NantHealth, best known for its GPS Cancer genetic tests — and its billionaire physician owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD — posted financial results for its third quarter, noting GPS revenue exceeded $1 million, a 128 percent increase from the second quarter.
Here are four things to know.
1. In the third quarter, 547 GPS tests were ordered. With October noting 204 orders, which is its largest month of orders to date.
2. NantHealth reported $21.8 million in total revenue, a 5 percent increase from one year prior.
3. The company posted $10.3 million in gross profit, compared with $10.6 million for the same period one year prior.
4. Research and development expenses decreased to $7.7 million from $10.0 million.
Dr. Soon-Shiong, however, faces criticism for reportedly boosting sales of his GPS Cancer genetic tests by citing positive experiences from three physicians with financial ties to one of his biotech companies. On a November 2017 earnings call, he spoke about a "physician in Sarasota Florida who has now shared with me personally how this has affected how he treats patients."
He added the physician, Steve Mamus, MD, achieved an excellent result with one lung cancer patient who used the test, and that GPS Cancer "is not just a flurry of useless information."
Dr. Mamus, however, began work as a paid consultant for Dr. Soon-Shiong two months earlier.
Based on a review of financial documents and corporate filings, a Politico investigation found that of the 1,286 tests sold in 2016, more than 100 were sold to institutions linked to three physicians on the payroll in Dr. Soon-Shiong's network.
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