DermTech Shares Rise 32% on Geisinger Health Support for Skin Cancer Test

Source: Streetwise Reports   12/30/2020

Shares of DermTech Inc. climbed to a new 52-week high after the company reported it has received positive medical coverage by Geisinger Health System for its pigmented lesion assay, a non-invasive test for detecting melanoma.

Molecular dermatology company DermTech Inc. (DMTK:NASDAQ), which is focused on delivering precision dermatology utilizing a non-invasive skin genomics platform, today announced that “Geisinger Health System has issued a positive medical benefit policy for its Commercial and Medicare Business Segment for the DermTech Pigmented Lesion Assay (PLA).”

The company stated that its PLA is “the first non-invasive gene expression test for the early detection of melanoma.” DermTech further explained that “PLA has a 99% negative predictive value (NPV), meaning there is a less than 1% probability of the PLA missing a melanoma when administered properly.”

The firm indicated that Geisinger Health System’s policy aligns closely with the Medicare Administrative Contractor, Palmetto GBA MolDx. The company noted that under these established guidelines, gene expression profiling for cutaneous melanoma utilizing the Pigmented Lesion Assay RNA gene expression test on skin samples obtained via adhesive patches is permissible and deemed to be medically necessary if certain criteria are met. The firm noted the specific criteria pertains to such things as the lesion’s size, color, shape, diameter, location and evolving change. Additional parameters include if the lesion is ulcerated or bleeding, is observed in combination with other skin conditions, such as psoriasis, eczema or similar skin conditions, or if melanoma is highly suspected.

DermTech’s Senior Vice President of Payor Access Dan Visage commented, “We are thrilled that Geisinger Health System, an organization with a well-known commitment to quality healthcare delivery and innovation, reviewed the clinical dossier and peer-reviewed publication library for the PLA and issued a positive medical benefit policy. Using the PLA will enhance the early detection of melanoma sparing the patient the need for an invasive biopsy.”

In a separate recent news release, the company announced that its management team will be making a presentation discussing the details and benefits of its skin genomics testing platform to the 23rd annual ICR Conference 2021 on Thursday, January 14, 2021, at 10:00 am EDT. The firm noted that the full presentation may be viewed at the following link.

DermTech is a genomics company headquartered in La Jolla, Calif., specialized in dermatology. The firm states that it is inventing a new category of medicine for precision dermatology that offers a non-invasive skin genomics testing platform to detect skin cancer. The company is focused on developing more accurate diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and thereby reducing and eliminating unnecessary surgical biopsies and procedures. The result of enhanced detection methods is improvement in both patient care and lower costs. Rather than using a scalpel to cut away a skin sample for analysis, skin samples are collected and analyzed non-invasively using a simple adhesive patch resembling a band-aid. In addition to skin cancer detection, DermTech is also developing products for the assessment of inflammatory diseases and customized drug treatments.

DermTech began the day with a market capitalization of around $548.9 million with approximately 19.6 million shares outstanding and a short interest of about 4.9%. DMTK shares opened nearly 7% higher today at $29.90 (+$1.89, +6.75%) over yesterday’s $28.01 closing price and reached a new 52-week high this morning of $36.00. The stock has traded today between $29.85 and $37.15 per share and is currently trading at $37.12 (+$9.11, +32.52%).

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