Despite being a small medical laboratory and research firm, TrovaGene Inc. (NASDAQ: TROV) offered cover for investors in Monday’s session from a downturn in the broad markets. Why is TrovaGene so popular all of a sudden? The company announced that it has entered into an agreement with FedMed, establishing health benefit access to TrovaGene’s full line of Precision Cancer Monitoring (PCM) tests and services.
Under the agreement, TrovaGene’s PCM services are covered as a participating laboratory testing provider for clients of FedMed, which include major health insurers such as Aetna, Cigna and Humana, and encompasses over 550,000 in-network physicians nationwide.
For some background: TrovaGene is leveraging its proprietary technology for the detection and monitoring of cell-free DNA in urine. The company’s technology detects and quantitates oncogene mutations in cancer patients for improved disease management. TrovaGene’s precision cancer monitoring platform is designed to provide important clinical information beyond the current standard of care.
So far in 2016, this stock has gotten beaten and bruised, with shares down over 30% year to date. Over the past six months the stock is down over 50%. This agreement offers the network and potential that could very well turn around TrovaGene.
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Brian Moffitt, chief operating officer of FedMed, commented:
A major focus of FedMed is to provide innovative solutions for the healthcare community, particularly in areas such as cancer, where there is a high need to improve patient care and deliver that care in an efficient manner. In line with our core strategy, we are extremely pleased to offer Trovagene’s non-invasive, clinically actionable tests and services to oncologists and their patients within our national provider network.
Matt Posard, chief commercial officer of TrovaGene, added:
FedMed is among the largest national provider networks in the country, and this agreement is an important step in our ability to offer oncologists and their patients access to our liquid biopsy testing services through their health benefit plans. We’re very pleased with the positive response we are receiving from national provider networks, validating our decision to design the PCM platform to report on clinically actionable cancer genes that can translate into clear use scenarios and better reimbursement outcomes. We remain committed to creating a strong foundation of studies demonstrating the multiple clinical utilities of our technology, which we believe will broaden health insurance coverage and patient access this year.
Shares of TrovaGene were trading up nearly 16% to $4.21 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $10.17 and a 52-week trading range of $2.85 to $13.58.
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