials

Guardant’s Q2 revenues grew 27% over the year to $66.3 million, ahead of the Street’s forecast of $59.2 million. On an adjusted basis, it reported a loss of $0.57, falling below the Street’s estimates of a loss of $0.36 cents per share.

By segment, revenues from Precision oncology grew 21% to $51 million, and revenues from development services grew 29% to $15.3 million.

Among key metrics, tests to clinical customers grew 15% to 13,694, and tests to biopharmaceutical customers fell 47% to 2,805 during the quarter.

Due to the current conditions, Guardant did not provide an estimate for the quarter or the year. The market estimates Guardant to record a loss of $0.39 per share on $70.29 million in revenues for the quarter and a loss of $1.48 per share on $279.28 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Guardant listed on the Nasdaq in 2018 at a list price of $19, raising $237.5 million at a valuation of $1.6 billion. Guardant’s stock is currently trading at $108.22 with a market capitalization of $11 billion. It peaked to a record high of $113.74 in September and a 52-week low of $55.90 in March.

Prior to going public, it had raised $550 million in 8 rounds from investors including Plug and Play, EquityZen, SchindlerAM Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Temasek Holdings, C.M. Capital Advisors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, T. Rowe Price, and SoftBank Vision Fund.

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