In a week, the share price has more than doubled to $1.06, the value of the company as measured by market capitalisation now more than $291 million.
The cancer diagnostic specialist said yesterday it had signed an agreement with America's Choice Provider Network (ACPN) for access to Cxbladder.
Chief executive Dr David Darling said ACPN offered a medical network solution for more than 14 million Americans through its client base consisting of insurance carriers, third party administrators, health and welfare funds, employer groups and self-insured health plans.
Last week, the company announced an agreement with FedMed, providing 40 million Americans with access to Cxbladder.
''Agreements with FedMed and now ACPN form key elements in the commercial roll-out of Cxbladder in the US,'' Dr Darling said.
On Tuesday of last week, Pacific Edge's share price was 50c. Yesterday, it reached a high of $1.06, up nearly 50% on Monday's close. The low of 38c was in November last year. Each time the company announced something positive, the price moved upwards.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms said it was ''all very well'' the company rolling out the press releases, but at some stage it had to show shareholders the good news was flowing to the bottom line, resulting in profitability. The stock ran on news flow.
''It is great to see this success for the company, but in time they have to be able to deliver. We need to see the substance to support the enthusiasm shown by the press releases. Pacific Edge has to turn this potential into profit,'' he said. The company earlier reported an operating loss of $6.92 million for the year ended March, an increase on the $4.1 million loss in the previous corresponding period.
Dr Darling said more than a million Americans would undergo medical investigation this year for potential bladder cancer at an estimated cost of $US1 billion ($NZ1.18 billion).
Bladder cancer was one of the most expensive cancers to treat. The high recurrence of the disease, with some patients receiving expensive monitoring for the rest of their lives, meant bladder cancer had the highest total medical costs of any cancer from detection to death.
In the US, the total medical costs approached $US220,000 per patient, he said.
Pacific Edge, through its wholly owned subsidiary Pacific Edge Diagnostics USA, had already achie-ved the first commercial sales of Cxbladder in the US and had processed samples at its custom-built laboratory in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Jackie Walker, chief executive of the US operation, said the division's sales and marketing team was focused on clinicians who were treating the largest number of bladder cancer patients.
They also focused on the large commercial payers and the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which provided healthcare insurance for 100 million people, or nearly a third of the American population.
Other key targets included the Veterans Administration, health maintenance organisations and large urology groups, which were the point of contact for many patients presenting with haematuria, or blood in the urine, which was an early indicator of possible bladder cancer, she said.
Announcements
October 22: Announces deal with America's Choice Provider Network, a health group of 14 million Americans.
October 18: Announces first US commercial sales of Cxbladder cancer tests.
October 17: Cxbladder cancer diagnostic test is Supreme Winner at NZ Innovators Awards.
October 15: Announces deal with national provider network FedMed, a health group of 40 million Americans.
October 2: Announces US accreditation for Dunedin laboratory to conduct Cxbladder tests of US patients.
Source: New Zealand Stock Exchange
Cxbladder
Cxbladder is a proprietary, accurate molecular diagnostic test that enables the non-invasive detection of bladder cancer from a small volume of urine.
